It’s like older times for the 40-year-old Favre

It takes quite a quarterback to hold a candle to Brett Favre.

And it takes quite a birthday cake to hold all of Favre’s candles.

The Minnesota Vikings star turned 40 on Saturday, which means today he will become the 17th quarterback in the NFL’s modern era to play after reaching that chronological milestone.

Asked last week what he had planned for his birthday, Favre said, “Travel to St. Louis.” That stands to reason, seeing as the Rams play host to the Vikings today.

That’s roughly the way he’s spend most of his adult birthdays, traveling somewhere to play someone.

“For the last 19 years, all the holidays, including my birthday, I’m either playing or getting ready to play,” he said. “No different this week, unless Brad [Childress] is going to throw me a big party. I think it deserves something. I really do. I just want to throw that out there: 40.”

Now, he’s part of a great -- and gray -- fraternity.

Quarterbacks who have played in the NFL at age 40 or older:

George Blanda, Oakland 1975: Hall of Famer was the Raiders’ kicker and backup quarterback from age 40 to 48.

Zeke Bratkowski, Green Bay 1971: Started the ’71 opener at 40 before being replaced by Scott Hunter.

Charlie Conerly, NY Giants 1961: Replaced at 40 by Y.A. Tittle. Conerly played in 13 games and led the Giants to a championship game.

Len Dawson, Kansas City 1975: Dawson started five games for the Chiefs after turning 40, and was 1-4.

Steve DeBerg, Atlanta 1998: Although he retired from Tampa Bay at 39, he returned five years later to back up Falcons’ Chris Chandler for a season.

Vince Evans, Oakland 1995: Former USC standout who spent seven seasons with the Los Angeles Raiders. At 40, started three games for relocated Oakland Raiders.

Joe Ferguson, Indianapolis 1990: Longtime Buffalo quarterback bounced around after 12 seasons with the Bills and finished with one appearance for the Colts.

Doug Flutie, New England 2005: Started 10 games in his 40s for San Diego and finished with a season for the Patriots at 43.

Jim Hart, Washington 1984: Played for St. Louis for 18 seasons, making four Pro Bowls, before finishing with one season for the Redskins as backup to Joe Theismann.

Dave Krieg, Tennessee 1998: Always remembered as a Seattle fixture, Krieg had brief stints with the Chiefs, Lions, Cardinals, Bears and Titans before retiring after turning 40.

Brad Johnson, Dallas 2008: Tampa Bay’s Super Bowl winner turned 40 last year and started three games for the Cowboys, going 1-2.

Sonny Jurgensen, Washington 1974: Started four games for the Redskins at 40. Another veteran, Billy Kilmer, started the others.

Warren Moon, Kansas City 2000: After turning 40, Moon played for Minnesota, Seattle and the Chiefs, finally finishing his Hall of Fame career at 44.

Earl Morrall, Miami 1976: Morrall played for six teams over the course of his 21 seasons, finally retiring from the Dolphins at 42.

Vinny Testaverde, Carolina 2007: Testaverde played for seven teams (including two stints with the Jets) and, at 44, started six games for the Panthers.

Johnny Unitas, San Diego 1973: Hall of Famer and 10-time Pro Bowler finished his storied career at 40 on the West Coast, going 1-3 for the Chargers.

Whither T.O.?

Dallas quarterback Tony Romo has already had his share of struggles this season, and his wide receivers aren’t helping much. Roy Williams and Patrick Crayton have just 11 catches each through four games, making the Cowboys the NFL’s only team that doesn’t have a wideout among the club’s top two pass catchers.

“The numbers are horrible,” Crayton conceded to reporters. “That’s what you have to live with when you don’t get opportunities. Argh! It’s just frustrating.”

Off-the-mark JaMarcus

Things aren’t going too smoothly for Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell. He has completed only 39.8% of his passes with one touchdown and four interceptions.

His passer rating is 42.4. That’s only slightly higher than that of Minnesota receiver Sidney Rice, who has a 39.6 rating based on one attempt, an incompletion.

The third season is often a pivotal one for NFL quarterbacks. Here’s how Russell’s current statistics compare with his first two years in the league:

*--* Year Att Cmp Pct Yards TD INT Ratg 2009 108 43 39.8 506 1 4 42.4 2008 368 198 53.8 2,423 13 8 77.1 2007 66 36 54.5 373 2 4 55.9 *--*