As The Favre Retires...And Returns.
In March, about two months after losing an NFC Championship game in Lambeau, we assumed that Favre was finished. He had a teary eyed press conference, stated that he had given his all and had nothing left. There were some skeptics, having been through this before with the NFL's equivalent of that girlfriend who's one foot in, one arm, shoulder, head and leg out. That person who is never certain on anything other than the fact that he's just 'not certain'. But for the most part, it came and went with few very much expecting this was the end of Favre in football as we knew it. So we skip ahead, past the Draft where the Pack drafted a rookie to presumably backup Mister Rodgers in what we all believed to be HIS neighborhood now that Favre is gone. Well...
Like a bad coin that just won't go away, Favre wants back. We think. Actually, he wants to be let go so that for the first time in his career (since he has never officially been a free agent), he can be able to decide his next and apparent final destination. It is presumed that in retrospect, there were some outside factors that played a part in Brett's decision back in March to hang it up. Maybe it was deemed that Brett had a good run, but the time is now for Aaron to take the reins of the franchise. The last time something like this happened with a future HOF and a young up and comer, it was about 15 years ago in San Francisco in the greatest QB debate in NFL history with Young and Montana. Montana was traded away before the 93 season, had a few great years in KC with a bunch of nobodies before both of his playoff runs were snuffed out by the Broncos in short order. Young managed to get one Super Bowl ring before basically turning into a scrambling pumpkin who gave T.O. his highlight moment ten years ago in 3Com Park against the Pack. So before anyone thinks there's a "right way" to handle this, let's be clear, when dealing with a legendary figure like a Montana or Favre...there's no real "right way" to handle this.
If you trade him, you're basically assuring yourself that you won't get equal value on the $50 for him. His resume speaks for itself and it's what has him stand out from other one time Super Bowl champs like Trent Dilfer and Brad Johnson. Oh and by the by, the difference between those guys and Favre is that Favre played a very significant part in his team's Super Bowl win. The other two had the luxury of being the guy running onto the field while a dominant defense was jogging off in Tampa and Baltimore. Favre has more talent in his pinky finger than Dilfer and Johnson have in their entire bodies. Plus, Favre's rise coincided with the Pack's return to respectability in the NFL. People forget, pre-Favre, the Pack were a joke. Favre in about two and a half months will have his jersey number retired. The only question now is, will he be in Viking purple when this happens the same night. On top of the problem of trading away the most famous signal caller in Green Bay since Starr, is Favre himself. He can and most likely will block any unreasonable or unfavorable deal that doesn't give him the chance to compete for a title right away. You can best bet Chicago and Minnesota's GMs won't be taking any calls from GM Ted Thompson, cause they won't be called. Not with the prospect of Favre coming to Lambeau once a year to do damage to the Pack. Best believe he's not exactly digging the prospect of seeing Favre go to Minnesota to give the Vikes the missing piece it needs to get back to the Super Bowl for the first time since the late 70s.
Most likely, the Pack will have to cut him loose. Give him his release and let the chips fall where they may. If he ends up in Minnesota, then hey, that's what it is. Deal. Pray you drafted a winner in Aaron Rodgers who will succeed quickly, because right now, that's the only legitimate hope the Pack have right now to come out ahead in this deal. Rodgers was the last QB out of the green room in the 2005 NFL Draft. Other than spot relief of Favre, most notably last year's post-Thanksgiving game against Dallas...we have no earthly idea what Rodgers is capable of doing when the ammo being fired at him is live. As I say, you don't draft QBs in the first round to be glorified, high priced clipboard holders. You draft them to lead your team into the future and beyond. The future is now for Aaron and the Pack. The other thing that's actually going FOR Aaron at the moment is this. Looking back at that draft class, moreso the first round in particular, it's not exactly the Class of 83' by any means. Hell, it's barely the Class of 93'. Alex Smith may lose his job in San Fran and Jason Campbell would just settle for playing in one offensive system for more than a year having had three prior offensive coordinators come and go before Zorn's arrival this year. Hell, so far the most decorated QB out of this draft class is...Derek Anderson who was a Pro Bowler last season. Yes, Derek Anderson. Brownie. A sixth round pick. Late sixth to be exact. So who puts Favre in the best position to go out a winner? Well, of the few teams I can think of that have vacancies and or need an upgrade at QB...
Tampa. Yeah, wouldn't this be ironic? The team he spent the latter portion of the 90s beefing with becomes his final resting place. You figure an offense spearheaded by Favre with Cadillac fresh out of the shop (injured last year) and an ageless Galloway (seriously, you dare challenge this man to a 40 yard dash?)...with that defense starting to show signs of returning to its roots, scary. Even scarier though...
Minnesota. This is every Cheesehead's worse nightmare. This would be what every Niner fan got to be spared in the mid 90s, when Joe Cool was sent to Kansas City for Bono and a few beans. In the end, Favre, A-Pete and that offensive line...frightening. That defense is nothing to sneeze at either.
I can't think of any real AFC teams off the top of my head that would instantly benefit from having Favre. Most of them are either too far down the pike to be saved by one QB (Miami, KC, etc.) and the others are either set with what they have or most likely won't sacrifice anything for a two year fix. But of course, there's no chance Packers management will let him walk. NONE. This would be akin to DeBartolo and company sending Joe Cool to Kansas City for a handful of beer nuts in 1993. (Oh by the by and Aaron, you might wanna take notes on this next bit, the only thing that kept 49er faithful from stringing up DeBartolo, Policy, Seifert and Young was the Super Bowl that Young won one season later. That's the only salvation for you Aaron, the only thing which appeases the mob which believes you're keeping its beloved deity from playing this year, the Super Bowl Brett didn't win a year ago. You win that and you start your own legacy which the Cheeseheads will more than happily get on board with. That's how Brett did it.) Apparently the Cheeseheads who are guzzling Brett Favre Kool-Aid staged a protest over the weekend to get Brett reinstated. What they don't realize for a plethora of reasons is, this most likely will not go down. Why? Because they've hit a point where it's either they put Rodgers on the field now or he's a bust without ever playing significant minutes for the Pack. Again, you don't draft QBs in the first round for them to become glorified clipboard holders. You draft them to be the pieces by which your franchise can thrive and succeed with. The inevitable fact of the matter was that Favre wasn't gonna play forever, a successor had to be picked and Rodgers was it in 2005. You saw what Miami's had to endure since Marino retired and San Fran since Montana was dealt away. (Sure Young won a ring with Montana's guys and a few mercenaries they signed, but he's not as great as everyone makes him out to be in my mind. He's just vastly talented with a couple of records, THAT'S ALL. Oh and as for what makes Favre better than Young...the fact that Favre's been to two Super Bowls in his career and Young only got his team to that one he won.)
So in the end, while the Pack's pimp hand may appear to be strong now...it will loosen its grip the more the Cheeseheads continue to stew over this. Rather than keep their QB in a place he'd rather not be, or he clearly is no longer welcome, they'd rather see him go elsewhere. Why am I not saying 'Favre should be playing this year for the Pack so they can try for one last Super Bowl push with #4 leading the way'? Because if Rodgers sits for another year, his psyche could be all but shot. As it is right now, I think it's dangling by a piece of floss and not a very good strand at that. Packers management has to recognize that it's now or never with Rodgers. They must put him out there now and get the Cheeseheads familiar with the face and what he can do, otherwise they'll fall into the not so cozy position Miami finds itself in right now. A franchise that's floundering beyond all recognition once the HOF face of its franchise retired. Name the last QB of any type of worth that Miami's had since the close of the 1999 season. Exactly. Took ya all of two seconds to come up with one answer. NONE. Miami's there because they didn't think to invest in a decent backup plan in the twilight of Marino's playing days. Green Bay's got one, but they run the risk of rendering him a mental vegetable, incapable of leading the Pack's offense through a Bingo hall much less through the Bears' D with the game on the line.
So tune in tomorrow for the next installment of As The Favre Retires...And Returns...Then Retires Again. :P
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