Posted on 08/07/2008 5:14:30 PM PDT by CIDKauf
The Brett Favre era in Green Bay is now officially over. But his legendary career is not.
The month-long saga has finally come to an end, with the Packers agreeing to trade their future Hall-of-Fame quarterback to the New York Jets, FOXSports.com first reported Wednesday night. "We're going to take this one year at a time," Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum said on a conference call early Thursday morning. "We're excited to have Brett on the team this year."
(Excerpt) Read more at msn.foxsports.com ...
I have a feeling the Packers are gonna fall on their face and have a losing record and there will be lots of angry Packers fans wonder ‘what if?’. Farve put the Packers in a tough spot, but the Packers would have been a better team with Farve behind center.
Love it when bad things happen to bad people. Shoulda stayed away Brett.
Why would a guy turn a great career into an annoying footnote? Good luck to him and the Jets. I think they’ll need it.
Ryan Grant? BIG ??? Should have stayed in the league to begin with.
Should have never retired and stayed a Packer!
Farve was dumb to quit a team that was close to getting to the Super Bowl.
I couldn’t agree more...I had to use him in FFL because Hasselback was out...what a great year. I can’t believe he retired. He’ll have a tough time in NY due to the fans and media...besides the Jets stink!
The Jets will be decent this year, but the AFC is tough and the Jets have only a small shot at the playoff.
New England is in their way...maybe finish 2nd because Bills and Fins are also terrible...
No, we will not freak out if Favre has a great year and the Packers do not. We hope Favre succeeds with the Jets; we love the guy and harbor no ill will toward him. In the not too distant future, his number will be retired and he will be inducted into at least two football halls of fame.
But paid, skilled professional evaluators of professional football talent and ability believe that Favre's skills (which are undoubtedly diminishing) will drop off significantly at some time soon, and they need to promote the heir apparent to the QB position and give him a chance.
Favre did not shed a tear for Don Majkowski, the Packers' previous QB, when he went down to injury and took the starting job from him. And that is despite the fact that there has long been an unwritten rule in the NFL that a player does not lose his starting job due to an injury. This is just the way things are in the NFL sometimes.
If you have followed the non-hyped stories, the Packers were content to have Favre return this season; all he had to do was commit before the NFL draft. He could not. He tearfully announced his retirement after openly considering it for several years. And the Packers spent 2 draft choices on new QBs and moved on. The rest of the team attended off season workouts and practices. Favre was home in Mississippi. The Packers installed a new offense structured around its new QB, and worked to build team chemistry with the new QB as its leader. Favre stayed in Mississippi. (In sharp contrast, last year Favre had a personal trainer live with him for 8 weeks in the off season, and he trained hard to get in peak condition. He also attended the off season workouts he was asked to attend.)
Favre's decision to un-retire came as a surprise to the Packers, and they may not have been expert at the PR end of things, but they ultimately made the right choice for the team - in their view. As a fan, I am willing to trust their judgment, and reserve my own judgment, while we all wait and see how things go with Aaron Rodgers at QB.
I hope Favre plays beyond this year and has a ball playing. I will be there when he is inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton. He is a great person and athlete, but he has always had his share of human flaws. Maybe that's why I like him so much; he's human and imperfect.
Go Pack!
There are street smarts and there are book smarts and there are football smarts. In the case of Farve, one out of three isn't bad.
No doubt, it was Farve’s own fault and he put the Packers in a bad situation by waiting so long. But the Packers have a good team that can win, and to risk it all on an unproven QB is a huge risk. Old QB’s can win, even with diminishing athletic abilities. Warren Moon played until 42. George Blanda played at 48 and played in a championship game at 42. Testeverde won at game at nearly the age of 44. Jeff Garcia lead TB last year to the playoffs at 37. I would take experienced proven 38 year old QB over an unproven younger QB any day of the week. The Pakcers were in between a rock and a hard place, but the Packers made a risky move that I think is a mistake.
There was plenty of stupid to go around for everyone involved.
The Jets are a perfect team for him, since they were 4-12 last year and just need to get into the playoffs for next season to be considered a success.
Alright! He immediately upgrades the Jets from moribund to not-quite-mediocre.
As long as I wear my lucky A J HAwk jersey the packers should do just fine. LOL!
Packers finally tell Favre that he’s not wanted
Bob McGinn (jsonline.com)
Posted: Aug. 5, 2008
Green Bay - Several times over the years, Brett Favre would ponder his future in football and tell people that he would play "until the Packers don't want me anymore."
Underneath all the twists and turns, sources and stories, interviews and indignities, was one salient fact that never changed:
Favre wasn't wanted in Green Bay.
It took Favre almost seven months to figure it out, but figure it out he finally did Tuesday when Mike McCarthy at last gave it to him straight.
Then Favre drove out of Lambeau Field, in all probability never to wear the No. 4 jersey again that was front and center in one of the most amazing reclamation projects in National Football League history.
Parting company with any legendary athlete is next to impossible, but one with apparent usefulness is impossible. The Packers found themselves caught in a public-relations vice, trying to distance themselves from an all-time great who just wouldn't go away.
From a purely football perspective, the organizational shift against Favre began that November night in Dallas, gained steam in the arctic cold of Soldier Field and became a blaze during Favre's pathetic second-half showing against the New York Giants with a Super Bowl there for the taking.
Just about everyone who counted in the football department reached the conclusion that Favre could never win another championship. His dismal playoff record in the past decade couldn't be overlooked. And the Packers concluded that it would be the mother of all mistakes if Aaron Rodgers got away without being properly evaluated as a starter.
Favre had one chance, and one chance only, to salvage his career in Green Bay. He had to commit wholeheartedly for another season by early March.
One could argue that the Packers erred by asking Favre for an answer that early. But having been hung out to dry by Favre too often in the past, they were in no mood for drama. Their days of mollycoddling were over.
The Packers would have taken back Favre as the starter, albeit reluctantly, if he had acted like any other player and not some diva. That is, show up for work in late March, practice until mid-June and be in exceptional condition by July 28.
That's never too much to expect.
Once Favre tearfully retired, the die was cast. The singular comment made by Favre on March 6 that remains etched indelibly was his admission that he really didn't want the ball in the clutch anymore.
After that, the Packers cut the cord, and rightly so. Favre had come across to most as an emotionally spent 38-year-old with nothing left athletically that he cared to give.
Shortly after the draft, Mike McCarthy basically told his players that he was in charge of this team, not Favre, and that it was critical to rally around Rodgers. Then Rodgers began inviting players to his home. To McCarthy, the off-season is absolutely crucial, and with his entire being he anointed Rodgers.
No matter what Favre might have tried after March 6, he couldn't have turned the tide.
When Favre made overtures in late March about a return, the Packers felt compelled to go meet with him even though in reality they had little or no interest.
In late June, when Favre phoned McCarthy to tell him he might play, the Packers probably were dying inside.
And then came the last month, with Favre formally asking for his release, finally submitting his letter for reinstatement and then flying to Green Bay on Sunday night.
The Packers blame themselves for making some communication gaffes along the way, which they did. They gave away their motives by announcing plans far too early to retire Favre's jersey and to send him his locker. Ted Thompson hid behind too many no-comments.
But when the endgame is to remove a legend, there is no smooth way of doing it.
Favre went on to risk his future as a heroic figure in the state for perpetuity by his actions last month. All but calling Thompson a liar. Revealing intimate details of conversations with Thompson and McCarthy. Selling out offensive line coach James Campen after he went out of his way to help his old pal.
During one interview, Favre criticized Thompson for not interviewing his buddy, Steve Mariucci, for the job that went to McCarthy. After the horrendous job that Mariucci did in Detroit, Thompson would have been roasted for even considering Mariucci, let alone hiring him.
Those were just a few examples of Favre operating almost in a delusional state, hearing only what he wanted to hear and acting as if he was larger than the team.
Some would say, in fact some are saying, that the Packers would be nothing and will be nothing without Favre.
Nevertheless, this was the proper time to determine if that's true by going with one of several young men over one old man. McCarthy's expertise is in quarterback play. His future, as well as Thompson's, will hinge on developing the three quarterbacks on the roster. Failing that, they must quickly find another one who can play.
Last winter, the Packers began talks with Favre about giving him at least $20 million over 10 years in exchange for shaking some hands and making a few appearances. How can a $20 million golden parachute be construed as bribery?
It was a creative step by the organization to present Favre with an honorable go-away present, but in the end became just another decision that poisoned Favre's attitude toward the club.
Against this wholly expected backdrop of ugliness, the Packers will try to get something for Favre in trade. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been interested all along, but is Favre?
If Tampa Bay stays with Jeff Garcia, the Packers might well follow up on the feeler that they sent out Friday to the Minnesota Vikings.
As for Rodgers, he needs to shape up. After a promising first three days, he had relatively bad practices Friday, Saturday and Monday sandwiched around a subpar scrimmage Sunday.
Yes, it has been an untenable situation for Rodgers. OK, so what? Now it's time for Rodgers to start performing at the level that McCarthy keeps saying that he will. There's little else but McCarthy's track record to vouch for Rodgers at this point.
Speculation that the Packers might make it an open competition between Rodgers and Favre was a farce. The club floated that idea to promote trade value as well as to placate players, fans and coaches in the unlikely event that Favre got on the practice field.
If the job had been opened to Favre, it would have meant just one thing: McCarthy had lost faith in Rodgers after the first week.
The Packers, just like every other team in the NFC North, hope to win by rushing the ball and playing defense this season.
One week after the Giants loss, it was written here that Thompson's off-season agenda contained three major items: what to do about Favre, defensive coordinator Bob Sanders and the zone run game.
Green Bay made its preferred change on the first item, remaining status quo on the other two. Sanders and the run game had better be dynamic because the quarterbacking probably won't be nearly as good as it was in 2007, when an all-time great had a very good year.
The Packers went with the odds saying Favre never would play that well again. Now they need Rodgers to pull his weight for what has the makings almost everywhere else of being another top team.
We just posted ringtone-ready Jets audio over at Entertonement: http://entertonement.com/clips?keywords=J-E-T-S
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