Brett Favre did the NFL a tremendous disservice for the past two off seasons and should be punished. I know we are all tired of everything that is Brett Favre, but humor me for a second and lets recap. Aaron Rodgers was drafted in '05 as a future replacement for an aging veteran who made a yearly routine out of going back and forth on the retirement decision, of course only doing so to stroke his ego by having us say how great he is and how he should stay and how we love him and how he is the ultimate champion (despite having only 1 superbowl to his credit...12 years ago... against an overmatched Patriots team). He didn't retire. Fine. Then, he finally decides to hang it up after a successful season, effectively handing over the keys to Aaron Rodgers. Perfect way to go out, right? Wrong! Taking a page out of the Michael Jordan/Magic Johnson "How To Unretire and Totally Screw Up My Legacy" book, he decides that he wants those keys back and demands that Rodgers scoots over to ride shotgun, because he has one good ride left in him. Packers response, Uh, no! So he throws a pissy fit in the media, making himself, the Packers, and the NFL look like a bunch of idiots. I know many of you are still fuming at my dismissal of his superbowl victory, but lets take a quick look at his Superbowl resume for a second:
Favre played in two Superbowls, favored in both, won one. Here was his journey to that title.
--> In the '96-'97 playoffs, the Packers had Favre throwing for 79 yards in a victory over the 49ers, who were led by an injured Steve Young who missed the last 3 quarters of the previous game game with rib injury. Then, they followed this up with a victory over the "vaunted" Carolina Panthers, who were an expansion team two seasons prior. This earned them a trip to the Superbowl to face the Patriots, who themselves earned the trip by taking down the expansion Jaguars- a very underwhelming postseason, I must say. Dan Marino and Warren Moon could have only hoped for the stars to line up like that!
Now, back to the show. Fast forward past his ugly year with the Jets in which his arm strength was reminiscent of a New Orleans Saints Danny Wuerffel, he retires again, of course promising the Jets that was definitely done, and would not be coming back. Then, he gets the Vikings all hot in the pants about the prospects of him playing again (he gets surgery, we see him on Sportscenter every week with a kid-like smile, throwing the ball to local high schoolers), only to wait until a month before the season begins to decide that he's not mentally into the comeback, and will not come back with the Vikings this year. Before this decision, Vikings players Adrian Peterson, Jared Allen & co. sent Favre several texts telling him how much they needed him and wanted him to come play for them (how did that get out, huh? Hmmm, I wonder...). Then, Vikings coach Brad Childress absolutely ruins his relationship with his current quarterbacks: "uh, honey, sure I love you and want to be with you always, I just want to not be with you for a little while and see if Monica down the street wouldn't mind taking a run at it for a while. Oh what's that Monica, you're no longer interested? Okay baby, I'm back! Just me and you." Could that situation turn out any other way but horrible? But the funniest part about all of this is, Favre says that he still wants to leave the door open in case he decides later that he wants to come back during the season! Classic!
So what to do about all of this? Well, in my opinion, Goodell, who is always on the lookout for athletes who tarnish the image of the NFL, should punish him. How do you punish someone who is already retired? Hall of Fame! Retired players are eligible to be enshrined five years after their last NFL game. As punishment, Favre should serve a 1 year Hall suspension, not allowing him to be eligible for 6 years instead of 5. Not a big penalty, but enough to hopefully let Favre know that his selfish actions have consequences, and to dissuade others from taking similar courses. What do you think?
Robb Starzz
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Ok, you're nuts man! Punish Brett for what? It is the media, the Vikings, and our fault as sports fans that Brett is able to waffle back and forth with his decisions. If the Vikings didn't show interest in him then there would be no more Favre drama. You can't dance when the DJ says "couples only" by yourself. I don't agree with what Brett has done, but punish him because he can't make up his mind? That's crazy...
ReplyDeleteGoing back to his legacy...Brett has won only one Super Bowl. He is viewed as a demi-god for other reasons besides his Super Bowl victory. He put Green Bay back on the NFL map. Do you remember what Titletown was like before Favre? 4-12 seasons and they were a laughing stock. Remember, they drafted Tony Mandarich in 1989! But let's review some of their other first round picks in the years before Brett got there: 87' Brett...Fullwood, 88' Sterling Sharpe (career cut way too short, he was my fav WR back then. Muscles, hands, and could run. If Brett had him for 10yrs they win 2 or 3 Super Bowls), 89' is the famous steroid boy Mandarich, 90' Tony Bennett (who??? A fullback?), 91' Vinnie Clark, and in 92' Deion Sanders, oops, I mean Terrell Buckley!!!! That's what they have to show for years of being terrible. Those picks rival the Clipper's picks of the 80s and 90s! He turned that franchise around AND won a Super Bowl. Not to mention he broke every major career QB record. While he never had that one amazing Marino 84', Manning 04', or Brady 07' year he was consistent throughout. To put it another way (and I'm ashamed to say this because I'm not Favre fan at all) he is the Hank Aaron of QBs (yes I said it). Hank Aaron never had Babe Ruth's creditials or hit 50 HRs in a season but he was a constant 35-45HR guy for 20yrs. That's Brett. he also has the record for most consecutive starts by a QB at 269 (remember, they only play 16 game seasons!). Another thing that Brett should get credit for is making the QB spot a rough and rugged position again. He wasn't clean shaven, didn't do a lot of commercials (like Namath, Montana, or Tankentan), wasn't a sissy, and enjoyed playing the game (who can forget him running around after the bomb to Andre Bad Moon Rison in the Super Bowl or him jumping in Warren Sapp's face after he was leveled after a throw?).
Again, I don't agree with his actions after he announced his retirement last year, but he has the right to change his mind. Afterall, we live in America!
End of Part 1...
Even more, If I was the the Packers I would have taken him back last year (yes I said that too, just hear me out). They were an overtime away from going to the Super Bowl the previous year and he had a great season. So what if he didn't want to go to OTAs or missed a little bit of training camp? He knew the system better than anyone there and he had chemistry with his WRs. Rodgers wasn't going to take them to the playoffs, and the last I checked I thought that's why we played the game (don't believe me, just ask Herm Edwards). The Packers only drafted Rodgers because he fell into their laps with the 24th pick in 05' (as I predicted!!! My best prediction ever by the way. Rodgers was battling Alex Smith for the #1 pick that year, no one but me saw him slipping down to the Pack. I bet the 49ers would call a major "Do Over" if they could). They weren't looking for a Favre replacement until they made that pick. Not letting Favre come back was Mike McCarthy's way of taking control of Green Bay. Don't think so? They why didn't he at least let him compete for the starting spot and block certain teams from trading for Brett (namely the Vikings)? And why did GB make it so that if the Jets traded him to Minnesota that the Jets would have to give them 3 1st Round picks? McCarthy cut off his nose to spite his face. And look at how wide open the NFC was this year, the ARIZONA CARDINALS went to the Super Bowl and were one Santonio Holmes great catch away from being World Champs!
ReplyDeleteI also don't blame the Vikes for begging him to come out of retirement. Look at their QB options, Jackson and Sage?!?! Enough said! jackson couldn't run a High School offense or throw against a HS defense 30 times ( he can't do it at the NFL level. The Vikes are 0-5 when he has to throw 30+ times in his career. At some point in every season a QB has to take the reins and make big throws and have big games. The only guy I can think of who didn't have to was Jim McMahon. Even Trent Dilfer had to, remember his throw to Stokley in the Super Bowl). And Sage was a backup Texan QB last year. Combined they don't make a good QB! I would've begged the owner to move the Vikings to Mississippi for the year if that would've helped. And who cares about their feelings now. Childress knows that at best his team is 10-6 if Peterson stays healthy his year. And they aren't better than Philly, NYG, the Cards, and Chicago, Washington, and GB will give them a run for their money. You need a QB to win in the NFL. Even with hurt feelings, Jackson and Rosenfels can't play any worse than they already do. Maybe this might actually motivate one of them to play better, but in the long run they just aren't good QBs. Nothing you can do about that except try to upgrade, which Minnesota did. It didn't work, but at least they tried. But hey, maybe they start good and both QBs are driving in the same car and get into an accident and break a leg...they maybe Brett would come back and finish off the job the way Steve Fischer did in 1989 with Michigan or Jon Gruden did in Super Bowl 37.
Ignorance, thats what he should be punished for! Should Pac Man Jones' penalties be any more stiff because he likes to partake in an occasional steak at a fine establishment that just happens to have a "clothing optional" policy for its employees? Yes! Image is everything. Lets look at the NBA dresscode for example. If you embarrass the league by not looking professional, you pay a fine. You criticize the refs, you pay a fine, you don't talk to the media, you pay a fine. Image. Yes the Vikings are definitely at fault too, but what Favre did is akin to luring someone out of a relationship only to break up with them once they've damaged things with their significant other. Was it a bad move to put all of your eggs in one basket for a player is, at best, schitzophrenic when making decisions? Sure. But Favre's antics over the past few seasons are deplorable and should not go unpunished. Maybe if he engaged in "precipitation rituals" with the aforementioned Pac Man Jones, Goodell might take a notice...or maybe not.
ReplyDeleteI do remember you telling me that Rodgers was going to drop. That was pretty amazing I must say. Maybe you should take over for Mel Kiper because that guy hasn't been right about anything that wasn't obvious since the times of Reaganomics! I think it was also you that said that Mario Williams was indeed a better pick than Reggie Bush. Two for two. But on this Favre deal, you're wrong. Yes, Rodgers fell into their lap, but they had been on the hunt for a replacement for years and no one fell into their lap. Add to that the fact that they were always pressured to build around Favre to hel p him win NOW instead of building for the future. When Favre actually retired, they couldn't bring him back. Rodgers, proved to be a good QB (Brett would've done the same in GB this year-look at the horrible seasons that preceded that lucky season) and was growing disenchanted by Favre talking retirement and then coming back. If they gave that job back to Favre, who would have given them a half of a season (don't forget how his arm fell of like an old He-Man action figure after starting the season off 8-3), who knows what that would have done to Rodgers. Demand a trade maybe? What was his contract status at that time? Besides, its not like Favre would have gotten them to the promise land. Smart choice on GBs part.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, they do both suck, and I don't understand what they were doing by picking up Thyme, Oregano, or whatever his name is, but there is just no way they can repair that into any sort of a relationship. Those are the horses that they are going into battle with, and unless they had a backup plan, or knew that Brett was coming in (which I am convinced that Brett told them in private that he was on board), then it should not have been done. Period.
First off Brett DID NOT make contact with Minnesota first. Childress reached out to him in hopes that he might not truly be done with football. In that regard, he played on Brett's whaffling over the past few years to hopefully get him in the purple and gold jersey. And since when is it illegal for someone to be unsure of retirement? If no teams were interested then it wouldn't matter if Brett was having second thoughts or not. Childress still did the right thing by his organization and for himself. A coach's shelf life is only a few years at their current job and you must win now. Building for future ensures that the next coach they bring in will reap the rewards of your player evaluations and draft picks. Brad knows he can't win with Tarvaris or SAGE so why not try to upgrade and go for it all? Oh, and if you can lure someone out of a relationship then they probably shouldn't have been there in the first place. And I'm not so sure you can call what Brad has with those two QBs as a relationship. They're the girl at the club that you dance with but at the end of the night when the lights come on you see that they're ugly and out of pity you give them your phone number just hoping they won't call. Except they do and you have to keep playing "phone tag" with them.
ReplyDeleteI do like your point about Brett's injury, his production did drop off in last few weeks. But I think the Jets relied on him too much down the stretch to throw the football. They let the "Favre Mystique" cloud their judgement. It didn't help that Mangini doesn't like to run the ball nor did he have faith in Thomas Jones. If Brett was in GB they would've walked away with division in late November and he would've been able to rest his shoulder while letting Rodgers get a little PT. The Pack also had Ryan Grant who they trusted to run the rock so not as much pressure would've been on Brett to throw.
I do agree that Rodgers is a good QB (not great though), but GB had never looked for a future replacement for Brett untill that fateful draft. If they had been looking they would've actively gone after a QB in a draft (before the 5th Round)or signed one at some point in time. ALl of Brett's back-ups were always journeymen type who would never do anything besides hold a clipboard and give those crazy hand gestures next to the OC or drafted after the 4th round and left because Brett was playing at a high level. Let's look at their draft history of QBs since 1992 shall we? 92' Ty Detmer 9th Round, 93' Mark Brunell 5th Round, 98' Matt Hasselbeck 6th Round, and Craig Nall in 02' 5th Round. Of course we all know that Brunell and Hasselbeck became good QBs. But they were drafted late and at a time when Brett was amazing and the center of the NFL universe. No other QB was drafted until Rodgers "fell" to them in 2005. If you're looking for your future QB you don't wait on the sidelines and see what falls to you.