Flush the bombers, get the subs in launch mode. We are at DEFCON 1.Yes, Brett Favre has asked the New York Jets to release him from the reserve/retired list, effectively making him a 40-year old free agent.
Let’s face reality: some things just don’t change.
Favre loves keeping his options open, doesn’t mind stirring the hornets nest a little bit, and may not be ready to give up on the game (despite many signals that he probably should).
The media still loves to overblow anything that Favre does, even non-stories such as this. Why not? It’s the slow season and if there’s nothing else to print, why not embellish stories with hyberbole and innuendo.
And finally, Packers fans still love to knee-jerk react emotionally to any bit of non-news that comes out about ol’ #4.
From Bart Winkler at The Bucky Channel
From PocketDopplerI'm sure many of you that hated Favre last summer have already forgiven him, or have already moved on, but I haven't. Favre's theatrics last summer exposed his true self, and destroyed the image of a man I spent my childhood worshipping. If it was a guy of lesser importance, I'm probably over it by now, but this was Brett Favre were talking about here. This was the guy who, outside of my parents, was my hero.Now? He's just a washed up quarterback doing anything to remain in the spotlight, no matter what the cost.
While this is all speculation, rumor and hubris right now, what re-built respect and liking for Favre that I have would diminish in a heartbeat were I to see him wearing purple. Favre joining the Vikings would not be for his love of the game, his desire to compete or the want to try and go out on top. Rather it would be for vindictive and selfish reasons. Let’s hope none of this comes to pass, because the alternative to me is unfathomable.And of course, Florio can't resist...
My take on the whole drama? Who cares.Our guess? Once Cook sufficiently and successfully pestered the Broncos to trade quarterback Jay Cutler
to the Bears, Cook embarked on an effort to pester Tannenbaum to release Favre, if for no reason other than to clear out any potential impediments to the wild gray hair that might crawl up Brett’s butt in the next month or two. The next step for Cook? He’ll start pestering Bevell and Childress to start pestering Brett to provide the final piece for one of the most talented teams in NFL history at every position except the one that counts the most.
Maybe Favre is an attention seeker who can’t stand going a month without getting a headline. Maybe he really is so emotionally damaged that he just wants to keep himself in the public eye as long as he can.
So what? If it is true, why do we keep reacting to it? Why do we keep overblowing it and allowing the news outlets to get ratings for reporting it?
Maybe Favre is considering another return to the NFL, just to prove he can still do it.
Who cares? He’s not coming to Green Bay. He’s not threatening Aaron Rodgers ego or Ted Thompson’s master plan anymore. Any man has a right to earn a living, and suffer the consequences that might come with it. Who are we to pass judgment and tell him another human being isn’t allowed to work anymore, simply because it bothers us?
Maybe Favre is angry, and still wants to “stick it” to Ted Thompson somehow.
So what? We’ve all given up a long time ago believing that Brett Favre will be the one to take the high road. It isn’t in his nature. He’s a man, not a messiah. If Favre is a bad man for wanting to stick it to his old team, I assume Jay Cutler should retire also, right? You don’t think Gilbert Brown wanted to stick it to the Vikings, or Darren Sharper to the Packers? You don’t think any player who felt jilted by his old team didn’t take some extra pride in wanting to settle it like a man on the field, rather than in interviews on television?
Maybe Favre will join the Vikings!!!!
Who really cares? Seriously. I thought he should have just been allowed to join them last year. You honestly think the way he played with the Jets that he would have been the difference between a mediocre team (that went 10-6 with two gimme wins against the Lions) and a Super Bowl win? Do you honestly think Bear fans think Jim McMahon is no longer a Bear because he played a season or two as a backup for the Packers? Favre wasn't wanted, and he wanted to play.
Heck, let him go. Let him line up against the Packers on October 5 and see how excited this team is to beat him. Let the Vikings find out that getting Favre wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. Or, in the event that the Vikings win and Favre gets his “revenge”, we can rest easy that Favre will soon be out of the league and the Packers have a franchise quarterback that will still be playing when Favre is eligible for AARP.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a player in which every fan appears to have some sort of delusion of ownership over what he should do with his life, judgmental of every move he makes, word he says, and thoughts he thinks.
Who cares?
We celebrate the fact that Ted Thompson keeps to his plan, regardless of criticism or complaining from the rabble. We may not like every decision, but we can respect the fact that he is going to live or die by them.
Favre is going to do the same thing. He’s going to make decisions that are in the best interest of what he controls…his own career and life, just like we all do. It’s time that we stop rewarding the people who enjoy throwing us raw meat and watching us savagely devour it…whether it be Favre himself or the media looking to sell NFL news in a slow time of year.
It’s like that crazy friend that has a crisis every couple of days, and expects everyone to drop what they are doing and overreact with them.
Who’s crazier: the crazy friend or the people that continue to feed into the friend’s neuroses?
The friend is whoever you want it to be. Maybe you think it is Favre demanding the attention, or maybe it is the media, who love to overblow anything to do with Favre. My opinion? It’s a good share of both, as they have developed a pretty symbiotic relationship over the past several years (with Favre getting his own heading on the ESPN Bottom Line Ticker). But that relationship formed for one reason: because All Things Favre always…always….gets the reaction from us that they want. More papers sold, more hits on websites, more angst and squabbling.
They have Packer fans pretty well trained, don’t they?
I thought it was last year we were supposed to cross the Rubicon, and move on because “that train has left the station”.
That’s the Packers’ line…how about we follow suit?
3 comments:
VERY well said. I actually hope that favre joins the vikings. I want him to get his 'revenge' and realize that he should have retired in 2007. Sure it was his decision but just like him, I can have a view point and say he should have retired.
On the other had Favre did get paid 10 mil last year. I probably would not have retired either, they would need a wheel chair to get me off the feild if i was making 10 mil a year.
Good point, about the money, Graham.
I agree, simply put, Favre should have stayed retired and left the end to the movie, like it was. Now, only creative license can cure that canker sore. [I hear they're still working on the Lombardi movie]
This whole situation bears mentioning just who Favre thought deserved respect, as far as Coaches & GM's go. Favre knew not to smuck off to Holmgren. And face it, with Wolf's tendency to grab a few Free Agents every offseason, we did keep the balance of veteran leadership with new blood. In that area, Thompson still needs to get his legs under him. Although TT is much better at keeping money in the piggy bank than just about any other GM I can think of. And, he's pretty good at re-signing our own players before issues get out of hand.
Over here? This whole situation is all about Favre and his Gunslinger EGO. Sherman damn sure never stood up to Favre. And Rhodes sure got shafted by him. I'm betting that if you were to ask Ray about it, he would certainly kill a few Hero balloons about ol' #4.
I would have to ponder that Ray somehow thought things would be as they were when Holmgren was there, instead of what he got, after Mikey left. A 6'5" HC is quite intimmidating. Whereas Ray Rhodes not being anywhere near that tall is what? And, when your star player is the locker room leader now that Reggie was no longer around, and then he's suddenly quit on ya?
Bottom Line? Favre's mad he wasn't getting everything his way. Thompson's been standing up to Favre since day one of his return to Lambeau Field. And for 6 years, Favre was who ran the show. It was Favre that suggested Sherman go and get Joe Johnson, among other items. Favre was being allowed to sway Team Meetings and decisions about Team Operations.
We're not talking about lunch inside Lambeau chatter. That's what all star QBs do, like Manning does down here. Bill Polian still does things his way and Peyton don't push his luck down here. Up at Lambeau, however, the story is things were much, much different. One wonders what Mike Sherman might have to say about it, pending the conversation never makes it to the Press.
I remember reading how Andy Reid advised Dorsey Levens that he would finally open up about Holmgren's decision to pull Levens out of SB32, sitting him on the bench basically, once Levens was totally out of football. In the 1st half of SB32, Levens was running right over the Denver Defense. So there are always issues and situations going on inside any Team. It's just that not everyone chooses to be tight-lipped about it when the EGO steps over that fine line.
What does Favre need to do?
He needs to come back and apologize, to Ted, to the Team, and to the Fans. All at the same time.
Only fans who think certain things should be ignored in favor of..... -- think Favre is the victim here. He's not. We are!
Personally, Andy Reid was available the year they hired Ray Rhodes. I was loudly calling for that one, but I think the Packers had painted themselves into a corner after ranting for years about how Sherman Lewis was worthy of a head coaching job.
Think how different 1999-2005 might have been under Reid.
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