A Minnesota Writer Gets It Right.

Raider Pride

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Surprised this was not posted yesterday, as it was in Monday's morning paper.

The fact is people this guy makes some sense. NOTE I said "SOME"


Jim Souhan, Star Tribune

This is not an insult to Brett Favre, or even the Packers.

This is offered from afar, without malice or emotion, because I am in the blessed position of never caring who wins or loses any game, including tonight's between the Vikings and Packers.

It is time for the Packers to plan for their future -- and if their future is to become a product of planning and not hero worship, that planning must include Favre's departure.

This is not an insult because there is no reason to insult Favre. He spent the last offseason getting himself into impeccable shape, allowing him to often look like his old self this year.

He was the best player on the Metrodome field last time these teams met, the Packers losing because of the limited talent around Favre, not because of Favre himself.

(In a recent exclusive interview, Kevin Garnett blamed that lack of talent on Kevin McHale. But we digress.)

The 2005 Packers are a smorgasbord of bad decisions and injuries, but mostly they are typical of a winning NFL franchise -- they eventually must decline, as the result of salary cap restrictions and draft placement.

Except for the occasional game where Favre has allowed desperation to force him into his patented silly mistakes, he has kept a remarkably flawed team competitive in games when his team should have been overmatched.

In four of the past five games played between the Packers and Vikings, Favre has played like the Hall of Famer he will be. In the other -- last year's playoff game -- he allowed Bad Brett to surface.

Bad Brett is the talented quarterback who assumes he must make wildly creative plays for his team to win, when, often, his wildly creative plays keep his team from winning.

Favre has played in 216 consecutive games. It is a streak to admire because of his toughness, but one to regret if you are a Packer fan taking the long view.

Favre's streak has allowed the Packers to avoid developing a good second quarterback, not to mention a future franchise quarterback.

New General Manager Ted Thompson oversaw the drafting of Favre's potential successor this spring.

The Packers chose Cal quarterback Aaron Rodgers with the 24th pick in the draft, indicating that Thompson cared more about life after Brett than bolstering the Packers' weaknesses, which, if you want to get specific, are as follows:

1) Offense.

2) Defense.

Packer conspiracy theorists -- when not scouring photos of old Super Bowl parade for glimpses of Lombardi's ghost -- believe Thompson would like to make this the last year for two noted members of the old guard: Coach Mike Sherman and Favre.

If you live in Minnesota, it's hard to blame many of the Packers' failings on either. Both have won their share of big games against the Purple.

But Sherman failed in his old moonlighting job as general manager to build a championship team around Favre, and assuming Favre will play well until he his social security benefits kick in is slightly optimistic.

Favre is not young enough to build around, nor dominant enough to win now. Even Dan Marino, perhaps the best pure passer in NFL history, wasn't good enough to win a Super Bowl by himself.

Thompson knows he can't count on Favre quitting. He knows he can't count on Sherman to get rid of Favre. He knows whoever asks Favre to depart will become a public enemy in Green Bay.

Somebody will have to play the role of bad guy, and whoever does so should receive Christmas cards for life from Favre.

Ship him to Miami, where Nick Saban looks capable of building a winner.

Ship him to New Orleans if the Saints return there, leaving Favre a short drive to his hometown of Kiln, Miss.

Ship him somewhere he can finish his career in style -- style being the opposite of fans wearing fake blocks of cheese on their heads.

Favre is still good enough to win with a lot of NFL teams -- just not the Packers. He still has time to pad his resumé, perhaps even to put a Super Bowl ring on a finger other than his ring finger.

So this will be a strange experience tonight, knowing that Favre could be playing his last game against the Vikings in Lambeau Field, knowing that it will be more to his benefit than the Vikings' if he never plays them in Lambeau again.
 

Obi1

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I think that this writer is trying to be rid of Favre. He should seek counseling.

Also, he is off base abut about the Packers NOT developing a future QB.
Brunell, Brooks, Detmer, are few of the names that were developed behind Favre.

Do you really think at this point in his career that he wants to "...pad his resume..."?
 

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While the words flow rather well - it's still Michael Irvin hype.....

When Brett is "leading the League" - Michael Irvin clams up - as will this guy....
When it doesn't go so well - suddenly, we have to put up with Irvin and the "I told you so" routine... he's a hypocite and a farce.

No one ever said Brett was perfect and in this guy's hometown - they're winging it, as well... Did he write anything about Brad Johnson, who is only one year behind Brett? Probably not....

MOST of the Sports Press Corps... all... at least, almost all... to a man.. have been pushing Brett into retirement, as if they are "in charge" of the whole scenario... that's the bull, of it all...

No one in the Player's community has anointed these armchair whatevers.... to be in charge of anything... I'd impeach the whole lot of 'em - most of the time, the only QB's which get positive remarks these days... are ALL BLACK... and that's the shame of it. The pendulum has swung the other way and is now "stuck"... when it shouldn't be....

Stuart Scott and JAWS were the only ones, last nite, calling it real.... and Stuart was even throwing paper wads at Irvin, in the process - it should have been a mud pie. And, Tom Jackson can simply take a flying leap off the Empire State bldg...

ESPN wants credibility(?) - they need to replace at least two of those black commentators for some one else... like Sterling Sharpe and possibly Boomer Esaison... even thought Boomer's not winning any brownie points these days, either... but a definitive change is certainly warranted....

FAVRE is not going anywhere else, period - when are they going to open their premeditated deaf ears??

He will retire and savor some of the good life with Deanna if it doesn't hold up for another year or two with the Pack - that's exactly how it will go.....

Ignoring certain specifics (Able Danger?) doesn't make these guys soothsayers by any stretch of the imagination.... A real Sports Reporter would include "all" of the intangibles... Bill Walsh, or no.... and tell it like it really is.. Remember, Bill Walsh traded Joe Montana away to KC - that's why I bring him into it....
 

Cheesehog

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Minnesota writer said:
Favre is not young enough to build around, nor dominant enough to win now. Even Dan Marino, perhaps the best pure passer in NFL history, wasn't good enough to win a Super Bowl by himself.


Minnesota writer said:
Favre is still good enough to win with a lot of NFL teams -- just not the Packers. He still has time to pad his resumé, perhaps even to put a Super Bowl ring on a finger other than his ring finger.

He kinda contradicts himself and also suggest Favre going to New Orleans?.what..that would be better? He does pick up on whats going on in GB but he must be getting brain freeze up there already.
 

rabidgopher04

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I read this yesterday but didn't bother with it because I didn't think it was worth discussing. It's just Queen-loving fodder, that's all.
 

net

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I've said a few of these things over time...and this is the best compilation of my thoughts I've read.

Outside of Wisconsin, others can see very clearly what is going on. The hero worship here prevents the 'faithful' from seeing the obvious: it's time to move on.

The foundation is being laid, but it isn't being laid for Brett Favre.

The conspiracy theorist in me agrees totally that part of the reason TT is here is to make a decision no Packers fan wants to make. It's time to tell the old horse, the very horse that brought you all those miles, that it's the last roundup. Favre will never leave the Packers on his own. He'll suit up when he's 50.

Bill Walsh had to show Joe Montana the door. I argue Montana is the greatest QB of all time, and that was extremely tough for them. But Walsh realized you can't build the future with the past.

This season is tough, but necessary for the Packers to finally build a championship caliber team. The salary cap was choking off any chance of getting the players necessary to really be good. The Packers were going to slowly fade to where they are now, which might be even more painful, since it would take longer to rebuild. TT simply decided to pull the plug, take the heat, and move the process forward sooner.

I applaud the writer (and RP) for bringing this forward.
 

P@ck66

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That is total Bullsh*t net...(and you know it...)

Do you honestly think the Pack would be better with Aaron Rodgers...?

(then you have more screws loose then even I imagined....)

HOw come you never hear this crap about....I have news for you...Favre has not lost a thing...and that's coming from Coach Mike Ditka on ESPN...

BUT WHO DOES HE HAVE TO THROW TO NET...WHEN ARE THE PACKERS GOING TO GET HIM THE WORLD CLASS RECEIVERS THAT THEY HAVE PROMISED FOR YEARS..???

Hey..i like Donald Driver...but he's no Steve Smith...or like the guys in Arizona and Cincinnati..he can't do it all...

Trent Green
Brad Johnson
Vinny Testeverde
Mark Brunnell
etc..etc...

(net said..)

"This season is tough, but necessary for the Packers to finally build a championship caliber team. The salary cap was choking off any chance of getting the players necessary to really be good. The Packers were going to slowly fade to where they are now.."

(Are you saying Sherman FAILED in this regard..then..)

(Bullsh*t..there are plenty of teams who would feel lucky to have Favre for 2-3 years lead them to the SB...)

(Well net..you got your wish..MEDIOCRITY..Welcome back to the 1970's..Pack Fans!!)
 

PackerChick

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Raider Pride said:
Surprised this was not posted yesterday, as it was in Monday's morning paper.

The fact is people this guy makes some sense. NOTE I said "SOME"


Jim Souhan, Star Tribune

This is not an insult to Brett Favre, or even the Packers.

This is offered from afar, without malice or emotion, because I am in the blessed position of never caring who wins or loses any game, including tonight's between the Vikings and Packers.

It is time for the Packers to plan for their future -- and if their future is to become a product of planning and not hero worship, that planning must include Favre's departure.

This is not an insult because there is no reason to insult Favre. He spent the last offseason getting himself into impeccable shape, allowing him to often look like his old self this year.

He was the best player on the Metrodome field last time these teams met, the Packers losing because of the limited talent around Favre, not because of Favre himself.

(In a recent exclusive interview, Kevin Garnett blamed that lack of talent on Kevin McHale. But we digress.)

The 2005 Packers are a smorgasbord of bad decisions and injuries, but mostly they are typical of a winning NFL franchise -- they eventually must decline, as the result of salary cap restrictions and draft placement.

Except for the occasional game where Favre has allowed desperation to force him into his patented silly mistakes, he has kept a remarkably flawed team competitive in games when his team should have been overmatched.

In four of the past five games played between the Packers and Vikings, Favre has played like the Hall of Famer he will be. In the other -- last year's playoff game -- he allowed Bad Brett to surface.

Bad Brett is the talented quarterback who assumes he must make wildly creative plays for his team to win, when, often, his wildly creative plays keep his team from winning.

Favre has played in 216 consecutive games. It is a streak to admire because of his toughness, but one to regret if you are a Packer fan taking the long view.

Favre's streak has allowed the Packers to avoid developing a good second quarterback, not to mention a future franchise quarterback.

New General Manager Ted Thompson oversaw the drafting of Favre's potential successor this spring.

The Packers chose Cal quarterback Aaron Rodgers with the 24th pick in the draft, indicating that Thompson cared more about life after Brett than bolstering the Packers' weaknesses, which, if you want to get specific, are as follows:

1) Offense.

2) Defense.

Packer conspiracy theorists -- when not scouring photos of old Super Bowl parade for glimpses of Lombardi's ghost -- believe Thompson would like to make this the last year for two noted members of the old guard: Coach Mike Sherman and Favre.

If you live in Minnesota, it's hard to blame many of the Packers' failings on either. Both have won their share of big games against the Purple.

But Sherman failed in his old moonlighting job as general manager to build a championship team around Favre, and assuming Favre will play well until he his social security benefits kick in is slightly optimistic.

Favre is not young enough to build around, nor dominant enough to win now. Even Dan Marino, perhaps the best pure passer in NFL history, wasn't good enough to win a Super Bowl by himself.

Thompson knows he can't count on Favre quitting. He knows he can't count on Sherman to get rid of Favre. He knows whoever asks Favre to depart will become a public enemy in Green Bay.

Somebody will have to play the role of bad guy, and whoever does so should receive Christmas cards for life from Favre.

Ship him to Miami, where Nick Saban looks capable of building a winner.

Ship him to New Orleans if the Saints return there, leaving Favre a short drive to his hometown of Kiln, Miss.

Ship him somewhere he can finish his career in style -- style being the opposite of fans wearing fake blocks of cheese on their heads.

Favre is still good enough to win with a lot of NFL teams -- just not the Packers. He still has time to pad his resumé, perhaps even to put a Super Bowl ring on a finger other than his ring finger.

So this will be a strange experience tonight, knowing that Favre could be playing his last game against the Vikings in Lambeau Field, knowing that it will be more to his benefit than the Vikings' if he never plays them in Lambeau again.

yes a decline is due to happen at one time or another. thats all I say here.
 

Zero2Cool

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I think if we had someone with some sack enough to get into Bretts face and say 'PLAY SMARTER' we wouldn't even be having this discussion. Back when we had Holmgren and Brett fubarred a play Holmgren got in his face and Brett turned things around. Who is near Brett after an INT now? Not the coach. It's almost as if the coach doesnt care.
 

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I do think Brett should walk away after this season, but it is his decision to make. It certainly wouldn't kill Rodgers to sit for one more year before getting his chance. For Thompson to trade Favre would be unthinkable. I just don't see that happening in any way, shape, or form, and I believe Favre would rather retire than play for another team.

If Thompson really wanted to force Favre out (which I don't believe he does), the way for him to do it would be by firing Mike Sherman, now that Favre has stated that he wouldn't want to play for a new coach. And that doesn't look likely, either. Bob Harlan missed his chance to get rid of Sherman last year and to bring in a new GM with no strings attached. Now Thompson is saddled with a coach who has stayed a little longer than he should have been allowed and a veteran QB who is beloved by fans and most likely won't remain effective long enough for the rest of the team's resurgence. It's a delicate situation to say the least. I don't envy him one bit.
 

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Deal with it, people.... Favre's still got that zing, and we all know it.
TT will keep Sherman for at least one more year - along with it, Brett Favre. They'll interview themselves (Sherman's anthology) to death in the off-season, but there it stands.

The part I don't like, or (more correctly?) don't see... is how Tom Rossley can never, seemingly, do any wrong.... The guy is like Zeus up on the mountaintop and throws lightning bolts at the field, which often times causes all sorts of havoc against the play ability of our own team - yet we never see much of this guy, nor does anyone question his validity, unless its Playoff Season.

Am I wrong here? What am I missing...?

I repeat my posting from earlier - when it counted, in this Vikings game, the Players failed to execute - and that ain't helpin'........!!

I, personally, think Favre will be back, for at least one more year....

Relegate this to a comment I read about Longwell and Sander --- You may have seen it, maybe not.... Apparently, neither of these two guys ever actually talk to each other - and the opinion piece talked about how Longwell thought it was quite beneath him, to do so.... talk about an elite-ist punk.... What happened to being a TEAM PLAYER....?

EVERYONE, on the Team, just needs to start swappin' notes about the game they are playing in... while the game is still on... not afterwards...

Pardon me, but wouldn't that be a Coaching issue?
 

Greg C.

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I've said all along that the Sherman/Rossley things is really a Sherman thing, because he's the head coach. Fans assume that Sherman calls the plays that work and Rossley calls the ones that don't, but I doubt that it's that simple. What matters is that the buck stops with Sherman, and if you don't like the play-calling, he's the guy to blame.

IPB: Where did you hear that Longwell doesn't talk to Sander? I hate to hear stuff like that. I had always assumed that Longwell was a decent guy. On the other hand, kickers can be pretty weird. Nobody liked Chris Jacke, even though he did a good job for the Packers back in the mid-90's.
 

rabidgopher04

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net said:
Bill Walsh had to show Joe Montana the door. I argue Montana is the greatest QB of all time, and that was extremely tough for them. But Walsh realized you can't build the future with the past.

Bill Walsh also had Steve Young right behind him. We have an untested rookie.
 

Zero2Cool

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Greg C. said:
IPB: Where did you hear that Longwell doesn't talk to Sander? I hate to hear stuff like that. I had always assumed that Longwell was a decent guy. On the other hand, kickers can be pretty weird. Nobody liked Chris Jacke, even though he did a good job for the Packers back in the mid-90's.

They don't talk? They're golfing buddies.
 

Cheesehog

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Zero2Cool said:
Greg C. said:
IPB: Where did you hear that Longwell doesn't talk to Sander? I hate to hear stuff like that. I had always assumed that Longwell was a decent guy. On the other hand, kickers can be pretty weird. Nobody liked Chris Jacke, even though he did a good job for the Packers back in the mid-90's.

They don't talk? They're golfing buddies.


Hey Ryan,.... just pay the man.
 

sixone220

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this article is just the same crap that i listen to here on sports radio everyday. today is was how the vikes offense is really starting to click and the defense has been "outstanding."
 

IPBprez

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Zero2Cool said:
Greg C. said:
IPB: Where did you hear that Longwell doesn't talk to Sander? I hate to hear stuff like that. I had always assumed that Longwell was a decent guy. On the other hand, kickers can be pretty weird. Nobody liked Chris Jacke, even though he did a good job for the Packers back in the mid-90's.

They don't talk? They're golfing buddies.

Correction here --- The golfing buddies are Mike Sherman & Tom Rossley --- which explains why Ed Donatell got the axe and not Tommy after Eagles, 2003 debacle....

I'll try and find the article - I seem to remember, it was one of two places - PackersNews, or JSonline..... Pretty prominent, too - surprised more of you hadn't seen it....
 

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Ted Thompson doesn't need throw out Favre, if he throws out Sherman, Favre will follow by himself.

That's what I would do if I wanted to get rid of Favre.
 

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