Heatherthepackgirl
Cheesehead
Posted: Jan. 17, 2007
SportsDay
When you ask Troy Aikman if he thinks Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre will return to play another season in the National Football League, he chuckles.
He chuckles not because the issue is trivial or irrelevant, but because it has become an annual ritual in pro football for so many years.
"Brett is a friend of mine," Aikman said during a conference call with reporters on Wednesday. "We have had great competitions over the years back when I was playing. We have had conversations since I got into being an analyst with Fox about some of the things he has gone through as a quarterback and when you start winding down your career."
Aikman recalls retirement talk attaching itself to Favre as far back as the 1996 Super Bowl in New Orleans.
"Going into that game that he was getting ready to play against New England, he had commented at that time if he won that game he may in fact retire. So we have been talking about Brett's retirement for a decade now."
It doesn't make sense to Aikman for anyone to offer an opinion about whether another player should retire or not.
"It really comes down to what he wants to do," Aikman said. "If he can be productive and play at the level he wants to be able to play at, and he still loves doing it, why would he not do it? I don't know why it is when a player gets to a certain age, everybody is quick to say this guy should retire."
Aikman, who will call the NFC Championship game telecast between the New Orleans Saints and host Chicago Bears on Sunday, personally thinks Favre will return.
"But it's not something I've given a lot of consideration to simply because we have talked so much about it," Aikman said.
Aikman, the former Dallas Cowboys quarterback who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame last summer, said as far as he is concerned, Favre's skills are at a high enough level to help his team win games.
"It wasn't that long ago he was throwing for 4,000 yards," Aikman said, referring to Favre's 2004 season. "I've always believed that various weaknesses within teams get exposed through the quarterback position. If your defense isn't playing well, then you are constantly playing from behind as an offense, forcing throws and doing things you might not otherwise do. If you are not running the ball particularly well, then you have to throw the ball all the time and that's not good overall for a quarterback."
Aikman said the Packers' weaknesses as a team in the 2005 season resulted in Favre's ineffectiveness.
"If he was 25 years old they'd be saying, 'Hey, he had a tough season but he's shown us in previous years how great a player he can be.' But when you get to a certain age, immediately down years start being construed as 'This guy can no longer do it.' I believe he still can be a productive quarterback, as I believe he was this year. But it's true of all quarterbacks, regardless of age, you have to have good players around you. That's even more true when you start getting older, because you cannot carry a team like you could when you were younger."
For Aikman, by no means would Favre be holding the Packers back if he decided to return.
"If the question is simply can Brett be a productive player and be a key factor in bringing this Green Bay Packer team back and help make them a playoff team, I would answer that by saying yes."
SportsDay
When you ask Troy Aikman if he thinks Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre will return to play another season in the National Football League, he chuckles.
He chuckles not because the issue is trivial or irrelevant, but because it has become an annual ritual in pro football for so many years.
"Brett is a friend of mine," Aikman said during a conference call with reporters on Wednesday. "We have had great competitions over the years back when I was playing. We have had conversations since I got into being an analyst with Fox about some of the things he has gone through as a quarterback and when you start winding down your career."
Aikman recalls retirement talk attaching itself to Favre as far back as the 1996 Super Bowl in New Orleans.
"Going into that game that he was getting ready to play against New England, he had commented at that time if he won that game he may in fact retire. So we have been talking about Brett's retirement for a decade now."
It doesn't make sense to Aikman for anyone to offer an opinion about whether another player should retire or not.
"It really comes down to what he wants to do," Aikman said. "If he can be productive and play at the level he wants to be able to play at, and he still loves doing it, why would he not do it? I don't know why it is when a player gets to a certain age, everybody is quick to say this guy should retire."
Aikman, who will call the NFC Championship game telecast between the New Orleans Saints and host Chicago Bears on Sunday, personally thinks Favre will return.
"But it's not something I've given a lot of consideration to simply because we have talked so much about it," Aikman said.
Aikman, the former Dallas Cowboys quarterback who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame last summer, said as far as he is concerned, Favre's skills are at a high enough level to help his team win games.
"It wasn't that long ago he was throwing for 4,000 yards," Aikman said, referring to Favre's 2004 season. "I've always believed that various weaknesses within teams get exposed through the quarterback position. If your defense isn't playing well, then you are constantly playing from behind as an offense, forcing throws and doing things you might not otherwise do. If you are not running the ball particularly well, then you have to throw the ball all the time and that's not good overall for a quarterback."
Aikman said the Packers' weaknesses as a team in the 2005 season resulted in Favre's ineffectiveness.
"If he was 25 years old they'd be saying, 'Hey, he had a tough season but he's shown us in previous years how great a player he can be.' But when you get to a certain age, immediately down years start being construed as 'This guy can no longer do it.' I believe he still can be a productive quarterback, as I believe he was this year. But it's true of all quarterbacks, regardless of age, you have to have good players around you. That's even more true when you start getting older, because you cannot carry a team like you could when you were younger."
For Aikman, by no means would Favre be holding the Packers back if he decided to return.
"If the question is simply can Brett be a productive player and be a key factor in bringing this Green Bay Packer team back and help make them a playoff team, I would answer that by saying yes."