Dear Brett: This ain't no love letter - NFL News - FOX Sports on MSN
Dear Brett Favre,
Hey, it's me, Jason, the leader of your MVP campaign.
Yeah, you pretty much handed that trophy to Peyton Manning last weekend. I'm not even talking about your so-so performance on the field and losing to the Panthers. I could've worked around that.
You blew it when you backed that bus over Chilly in your post-game news conference. Damn it, Brett, you gave your critics all the ammo they need to start calling you "Brat" or "Britney" or "Flava Favre" or "The White T.O."
Those last two nicknames are actually my creation. That's how hard it is being the president of your fan club. Some weeks I want to ride for you and put clown suits on Ted Thompson, Mike McCarthy and anyone who refuses to give you your proper respect and other weeks I'm ashamed of myself for jumping in the same foxhole with John Madden.
Brett, why can't you be more like Tiger Woods?
Tiger keeps it 100, Brett. Tiger keeps his mouth shut. He refuses to cooperate with the media. I'll ride or lie for Tiger 24/7/365.
You, on the other hand, fell into the media's trap. You think the more you talk the more we'll love you.
You've turned your career into "The Real World" and you spend all your free time in a confessional booth talking about everything from addiction to painkillers to sideline dustups with Chilly over playing time.
Rick Reilly must love you. Every time the going gets tough, you're on the phone with Oprah's producers hoping to book a seat on The Couch.
The truly great ones, Brett, remain a mystery. You don't see Tom Brady and Peyton Manning spilling their hearts to every reporter with an empty notebook. Jordan didn't do it. Neither did Gretzky. Hell, even a camera hound like Magic Johnson stayed relatively low key until he had to distance himself from those mid-court kisses with Isiah Thomas after contracting the HIV virus.
OK, I'll give you Muhammad Ali. But Ali needed the media to beat the draft and sell tickets to fights. Plus, Ali was king in a very different era. There was no 24-hour news cycle. TV networks didn't give assclowns like Nancy Grace and Skip Bayless their own shows.
Nope. It's clear. You've done irreparable damage to your legacy by running your mouth to the media. It doesn't matter that you're right and Chilly is an idiot. It doesn't matter that he wanted to bench you after you threw a touchdown pass to go up two scores at Green Bay. No one will care that Childress thought about pulling you from the Detroit game. And your critics will overlook that Chilly's hyper-conservative, no-audible offense allowed Carolina to hang around for three quarters and steal Sunday night's game in the fourth.
You're the bad guy. You refuse to bow to the insecure, counter-productive wishes of your overmatched coach. Those of us in the media tend to be hypocritical. Woodward and Bernstein proved to us long ago that all great journalism is done over the objection of editors. The same thing pretty much applies to quarterback play. We don't comprehend that. We think Charlie Weis made Brady great when the reality is just the opposite.
Brett, I've seen this all before.
Joe Montana went through the exact same issue during his final season in Kansas City. Marty Schottenheimer and his offensive coordinator Paul Hackett devised a similar Montana protection strategy in 1994.
The Chiefs had great defensive personnel led by Derrick Thomas and Neil Smith. The Chiefs also had a physical offensive line, a Hall of Fame running back (Marcus Allen) and two other solid backs (Greg Hill and Kimble Anders).
Well, Marty got it into his head that he could back the Chiefs into the playoffs and loose the real Joe Montana in January. Montana was furious. He *****ed (privately) the entire second half of the season about a passing game that left seven blockers to protect and three receivers in the secondary.
Montana, like you, was a warrior. He didn't want to die on his knees. He knew the Chiefs would struggle on the road in the playoffs. Sure enough, with the Chiefs' restricted offense averaging 17 points over a five-game stretch, Kansas City lost four of five games, fell to 7-7 and had to win its final two games to sneak into the postseason.
The Chiefs traveled to Miami for a wild-card playoff game and lost 27-17 to the Dolphins. Montana retired weeks later. Marty Schottenheimer left the coaching profession in 2006 having not won a playoff game since the 1993 season, the last season Montana was allowed to be Joe Montana.
Brett, you should've let Childress pull you from the game and then left him to explain the irrational decision. The Vikings had a chance to catch the Saints for the NFC No. 1 seed. Now the Eagles are nipping at the Vikes for the No. 2 seed. This whole season could turn into a disaster just because Chilly doesn't want a veteran quarterback to call a few audibles.
Had you said nothing, Brett, and created the appearance you were taking the high road, it would be open season on Chilly. Me, John Madden, Tony Kornheiser and few others could ride on this fool.
Now no one will hear us because you had to open your mouth.
Sincerely,
Jason Whitlock
