By Mike Woods
It's an admission he won't publicly admit to, for it flies in the face of everything he has said and the image he has created.
You remember when Packers quarterback Brett Favre decided to return after setting a Guinness World Record for soul searching amid a torrent of offseason criticism that said he needed to take a right-wing approach to quarterbacking.
The first thing he told the world upon his return was, "I ain't changing a thing, I am who I am, so why don't you all go find another nit to pick,'' or words to that effect.
But the gunslinger no longer is carrying just a six-shooter. He also has a pea-shooter, and he's finding it can be equally potent. He's starting to feel more comfortable with it, starting to understand the merits of its worth. Just don't expect him to admit it.
Yet the actions, as is always the case, carry more weight then the words. The gunslinger looks to be evolving into a game manager.
Not that there's anything wrong with that.
Granted, Sunday was just one game. But if you've been paying attention, it's been a slow progression since the opener. True, he threw a couple of picks against the Bears in the opener, but it came at a point in the game when the Packers were hopelessly behind, and it's hard to find fault in him taking chances at that juncture.
True, he threw a crucial pick against the Saints, but he insists he was trying to toss it away but was hit as he threw, and video evidence supports that.
Quizzed Sunday following the Packers' initial success of the year against the Lions about how often he passed on taking a long shot and settled for the sure thing, Favre was quick to downplay the truth, saying it was something not to get worked up over. Though later it was interesting to note he lamented that he threw downfield on a couple of occasions rather than taking the check-down.
You understand his reluctance to be referred to anything else than he always has been, for to play the position he does and enjoy the career he has, to suddenly be labeled as a game manager is to infer his skills are no longer five-star quality. You know he believes differently.
That said, Favre seems to be more at peace with the situation that surrounds him. Don't misunderstand, he wants to win as much as he always has. But let's just say he has gained a different perspective.
"There's nothing like winning, but there's nothing like playing, period,'' he said.
"There nothing like throwing touchdowns and making plays. I wish I could describe that to you, but there's nothing like it.''
That's a 60-yard heave from his offseason threat that the Packers needed to surround him with more talent in order to guarantee his return, the direct inference that he didn't want to suffer the indignity of another 4-12 death march.
But that remains a possibility.
"I've grown to appreciate how hard it is to win and I'm going to just enjoy this,'' he said Sunday. "And I know they (his younger mates) can't think the way I do, but appreciate this win, because I know it's going to get tougher.''
For the team and for him. Against better competition, those dump-offs will not transform into big gains, or certainly not as many. He will be tempted to try and take everything upon his shoulders, and you know what will happen if he does.
But if he can stay the course, he will have a better chance of experiencing more successes than failures, even though they may not translate into wins.
For when it comes to the risk-reward of playing quarterback on a team with a limited amount of weapons, it's far better to be rewarded than to take risks.
The only risk he faces is folks may start referring to him as an excellent game manager. But hopefully he'll get comfortable with the idea that there's nothing wrong with that.