For all you people who think GREAT QB's....

P@ck66

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grow on trees....

Favre's too good to retire
By Steve Czaban
Brett Favre turned 36 years old this week. He won an NFL game last Sunday. So did Vinny Testaverde. He'll be 42 in November.

What's my point? You know my point. But I'll spell it out anyway.

Brett Favre is too damn young, too damn good, and on a team that is too damn bad to retire.

There. I said it.

And you know I'm not the only one thinking it, so don't shoot the messenger.

Brett Favre playing for a ready-made contender, or a team-on-the-verge next year should not be considered so outrageous. There's direct precedent for it in the form of Joe Montana. Joe Cool playing for another team than the 49ers seemed absurd at one time, but he certainly didn't disgrace himself as a Chief.

In fact, he authored some of his most stirring moments, notably the Monday Night Football comeback in Denver - and instant classic tacked onto a super-sized career highlight reel.

But the problem is, Favre has said all along, he doesn't want to start over somewhere else. Doesn't want to learn a new "system." Doesn't want to tarnish his Packer legacy. Wants to cut grass. Go to high school volleyball games. Yada, yada, whatever.

And I am well aware of the contract situation. He's under wraps until 40 and beyond. He's due tons of cash. Packers would want picks if he left for another team. Fans would revolt. The legacy would be ruined. Yada, yada, whatever.

See, all of this makes sense now. It feels good, it seems right, and you can almost sell yourself into believing it.

But here's another piece of truth. Nobody walks away from this game until the needle is buried underneath the "E.". Certainly not the stars. With the notable exceptions of Jim Brown and Barry Sanders, every guy runs the tank dry. (And don't bring the name Robert Smith in here. Sure he left early, but he's a blip on the league's history.)

Hell, we just recently got rid of old coots Emmitt Smith (36) and Jerry Rice (43). Both guys shopped themselves around to anybody and everybody with a roster spot, until even they had to ask: "What am I doing here?" There was a time when you could never imagine either guy in something other than Cowboy and 49er colors. So what? Do you think less of them now?

Deion Sanders is still running and panting after guys in the secondary for the Ravens. He too thought he was done back in 2001. Ready to go fishin'. Relax. So he quit, got bored, wasted three possibly productive years botching players' names and positions next to Boomer Esiason on CBS, before he finally came back.

And Favre is going to retire? Retire! Balderdash, I say!

Rich Gannon was the NFL MVP at the age of 37 with the Raiders! He threw for almost 5,000 yards, and had 26 touchdowns at a 67% rate! They went to the Super Bowl!

And Favre is going to retire? Retire! Fiddlecock, I say!

John Elway stuck around for years 37 and 38 as a player, and they rewarded him with his legacy. Two brilliant late January moments are now etched permanently on his Hall of Fame career. Aren't you glad he wasn't so eager to play bus driver to his kids?

And Favre is going to retire? Retire! Pish posh, I say!

The only reason that Steve Young and Troy Aikman had to hang 'em up was because their hard-drives had been temporarily erased one too many times by vicious hits. And trust me, both guys were about one more doctor-shopping opinion away from going ahead and suiting up for more anyway. Luckily, Favre hasn't had these chronic bellringers. Or Elway's trick knee. Or Montana's surgically fused spine and tendon-repaired elbow.

And he's going to retire? Sweet baby Jesus in a car seat, why? Why?

I can tell already by Packer jihadists that I have tread onto sacred soil here by even suggesting Favre as a possible Jet, Cowboy or Bronco. Or even a Redskin, Raven, or (gasp!) Lion.

The hate mail and threats of boycott have begun. But don't blame me. As Packer fans, you'll have to come to terms with reality as it exists on the ground. Favre has given your franchise over a decade of thrills, leadership, winning and respect. He owes you nothing, it is you the fans, that owe him.

You owe him the option to leave without regret. You owe him the moral support to go thrill another city's fan base for the two possibly brilliant years left in his body. You owe him the freedom to do what he might really want to do, not what he thinks you would like to see him do.

Some will say that I am half right about the absurdity of retirement now. Only that Favre should come back for a last two-year push in Green Bay, not anywhere else. This way he can save the legacy, while postponing the rocking chair.

Sorry to say it folks, but that ship has sailed. It sailed when Ted Thompson got to start pushing the personnel shopping cart. It sailed when Aaron Rodgers was drafted in the first round. It sailed when you let Marco Rivera and Mike Wahle go via free agency.

I can see a lot of what the waning few months of this football season will look like in Packerland. A talent-drained shell of a team, battered and decimated by injuries, will battle gamely through the early winter with Favre at the helm. Six wins will be an accomplishment.

With each remaining game at home, the cheers for Favre and the prolonged ovations will get louder and more heartfelt. Then on Christmas Day, Santa Brett will probably deliver one last present under the tree by beating the hated Bears. Many, many, kids in Wisconsin will wish in vain that two tickets to Lambeau for that game will be under the tree. They'll be very disappointed, before resigning themselves to watching with awe in front of their glowing TV sets.

Finally, on January 1st, the calendar will turn. A new year. A new direction. Favre starts his 241st consecutive game, including the playoffs, against the Seahawks. Against the coach who launched his brilliant run in Green Bay.

The lead-up to the game will be 24-hour news around the state. Lambeau will be standing room only 3 hours before kickoff. He will be able to do nothing wrong in the eyes of the fans that day, even if the Packers lose and he plays poorly.

Either comfortably ahead, or hopelessly behind sometime late in the fourth quarter, Favre will be in the huddle, getting ready to go, when the whistle will blow from the sideline.

Mike Sherman will call timeout, and motion Favre over for his last curtain call at the hallowed grounds. The roar will be transcendant in sports history. It will sound like one-hundred jet planes at full takeoff throttle.

It will seemingly never end. And if you are a Packer fan, you will never, ever, forget it.

I can see all of this, very easily. I just can't see it being the end.

At some point in the spring, Favre will grow tired of watching the grass grow. He'll feel the itch. He'll talk to other players. He'll read the newspapers. He'll wonder himself - is he really retired? His body will feel really, really good. The phone will ring.

Just promise yourself this: don't be mad at what might happen next.

And don't be mad at me for suggesting it
 

Ryan

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1.) Personally, I don think Favre isn't going anywhere. He has said it himself. And if he does, good for him, go and get another ring with a team and fans that brought you in to just use your skills. He's a grown man, it's his choice. Would I be happy that he did it? Sure, good for 'ole #4 winning another ring. Then again I can't say that I wouldn't feel that he was "cheating" on the Packers fans and the people of WI.

He owes you nothing, it is you the fans, that owe him.
2.) Why is it that I owe Favre something? I have sat in the stands and supported the TEAM while he was at the helm. I have seen the team win and lose games as well as Favre win and lose games on his own. It's still a team sport. And heck it is still a GAME for entertainment purposes. He, however, did make it fun to watch and I still do and always will appreciate that!
 

DePack

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Great article Pack66.

Ryan...you owe him for the thrills he's provided the past 15 years. You probably sat in the stands during the 70's and 80's also. How did that feel? The big difference between those decades and the last 15 years is Favre.
 
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P@ck66

P@ck66

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Thank god i had BEER in the 70's & 80's...

Good ol' Gennessee Cream Ale got me through..baby!
 

PackwillBEback

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P@ck66 thinks Fvre is the only quarterback the Packers are allowed to have.

He is great, but he sure wants to force him into coming back. If he does retire I bet he blames it on us.
 
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P@ck66

P@ck66

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Right Jr...

You have nothing but time to develop a rookie QB..or parade through an endless procession of sucky QB's....(which often happens in the NFL...)

Why do YOU want to rush your HOF QB out the door when there's plenty of tread left on the tires?

(I really don't understand some of you people....)
 

digsthepack

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Gennessee Cream Ale....damn, forgot about that stuff. Used to drink a lot of Blatz Light Creme Ale...little 8 pack of shorty bottles. Good stuff!!
 

Miskito

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PackwillBEback said:
P@ck66 thinks Fvre is the only quarterback the Packers are allowed to have.

He is great, but he sure wants to force him into coming back. If he does retire I bet he blames it on us.

Fightin' words! FIGHT, FIGHT!
 

DePack

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PackwillBEback said:
P@ck66 thinks Fvre is the only quarterback the Packers are allowed to have.

He is great, but he sure wants to force him into coming back. If he does retire I bet he blames it on us.

Who is "us"?
 
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P@ck66

P@ck66

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You..know..DePack..

Miskito and Phil..etc..in other words..BEAR FANS.. :shock: .(and also the so called, Packer fan turn-coats and ingrates...the ones Gravedigger used to call..nouveau Packer fans..whatever happened to Digger?)

(look at Miskito..trying to egg us on...bet you he's enjoying the hell out of it too..!)
 

DePack

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You think PackWillBeBack is a bear fan?

Man I hope you don't put Miskito in the same class as Phil. Skito's a pretty good guy. After what he has been through the past decade, I don't blame him for getting a little enjoyment from our plight.
 
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P@ck66

P@ck66

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Naaaw..

Miskito's a good fella'...

(Although he is still a Bear fan and can not be completely trusted....but what can you do?...Some people are just misguided Packer fans in Bear clothing..i think....)
 

Miskito

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You're right, P@ck66 and DePack, I do get a high amount of glee watching the schism of Packer fans. I know what it's like and am happy as punch that Bear fans are not in that situation this year. Excuse me if I've been a bit boisterous, but it's been a long time coming.
 

Miskito

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DePack said:
Enjoy it *****.........it ends in about a week and a half......do you remember 2003? :lol: :lol: :lol:

lol. I think you mean 2001. Yes, of course, I do remember. Fortunately I think that this Bears team has proven themselves winning more on talent than "lucky" plays.
 

WinnipegPackFan

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Excellent post p@ck66.

And I really agree with the fact that we owe him a little something ( not that he sees it this way ). A good start would be for TT to proclaim publicly that "He wants him back to lead the team" as would be deserved.

Other teams will have no problem saying it if we let him go though, you can bet on that my friend.
 

JbShell

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P@ck66 said:
Right Jr...

You have nothing but time to develop a rookie QB..or parade through an endless procession of sucky QB's....(which often happens in the NFL...)

Why do YOU want to rush your HOF QB out the door when there's plenty of tread left on the tires?

(I really don't understand some of you people....)

Good point Pack considering there are only two other teams that have potetial HOF QBs (Colts and Patriots)

It could be a long dark road for the Pack in the future. Defense may win Championships but Offense fills the seats. No one wants to sit in 21 below weather to see a rookie QB muddle their way through a season.
 

Miskito

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JbShell said:
if they were 2-10 at the time would you have really wanted to go and watch

After watching every game for the past 20 years and never turning down an opportunity to go to the Bears' games, I would have to say yes.
 

net

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There's an assumption that Brett Favre is still a great QB. He's in the upper echelon in the league, but if you need a primer as to where Favre stands, I hope all of you witnessed Tom Brady's performance Saturday. That is a Super Bowl level QB. By the way, Trent Dilfer won the Super Bowl. Jim McMahon won the Super Bowl. There goes that argument. If you have a defense, you don't need a great QB.

Brett Favre WAS at the Brady level not all that long ago. To assume he's still there is wrong. Tom Brady didn't throw 29 interceptions this season.

Is he better than Aaron Rodgers? You bet. But the bottom line is TT is sending all the signals Favre's way that change is in the wind. Favre's agent has been sending smoke signals that if Mariucci is the head coach, then Favre might come back. Mariucci is not on the TT call list.(See ProFootballTalk.com) Mariucci as OC is equally as off-base, especially if you look at what he did with the Detroit offense, given the talent level. He was statistically worse than your hated man, Tom Rossley.

I've been thinking about the reason for TT's "fresh face is needed" comment.

I think he became increasingly frustrated at Sherman and Rossley's inability to keep Brett within the game plan. What he saw, I think, was a player calling the shots. No corporation, regardless of customer/fan base, allows the employees to dictate to the management how things are going to go. Sherman had to go, I think, because he was so closely linked to Favre. I think TT is holding the door open to Favre, but under the context that he will stay under the new coaches guidelines. But I think TT would rather see Favre leave with a semblence of respectability.

My take is many of our free agents are going to bail, especially if they get offers from winning teams.

Next year is year one of the "New Packers", and there could be many new faces.

The question you need to ask yourself: look at the 12 playoff teams this year, and tell me, even with Brett Favre, that the Green Bay Packers in 2006, likely without Green, Davenport, Jackson, Kampman, Longwell, Henderson, Flanagan, Barry, Diggs, Ferguson etc. will be able to defeat those teams.
(TT had a chance to extend Kampman under a cap-friendly 2005 move, but didn't...which means he's letting him go out there. Kampman just had his best year).
That is why I've said the things I said about Favre. It's time to move on.
I don't want the team to lose, but it appears inevitable until a new foundation, especially offensively, is laid. Aaron Rodgers will be the new foundation, and to have him sitting on the bench when players like Grossman and Orton in Chicago and other QB's are playing is just plain stupid. Especially when you bring back a legend who won't be any younger next year.

I'm a fan of Favre's, but not a fan to the point that I simply exclude all others in an effort to bring back the past, which isn't going to happen. I also will stop being a fan of Favre's if he does come back and demands to not play within the system as he did more than once this year.
 

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