Interesting comments from Favre
QB expresses regret, uncertainty
By TOM SILVERSTEIN
[email protected]
Posted: Dec. 28, 2005
Green Bay - Perhaps it could be chalked up to a year-long practice of others reading between the lines. Or perhaps it was just a matter of rolling with the questions heading into the season-finale Sunday against Seattle.
Whatever the reason, Brett Favre sounded Wednesday like someone who was about to play his last game.
The Green Bay Packers quarterback reiterated that his decision whether to return for a 16th NFL season has not been made and that he would wait until after Sunday to discuss his future with his family and Packers general manager Ted Thompson. But he also talked about regret over not playing better this season, concern that the club might not want him to come back and his knowledge that there is no guarantee next season will go any better than this one.
"The easy thing to do is to keep playing because that's all I know," Favre said. "But as easy as that decision is, it could be the wrong one. Because maybe I, in the process, continue to play, but maybe I'm just not as productive as I once was, or maybe I'm not the type of player they need now.
"Maybe they want to go in a different direction and they don't know how to tell Brett Favre, 'We want to go in a different direction.' "
Asked if he was aware this could be his last game, Favre said, "Absolutely. I'm well aware of that."
Thompson has made it clear that he still values Favre's talents and would like him back if his heart is still in it. But there could be major changes in the coaching staff and in the demands put on Favre next season.
There are no guarantees that Favre will be given the long leash he has had this year en route to throwing 28 interceptions, second-most in club history.
Favre said that as difficult as it has been enduring a 3-12 season, it is a misconception that he would not be able to walk away from the game after Sunday.
In one of his strongest statements in a 30-minute news conference devoted in part to announcing the donation of $179,900 from his charity foundation to 16 organizations, Favre said the 2005 season would not tarnish his legacy.
"I've had so many people say, 'Well, you can't go out that way. You've got to come back and redeem yourself and redeem this team's season,' " he said. "But in all honesty, if this is it, I have gone out on top. I mean, I really have. One season does not define me, no matter how good or how bad it is.
"And this has been a bad season, but I've had so many great memories here, so much success. . . I don't have to win a Super Bowl to go out on top. I have thought about this being it."
There would be some poeticism to Favre calling it quits after playing his final game against Mike Holmgren, the Seattle coach who helped turn the quarterback's career around in Green Bay. Holmgren will bring a 13-2 team that has clinched NFC home-field advantage into Lambeau Field, where he once stood on the home team's sideline.
Holmgren wouldn't weigh in on the Favre retirement discussion, other than to say he only knows what he sees: Favre still looks as though he can play the game.
"I just know this, when I watch him on film, physically he looks like he's the same guy," Holmgren said. "Now I'm not there every day, but to me he still looks like he has zip on the ball. He's moving very well and so - heck, a player as great as Brett Favre, he's going to make that decision. If he wants to continue playing, more power to him."
Favre, however, is in the midst of his worst NFL season. He ranks 29th in the league in passer rating with a career-low 70.5. He hasn't thrown a touchdown pass in four games and has thrown 13 interceptions in his last six.
Injuries have robbed the Green Bay offense of its top playmakers and the offensive line has been a major disappointment.
But even more disappointing for Favre is the fact he hasn't been able to raise the level of his teammates' play enough to win more games.
"I've played the game no differently than I have in the past, but the problem is that we're not good enough to overcome those mistakes that I make," Favre said. "I've needed to play the game a certain way and, at times, have not done that.
"As soon as maybe the run game is shut down or a receiver is hurt, then I feel like I have to make that play every single time I take the snap. I know better. But it's hard to fight that urge because I want to score on every play. I feel like we have to.
"That's been disappointing to me because I know that we're in a different situation this year than we have been in any other year, and I needed to play a different style of football."
If Favre were to come back next season - at a salary of $10 million and a salary-cap number of $12 million - there are no guarantees he wouldn't be thrust right back into the same situation. The Packers don't envision themselves as a rebuilding team, but they probably are.
And Favre said he recognizes he might not be the right fit for that situation.
"We have a ways to go to get back to where we were, and what direction this team wants to go may not include me - or may include me but, 'Brett, it may take a while to do this, are you willing to go along for a ride or are you willing to possibly have a season like this next year?' " Favre said. "There are no guarantees.
"As much as I would like to think that we could turn this around. . . and I could be the difference-maker, that might not be the case."
QB expresses regret, uncertainty
By TOM SILVERSTEIN
[email protected]
Posted: Dec. 28, 2005
Green Bay - Perhaps it could be chalked up to a year-long practice of others reading between the lines. Or perhaps it was just a matter of rolling with the questions heading into the season-finale Sunday against Seattle.
Whatever the reason, Brett Favre sounded Wednesday like someone who was about to play his last game.
The Green Bay Packers quarterback reiterated that his decision whether to return for a 16th NFL season has not been made and that he would wait until after Sunday to discuss his future with his family and Packers general manager Ted Thompson. But he also talked about regret over not playing better this season, concern that the club might not want him to come back and his knowledge that there is no guarantee next season will go any better than this one.
"The easy thing to do is to keep playing because that's all I know," Favre said. "But as easy as that decision is, it could be the wrong one. Because maybe I, in the process, continue to play, but maybe I'm just not as productive as I once was, or maybe I'm not the type of player they need now.
"Maybe they want to go in a different direction and they don't know how to tell Brett Favre, 'We want to go in a different direction.' "
Asked if he was aware this could be his last game, Favre said, "Absolutely. I'm well aware of that."
Thompson has made it clear that he still values Favre's talents and would like him back if his heart is still in it. But there could be major changes in the coaching staff and in the demands put on Favre next season.
There are no guarantees that Favre will be given the long leash he has had this year en route to throwing 28 interceptions, second-most in club history.
Favre said that as difficult as it has been enduring a 3-12 season, it is a misconception that he would not be able to walk away from the game after Sunday.
In one of his strongest statements in a 30-minute news conference devoted in part to announcing the donation of $179,900 from his charity foundation to 16 organizations, Favre said the 2005 season would not tarnish his legacy.
"I've had so many people say, 'Well, you can't go out that way. You've got to come back and redeem yourself and redeem this team's season,' " he said. "But in all honesty, if this is it, I have gone out on top. I mean, I really have. One season does not define me, no matter how good or how bad it is.
"And this has been a bad season, but I've had so many great memories here, so much success. . . I don't have to win a Super Bowl to go out on top. I have thought about this being it."
There would be some poeticism to Favre calling it quits after playing his final game against Mike Holmgren, the Seattle coach who helped turn the quarterback's career around in Green Bay. Holmgren will bring a 13-2 team that has clinched NFC home-field advantage into Lambeau Field, where he once stood on the home team's sideline.
Holmgren wouldn't weigh in on the Favre retirement discussion, other than to say he only knows what he sees: Favre still looks as though he can play the game.
"I just know this, when I watch him on film, physically he looks like he's the same guy," Holmgren said. "Now I'm not there every day, but to me he still looks like he has zip on the ball. He's moving very well and so - heck, a player as great as Brett Favre, he's going to make that decision. If he wants to continue playing, more power to him."
Favre, however, is in the midst of his worst NFL season. He ranks 29th in the league in passer rating with a career-low 70.5. He hasn't thrown a touchdown pass in four games and has thrown 13 interceptions in his last six.
Injuries have robbed the Green Bay offense of its top playmakers and the offensive line has been a major disappointment.
But even more disappointing for Favre is the fact he hasn't been able to raise the level of his teammates' play enough to win more games.
"I've played the game no differently than I have in the past, but the problem is that we're not good enough to overcome those mistakes that I make," Favre said. "I've needed to play the game a certain way and, at times, have not done that.
"As soon as maybe the run game is shut down or a receiver is hurt, then I feel like I have to make that play every single time I take the snap. I know better. But it's hard to fight that urge because I want to score on every play. I feel like we have to.
"That's been disappointing to me because I know that we're in a different situation this year than we have been in any other year, and I needed to play a different style of football."
If Favre were to come back next season - at a salary of $10 million and a salary-cap number of $12 million - there are no guarantees he wouldn't be thrust right back into the same situation. The Packers don't envision themselves as a rebuilding team, but they probably are.
And Favre said he recognizes he might not be the right fit for that situation.
"We have a ways to go to get back to where we were, and what direction this team wants to go may not include me - or may include me but, 'Brett, it may take a while to do this, are you willing to go along for a ride or are you willing to possibly have a season like this next year?' " Favre said. "There are no guarantees.
"As much as I would like to think that we could turn this around. . . and I could be the difference-maker, that might not be the case."
