Sick of it - I must vent!

[pyledriver80]

You know, I used to pride myself in being a Packer fan. Packer fans are a breed of thier own. Lately however, some of the members on this board have started questioning #4 and it almost makes me want to throw my Packers jersey in the trashcan. Hell if I wanted to turn my back on my team or HOF QB as soon as they did something I did not understand, I could root for any of the other 31 teams out there.

First off Brett owes us impatient, monday morning QB's nothing. As much as we would like to think that we are part of the game I am not going to question a player,with his passion, who has to decide between the game that he has dedicated every fiber in his body to for over 2 decades and something that is 1000x times more important, his family.


You just don't speculate on another mans future. Like it or not his decision his tougher than the average joe's. I won't put down any working man or woman, but deciding if you should hang up your hardhat from the local cheese packaging place is a little easier than deciding to hang up your helmet from the NFL. The difference is I doubt you or I have the same dedication and passion about packing cheese that Brett has about playing football.


I also see where people say Brett is putting himself in front of the team or is being selfish by not making a decision or how he is going to cost us this season. You know what he has earned it!

He honestly has paid his dues to this organization and us as fans. He played on teams that could have been better. He sat back quietly and patiently while we did not make the right moves with the coaching staff and player personel.

I am not blaming anyone.Not Ron Wolf,Mike Sherman,Mike Holmgren,Slowick,Rhodes,TT or anyone. I believe that each year the organization felt they had assembled a good football team. Unfortunately, only one team can win the prize so more times than not you are going to fall short of your goal. If you won them all there would be no sense in even playing the games.

I am sure Brett did not agree with every move the brass made but he played his heart out year in and year out in the smallest NFL franchise town there is, where its cold as hell. He slung balls in the snow, took hits,threw blocks every year while this organization tried to figure it out.

He didn't pull a Randy Moss and head for LA. He didn't pull a Javon Waker and try to get a new contract. He didn't pull a T.O. and cause a huge distraction. All he did was play the highest competitive football he could. Thats what seperates Favre from Moss and Owens and the reason we love him.

Now it's time for us ******* fans and the organization to pay the the man the same respect he payed them, and us for years.

 

[WinnipegPackFan]

Excellent Post and Thank you !!!

 

[tromadz]

I questioned brett when he questioned himself.

 

[WinnipegPackFan]

If you never question yourself trom...I guess you will be more of a man then the rest of us !!

 

[tromadz]

No doubt there.

You dont get it though, do you.

He's questioning his mental state. If he was questioning his arm or hisknees, thats fine. He is getting old, that is natural. But when mr. gunslinger, mr. big kid, mr. fun on sundays questions his mental state...thats just ****** up. I never thought I would see the day.

 

[Buckeyepackfan]

Since making the "questioning his want of the ball" statement, Brett has came out and said he is"getting the itch to play again" which is enough for me that Brett has decided he will want the ball in his hands, and he is ready to comke back, but wants to play on a team that is going to be competitive.

Hopefully Brett thinks the team will be more like it was two years ago, then it was last year.

 

[bozz_2006]

this may be the biggest decision of brett's life (or at least one of the most difficult). he's 'looking himself in the mirror and taking inventory', and i'm glad that if he does come back, he will be doing it whole-heartedly rather than on a whim or with less than a 100% balls-out effort.

 

[tromadz]

it sounds like he wants to come back, now he has to give the packers his brett favre seal of approval before he puts on a helmet though, which is ********.

 

[pyledriver80]

He does not have to give his seal of approval. He simply stated either field a team with a chance of being competitive or he will spend this year with his family.

Whats wrong with that. This is his job. If you have a job where you are surrounded by people less than capable and you are the boss, aka leader, and you get the credit/blame for thier actions, what do you do?

You find another job and Brett retires because he's made his money. I see nothing wrong with it.

I like what TT has done thus far and I think Brett does to. If not he can hang it up. He has earned this right. Good for him

 

[tromadz]

you're right, it is his job. he should do his job.

stringing them along, and along, and along, and along, and THEN retiring would be one of the ********* moves ive ever seen from a classy player.

after all that mess with javon about honoring his contract..him not playing his last year out...whatever...but he earned it, right? he earned the right to be a hypocrite.


I hope he comes back.

 

[arrowgargantuan]

after all that mess with javon about honoring his contract..him not playing his last year out...whatever...but he earned it, right? he earned the right to be a hypocrite.

Favre is definitely not above criticism, but comparing Brett's retirement situation with Walker's holdout situation last year? they're not remotely similar tro...c'mon now.

i do agree with your statement before that though...not cool if thats how it goes down.

 

[tromadz]

normally id say they're not. But favre made a big deal out of it, and it was only 1 year ago.

I hope he doesnt retire, only cuz of the **** talking Javon could say, and be right about.

Favre said he has the itch, if he came back it would be for 1 year...just come back, get your records, compete, try and win a championship, fulfill your contract, and then go to the HoF.

 

[pyledriver80]

And what about the 10 plus years Brett has waited for this team to try return to a true contender? Is that OK as well? It only took them 5 years to field a decent defense.

Remember the Freddie Mitchell catch? Was Brett the Defensive Coordinator? I mean if you want to look at it that way, the Packers have let Brett down for years. Now you want him to rush to make a decision so we can salvage this year. Hell Brett, lets wait 10 years to decide. All the sudden the Packers are in a rush? Makes no sense!

 

[tromadz]

did brett play for free? no.

GB is being generous giving Favre time, when it is affecting FA. THAT is what GB is doing, as thanks for the years Favre has served, even though he was paid...WELL.

I'm not bashing favre, i love favre. Im not mad at him, either. Im more sad than anything.

IF this waiting continues, you'll be sad too when 2006 starts and A-Rod is FORCED to be our QB.(and not someone like kitna, who we coulda went after if Favre woulda retired after the seattle game)

COME BACK BRETT...NOW.

 

[pyledriver80]

He's coming back, I think he knows and so does the coaching staff. Just a bunch of paranoid fans getting restless.

If he shocks everyone and does retire so be it. Bringing in Kitna would not make us instant contenders or even an above average football team. A-Rod for now is the future and it's got to start sometime. The quicker it starts the the quicker we either become a contender or cut and run.


The whole argument that Brett is holding the Packers future in Limbo is crazy. We all know that Brett is nearing the end of his career and if the brass at GB is going to wait til Brett hangs it up to start preparing for the future than we better be ready for alot of mediocre seasons.

They have invested in A-Rod because they knew Brett was going to be gone sooner or later. He is our future like it or not. Not Kitna,not Harrington,Culpepper,Brees or Collins. The guy is going to get his shot very soon. Without Brett we will not contend for a few years.

If Brett would have hung it up after last year we would still be starting the season with Rodgers at the helm. If we are not going to give the kid a chance we should have never drafted him.

 

[tromadz]

He's coming back

......

Bringing in Kitna would not make us instant contenders

GB w\ Kitna is better than GB w\ Aaron Rodgers

 

[tromadz]

(moderators...please deal with him, before it gets out of hand)

 

[arrowgargantuan]

huh?

you're both adults dude, but i will slap you like my children if i have too...and i'm always slappin my children. hard too.

but seriously.

exhibit some self-control and agree to disagree.

 

[pyledriver80]

That's funny Tro, better deal with me Mods because I disagree with Tromadz.

Actually I agree with you more than most though. I think we have done a good job this off-season, but when it comes to the Brett thing we disagree.

Just seems weird to me that people think that by Brett delaying his decision it effects what we are going to do at the QB Position.

I would like to think the Pack have been preparing for life after Brett for the last year or 2. Again, if you got to wait for your starting QB to actually retire before you start preparing for the future your franchise is probably being run by unqualified people.

As for Kitna being better than A-Rod that is an opinion. Until A-Rod gets to start an NFL game you are speculating and not using facts, which you seem to trounce on other board members about.

Kitna would have been nothing but a temporary fix. He not leading us to a Super Bowl and at the most maybe a first-round exit from the playoffs. A-Rod is the future and if TT or MM does not think he is than we should have never drafted him in the first place.

Will he pan out? Time will tell I guess, but he has to get his chance one way or another.


Signing Kitna, which we would have never done anyway, would have only served to keep a sinking ship from going under totally. With A-Rod we either will sink or sail, either way patching the hole with Kitna does nothing but delay the inevitable. Throw em in there when Brett leaves and if he pans out, great, but if not we can go on the hunt for another suitable QB.

 

[Greg C.]

I don't know how you can say, "Just seems weird to me that people think that by Brett delaying his decision it affects what we are going to do at the QB position." So you're saying that if you were a GM it would make no difference to you personnel-wise whether or not your starting QB was going to play the next season? That's hard to believe. I mean, wouldn't you pick up a veteran QB like Kitna in case your inexperienced second-year guy isn't ready to take over full-time?

The reason for the split among fans on the Favre issue is that there are some fans who idolize players and some who don't. Brett Favre is my favorite player ever, but I don't idolize him. I don't think he's really any better than you or me or the guy who works at the cheese factory. He just happens to be a great football player. One of the things I like about him is that he's very working-class in his approach. He has a job to do and he does it. He's never been a prima donna.

That's why it's so painful to watch him struggle with this decision. It's the first time I've seen him at odds with the team. It's also the first time I've seen him step out of his role and make public statements about what the GM should be doing. Maybe he's earned the right to do that to some extent, but he's going too far, in my opinion. It's just the opinion of one fan, like anybody else's, but I don't believe that fans are a bunch of lowly peons whose opinions don't matter.

 

[JeezusJuice]

haha. Like watching a train wreck....

The Packers have been preparing for life after Brett for a while now (drafting Rodgers), but Rodgers is far from starter material as of right now. If Favre had made up his mind months ago (whether he is coming back or not), then GB would have known whether or not to sign a solid, veteran QB to fill in until Rodgers is ready to start.

But, now, because Favre has held his decision for this long, there are slim pickings in the FA QB department. It would have been to the advantage of the organization to have Favre make up his mind when he was expected to and get a reliable QB for Rodgers to back-up.

 

[micklaus]

If Rodgers is not ready to play the Pack would have gotten a good back up in free agency and not have picked up a no namer like Arth. The Pack is assuming Favre is coming back and we should too. Rodgers like any young QB will learn a whole lot more by failing in action than holding a clipboard. So if everyone in the Pack camp is sold on Rodgers being the longterm answer than he should be expected to step in after the RETIREMENT. The last thing we need is a guy like Kitna stepping up and getting us to 8-8. I would rather see a 4-12 under Rodgers but getting him some exposure to a live pass rush and reading defenses with his hands between some guys legs rather than under a parka.

kitna sucks anyway. Maybe Aikman will come out of retirement.

 

[Anubis]

Pyledriver80:

Awesome post. You said exactly what I have been thinking since the Favre bashing started on this forum lately. People who feel that the Packers do not owe Brett anything must not remember what the Pack was like before Brett. Granted he did not win SB XXXI on his own, but have an (unprecedented) 3 time NFL MVP QB certainly helps. Regardless of the shoestring defense put together under Sherman's watch, Favre has always played to his highest level to keep the Pack competitive. He has taken pay cuts to help with cap space, has never whined about more money nor threatened to hold out, at the same time handling himself with the upmost level or professionalism. Now suddenly in the twilight of his career, coming off his first losing season at starter when the Pack has $30 million in cap space, he publically states he wants TT to do something to improve the Team before he commits to the 2006 campaign. To some degree, maybe he shouldn't be interfering in the management of the team, but at 36 years old, I certainly wouldn't want to risk a brutal injury while sitting behing an O-line that has more holes in it than a block of swiss cheese, especially when my team has $30 million to do something about it.

Can you really blame him?

If Brett would have hung it up after last year we would still be starting the season with Rodgers at the helm. If we are not going to give the kid a chance we should have never drafted him.

My thoughts exactly. Regardless of what some armchair QBs on this forum think, A-Rod is the future QB of this team.

(moderators...please deal with him, before it gets out of hand)

Hey Trom, what has Pyle said that has your ******* in a bunch? He said exactly what I was thinking myself, and I have a hard time understanding why you would get so offended over it.

GO PACK!!!

Robert C. Hedley

 

[pyledriver80]

Well put Miklaus. Rodgers may not be starter material right now but the fact is by getting a guy like Kitna you still will struggle with average seasons of 8-8 and then follow them up with the 4-12 A-Rod seasons. A-Rod is going to have to show if he can do it or not so we either can move on or start being competitive.

It's just funny that people act like Brett Favre is 25 and SHOCKED everyone with his possible retirement. GB knew this was coming and thats the reason they drafted A-Rod last year. A-Rod WILL be the next starting QB of this team whether its this year or next.

As far as A-Rod not being ready NOONE knows this. Has he started a game in the NFL? Are you judging him by what he did last year in garbage time? I honestly don't think he is ready to step in but you have to give the guy a chance.

As far as idolizing Favre, that is ridiculous. I don't idolize anyone but I do see things as they are. The path of this team is not being held up by Brett Favre. That's not idolizing, thats having an opinion.

What I don't like is when I see my fellow Packer Fans start running Favre in the ground because he is trying to make the most important decision of his life. He should not rush his decision. We as fans owe it to him to let him decide whats best for him.

 

[JbShell]

Why does questioning why Favre has not or has made a decision translate to Favre Bashing? I think the people who do question his delay so far is that we are concerned GB Packer fans not concerned Brett Favre Fans. WHile I do like Favre and what he has done for the Pack the NFL and the state of Wisconsin he is NOT above the team. No Player is. Last year had shown all to well that having a HOF QB does not corelate to a winning season. Just as a Rookie QB will not translate into a losing season. I do recall that Brett was also a unproven QB in 1992 and I recall that was not a losing season.

Bottom line is opinions may differ but the overall health of the PAck is of greater concern to me than what Brett Favre may or may not do