Suck it Sal

BryanAschenbrenner

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Mike Vandermause column: Paolantonio's slam on Favre lacks merit

Brett Favre’s retirement announcement last week was greeted with tributes, magazine covers, newspaper special sections and every form of adulation imaginable.


The legendary Favre is a lock to become a first-ballot Pro Football Hall of Famer. When all-time great NFL quarterbacks are debated, Favre will be part of the discussion.

However, not everyone is fawning over Favre. With the ferocity of a blindside sack, ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio called Favre overrated and argued the last decade of his career was pedestrian. Paolantonio not only attacked Favre’s credentials, but blasted the media for heaping undeserved praise on the quarterback.

It’s an absurd notion, particularly coming from an experienced pro football observer.

Having witnessed the Packers’ starting quarterback first-hand since 1992, my job has been to call it like I see it, with no vested interest in defending Favre and no reason to inflate his career accomplishments. The unemotional, objective facts show clearly that over the wide arc of his career, Favre was brilliant.

Paolantonio bases the bulk of his argument on the quarterback’s playoff record in the past decade, when the Packers were 3-7 and Favre posted a mediocre passer rating of 77.8. He cites Favre’s overtime interceptions in playoff losses to Philadelphia in 2004 and the New York Giants in January as examples of a player not nearly as good as his press clippings.

That narrow view fails to acknowledge that without Favre, the Packers in many cases never would have qualified for the playoffs. One measure of a great player is how he makes his teammates better, and Favre was the master at elevating players around him.

For example, Favre’s starting receivers in 2001 were an aging Antonio Freeman and an ordinary Bill Schroeder. Yet the Packers produced a remarkable 12-4 record, largely due to Favre and his 94.1 quarterback rating.

Paolantonio would discount that season because the Packers lost a divisional playoff game to the St. Louis Rams. Yes, Favre played poorly, but the Rams were a superior team and it would have taken a perfect game to beat them on their home field.

Consider that in 2007, Favre was surrounded by the youngest roster in the NFL, but on the strength of a career-best 66.5 completion percentage and quarterback rating of 95.7, he willed the Packers to a jaw-dropping 13-3 record and berth in the NFC championship game.

Yet Paolantonio defines Favre’s season by a playoff interception, and concludes: “Favre was among the best in the game, once upon a time. Those days are long gone.”

Huh? Was Paolantonio too busy blow-drying his hair to notice that Favre, at 38, was among the top three quarterbacks in the league?

Sure, Favre threw his share of costly picks. But his gun-slinging approach is the reason the Packers were the winningest team in the NFL during his starting tenure and suffered just one losing record in 16 years.

In Paolantonio’s view, Favre was a failure every year the Packers didn’t win the Super Bowl.

But during Favre’s long stint in Green Bay, only one teammate — Reggie White — was a Pro Football Hall of Famer. That more than anything explains why the Packers captured just one championship with Favre.

Is that making an excuse for Favre, as Paolantonio would suggest?

In reality, Favre doesn’t need excuses. He has more victories, passing yards, completions, touchdowns and consecutive starts than any quarterback in NFL history.

His record speaks for itself.

Mike Vandermause is sports editor of the Press-Gazette.
 

Yared-Yam

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I'd have to agree with cheesey, Sal's just not a very good reporter/journalist.

Someone had to write an article like this. Mine would've had a lot more "f you's" in it.
 

yooperfan

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There's a rotten apple in every barrel.
In Sal's case the rotten apple is at the bottom of the barrel.
FU Sal!
And Sal in case you are wondering, that FU, does not stand for Finlandia University.
 

vixtalkn

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I read Sal's original article. He could have said the same thing about any other QB in the league that didn't reach the Super Bowl each and every year of his career.

Sal sounded jealous to me ... because no one will be sad when he retires.
 

carlos

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Someone should ask Sal, "How many downs did you play in the NFL." I don't know my self, but I bet his answer would be NONE.
 

evad04

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Great article.

If I ever meet Sal, I'm going to shout something at him. That... or when he dies, I'll go to his funeral and stuff a muffin in his mouth.

:)
 

Raider Pride

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Paolantonio is a closet Brett Favre Fan. Brett is the man that Paolantonio could never be.

Paolantonio spanked his monkey 13 times last year in the regular season.

There is probably a sale on hand lotion at Walgreen's right now, so he is just trying to **** Brett off enough to come out of retirement, so he can return to wanking this September.
 

Zero2Cool

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ESPN's Paolantonio defends his take on Favre

Press-Gazette

ESPN reporter Sal Paolantonio has received a record number of e-mails in response to his controversial column about retired quarterback Brett Favre, with the majority coming from angry Packers fans.

While many in the media have praised Favre’s career accomplishments, Paolantonio has a less flattering opinion of the longtime Packers quarterback.

In response to a column by Press-Gazette sports editor Mike Vandermause that appeared online and in print today, Paolantonio sent this letter to the editor via e-mail:

"Thank you for Mike Vandermause's smackdown of my espn.com column on Brett Favre. But I take issue with one major point: I was not trying to criticize Brett Favre, only offer some healthy perspective, provide an alternative take. Favre, as I pointed out, is a bonafide first ballot Hall of Famer. But I just wanted to hit the pause button on the over-the-top deification of No. 4. In my view, he is not even the greatest Packers quarterback of all time. That would be Bart Starr. Bart Starr has always been treated like Ringo Starr -- underappreciated and, these days, overlooked. I was trying to provide some historical context that my brethren in the media often ignores.

"By the way, I do use a hairblower, but I never bring it to the press box with me."
 

Raider Pride

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ESPN's Paolantonio defends his take on Favre

Press-Gazette

ESPN reporter Sal Paolantonio has received a record number of e-mails in response to his controversial column about retired quarterback Brett Favre, with the majority coming from angry Packers fans.

While many in the media have praised Favre’s career accomplishments, Paolantonio has a less flattering opinion of the longtime Packers quarterback.

In response to a column by Press-Gazette sports editor Mike Vandermause that appeared online and in print today, Paolantonio sent this letter to the editor via e-mail:

"Thank you for Mike Vandermause's smackdown of my espn.com column on Brett Favre. But I take issue with one major point: I was not trying to criticize Brett Favre, only offer some healthy perspective, provide an alternative take. Favre, as I pointed out, is a bonafide first ballot Hall of Famer. But I just wanted to hit the pause button on the over-the-top deification of No. 4. In my view, he is not even the greatest Packers quarterback of all time. That would be Bart Starr. Bart Starr has always been treated like Ringo Starr -- underappreciated and, these days, overlooked. I was trying to provide some historical context that my brethren in the media often ignores.

"By the way, I do use a hairblower, but I never bring it to the press box with me."

Did Paolantonio just type "Hairblower" Is that a word?
 

de_real_deal

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Sal is in his room... painting **** things!

Beautiful, just beautiful

All i can say to you Sal you moron is the following



You must be logged in to see this image or video!
 

MassPackersFan

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If there is ever a day when Sal is honored/remembered, I'm going to show up in a Favre jersey and speak about how he wasn't really that good of a reporter. You know, just to balance things out. Because we can't have people shown respect at the end of their career.

I bet Sal boos at the end of music performances too, just to balance out the cheers.
 

Zombieslayer

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When the zombie plague starts, Sal will be banned from my anti-zombie compound. I hope he's banned from all of your compounds as well. He deserves to be zombie food.

Thanks Mike V (and thanks for posting it Bryan).
 

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