See here. On the one hand, I'm irritated the Packers were standoffish with him. If he's insistent on wanting to play, the team should welcome him back. But he should have to compete with Rodgers. The position should no longer be handed to him. If he loses the competition, talk to him about a trade to a team that works for both him and the Packers. That is, not within the division. If he wins, Rodgers should be okay with it, because he had a real chance to be the starter. So it's too bad that the team, if reports are accurate, is not welcoming him back, at least with a caveat that he has to compete for the position.
But I wonder if they were willing to take him back with some conditions and he was just being whiny about it. The way Favre has behaved during this process makes me think less of him, both as a person and as a player. He has been acting as if commitment to one's teammates and to one's organization is relatively meaningless. And his alleged assertion that his decision to retire was forced upon him, because the team asked for it by a certain time, is simply ridiculous. If he's really upset about this, he needs to grow up. The team does not revolve around you. Your indecision and waffling each offseason was harming the Packers' ability to make personnel and budget decisions. Perhaps the Sherman years of coddling have rubbed off on Favre to a greater extent than we realized.
Regarding the specifics, his demand to be released (if the report is accurate) is ludicrous. If he is capable of performing anywhere close to last year's level for most of the season, he is a very valuable player, and the Packers would be foolish to let him leave for nothing, particularly when an attractive team that needs a quarterback is a division rival of the Packers. Under no circumstances should the Packers let him leave for nothing and with no strings. He has no leverage and has acted disrespectfully and petulantly. He is indeed the greatest player in the history of the franchise, and one of the greatest quarterbacks ever. But that in no way entitles him to the reward of becoming a free agent, especially after behaving in this manner. The team's executives should act in the best interest of the franchise, and if he refuses to come in and compete for the starting position, trade him to a mutually agreed team, not in the Packers' division.
As a Favre fan and someone who has followed his career closely, from start to now, the faux-finish, I am truly disappointed it has come to this. Both sides are to blame, I think, but I am especially disappointed in him.
3 comments:
Really a competition with Rodgers? You really feel like AR is that close to Favre? Rodgers never appeared to be more than a 3rd string to me. Questionable arm strength, questionable durability, questionable wheels--just a whole lot of questions that don't add up to "Favre needs to come in and compete like a journeyman qb looking for a few snaps."
I get it that Favre's been around a long time and a lot of people have forgotten the dark days in Green Bay (just like Badger fans have started to forget where the program was at prior to Barry's arrival). I also understand that personalities wear thin and the grass looks a lot greener on the other side of the fence.
What I don't understand is walking away from one of the all-time athletic greats who has proven he's still got a live arm and the legs to do more than just survive. He's a once in a generation talent with the oh so rare ability to connect emotionally with the game, players and fans. Who doesn't want to see Favre play again? Hell I bleed green and gold, but I don't begrudge him the opportunity to play if he wants to.
What's truly stunning is watching the Packer management turn their backs on Favre. It's like the Orioles turning their backs on Ripken (who could fathom that). They act like they don't have a card to play here, or at least it's a moral imperative they hold Favre to his March retirement and give AR the helm (lot of pressure to put on AR in that scenario).
Favre isn't "diminishing his legacy" by waffling on retirement. His legacy is what he's left on the field on Sunday for the past 17 years. Short of pulling an OJ there's nothing Favre could do that would diminish his legacy. If Favre were a politician then extending a career and waffling on important issues might be a problem, but he's not--suit him up and let us live or die a few more times on how he plays the game.
I don't know how close he is to Rodgers. Who can? Only the team's talent scouts, and they're the ones who are less than enthusiastic about wanting him back. That's got to mean something.
Plus, the Packers spent the last four months reconstituting their offense to suit Rodgers' strengths. Now they're supposed to undo all of that? When team's make belated changes to their scheme, they tend to suck, a la Bob Slowik's defense in Sherman's last year-- all offseason they planned to be blitz heavy, then they got burned repeated early, and just abandoned it. And the D stunk all season.
This situation was created in part because of Favre's entitlement complex. He apparently thinks that if he wants back, the team should just eagerly stoop to his needs, regardless of what he said two or three months earlier, regardless of the really costly steps the team took, relying on his word. (Like drafting Brohm second, instead of, oh I don't know, an edge pass rusher, something the team hugely needs.) Football is a team game, and winning in the NFL today takes commitment. By all reports, the team had unprecedented offseason commitment and participation from every other player. Favre, taking a vacation for four months and now demanding his job back, completely undermines that. Thus, he should have to compete for the job in training camp. I'm not saying trade him or refuse to take him back. I'm just saying, "Buddy, you've really put us in a tough spot with our personnel moves and the morale of the rest of the team. So if you want back that's fine, but the position is wide open. You're going to have to beat out Rodgers for it." If he's as good as you and all the other armchair GMs still think he is, then it shouldn't be a problem.
Your post is right on. Glad to see some fans are actually asking for some accountability from Favre instead of just seeing how fast they can drop to their knees and kiss his ass for wanting to come back. I suspect most of these are younger fans, not used to the dark days of Anthony Dilweg and Randy Wright, not used to not winning and the thought of a potentially weak team petrifies them. They will do anything for this guy, but refuse to see that he doesn't have the same sentiment for us. Played every down, played thru injuries? Guess what, that's his job!! He was paid well to do it. I've never missed a day of work at my job either but no one here is going to kiss my ass for it.
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