I know what you’re saying – “Look up, steveo21, you idiot. This is a blog devoted to ‘Philly/New York sports with a PC twist’”. But, you know what, this whole situation really ticks me off, even if it doesn’t involve one of my teams, so please indulge me while I examine/vent about how Favre handled his retirement over the last three years.
Let me establish a few points before my argument devolves into senseless shouting similar to this rant by a Michigan talk show host:
1) Favre is an all-time NFL great. There is no denying that, no matter how cynical/negative/bitter you are about him. In an honest, private moment, even Bears fans have to acknowledge this fact.
2) Favre revitalized the Pack. Prior to him leading Green Bay to a playoff win over Detroit in 1994, the franchise hadn’t won a playoff game in 12 years.
3) Given the above two points, of course Favre is revered by Packers fans. And, of course, the above two points merit him some more wiggle room than your average NFL quarterback.
4) Brett Favre is still a very good quarterback.
5) For transparency sake, I’ll own up. I am not a big fan of Favre’s despite him handing the single season sack record to my boy, Michael Strahan. The media’s incongruous love-affair with Favre certainly has a lot to do with my dislike for him, so maybe I’m misprojecting (is this a word?) my disdain, but them’s the breaks.
6) I am not a believer in the idea that a player – no matter how iconic – is bigger than the organization he plays for.
All that said, the Favre situation has increasingly annoyed me. His retirement announcement today was the final straw. This was the third off-season where Favre seriously contemplated retiring. In the previous two incarnations of this tired saga, Favre put off his decision even longer than this. Let’s examine this three-year soap opera from a few important angles, keeping in mind that we are concerned with the overall success of the Packers.
On Field Performance
When Favre began his song and dance about retiring in 2006, the Packers were coming off a 4-12 season. Now, had the Packers won a Super Bowl, or even played in a Super Bowl in either of the next two seasons, I would not be penning this piece. Either accomplishment would have validated Favre returning and made the era of his fence-sitting worthwhile for Green Bay. Instead, the Packers went 8-8 that next season, and 14-4 this past season when it lost in the NFC Championship game.
What’s worse, Favre has cited the teams’ success in ‘07-’08 as a factor in his decision to retire (he claims the only way he could return and have next season be deemed a success was if the Pack took home the Lombardi trophy). That Favre focuses more on the fear of losing than the thrill of winning is fine in my book. The instinct to dread losing is a common trait among many great athletes.
What ruffles my feathers, though, is that Favre initially debated retirement in 2006 because the Packers were losing and he questioned the direction of the organization. Then, two years later, after the Packers have righted the ship and had their most successful season in more than a decade, he cites the very success he longed for as mitigating factor in his retirement.
Organizational Development
The Ted Thompson/Mike McCarthy tandem has done a terrific job in Green Bay. In a town that’s often difficult to entice free agents to (Charles Woodson aside), they have drafted wisely (Greg Jennings and James Jones), retained their key players (Donald Driver) and orchestrated prudent trades (Al Harris from Philly). Behind this philosophy, they built a young roster that was the second best team in the NFC throughout last season.
Favre enters into play because of where Green Bay stands now, which is in no man’s land despite Thompson and McCarthy’s remodeling. Is Aaron Rodgers a starting quarterback in the NFL? The Packers brass doesn’t know (let’s not put all our eggs in his performance against the Cowboys). And that’s the problem. Favre coming back prevented them, or anyone, from getting an accurate gauge on Rodgers. Should they have used a draft pick in the last few drafts on a quarterback? Again, who knows since Rodgers is an unproven commodity.
Favre’s tap-dance had the same effect on Green Bay as a player in the free agent market. Derek Anderson was available, and while it’s no certainty that the Packers would have signed him, don’t you think they would have liked to know Favre’s plans while the only legitimate starting quarterback was still on the market? That seems like a fair request, especially considering this was the third consecutive off-season Favre had to mull retirement – should have been plenty of time to think.
So, the Packers are now left with a talented young team that could have been poised to take the next step coming off an excellent season had Favre returned. But, instead they have a hole at the most important position on the field thanks to Favre, and no idea how his replacement will fare.
The Randy Moss Factor
Throughout his past retirement deliberations, Favre has championed the need to bring in more talent on offense. This off-season, he threw his vote behind signing Randy Moss. Nevermind the fact that Favre has one of the best receiving squads in the league already, he wanted Moss to call the frozen tundra home. I have no problem with Favre expressing this desire, but excuse me if it seems slightly coincidental that the day after Moss resigned with the Patriots, Favre decides to hang up his cleats.
The Possibility of a Return
Where have we seen this before? Oh, right, with the Rocket. It’s not out of the realm of possibilities that Favre changes his mind and decides he still wants to play football. Should this scenario play out, I truly hope that the Packers front office says, “Thanks Brett, but we’ve moved on” lest we have to endure the hijacking of a historical franchise one more season…or two…or three…
1 Comment
March 4, 2008 at 7:24 pm
It’s okay, Steve, that’s why we invented the Sports Hodgepodge tag.