Brett Favre – #1

Many people have been saying for about 4 years that Brett Favre no longer had it, and he should retire.  For all 4 years, I’ve responded by saying that he still has the talent and skills he had, but the problem was the situations he was put in–bad offensive gameplans and lack of surrounding talent.  I always said he hadn’t lost anything, was sure he would not retire each year, and would show everyone how great he still was.  The only time he played badly was in 2005 when they were about 2-8 and he’d never been in that situation before.  He tried to win the games by himself and played poorly.  However, there is a difference between playing poorly and losing your skills.

In 2004, the Packers started 1-4, everyone said Favre should retire, and I kept saying that if they let him pass on first down instead on only on third-and-long, he’d be great.  The Packers’ offensive gameplans were conservative and emphasized the run.  When they were 1-4, Tom Rossley, the offensive coordinator who called the plays, was hospitalized, and head coach Mike Sherman took over the playcalling and said he’d open up the offense.  The Packers won their next 6 games, finished 10-6, and “lost” to the Vikings in the playoffs when the refs blatantly stole the game.  Favre finished with 4088 yards passing and 30 touchdowns (neither of which any bear QB has EVER accomplished), and he basically did this in 11 games since he was the victim of horrible gameplans for the first 5 games.

Favre continues to show that if he is allowed to pass on early downs, he will play great.  He is showing this year that when there is talent around him, he throws few interceptions.  The interceptions he threw in the past were the result many times of him trying to do whatever he could to win, which I respect more than those QBs who worry about stats or don’t do what it takes.