A response to a friend:
You are saying what the entire media is saying, and in my opinion, that misses the big picture. Favre does everything he can the entire game to give his team a big lead, and all game his coaches, the refs, and his teammates can make mistakes to prevent the big lead Favre could have gotten. When he “screws up” at the end, everyone forgets about the bad calls, the idiotic coaching, the fumbles, penalties, etc., and it all comes down to him. All of those other things put him in a position of having to make a play at the end of the game. Most times he makes the play and they win, but when he doesn’t, everyone blames him for the loss and forgets that for the other 59.9 minutes, he’s been great and did enough to give his team an insurmountable lead. Other QBs throw interceptions that cost their team (games can be lost at times other than the end), but no one talks about those.
Yes, it’s easy in retrospect to say that a quarterback who has to make a play to get some yardage should be able to see that he can also run for 5-7 yards even though he’s playing on an ankle he thought could have been broken and thus isn’t thinking run and even though he was looking downfield for an open receiver. People assume that a 56-yarder is a gimme and the Vikings had the game won. Had they tried and missed a 56-yard field goal, they would have been severely criticized for not trying to get closer.
The point is the Vikings were in the position of having to make that play because the refs, his coaches, and his teammates let the team down when he played so well that as Aikman said, the game shouldn’t have been close.
You say the press is in love with Favre? That’s a joke. Not only does the press continue to focus on these plays and ignore the rest, but all summer, all I heard on sports-talk radio was that Favre was done and couldn’t accept it, and that he was making a terrible decision to come back. They focused on the last 5 games when he was with the Jets, forgetting that he was playing with a torn bicep and partially torn rotator cuff, and an arm that felt “dead” to him. Despite that, they still win 3 of the 4 games if the gameplan would have let him throw on first downs! Yes, he was horrible in the final game against Miami, but that was the only game and by then his arm was dead. He still gave them the best chance of winning going into the game based on the previous 4 games. Despite the press that you say loves him bashing him all summer, I still said he was the best or second-best QB, and that was proven. He led the league in QB rating until Childress started running at the end, and he still finished second.
Let’s talk about the end of the last 3 seasons. The Packers lost in OT to the Giants on Favre’s interception. What coach calls a 30-yard, across-the-field pass in brutal, subzero, windy conditions when the QB’s fingers are numb from being out there for 3 hours? We’ve been through the gameplans (the failure to continue the successful short passes, the failure to go out of press coverage), so no need to do that again. The first two plays of the game were 11- and 12-yard passes, and then they start running and throwing deep in those conditions. I talked about the Jets’ last game above. This year, I guess I need to remind people that the Vikings determined they needed to get more yards before trying the FG since the 2 runs produced nothing (surprise!) and they had a stupid penalty.
Other than Favre’s toughness, I haven’t heard you say one good thing about the way he played. As I mentioned, in the 4th quarter with the game on the line in crunchtime, on one leg, these were the possessions:
1. Favre led the Vikings to the Saints’ 10, where Berrian fumbled.
2. Favre led the Vikings to a touchdown.
3. Favre led the Vikings into FG range, where a stupid penalty made it very difficult.
On top of that, he played great the rest of the game and they would have had 14 more points had they not fumbled twice in the red zone.
You say Favre ended the Vikings’ hopes, but the game was still tied. All the defense and kickoff team had to do was hold the Saints, but they didn’t. That didn’t end the hopes? All the refs had to do was make the correct calls in OT, but they didn’t. That didn’t end the hopes?
You say you predicted the Vikings would fall short, but you needed bad call after bad call for that to happen. Did you factor that into your prediction, knowing Favre was on the Vikings and they would therefore get robbed by the refs? We all know that if they give the Vikings the stop on 4th-and-1 in OT, the Vikings win.
Favre was unbelievable, and the refs, his coaches, and his teammates are the reason they didn’t win, not him.
A later response:
It is correct to criticize Favre for not seeing that he could have run for 5-10 yards, as he was looking downfield and missed that. That’s not that unusual for a quarterback, but it is a fair criticism in my opinion. The times people say he’s ended his team’s hopes (Philly playoff game, Giant playoff game, Jets final game, and Saints playoff game) all have tremendous extenuating circumstances. You say the blame needs to fall on him INSTEAD of the refs, coaches, others’ mistakes, etc. That’s my point! Everyone forgets all the other mistakes and just points to Favre’s. Favre made a bad pass against the Eagles, but there were rumors that the receiver didn’t run the right route. Calling the long pass against the Giants in those conditions was crazy. He had a torn bicep/dead arm in the Jets game. He had to try to get some yardage in the Saints game to make it a shorter FG attempt, and did miss the fact he could have run. However, all this ignores the fact that for 59.9 minutes in those games he did everything he could to win and others made mistakes. No one talks about that. No one also talks about when other QBs make mistakes earlier in games to cost their team, as people only look at the last play. In the Eagle game, if not for the refs, the game is in G.B. If not for Sherman’s idiotic gameplan of running when they played in G.B. during the season, the game is in G.B. even with the refs. If Ahman Green (?) doesn’t trip over a lineman on 4th-and-1 at the Eagle 1 at the end of the half after Favre led another drive, the game is over. If they blitz on 4th-and-26, the game is over. If they go for it on 4th-and-1 at the end of regulation, up 3, the game is over. If they don’t get the horrible illegal block call on the punt return just before the interception, the Packers have great field position and are more conservative with the passes. On and on and on. We talked about the Giant game and the idiotic coaching, which has a million times more to do with the loss than Favre’s interception. Not dropping the press coverage when they were beaten over and over? Not throwing short passes when they worked and conditions dictated it? Favre played terribly in the last Jet game–no excuses. He had no arm, but he was out there and his performance was terrible. However, even with the torn bicep, if the Jets’ gameplans weren’t always so conservative, they end up one of the top seeds in the AFC. That had a lot more to do with the Jets not making the playoffs than Favre’s last game against Miami. Regarding the Saints, Childress’ desire to show he, not Favre, was more knowledgeable cost the Vikings homefield advantage, which was much more of a factor than the interception. The terrible calls, including giving the Saints a drive-continuing first down in OT, had much more to do with it. The fumbles by his teammates after he continually led drives had much more to do with it. BUT, all you and others focus on were these mistakes by him at the end of games. At those points in the game, they really hurt, but all the other mistakes, terrible coaching, horrible officiating calls, etc. had MUCH MORE to do with his teams “losing” than those single plays. Let me ask you a question: A pitcher pitches a perfect game for 8-2/3 innings and is locked in a 0-0 tie, and then hangs a curveball to the 27th batter, who hits a home run. Are you going to say the pitcher cost his team the game because he made a mistake at the end?
The response after the Super Bowl:
Toward the end of the game, down 7, Manning had to make something happen, the other team knew it, and they intercepted him and returned it for a TD and a 14-point lead. He then threw another interception from the Saints’ 4, but the guy was just out of bounds. That’s what happens when you’re a QB in a position of having to make something happen at the end. Many times you do make it happen, but sometimes you don’t. Will critics come down on Manning like they do on Favre? Unlike Favre, who has had terrible offensive coordinators his entire career, Manning has had a good one. Yet, the Colts have only won one Super Bowl, against a terrible bear team, and played very poorly in that game.
Had the refs not blatantly stolen the Viking game, which the league admitted, Favre wins his 9th Super Bowl. I believe he’ll come back next year so he’ll have a ring for each finger/thumb.
Further response:
The critics shouldn’t come down on Manning? Have the Colts, despite having great teams, ever looked good in the playoffs? Every year they look bad, and their one championship came against an absolutely horrible bear team, and even that was a 5-point game in the 4th quarter I believe. I think Manning had 4 interceptions in a 41-0 loss to the Jets, and other interceptions in other playoff games that hurt. I think the guy is fantastic, but can’t remember him looking good in the playoffs. Favre on the other hand, if you even just look at this year, dominated the Cowboys to the point where he was on the cover of Sports Illustrated with the headline “Favre on Fire.” The Cowboys were considered the hottest team and many thought they would win. Favre then dominated the Saints in New Orleans, and the Vikings only lost due to bad call after bad call and continuous fumbles. Favre played another fantastic game, and did more than his part to win it. Everyone is going to focus on the one play instead of the other 119.9 minutes in the two games where he was unbelievable. And, I love the fact that you and others treat this as if the Vikings were at the Saints 20, had a chip-shot field goal, and Favre cost them this. The facts are that it was 3rd-and-15, there were 19 seconds left, it was a 56-yard FG, and the Viking coaches felt they needed to get closer. Blaming Favre for the loss when an incomplete pass results in an extremely long FG attempt and when he dominated the game the entire game is ludicrous, but Favre-bashers love to do this. And the fact is that, even if they were at the 20 and he did this, it still wouldn’t have cost them the game, because if the penalty was called when he was hit illegally, the Vikings win in regulation. Even with the game as it was, if they correctly call the Vikings’ stop on 4th-and-1 at their 42 in OT, the Vikings win. I won’t even get into the call after that. As is typical with your Cub-Sox argument and your Favre arguments, you completely ignore the fact that umpires steal games from my teams and help yours. Do you want to go over again all the calls the Sox got? Do you want me to show you the catches called traps in the Cubs-Atlanta playoff series? Do you want a picture of Bartman reaching OVER the railing to interfere? That’s right, let’s ignore all this because bad calls supposedly even out. AFTER ALL THE DEBATES WE’VE HAD OVER FAVRE’S CHAMPIONSHIPS, ARE YOU GOING TO SERIOUSLY TELL ME HE DIDN’T WIN THE SUPER BOWL THIS YEAR? THAT GAME WAS OBVIOUSLY STOLEN FROM THE VIKES, WHICH THE LEAGUE BASICALLY ADMITTED WHEN THEY SHOWED THE BLOWN CALL ON THE ILLEGAL HIT.
And, you also ignore that Favre ALL SEASON put the Vikes in a position to have homefield advantage, and it was Childress (a 4-game stretch at the end where he decided to be conservative) or the refs (stealing the Pittsburgh game) that cost the Vikings homefield and an easy win. Favre was great all year and had the Vikings undefeated if not for this, but again, you ignore all this and look at one play, distorting even that to make it seem like he took them out of easy FG range. Favre had a fantastic year, and would have been the highest-ranking QB in the league on an undefeated team (not second, where he finished) if not for Childress (and the refs). All the talk about Favre after the Saints game should have been how he led them on TD drive after TD drive the entire game against the NFC’s top-seeded team, on the road!