Letters to the Editor

• King, is there really a "right" answer?

  [Read the article: Returns, returns, returns]
  [Read more letters about this article: Here]

  Sure Favre has thrown plenty of picks over the years. So would Manning had he been forced to run his offense with the likes of NFL Europe caliber players at the skill positions for several years in a row instead of Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark. There were plenty of seasons here where the talent around Favre was so weak at the WR spot that had he not forced balls into double coverage, he might have never even completed a pass. The only great QB who might have had to endure such a stretch with little or nothing surrounding him may have been Elway before Terrell Davis arrived. Had Favre walked away two season's ago like he was very close to doing, it's unlikely the team would have made the jump from 4-12 to 8-8 and then to 13-3 last year had Aaron Rogers been forced to learn under fire. The list of former 1st round QB's who have flamed out prematurely due to playing too soon with too little talent around them is plenty long and Rogers could have easily wound up on that list as well. If the price of Favre playing the last two years is how he's going about attempting his return now, I'll gladly take it.

  Is Favre self-centered? Does he need to be constantly reassured that he's wanted and appreciated? So what? I've never met a highly paid athlete that doesn't need his or her ass kissed at certain times. I'm sure a GM like Ted Thompson, who as a player had to fight every single year just to hang on to his spot on the roster, probably was fed up with having to kiss ass in an effort to get Favre to feel motivated enough to come back to a team that was one play away from a Super Bowl birth. While I feel for Thompson and the coaches, they knew full well Favre's history of going back and forth and that him changing his mind was a real possibility. The GM and Head Coach are in the first year of new contracts and surely want to absorb any drop-off in play now while they have the most job security to ride out the dry spells and that's understandable from their perspective. But if Rogers can't get the Packers near where they finished last season, or worse pulls up lame with a sore hamstring and can't even answer the bell like last season, McCarthy and Thompson are never going to hear the end of it in regards to how they passed on the iron man for another Tedford-QB tease. The magnitude of frustration would increase 10 times over if not only that happens, but Favre doesn't stay retired and plays for another team.

  It may be mostly Favre's fault for the way this has played out, but Thompson and McCarthy will be blamed in the end if things go badly. While I understand the stand they are taking, I can't help but remember what Ron Wolf always stated in regards to life after Favre;there will never be another who can replace him and he won't truly be appreciated until after he's gone. The Bears haven't had a great QB since Sid Luckman and that was 50 or perhaps even 60 years ago. The Lions haven't had one since maybe Bobby Layne and how many QB's have they spent 1st Round picks on since then? Anybody think that the Vikings offensive coordinator, former Packer QB coach Darrell Bevell, wouldn't take Favre over Tavarias Jackson in less than a heartbeat? And that's just the three other teams in the NFC North. I'm sure there's many more.

  So what if he "retired"? Roger Clemens "retired" once or twice as well and was as big of a prima-donna as there ever was, but fans didn't hold it against him if it meant the team had a better chance of winning it all. Aaron Rogers has already gone on record that the fans "should either get on board or keep their mouths shut". Not the smartest thing to say coming from an often injured QB who has one touchdown pass in three years about to try and fill the shoes of the NFL's all time leader in TD's thrown and consecutive games started. To me, it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world at all if Favre comes back to the Packers. Rogers might be good at some point, but the chances of him putting up Favre's numbers from last season are next to nothing. And as for Favre's interception in OT against the Giants, the game should have been over by the time that pass took place anyway. How many FG's did Tynes miss in the cold? How pathetic was the Packers offensive line in regards to run blocking? Seems to me Nick Collins didn't do the Packers any favors with a stupid 15 penalty on a failed Giants 3rd down conversion. Yeah that must be Brett's fault too I guess. Late in regulation, Favre threw a pass that sailed right through Ruvell Martin's hands on a 3rd and long that would have put the Packers in the red zone for a huge scoring opportunity.

  Plaxico Burris handed Al Harris's ass to him that night and these people point to one of the few mistakes Favre made in the game as proof that the Packers would be better off with the QB from California? I don't think I'd be listening to any of their advice on personnel moves.

  The score of that game didn't do the Giants' effort justice because aside from some great plays by Favre, the Giants dominated and won the battles on the line of scrimmage all night. Without the 90 yard TD from Favre to Driver, that game would have been put out of reach by the Giants long before the 4th quarter much less any overtime.

  Permalink Monday, July 14, 2008 07:57 PM