PACKERRATS EXCLUSIVE MAY 20, 2006

[No Mo Moss]

FAVRE'S RETURN HURT THE PACKERS?

BY NO MO MOSS
packerrats.com

Much has been made about the return of Brett Favre to the Green Bay Packers. Favre’s flare for the dramatic this off-season seemed to catch the attention of more than the usual citizens of Packer Nation. At least once a week, ESPN’s lead story on “Sportcenterà ¢â‚¬Â was regarding Favre. Steven A. Smith told us “quite frankly” what he thought and Jim Rome “burnedâ� �¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚ on my television about the matter. At times, the national sports media, sans John Madden, pretends to not like Favre merely to get a rise out of people, but the simple truth is that the mention of his name always equates to a lot of people paying attention.
Brett Favre is one of the most beloved athletes in this country’s sports history. The love affair is not quite as hot in Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota, as Favre has been responsible for a lot of their misery in the last sixteen years. The media hype surrounding his indecision must have sickened the people in those aforementioned states, since even in Packerland it was too much to take at times. The sports media’s spotlight was shining for one reason and one reason only: people like Brett Favre. So naturally when the day finally came and Brett informed us that he would return to football everyone rejoiced, right?

Well, actually, no.

Why would everyone not be overjoyed with the return of a superstar Hall of Fame quarterback? The simple answer is that they are idiots. Whether talking around the water cooler or ranting on national media, the reason surrounding people’s lack of enthusiam was almost always the same: Aaron Rodgers.
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f86/killoran25/Rodgers.jpg
“This will stunt the development of Aaron Rodgers.”
“We won’t know what we have in Aaron Rodgers.”
“We aren’t playing for the future unless we start Aaron Rodgers.”
Well, excuse me for not shedding a tear for Mr. Rodgers and his neighborhood, but I’m not buying it for a second.
So often in this league everyone wants to move on to the next player in hopes of an upgrade, and why not? That is the way it works. Everyone has the answer though, and typically it comes as the illusion of a quick fix, with a convenient blinder on recent history. Unfortunately, there are no quick fixes in the National Football League, especially at the quarterback position. The Chicago Bears have been looking for one since Sid Luckman and he played in the 1940s. The Browns have been looking for one since Bernie Kosar and he played in the 1980s. Arguments that Favre is in someway hurting this team are flat out wrong. Wrong and hypocritical.
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Steve McNair is going to be traded from the Titans at some point this off-season. The most likely destination for him is in Baltimore. Almost unanimously the national sports media is drooling all over themselves applauding this pending move by the Ravens. While I agree that with McNair at the controls Baltimore looks much more menacing, the hypocracy is that you don’t hear anyone talking about Kyle Boller. Surely the Ravens will be stunting Boller’s growth by playing McNair. Surely they will never know what they have in Boller, who appeared to come on last year, if they play McNair. Are the Ravens playing for the future if they start McNair? Where are those statements? They are nowhere to be heard, but Brett Favre returning to the team he has captained for the better part of two decades, that’s hurting the Packers? Of course it isn’t.
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f86/killoran25/Boller.jpg
A typical gripe is that “theyâ� �‚¬â„¢ll never know what they have in Rodgers with Favre playing.” Well, what if they have complete crap? Then what? If Rodgers did end up starting and layed a big egg, those same talking heads would be lashing out at the organization for allowing it to happen. The media prognosticates in a perpetual gray area so they can always be right in some way. Don’t be fooled my friends, I am going to give you the black and white of this next season, and I’m going to be right. The demise and counter productivity of Brett Favre has been greatly exaggerated in many ways. This season Brett Favre will be the best offensive playmaker in the NFC North! Here’s why:

Minnesota Vikings:
The quarterback situation in Minnesota is terrible. Brad Johnson did a pretty good job last year, but he has been fragile in the past and he and his team are one injury away from unparalleled disaster. Is sitting behind Johnson possibly stunting Tavarus Jackson’s development? Doubtful. The Vikings have shipped out all of their playmakers to the point where their biggest offensive weapon is Koren Robinson, who after having a good year needs to prove he can do it again. Moss, Culpepper and Bennett are all gone and there is no one on the Vikings who can even hold Brett Favre’s jock strap. People around the league will still be game planning around Favre, but are defensive coordinators really going to be having fits trying to crack the enigma of Johnson to Wiggins? Unlikely!
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f86/killoran25/BradJohnson01.jpg

Detroit Lions:
Josh McCown had better receivers in Arizona and couldn’t get the wins, but now the national media sounds as if they believe he is a great quarterback. I guess he just needs to develop. Unfortunately for Mr. McCown, as soon as he has a string of bad games he will be riding the pine watching Jon Kitna try and get ‘er dun! Is Kitna selfish for becoming a Lion, possibly stunting the growth of Josh McCown? Whoever the quarterback, it is doubtful this offense will strike fear into anyone. Offensive coordinator Mike Martz is a one trick pony on trick five. He calls games like you and I play Madden 2006, he gets bored and abandons the run, a recipe for disaster for a young quarterback. Is there anyone on this team who is a bigger playmaker than Brett Favre? Sorry, motor city kitties, there is not.
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f86/killoran25/McCown.jpg

Chicago Bears:
Everyone has already given the Bears the division title. Well, not me, I’ve seen this act before. I can only imagine the way the Packers’ organization feels about getting to open the season at home against the Bears. We played the Bears tough last year with a very bad team and a coach who felt like we needed to dial up 110 pass plays in two games. Difficult to believe we can’t do better this year. The Bear’s are hardly perfect. Is Rex Glassman going to actually produce next year? The Bears signed Brian Griese, who will undoubtedly hurt the development of Grossman when he takes the field in a starting role about week four of the preseason. Who would you rather face in December with a trip to the playoffs on the line: Brian Griese or Brett Favre?
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Time after time we see how this division unfolds. In the past it has been Culpepper and Favre, the two best quarterbacks in the division, leading their teams down the stretch. All the preseason hype becomes irrelevant and it ultimately gets right down to the heart of the matter: Who has the best playmaking quarterback in the division, who can pick up the clutch third down in December, and which team has a champion as their leader? These are the things that win the division, not hype and looking good on paper. The national media seems to forget this every year. I know who my money is on and he can keep "hurting" my team for as long as he'd like.
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[Joemailman]

Part of the problem is that Favre has been so good for so long that people take him for granted. Favre playing this year is the best thing for the Packers, and the best thing for Aaron Rodgers. If Favre had nort played, Rodgers would have been in there, ready or not. He will now have the opportunity to be fully ready, whenever his time comes.

[No Mo Moss]

I agree completely with you.

[Tarlam!]

Mad, this needs to go up the the website...

[FritzDontBlitz]

well done moss, you be the boss.

holla

[Deputy Nutz]

Good Article, but what do you know? You're just a moron fan.

[No Mo Moss]

Maybe, but ultimately I'm just as qualified to prognasticate about hte future landscape of the NFL as anyone else on the planet.

[Deputy Nutz]

No I aam pretty sure the media has told me through my whole life that fans don't know shit.

[cosimoto]

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g183/cosimoto/SamuraiGB7.jpg NoMoMoss, I agree with you. Fans can be just as good prognosticators as the experts. Heck, sometimes you have to also wonder about the experts and talent evaluation. Obviously the Falcons did not know they had a HOF quarterback riding the bench in Favre, and probably were downright giddy (at first) when they got a first round draft choice for him out of the Packers. And did the Patriots truly know what they had in Tom Brady? It took Bledsoe going down for him to get his shot. If Bledsoe hadn’t gotten hurt, Brady might still be on the bench or playing somewhere else. Who picked the Bears to win the Division last year, practically no one, not even the Vegas bookies who had the Bears coming in either 3rd or 4th in the North. So, NoMoMoss, I think you’re predictions and assessments are probably as good as a lot of the so called experts.

[Rastak]

No No, the whole point of forums like these are to express thoughts and opinions.
Your opinions are certainly valid. The only thing I will say, is that the so called "media" does have one up on us fans. The have access to speak directly with the people involved while most of us just have to rely on stories or interviews. Peter King can call a GM on the phone, you and I can't...nor can we fly off to watch some practice or game whenever we wish. That doesn't make them right all the time but it does give them more information to form an opinion than we might have.

[No Mo Moss]

While I certainly don't have TT's phone number, I have the same access to him as most of the reporters that cover the PAckers. Through the internet the gap of knowledge between "experts" and fans has shrunk greatly. I can't ask him a question directly, but I already know what he will say and what questions he will be asked. Peter King a man amongst boys. He is absolutely top dog. He is definately the exception.

As I said in the article, the experts prognasticate every year, but its not like they are ever held accountable for what they say.

[Deputy Nutz]

Don't you all get it? The media is a god while we are just mere mortals interms of football and sports knowledge. Christ I don't even know why we have forums like this, the media has warned me about places like this. Dens of sin is what they like to call them.

[MJZiggy]

While I certainly don't have TT's phone number, I have the same access to him as most of the reporters that cover the PAckers. Through the internet the gap of knowledge between "experts" and fans has shrunk greatly. I can't ask him a question directly, but I already know what he will say and what questions he will be asked. Peter King a man amongst boys. He is absolutely top dog. He is definately the exception.

As I said in the article, the experts prognasticate every year, but its not like they are ever held accountable for what they say.

Have you ever seen at the end of every season either King or "sold my soul to ESPN" Easterbrook does a wrapup of what everyone predicted before the season and how far off they were and then what they all predicted midseason and how screwed up that was as well. He included himself and his own predictions in his assessment. No one fared very well at all. I think only one or two people got anything of any consequence correct for the whole season and it was fun to go back and take a look at how far off everyone was.

[The Leaper]

I love the Mike Martz / Madden 2006 reference.

I will say that there is a big difference between the Ravens and Packers. The Ravens have a Super Bowl caliber roster right now outside of a couple pieces...the QB position being the biggest. Bringing in McNair puts them in position to compete for a title. If the Ravens were rebuilding like Green Bay, then the talking heads would be just as argumentative about acquiring McNair.

I don't buy the Boller argument either...they DO KNOW what they have with Boller because he's played quite a bit. That is why they are giddy at the thought of getting McNair, who isn't even close to being the MVP QB he was several years ago.

The Packers weren't going to compete for the Super Bowl this year regardless of Favre's decision. I agree that Favre's return DOES hinder the development of Rodgers...who I think would be ready at this point to get in there and start facing live ammo, albeit enduring typical struggles. However, Favre's return DOESN'T hinder the development of everyone else on the offense. That is the point the talking heads refuse to acknowlege.

[No Mo Moss]

I see what you're saying of course, but Boller played really well last year towards the end of the season. If they wanted to give up on Boller, they should have done it before last season when he looked totally lost. He finished last year strong and the light appears to have come on.

Over the last 6 games of the season Boller went 3-3 and accumulated 12 TDs with an average QB rating of 83.4. That includes a blow-out loss to pitt.

In 04 he finished the season 3-3 as well, but in the final 6 games he managed only 4 TDs and had an average QB rating during that span of 66.5. I'd call that a definate improvement.

As far as Baltimore's legitamacy to run for the superbowl, I think that's questionable. If Ngata becomes the 1999 version of Sam Adams them maybe, but the LBs struggled mightily over the last two seasons and Lewis isn't getting any younger.