sheepshead
07-13-2008, 10:07 AM
I dont think this has been posted, sorry if it has.
[B]Does anyone else think the biggest buffoon in this whole thing is one Buss Cook???[B]
Thompson tells his side of story
Team willing to take Favre back, but with no guarantees
By Tom Pelissero • tpelisse@greenbaypressgazette.com • July 13, 2008
If Brett Favre follows through on his apparent plans to play in the NFL again, the Green Bay Packers say they would be willing to take him back.
But Favre wouldn't return as a starter if he asks to be a Packer again — something General Manager Ted Thompson says the retired-for-now quarterback has not done — leaving it unlikely he'll return to the team for which he starred the past 16 seasons.
On Saturday, Thompson confirmed reports that Favre, who requested his release from the Packers on Friday, contacted the team less than a month after his tearful March 6 retirement speech and said he was interested in returning. The Packers arranged to send a contingent to visit Favre at his Mississippi home, Thompson said, only to have Favre back out days later after a conversation with his wife, Deanna.
"Since then, I think he's — once again, it's passed messages back and forth — starting to get the itch or something like that," Thompson told the Green Bay Press-Gazette in one of a series of one-on-one interviews with Wisconsin reporters in his Lambeau Field office.
"But to my knowledge, he's never said, 'I want to come back there.'"
Instead, according to Thompson, Favre has inquired only about whether the team wants him back. That makes the request for his release a little more curious, since he's never formally given the Packers a chance to take him back.
Favre has not addressed the request publicly.
Thompson said the Packers have "no intentions of releasing Brett" and indicated they wouldn't actively pursue a trade unless and until Favre requests to be reinstated from the reserve/retired list. No teams have inquired about a trade, Thompson said. He reiterated Aaron Rodgers — Favre's understudy the past three seasons — remains the team's starting quarterback.
"Favre's welcome back, but the scenery has changed. There may be a different role," Thompson said. "He becomes an active member of the roster, and then we'll see how it goes from there. We don't have the answers right now, because it hasn't happened, and we don't know that it will."
In an interview Saturday morning with The Associated Press, Packers coach Mike McCarthy said the tone of Favre's intentions changed in June. According to McCarthy, Favre called on June 20 with the message: "Give me my helmet or give me my release." But McCarthy said Favre remained unsure he could commit 100 percent to football.
Only on Tuesday — in a conference call between Thompson, McCarthy, Favre and Favre's agent, Bus Cook — did Favre say he was committed to playing.
"Was it convincing? I'd say yes," McCarthy said. "But that was the first time, July 8, that I'd ever heard him say (he was committed). And he continually, from (June) 21 to July 8, told (offensive line coach) James Campen that he was not going to play. So, that's a pretty important piece of the puzzle."
Two days after the meeting, Cook sent the letter to the Packers asking them to release Favre.
For months, there have been rumblings from Favre's camp that Thompson's apparent indifference to the three-time league MVP's return drove him to retire.
On Friday, Favre's older brother, Scott, told family friend and Biloxi (Miss.) Sun Herald sportswriter Al Jones: "Why wouldn't he want a release? They have moved on. By not saying anything, it says a lot."
In the same column, Jones wrote, "it was only a matter of time before the bomb was dropped and from my standpoint, the reason for the explosion around the NFL falls on the shoulders of Packers General Manager Ted Thompson."
Thompson, who had not spoken publicly since the latest round of comeback talk began this month, addressed that and several other criticisms lobbed at him and the organization from fans and media during his roughly 25-minute interview with the Press-Gazette.
That he wanted Favre out of Green Bay
"It concerns me if (people think) it's something sinister or there's some sort of master plan. I don't have a master plan. I'm just trying to get by, and we have a lot of people here that help. I know I'm the focal point, but the Packer organization gets (dragged) into this, too, and what's important to me is the legacy of the Green Bay Packers and the legacy of Brett Favre."
That he didn't do enough to convince Favre to come back
"We went about this offseason exactly the way we did in 2007. In 2005, in 2006, it was a little different, because in 2005, I was new back here with Mike Sherman as the head coach, and in 2006, Mike McCarthy was the new head coach. So, I was more of the point person in terms of staying in touch. In 2007, Mike and Brett had gotten to know each other better, they had a coach-player relationship, so (McCarthy) was the point person then and he was the point person this year."
That the team rushed Favre into a hasty decision
"Every year, we talked about, it would be nice to know by the start of free agency. But I think every year, the decision was made after the start of free agency. We like to know just in case, but — and even this year, he first mentioned (retirement), like, the day before the start of free agency, and we gave him three or four or five days after that to think about it. So, it wasn't like there was ever a real deadline."
That he is choosing Rodgers over Favre
This is not about Aaron vs. Brett. This is two completely different things. The only thing in common is they play the same position. It's just that with the retirement and with the affirmation of that retirement, then the organization, we have to have somebody to play quarterback."
That there is a grudge between he and Favre
"I like Brett a lot. We've never had one cross word in all the conversations that we've had. I can't speak for him, but I honestly can say we've never had a bad conversation."
Thompson also stated repeatedly he is not upset with how Favre, 38, has handled the situation. He wouldn't speculate on whether the issue would be resolved before players report for training camp two weeks from today.
"I don't know how it got to this," Thompson said. "If I did, I probably would have tried to take steps to keep it from getting to this, because this is the last place I want to be."
However, Thompson knows he'll be judged by how he handles a situation he admits is weighing on his mind. He says he expects the Packers to win in 2008, but that might not be good enough for fans who adore Favre as much as, if not more than, the team. If things go wrong, Thompson likely would bear the brunt of the criticism — and many would trace any failure to Favre's departure.
"I wish it wasn't that way, and something this sensitive and this passionate, I can understand it," Thompson said. "I think if everybody knew what I knew and everybody knew what Brett knew, there'd probably be less people mad at either one of us.
"He's had some change of heart in terms of being 100 percent committed to playing. That's his prerogative to change his mind. With me, we're just dealing with what we're faced with, and it's an iconic player that's probably unmatched in sports today."
An iconic player who now is the only central figure in this story who has yet to speak.
[B]Does anyone else think the biggest buffoon in this whole thing is one Buss Cook???[B]
Thompson tells his side of story
Team willing to take Favre back, but with no guarantees
By Tom Pelissero • tpelisse@greenbaypressgazette.com • July 13, 2008
If Brett Favre follows through on his apparent plans to play in the NFL again, the Green Bay Packers say they would be willing to take him back.
But Favre wouldn't return as a starter if he asks to be a Packer again — something General Manager Ted Thompson says the retired-for-now quarterback has not done — leaving it unlikely he'll return to the team for which he starred the past 16 seasons.
On Saturday, Thompson confirmed reports that Favre, who requested his release from the Packers on Friday, contacted the team less than a month after his tearful March 6 retirement speech and said he was interested in returning. The Packers arranged to send a contingent to visit Favre at his Mississippi home, Thompson said, only to have Favre back out days later after a conversation with his wife, Deanna.
"Since then, I think he's — once again, it's passed messages back and forth — starting to get the itch or something like that," Thompson told the Green Bay Press-Gazette in one of a series of one-on-one interviews with Wisconsin reporters in his Lambeau Field office.
"But to my knowledge, he's never said, 'I want to come back there.'"
Instead, according to Thompson, Favre has inquired only about whether the team wants him back. That makes the request for his release a little more curious, since he's never formally given the Packers a chance to take him back.
Favre has not addressed the request publicly.
Thompson said the Packers have "no intentions of releasing Brett" and indicated they wouldn't actively pursue a trade unless and until Favre requests to be reinstated from the reserve/retired list. No teams have inquired about a trade, Thompson said. He reiterated Aaron Rodgers — Favre's understudy the past three seasons — remains the team's starting quarterback.
"Favre's welcome back, but the scenery has changed. There may be a different role," Thompson said. "He becomes an active member of the roster, and then we'll see how it goes from there. We don't have the answers right now, because it hasn't happened, and we don't know that it will."
In an interview Saturday morning with The Associated Press, Packers coach Mike McCarthy said the tone of Favre's intentions changed in June. According to McCarthy, Favre called on June 20 with the message: "Give me my helmet or give me my release." But McCarthy said Favre remained unsure he could commit 100 percent to football.
Only on Tuesday — in a conference call between Thompson, McCarthy, Favre and Favre's agent, Bus Cook — did Favre say he was committed to playing.
"Was it convincing? I'd say yes," McCarthy said. "But that was the first time, July 8, that I'd ever heard him say (he was committed). And he continually, from (June) 21 to July 8, told (offensive line coach) James Campen that he was not going to play. So, that's a pretty important piece of the puzzle."
Two days after the meeting, Cook sent the letter to the Packers asking them to release Favre.
For months, there have been rumblings from Favre's camp that Thompson's apparent indifference to the three-time league MVP's return drove him to retire.
On Friday, Favre's older brother, Scott, told family friend and Biloxi (Miss.) Sun Herald sportswriter Al Jones: "Why wouldn't he want a release? They have moved on. By not saying anything, it says a lot."
In the same column, Jones wrote, "it was only a matter of time before the bomb was dropped and from my standpoint, the reason for the explosion around the NFL falls on the shoulders of Packers General Manager Ted Thompson."
Thompson, who had not spoken publicly since the latest round of comeback talk began this month, addressed that and several other criticisms lobbed at him and the organization from fans and media during his roughly 25-minute interview with the Press-Gazette.
That he wanted Favre out of Green Bay
"It concerns me if (people think) it's something sinister or there's some sort of master plan. I don't have a master plan. I'm just trying to get by, and we have a lot of people here that help. I know I'm the focal point, but the Packer organization gets (dragged) into this, too, and what's important to me is the legacy of the Green Bay Packers and the legacy of Brett Favre."
That he didn't do enough to convince Favre to come back
"We went about this offseason exactly the way we did in 2007. In 2005, in 2006, it was a little different, because in 2005, I was new back here with Mike Sherman as the head coach, and in 2006, Mike McCarthy was the new head coach. So, I was more of the point person in terms of staying in touch. In 2007, Mike and Brett had gotten to know each other better, they had a coach-player relationship, so (McCarthy) was the point person then and he was the point person this year."
That the team rushed Favre into a hasty decision
"Every year, we talked about, it would be nice to know by the start of free agency. But I think every year, the decision was made after the start of free agency. We like to know just in case, but — and even this year, he first mentioned (retirement), like, the day before the start of free agency, and we gave him three or four or five days after that to think about it. So, it wasn't like there was ever a real deadline."
That he is choosing Rodgers over Favre
This is not about Aaron vs. Brett. This is two completely different things. The only thing in common is they play the same position. It's just that with the retirement and with the affirmation of that retirement, then the organization, we have to have somebody to play quarterback."
That there is a grudge between he and Favre
"I like Brett a lot. We've never had one cross word in all the conversations that we've had. I can't speak for him, but I honestly can say we've never had a bad conversation."
Thompson also stated repeatedly he is not upset with how Favre, 38, has handled the situation. He wouldn't speculate on whether the issue would be resolved before players report for training camp two weeks from today.
"I don't know how it got to this," Thompson said. "If I did, I probably would have tried to take steps to keep it from getting to this, because this is the last place I want to be."
However, Thompson knows he'll be judged by how he handles a situation he admits is weighing on his mind. He says he expects the Packers to win in 2008, but that might not be good enough for fans who adore Favre as much as, if not more than, the team. If things go wrong, Thompson likely would bear the brunt of the criticism — and many would trace any failure to Favre's departure.
"I wish it wasn't that way, and something this sensitive and this passionate, I can understand it," Thompson said. "I think if everybody knew what I knew and everybody knew what Brett knew, there'd probably be less people mad at either one of us.
"He's had some change of heart in terms of being 100 percent committed to playing. That's his prerogative to change his mind. With me, we're just dealing with what we're faced with, and it's an iconic player that's probably unmatched in sports today."
An iconic player who now is the only central figure in this story who has yet to speak.