400 for Brett

[PaCkFan_n_MD]

by Mike Spofford, Packers.com
posted 09/20/2006


Some professional sports milestones have a certain ring to them, like 500 home runs for a baseball player or 10,000 points for a basketball player.

Four hundred career touchdown passes doesn't resonate in quite the same way, but that doesn't take away from the significance of it.

With three TD passes last week against New Orleans, Brett Favre reached 399 in his career. His next one, which hopefully will come this Sunday in Detroit, will make Favre only the second player in NFL history to reach the mark.

The other is Dan Marino, who retired as the NFL's all-time leader with 420. Favre moved ahead of Fran Tarkenton (342) and into second place way back in 2003 and has been closing in on 400, and Marino, ever since.

Favre said Wednesday during his bi-weekly news conference that he's not sure if the number 400 means anything more to him, but hearing numbers like that simply reminds him how fortunate he's been to have such a long and productive career.

"I always dreamed of playing, always dreamed of throwing touchdown passes in the National Football League, but I never dreamed of throwing 400, never dreamed of playing 200 straight games," he said.

"It's still a privilege and an honor to be able to play at this level. Every time I get to throw a pass is something a lot of people would love to do. Being able to throw touchdown passes in Lambeau Field is a great honor. To be able to throw 400 is icing on the cake."

Favre's love of the game and the competition hasn't diminished any. Head Coach Mike McCarthy noted he sees Favre staying late to study film, or coming back to the film room at night after spending some time at home.

His preparation for games remains diligent, perhaps even moreso now because he has two first-year receivers in Greg Jennings and Ruvell Martin as well as newcomer Koren Robinson with whom to develop familiarity.

For Favre, that was the one upside to the 55 pass attempts against New Orleans last Sunday. The Packers know they can't throw the ball that much and expect to win often, but getting that much work in a live game early in the season could help the passing attack down the road.

"The only way you get on the same page is by doing it, moreso than in practice, by doing it in games," Favre said.

Favre pointed out an example from Sunday's game that he hopes will help synchronize thoughts with Jennings. On the final drive, Favre rifled a pass to the left that sailed past Jennings almost before he turned his head.

Favre was reading the coverage and saw an opening he knew from experience would be there. Jennings was running the route that was called and didn't improvise in the same way Favre did based on the defensive set.

"It was nothing he did," Favre said of the missed pass. "I was just anticipating by coverage that hole, and there was a hole there, but by route and by doing what he was coached to do, he was right. So maybe the next time ..."

That's the sort of connection Favre has with Donald Driver, and why Driver leads the team with 15 receptions through two games. Driver just played his 100th career game last Sunday, all with Favre as his quarterback, and Favre knows it will just take time for him to reach the same level of communication with the rest of the receiving corps.

"You have two guys that are definitely on the same page," McCarthy said. "He has a great feel for Donald, particularly in the middle of the field, so we would just like to get him on the same page with the other receivers. That comes with reps."

Despite the team's early struggles this season, Favre reiterated he has no interest in finishing his career anywhere else, and he's by no means giving up on the 2006 Packers.

When asked if he'd want to go to a slow-starting playoff contender like Tampa Bay or Washington were either of them to inquire about trading for him, Favre responded by saying he didn't expect that to happen and that he wouldn't want to go.

"It sounds great, but to learn a new system, to basically start over, the expectations would be so great," he said. "People may say, 'Well, your season is not going the way you'd like it here, at least you could go somewhere else and take a chance at winning.' Well, I'm taking that chance now.

"There's still some juice left in me here. Just because we're struggling right now, I'm not going to bail just like that."

Favre added that it's difficult for him to see so many young players not bothered as much by the 0-2 record as he is, but at the same time he forces himself to remember what things were like in his first season here in 1992.

That year the Packers started 3-6 before ripping off six wins in a row to give themselves a shot at a playoff spot in the season's final game.

"It's hard for me to come in here on Monday and act like everything's OK and we're going on to the next game, even though I know we have to do that, and guys are joking around like no big deal," he said. "But I'm hoping that's a good thing, because I'm assuming in '92 I was sort of the same way.

"So be resilient and keep playing the way we played last week. We didn't make enough plays, but we did make some and we had a chance to win that game. I felt we should have won it, and if we keep doing that and continue to get better week in and week out, we will win them and maybe we get on a little streak, so anything can happen."



If Brett throws an average of 3 TD passes every two weeks from now on, he will tie Dan Marino.

[Fosco33]

I've repeated on here that this teams obvious lack of experience and chemistry would lead to early mishaps. Favre did a good job of explaining how being on the same page really improves the offensive threats.

With the defense coming together - and improvement from our secondary - this team has a shot to get better - and fast.

We've had a good offensive running game, a good passing game and some fine defensive performances w/ a few setbacks.

I think this team is really close to not being considered bad. They won't be a great team but they have a shot at Good/Ok.

[MadtownPacker]

1 INT and 1 fumble. Was there any other turnovers?

Cuz if not then scoring 27 should always be enough to win. Yes the Saints are a lesser opponent then the bears but the Pack D gets all the blame for this one. Gotta stop those big plays.

I refilled my Kool-Aid glass after the O's performance last week. No matter what happens on Sunday, if Favre gets 400 that alone is something to be happy about.

[woodbuck27]

"If Brett throws an average of 3 TD passes every two weeks from now on, he will tie Dan Marino " PaCkFan_n_MD

I want to see Favre break that record this season.

As I see it, alot of " that, being a reality" will fall on how OUR GM Ted Thompson does his job as OUR GM, and deals with any and all adversity, from now till season's end.

Give Brett Favre " the protection", the proper game plan and the weapons and he's a lock to break Dan Marino's record; otherwise " that reality" is in real danger of going down the tubes.

My first concern, is Favre taking hits (his health) over the couse of 16 games, behind an OL that has a ways to go toword's enabling the running game, we must have to set up play action.

The needed offensive effort towords not putting excessive pressure on a Defense, that we see struggling with the pass. A rested Defense that will, I have faith - make plays and create turnovers to score or enable more on offense.

Over and over we emphasize it.

It will in essence all fall on the effectiveness of the OL. We can't have OUR QB getting smacked around, and not see fumbles and those turned into recoveries by "the bad guy's", and not avoid Defensive scoring against us.

That just puts Favre and OUR Offense in a deeper HOLE, and it snowballs against us from there.

THE Offensive Line !!!

HOW the OL plays, and how determined GM Ted Thompson reacts to adversity, will be a huge factor in deciding whether or not...

Brett Favre over Dan Marino, for ALL TIME TD Pass's, become's a reality.

[mmmdk]

1 INT and 1 fumble. Was there any other turnovers?

Cuz if not then scoring 27 should always be enough to win. Yes the Saints are a lesser opponent then the bears but the Pack D gets all the blame for this one. Gotta stop those big plays.

I refilled my Kool-Aid glass after the O's performance last week. No matter what happens on Sunday, if Favre gets 400 that alone is something to be happy about.

True but I believe Favre would rather throw 0 TDs vs Lions and get a win. So would I.

[MJZiggy]

I don't know that there's anyone here who would take the records over the W's.

[MadtownPacker]

True but I believe Favre would rather throw 0 TDs vs Lions and get a win. So would I.
Oh I agree 100% but if they do lose Favre getting a TD would still be nice.

I said I refilled the glass, I didnt say I slammed it down in one gulp! :mrgreen:

[Fosco33]

Well the national media is really jumping on board for this rare occasion... :razz:

Screw Michael Silver and SI.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/michael_silver/09/21/brett/1.html

[Don Ratzenburger]

Time to go
Favre and rebuilding Packers just aren't working (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/michael_silver/09/21/brett/index.html)

When I showed up for my first day of work as a newly hired scrub on the 49ers beat, the first thing I learned was that Ronnie Lott hadn't. The greatest defensive player in franchise history skipped the first day of a mandatory minicamp in June 1989 to stick up for his friends.

Management had slashed the base salaries of San Francisco veterans Eric Wright and Keena Turner, and when Lott showed up at the team's training facility the next day, he was visibly pissed. When he emerged from the locker room long after practice and saw me -- a recent college graduate who'd just been hired by a now-defunct newspaper to cover the defending champions -- for some weird reason, he unloaded.

"These men have given everything to this organization," he explained, "and yet the second the people in charge think they can get away with it, they screw 'em over. And before too long, they'll do the same thing to me."

I looked at him dubiously, and then my heart began to race. Joe Montana -- the Joe Montana -- was now standing next to us, nodding. I'd barely met the man, but he must have sensed my youthful naivety, because the first words he said were, "And sooner or later, they'll f--- me, too."

"Yeah, right," I blurted out. Had Montana gone insane? Already, he was a legend, a magician whose dramatic feats had transformed a franchise and, indeed, an entire city's self-image. Before Joe, San Francisco's teams were lovable, wacky ensembles that would inevitably choke in the clutch; with him, the city had become the sporting capital of unencumbered cool. Surely, more than any star player with any pro franchise, he would be allowed to leave on his own terms.

Less than four years later, Montana was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs, and his initial lesson to a rookie reporter had been driven home: In the NFL, eventually, everyone gets whacked.

Sadly, for Brett Favre, that moment is fast approaching. Or, at the very least, it should be.

Oh, sure, I know the rules are supposed to be different in Green Bay, where the local time is always 1996, and Favre is still that bodacious gunslinger who put the title back in Titletown. Though that was Favre's only Super Bowl championship, it is nearly impossible to discuss this quarterback with a Packers fan without eliciting an emotionally charged response.

Taking in that blind devotion is one of the cool things about covering football in Green Bay, and Favre is wholly deserving of his beloved status; not to mention, he's also one of my favorite players to write about or interview. But there comes a time when logic must prevail, and I hate to be the one to break it to you, but the hour is upon us.

The Packers are a rebuilding team, and it's already clear they're going nowhere in 2006. They opened the season with consecutive home defeats, getting destroyed by the Bears in the opener and then losing a close game to the Saints.

Some believe that seven-point defeat to New Orleans constituted progress; to me, it only added to the indignity. Remember when the Packers were a virtual lock to win at Lambeau Field? They've lost nine of their last 12 games there, and their fans may soon be the ones contemplating a Lambeau Leap.

Sure, it's possible Favre and the Pack could come charging back, beginning on Sunday at Detroit, and give us a storybook Super Bowl run. It's also possible that Mad About You will return to the airwaves as a top-10 sitcom.

More realistic is the notion that Green Bay is at least a year away from being decent, and letting Favre stick around is stunting the team's long-term potential.

It's not as if any of this is surprising. Coming off a miserable 4-12 campaign that triggered regime change -- first-time general manager Ted Thompson, who'd been hired the previous year, bringing in first-time coach Mike McCarthy -- the franchise did virtually nothing to shore up its short-term prospects this past offseason. The Packers could have tried to load up on impact players to give Favre a final shot at glory; instead, they traded their best wide receiver (Javon Walker) and acquired no one of his caliber as a replacement.

As one former Packers player said recently, "It was pretty easy to tell the direction it was going."

It seemed to me that Thompson either assumed Favre would retire, or that he was trying to send the quarterback a message that doing so would be the wisest decision. But Favre returned and, predictably, has struggled while running an offense still reeling from the free-agent departures of guards Mike Wahle and Marco Rivera following the '04 season. What once was the league's most formidable offensive line now features three rookies fighting for time at the two guard spots and is struggling to open holes for fading halfback Ahman Green.

At this point, any reasonable coach or GM would conclude that the smart move is to take a look at second-year quarterback Aaron Rodgers, whom Thompson picked in the first round of the '05 draft. Rodgers looked somewhat shaky during his rookie training camp, but he seemed to make huge strides this summer and had a promising preseason debut before leveling off.

In other words, even though Thompson referred to Rodgers as Favre's successor in a meeting with Packers shareholders this past July, the team still doesn't know if the kid can play. And with the possibility of a high pick in the '07 draft looming, and enticing talents like Notre Dame's Brady Quinn and Michigan State's Drew Stanton in play, Thompson and McCarthy desperately need some empirical evidence.

So, why haven't they made the move? Perhaps Favre's close relationship with McCarthy, who was once his quarterbacks coach, is a factor. Maybe McCarthy and Thompson honestly believe their youthful team will grow as the season progresses and mount a charge toward the playoffs.

The biggest reason, I believe, is that they're simply scared to mess with a legend.

I discussed this situation with a person who is extremely plugged into the Packers' organization, and he likened it to "one of those mismatched couples that stay together even though they don't really want to be in the relationship. But neither one wants to be the bad guy and end it, so on it goes."

Whatever he says publicly, I have to believe that Favre, as a competitor, would rather play for, say, the Redskins or Buccaneers than he would for this year's Packers. One thing I know he will never do is stick around Green Bay and back up Rodgers, toward whom he has been frostier than the Lambeau tundra in mid-December. Perhaps that's what's holding up McCarthy: He knows that once he sends Rodgers into a game --or, to clarify, into a game whose outcome is still in doubt -- there is no turning back.

Let's say that moment arrives in the third quarter of Sunday's game in Detroit: Picture the Packers flailing on offense and needing a spark, and the coach going with his gut and sending in the kid. From that point on, however Rodgers performed, things would play out quickly. Within two days Favre would likely either announce his retirement or be squarely on the trading block. And if he chose not to quit, you can bet your lucky Cheesehead that Al Davis, Dan Snyder, Jerry Jones and the Glazer boys would at least pick up the phone, Favre's recent struggles notwithstanding.

Strangely enough, you might then see an in-season bidding war for a soon-to-be-37-year-old passer with a $7 million base salary who threw 29 interceptions in 2005. And if this scenario were to play out after the Oct. 17 trade deadline -- possibly because salary-cap considerations might sidetrack a potential deal -- Favre could be subject to a waiver claim or immediate free agency, which would make things mighty interesting in a bunch of NFL cities.

Might Terrell Owens get his wish and find himself catching Favre's passes? Would Favre push aside his former backup, Mark Brunell, and try to revive the Redskins' potentially dangerous attack?

It sounds like sacrilege, but it sure wouldn't be unprecedented. Johnny Unitas had that sad season in San Diego. Broadway Joe became Sunset (Strip) Joe before hobbling off into it. Dan Marino, after being forced out of Miami, seriously considered signing with the Steelers before deciding to quit.

And, of course, the greatest legend of all played his final three seasons with an arrowhead on his helmet. I covered Montana's first game as a Chief (in Tampa, to open the '93 regular season) and his last (a first-round playoff defeat to Marino and Miami in '95), and a few in between, and seeing him in that uniform always felt a little weird.

I got over it, though. Sooner or later, everyone has to.

__________________________________________________ _________

[Tony Oday]

BS these guys will be pissed when he is starting at 40 in green and gold :)

[ahaha]

F*@king national sports media! How often does a team, and its fans, get a chance to see their hero break major all-time records, especially a quarterback? We have a once in a lifetime opportunity here, to witness great individual achievements by our sports hero. If he goes to the Redskins, Bucs, or Cowboys, is that really going to give them that edge in winning the Super Bowl? Probably not! If the pack continue to stay crappy all year, there will be plenty of time, later in the season, to play Rodgers and see if he's worth building a team around. Jesus F*@king H Christ! With such a young team, it's way too early to give up on the season!

[Tony Oday]

Im sure these are the same idiots that said Marino should be traded because he is too old to win games and blah blah blah. Just because the 49ers sold their souls to get a team that was great for a decade doesnt mean we will. If the push him out the door it will be a black eye on this team forever.

[packrulz]

I'm sure Favre contemplated it might be a struggle this year but he still decided to come back & play for the Green Bay Packers. I like his attitude and I think he's played well this year, especially with decision making, when to throw it away, & etc. Heck, if things go well and they improve he might play a couple more years. Lots of records to break too.

[packrulz]

Furthermore, the Chiefs never went to the Super Bowl with Montana so that's not saying much for the trade. Still, I wonder if crazy Dan Snyder, the Redskins owner, offered up a first round pick for Favre if TT wouldn't take it. Scary. :shock:

[Badgepack]

It's pretty frickin' sad that a player on the verge of a major mark, only accomplished by one other player, and all we hear/read is that "he should be traded" or that "is isn't the player he once was", or "he should have retired".

The Packers would be alot worse off without Favre in the line-up, let the man play and see if he can help turn things around. Plus let him get his records, he deserves it.

[woodbuck27]

I don't know that there's anyone here who would take the records over the W's.


MJ based on the two Articles on this thread.

What is your point specifically, regarding:

WINS for the Packers Vs " the Dan Marino Passing TD Record "

Specifically, MJZiggy?

[MJZiggy]

It's pretty frickin' sad that a player on the verge of a major mark, only accomplished by one other player, and all we hear/read is that "he should be traded" or that "is isn't the player he once was", or "he should have retired".

The Packers would be alot worse off without Favre in the line-up, let the man play and see if he can help turn things around. Plus let him get his records, he deserves it.

Amen. Even if TT were to break down (and no, Buck, I am not TT--would YOU take the record over the W?) and admit that we're rebuilding, someone remind me how long Warren Moon played? Did I not recall that he hung up his cleats at the tender age of 43? I'd say that would give Brett a couple years to let the line in front of him mature and who really cares what Aaron Rodgers can do as long as Brett Favre is still doing it better? Let's worry about what to do after Brett when he's gone not force ourselves into that situation...if he can still play and doesn't want to be traded why would we trade him? Why is it better for him to be playing for Washington? Don't they have the same record we do? What would really be the difference? This article is more and more idiotic the more I think about it.

[BF4MVP]

Some professional sports milestones have a certain ring to them, like 500 home runs for a baseball player or 10,000 points for a basketball player.
10,000 points?! That's nothing. Hopefully he means 20,000..

But even then, it's nothing compared to 400 touchdowns..Neither is 500 home runs..Only 1 person has thrown for that many..So if you're going to use references to other sports, how about saying it would be like scoring 38,000 points, which no one has done other than Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's 38,387? Or hitting 750 home runs, which no one has done other than Hank Aaron's 755?

[MJZiggy]

I don't know that there's anyone here who would take the records over the W's.


MJ based on the two Articles on this thread.

What is your point specifically, regarding:

WINS for the Packers Vs " the Dan Marino Passing TD Record "

Specifically, MJZiggy?

Right now I want the wins because I know very well that Brett will have those records in time. He will catch Marino in tds, likely before the end of this season, but ask Brett once which one HE wants, and I think you'll get the same answer. He wants the wins and really couldn't care about 400 touchdown passes except that it was really cool that he got to throw them for the NFL, specifically for the Packers.

[PaCkFan_n_MD]

It's pretty frickin' sad that a player on the verge of a major mark, only accomplished by one other player, and all we hear/read is that "he should be traded" or that "is isn't the player he once was", or "he should have retired".

The Packers would be alot worse off without Favre in the line-up, let the man play and see if he can help turn things around. Plus let him get his records, he deserves it.


Amen

[Scott Campbell]

It's pretty frickin' sad that a player on the verge of a major mark, only accomplished by one other player, and all we hear/read is that "he should be traded" or that "is isn't the player he once was", or "he should have retired".

The Packers would be alot worse off without Favre in the line-up, let the man play and see if he can help turn things around. Plus let him get his records, he deserves it.


It's not at all surprising. We heard the same stuff about Malone here in Utah as he was closing in on Kareem's all time scoring record. Karl left via free agency for one year, and then retired roughly 18 months shy of breaking the record. Physically, he still had plenty left in the tank.

[woodbuck27]

"and no, Buck, I am not TT--would YOU take the record over the W?"

On NOT being Ted Thompson. You post as defensively as I imagine he would act... but never the less. Good MJ... because one of him is too much. :cool:

MJZiggy:

Common sense dictates that Brett Favre is more likely to get the record with WINS, Ehh.

Doesn't WINS support TD pass's? TD's support or = WINS.

Your certainly need to defend OUR GM's ways... Yet, I wonder if that focus

isn't clouding your thinking a Tad. I at least bring evidence that Ted Thompson isn't doing well as OUR GM certainly to date.

You feel a constant need to defend Ted Thompson. Nothing wrong with that MJZiggy, but why not do so logically?

Using reason and common sense. :idea:

[woodbuck27]

It's pretty frickin' sad that a player on the verge of a major mark, only accomplished by one other player, and all we hear/read is that "he should be traded" or that "is isn't the player he once was", or "he should have retired".

The Packers would be alot worse off without Favre in the line-up, let the man play and see if he can help turn things around. Plus let him get his records, he deserves it.


It's not at all surprising. We heard the same stuff about Malone here in Utah as he was closing in on Kareem's all time scoring record. Karl left via free agency for one year, and then retired roughly 18 months shy of breaking the record. Physically, he still had plenty left in the tank.

Yes. My take on that Scott was that Karl Malone took himself from where he was "the Man with Stockton to being just one of aLine-up of ALL STARS so he had to deal with their needs / ego's.

[MJZiggy]

I'm not sure exactly where it is, but Vince wrote a masterpiece on making assumptions about motivations/actions of team management from a point of not having the same information as those individuals possess. It was truly a work of art and hats off to you, Vince.

I don't have all the information to properly judge TT's actions and neither do you as neither of us were in the room discussing those decisions with him at the time they were made. We simply don't have enough information to condemn him on what he did or didn't do. He has a certain amount of cap space and he walked onto the job millions of dollars in the hole. He had to get us out of that hole (aka cap hell) and field a team using only 53 people plus a couple practice squad projects. I've never done it, but I can guarantee you it's not an easy thing to do. Every time he brings in a player, one has to get cut. If you walk into a team that is not deep to begin with and fix the offense, the defense suffers. If you fix the defense, the offense suffers, if you try to mix it up, they both suck until you have a few years for your picks to work and if you dump all your money into FA, you have no money to sign Gado in the middle of the season when the entire RB group goes down with injuries (or replace a player midseason who's not performing. It is NOT as easy a job as you seem to assume it is. If TT had gone all offense, you'd be screaming because the linebacker corps is in shambles and opposing teams score every possession and how is Brett supposed to be expected to score every time he has the ball because we used all our resources to shore up the offense and none on D? I am not qualified to do that job. No one here is (except maybe Patler :razz: ) but Ted Thompson has had a hand (even if you don't believe he was in control, he was contributing) in building TWO Super Bowl teams (including the Packers of the 90's). He IS qualified to do this job. He cannot fix everything at once. But he can fix it. Too bad he has to do it without our hindsight.

[GrnBay007]

It's pretty frickin' sad that a player on the verge of a major mark, only accomplished by one other player, and all we hear/read is that "he should be traded" or that "is isn't the player he once was", or "he should have retired".




So True!!!!

And the best we can do to fight the ugly media is to support Favre and the Green Bay Packers...win or lose.

[BF4MVP]

400 touchdowns is just so many..

Congratulations in advance, Brett

[MadtownPacker]

Does anyone here own any of the 399 TD footballs?

[Harlan Huckleby]

Does anyone here own any of the 399 TD footballs?


Yes. I have #2, #10, #112, #180 and #399 Please PM me if you are interested in purchasing, $600 + S/H, signed by me.

[GBRulz]

If Brett throws an average of 3 TD passes every two weeks from now on, he will tie Dan Marino.

I like the sound of throwing 1.5 TD's every game from here on out, that he'll break Marino's TD record :mrgreen:

He should break the completion record this year, too