A FEW FAVRE ARTICLES FROM THE ENEMY--KC PRESS

[Bretsky]

Like LJ, Favre is moody, but he’s all about the team

The Packers probably didn’t have much of a choice. Tucked away in Green Bay, Wis., you don’t give up on Brett Favre. He’s all they have.

Still, today, with the Packers at 6-1, sitting atop the NFC North and coming off a stirring overtime victory on “Monday Night Football,” the decision to ride out Brett Favre’s bouts of retirement indecision and years of immature play seems brilliant and bold.

I’d have given up, traded Favre to the Dolphins or some other QB-starved squad and let him finish his career in a foreign uniform. It happened to Joe Montana. Why not Favre?

Well, there are two reasons: 1. Green Bay isn’t San Francisco; 2. Montana never had Favre’s physical tools.

God-given talent is hard to give up on. As proved by the rainbow he unspooled to Greg Jennings at Denver to win Monday’s contest, Favre still has one of the three strongest arms in football. He makes the Packers formidable.

Favre’s and the Packers’ resurgence explains Kansas City’s patient and tolerant approach with Larry Johnson. I’m not comparing Johnson to Favre. They’re not in the same class in terms of talent, production and poor behavior. Favre has LJ beat in talent and production. And LJ is way ahead of Favre in terms of being a locker-room cancer.

However, there is a comparison in terms of dealing with players who can be difficult and moody, especially when their teams are not winning.

Favre has contemplated retirement after each of the previous four seasons. He whined when the Packers didn’t make a strong play for Randy Moss. He broke an unspoken code among players, commenting on receiver Javon Walker’s contract negotiations. And, most troubling, he constantly threw the ball into traffic, believing his arm could fix any Green Bay problem.

Through it all, the Packers never blinked. They stood by their best player, waited out his indecision, selfish play and complaints.

Man, they look smart today.

Favre is the lone reason Herm Edwards and Gunther Cunningham didn’t sleep this week. Today, when the Chiefs and Packers meet at Arrowhead Stadium, Favre provides the Pack its only shot at victory.

It appears he’s in the middle of a magical season, a season that will make the “interception years” worth tolerating. He’s thrown 11 TDs and just six interceptions this season. Always one of the most passionate players in the league, Favre’s passion has energized the entire Green Bay locker room.

Guys love playing with and for Favre.

And that is the major difference between Favre and Larry Johnson.

Playing with Larry is a pain in the you-know-what. An NFL assistant coach — who has broken down film of the Chiefs — told me last week that Johnson’s refusal to block might haunt the Chiefs in free-agency.

“A free-agent quarterback would be a fool to sign with the Chiefs,” he explained.

Think about it. Suppose the Chiefs reach the end of the season and conclude that they need to upgrade at quarterback. Would a smart QB with multiple suitors choose to play in the same backfield with The Matador? Why take the risk?

I hope Larry Johnson takes the time today to take a look at the emotional lift Brett Favre gives his team. There’s nothing wrong with loving the game that made you rich and famous. When you do that, the game will love you back, even when you don’t deserve it.


To reach Jason Whitlock, call 816-234-4869 or send e-mail to jwhitlock@kcstar.com. For previous columns, go to KansasCity.com

[Bretsky]

These days, Favre’s in their faces
By JEFFREY FLANAGAN
The Kansas City Star
For most of Brett Favre’s career, he wouldn’t have dreamed about chastising a teammate, especially publicly, something he considered an abominable act by a leader.

If a receiver ran the wrong route or dropped a perfect pass? No problem. If a lineman false-started or missed a blitz pickup? No sweat.

Hey, just huddle up, boys. We’ll make this next play work.

That was the Brett Favre of old.

Today, the older Brett Favre indeed chastises. And barks. And sighs. And throws up his arms in exasperation.

The Brett Favre of today gets in the grills of teammates right in front of the TV cameras. The Brett Favre of today gets mighty grumpy when the game he worships isn’t played to perfection.

This transformation of Favre’s personality over recent years has been noticeable to anyone who has observed his career — teammates, coaches, writers, broadcasters. And most of all, to Favre himself.

“Yeah, I’ve probably been our team’s biggest critic,” Favre said following Monday night’s stunning overtime win in Denver. “(Packers coach) Mike (McCarthy) is always telling me, ‘Build the team up, build the guys up.’

“Hey, I want to say we’re a great team, but …”

Favre knows better than to make any such claims about the 6-1 Packers. He knows he is surrounded again by rookie receivers and rookie running backs and inexperienced linemen.

And with all that youth and inexperience — the Packers are the youngest team in the NFL — Favre knows mistakes are bound to be made. But as Favre has aged, he is less able to suffer those foolish mistakes.

Longtime Favre observers can’t pinpoint the exact date when Favre’s tolerance level reached its limit. But an educated guess would be sometime during the end of the rocky Mike Sherman coaching era in Green Bay, an era that ended in disaster two years ago — a 4-12 clunker, the only losing season of Favre’s career.

Favre repeatedly snapped at teammates on the field that year, a trend that has continued. This year, Favre has yelled in plain sight at rookie receiver James Jones, who lost two fumbles in the loss to Chicago; at veteran left tackle Chad Clifton for missing a key block in the same game; at second-year receiver Greg Jennings for cutting off a route.

Even Favre’s beloved go-to receiver, Donald Driver, has endured a chewing out or two in recent years.

Favre said he doesn’t think chastising teammates is an issue. It’s not his job to coddle anyone.

“(Former coach) Mike Holmgren never patted me on the back and said, ‘That’s OK, buddy,’ ” Favre once said. “There was never any of that. He laid into me every time. And I can’t tell you how many times I came off the field and said, ‘I hate that guy.’ ”

But Favre never complained, he said, because he knew that deep down, all the criticism helped him learn to play the game the right way.

Perhaps Favre’s teammates feel the same way.

Not once has a teammate ever snapped back. Not once.

“That shows respect,” said former NFL quarterback Rich Gannon. “That shows they probably know Brett’s right.

“And it also tells you that behind the scenes, he is building them up, giving them an ‘Attaboy.’ Away from the cameras, what fans don’t see, is him being a caring teammate.

“He doesn’t yell at them to embarrass them. He’s teaching.”

[Bretsky]

Many will be at Arrowhead to watch Favre
By Rick Dean
The Capital-Journal
Published Sunday, November 04, 2007
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Brett Favre, Brett Favre, Brett Favre.

Fans and media alike have talked about little else in the six days since the future Hall of Fame quarterback threw for 331 yards and two long touchdowns passes in Green Bay's dramatic 19-13 Monday night victory in Denver.
Clearly, the prospect of seeing one of the great quarterbacks to ever play the game makes Favre's final appearance today at Arrowhead Stadium — as the Chiefs and Packers aren't scheduled to meet for at least another three years, at which point Favre would be 41 —a red-hot ticket.

The Chiefs themselves find this all a little amusing. The 6-1 Packers, they know, are far from a one-man team. Favre can't throw and catch, or block and tackle, all by himself.

Still, when people herald the arrival of Brett Favre and the Packers, coach Herm Edwards understands. Such is the headline nature of the front man.

"It's like the great (singing) groups,'' he said. "There may be 10 guys singing, but there's one guy everybody talks about. It's like The Temptations. Everybody talked about Eddie Kendricks. They didn't talk about Melvin Franklin and the other guys.''

Old Motown analogies aside, Edwards also understands why fans and players alike get excited about a living legend.

"My first pro game was against Joe Namath when he was (finishing his career) with the Rams. You think I wasn't starstruck?'' Edwards said. "But, I got my first NFL interception against Joe Namath. I went over afterward and shook his hand.

"Hey, if you can get an interception off one of the great quarterbacks, it's special.''

It would be nice if young Chiefs safeties Jarrad Page or Bernard Pollard could pick Favre today. Veteran corner Ty Law and linebacker Donnie Edwards also would love it. Favre, after all, may hold the NFL career record for touchdown passes (425), but he also just passed George Blanda for the league record in interceptions — 279 after six this year.

"He's a guy who's hard to read because he ad-libs on a lot of plays,'' said Law, who yearns to add Favre to his Hall of Fame resume.

"He's very good when he does that, but his biggest strength can also be his biggest weakness. Sometimes he has such confidence in his arm that he gives you the chance to make a big play. We've got to be ready if he gives us that opportunity, because he throws one of the hardest balls I've ever seen.''

History also shows Favre is winless against Kansas City — the only team he's not beaten in a glorious 17-year career.

In three games against the Chiefs — two at Arrowhead (1993 and '96) and one at Lambeau in 2003 — Favre has a mere 77.0 passer rating. He's thrown five touchdowns but also five interceptions. He's also been sacked 11 times, something that gives Chief defensive end Jared Allen hope.

"They thrive on the big play, and right now they're very hot,'' said Allen, the AFC Defensive Player of the Month for October when he recorded six of his eight sacks.

"But he will try to throw the ball into (tight) spaces, and that's when we've got to make the big plays. When they take their shots downfield, we have to make them pay.''

The Chiefs won't stop Favre from completing passes, Edwards admitted. The key is keeping Donald Driver, Greg Jennings and rookie James Jones from turning short- and medium-length passes into gamebreakers as they did against Denver.

"You can't lose your poise when Brett Favre is completing passes, because he can hit eight in a row,'' Edwards said. "You've got to play through the streaks where he's going to be very hot and he's making great throws. The key is, you've got to tackle.''

The Chiefs also can't give the Packers any semblance of a running game, something they've been missing until last week when rookie Ryan Grant had Pack's first 100-yard game of the season. The more people the Chiefs keep back in pass coverage, the better chance they have of limiting Favre.

But just as Eddie Kendricks and The Tempts went on after the departure of David Ruffin, so too has Favre learned to live without the Edgar Bennett/Dorsey Levins running attack during the Packers' Super Bowl campaigns in the mid-1990s.

"I think Brett takes that as a challenge,'' Law said. "If he had to hand the ball off too much, I think he'd be bored. He wants it all on his shoulders. He's most comfortable when he has to throw the ball.''

Rick Dean can be reached

at rick.dean@cjonline.com.

[jramsey495]

great articles, thanks for posting

i love this quote:
“(Former coach) Mike Holmgren never patted me on the back and said, ‘That’s OK, buddy,’ ” Favre once said. “There was never any of that. He laid into me every time. And I can’t tell you how many times I came off the field and said, ‘I hate that guy.’ ”

and i repent of wanting larry johnson in green and gold after reading the stuff about him not blocking and qbs not wanting to play with him.