Sounds like Javon Walker has grown up.

[packinpatland]

Javon Walker thrilled to see old friend Favre playing so well again
NBCSports.com features

NBC's Sunday Night Football'wrong,' says Falcons' ownerBy ARNIE STAPLETON
Associated Press Sports
updated 6:39 p.m. ET, Wed., Dec. 12, 2007
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) -Two years after saying he could no longer play in Green Bay because of Brett Favre's criticism of his contract demands, Broncos receiver Javon Walker is looking back wistfully on his time with the Packers quarterback.

In a wide-ranging interview Wednesday, Walker credited Favre for helping him become a wealthy NFL star and said he was thrilled to see Favre's resurgent season that has guided Green Bay back into the playoffs after a three-year absence.

"I don't know what he's doing in the offseason, but he's looking better than half the young quarterbacks in this league right now,'' Walker said. "And it's the same ol' Brett, just letting his guys make plays for him on top of the plays he's making.''

If the Broncos can't slip into the playoffs, Walker said he's pulling for Favre to win another Super Bowl.

"Oh, shoot, that's just going to add on to his legacy,'' Walker said. "(But) that's not going to define him. What's going to define him is knowing he took a young team and even made it to the playoffs this year, because nobody knew what to expect out of those guys.''

Walker insists there's no hard feelings left over from his time in Green Bay, where he blew out his right knee in the 2005 opener after bluffing he'd hold out, threats that angered Favre, who suggested at the time that Walker should live up to his contract.

That offseason, Walker demanded a trade, saying Favre's criticisms made him an outcast in Green Bay.

The Packers sent him to Denver for a second-round draft choice. The Broncos gave Walker a five-year extension worth more than $40 million that kicked in this year and includes roster bonuses totaling $15 million in 2007 and '08.

For all these riches, Walker thanked Favre.

"You know why? Because Brett is the type of quarterback where he believes in his guy winning all the time,'' Walker said. "And to tell you the truth, I wouldn't know half of the ability or plays that I could make if he wouldn't have given me the opportunity to make them.''

Favre's propensity to throw the ball into coverage allowed Walker to showcase his athleticism.

"If I'm running a route and the guy's right on me and they don't throw the ball because they think you're covered, Brett would throw the ball and it's like, 'Oh, wow. He jumped over that guy to make the play.' And you can tell yourself as a wide receiver, 'Oh, wow. I made that play?' And then all that does is just make you better because he's showing stuff you know you can do,'' Walker said.

Walker hasn't had much of an opportunity to showcase his skills this season. He's missed eight games with a right knee ailment unrelated to his torn anterior cruciate ligament in 2005, and he's caught just three passes for 17 yards since starting the season with back-to-back 100-yard games.

In many ways, he said, this year has been harder on him than 2005.

"The ACL, that was the easy part,'' Walker said. "I think this year was more frustrating because at least you know with the ACL, you're not playing in any games, you're not practicing, you're just completely out. You're out, you're done, next season. So, you've got a bunch of time to get it right before going into next camp.''

This season, Walker has practiced through the pain, not wanting to shut himself down because the Broncos (6-7) sorely missed him. He returned three weeks ago after missing seven weeks following arthroscopic surgery. But Walker estimates he's only at 75 percent and was deactivated last week. He'll be a game-time decision Thursday night at Houston.

"It's frustrating because you're trying to do what you can do and a knee is preventing you from being your best,'' Walker said. "It plays into everybody else's eyes. It plays into the coaches' eyes. It plays into the quarterback's eyes, because even though you're out there, there's a trust factor now: 'Can I go to him? Can I not go to him?'

"When I tore my ACL, I knew Brett wasn't looking for me,'' Walker said. "So it was better me being out and him just not going to me than me being in a game and him not even looking my way at all.''

Walker, 29, said he doesn't know if the Broncos will approach him about renegotiating in the offseason. He suggested he wouldn't be willing to do that because the deal just kicked in this year, "and my best seasons are ahead of me.''

Walker said he plans to push as hard next summer as he did when returning from his torn ACL but doesn't foresee fretting about his health so much this time.

"Where I had a doubt was when I tore my ACL in 2005. I didn't know what to expect,'' Walker said. "You go from being able to run full-speed to sitting in a bed for a month. But now, knowing where I came from, this little old thing that just needs time and rest when the offseason comes around, that's going to be like nothing.''

© 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed

[b bulldog]

He is now on the chopping block and he may get axed this offseason. Walker is probably just hoping to come back to GB.

[The Leaper]

Walker is not a bad guy. He made a mistake, and now is paying for it. I have little doubt Walker wishes he had handled things differently now.

[MadtownPacker]

Wow, that's some major crow homeboy is chowing down. Total 360 from his "they will be lucky to win 6 games" comment last season.

[Cheesehead Craig]

Wow, that's some major crow homeboy is chowing down. Total 360 from his "they will be lucky to win 6 games" comment last season.
True that. It takes some serious balls to say what he did in this interview.

[RashanGary]

He is now on the chopping block and he may get axed this offseason. Walker is probably just hoping to come back to GB.

I would take him back in a heartbeat right now. 5 years, 20 mil with 10 front. That would be an absolute steal. Maybe if we gave him 10 of it up front, he'd consider it because it's a big early pay day and he's worried about his health.

If if doesn't work out, it was worth the chance. Walker is an elite WR when healthy. As good as our WR's are, he'd be our #1.

[RashanGary]

They would have to look at his knees of course. If it's just bad luck or a bad run, he would be a GREAT addition. If he has serious knee damage that will not go away, you have to just let him go of course.

I do like the idea of bringing him back though. I love our guys, but Walker brings a little of the Randy Moss effect when healthy. Depending on how his knee checked out, he would be walking into a perfect chance to win a SB here.

[Bretsky]

He is now on the chopping block and he may get axed this offseason. Walker is probably just hoping to come back to GB.

I would take him back in a heartbeat right now. 5 years, 20 mil with 10 front. That would be an absolute steal. Maybe if we gave him 10 of it up front, he'd consider it because it's a big early pay day and he's worried about his health.

If if doesn't work out, it was worth the chance. Walker is an elite WR when healthy. As good as our WR's are, he'd be our #1.

:bclap:

[RashanGary]

That would be an unstoppable offense.


Base offense would be

Walker/Jennings/Driver/Lee/Grant (Could run or pass)

Goal-line would be Walker/Lee/Bubba/Kuhn/Grant

5 wide Walker/Driver/Jennings/Jones/Robinson


The options are endless, but no matter how you look at it, Walker brings a hard to stop aspect to every package that was already hard to stop before he was added.

[hoosier]

He is now on the chopping block and he may get axed this offseason. Walker is probably just hoping to come back to GB.

I would take him back in a heartbeat right now. 5 years, 20 mil with 10 front. That would be an absolute steal. Maybe if we gave him 10 of it up front, he'd consider it because it's a big early pay day and he's worried about his health.

If if doesn't work out, it was worth the chance. Walker is an elite WR when healthy. As good as our WR's are, he'd be our #1.

Huh??? We have no idea what his long-term health is going to be like. He's had two serious/prolonged knee injuries in three years. He's turning 30 soon and he's managed to stay healthy and productive for two entire season--or three if you count the year when he broke out in the second half. What's more, I don't think GB even needs another receiver--he'd just be taking chances away from others. If Thompson's going to go out and get a high-priced free agent, no chance it's at an offensive skill position--it'll be OL or nothing IMO.

[Fritz]

Too late now. Would you rather have Walker start instead of Jennings? Really? And would you pay Walker that much money after two injury-plagued seasons in a row? Really?

That kind of thinking is Mike Sherman-esque.

[Bossman641]

5 years for a 30 year old WR coming off 2 bad injuries? No thanks

If you bring him in at all, you do it with a short-term deal similar to NE's with Moss and give him a chance to re-establish himself.

[FritzDontBlitz]

For all these riches, Walker thanked Favre.

"You know why? Because Brett is the type of quarterback where he believes in his guy winning all the time,'' Walker said. "And to tell you the truth, I wouldn't know half of the ability or plays that I could make if he wouldn't have given me the opportunity to make them.''

Favre's propensity to throw the ball into coverage allowed Walker to showcase his athleticism.

"If I'm running a route and the guy's right on me and they don't throw the ball because they think you're covered, Brett would throw the ball and it's like, 'Oh, wow. He jumped over that guy to make the play.' And you can tell yourself as a wide receiver, 'Oh, wow. I made that play?' And then all that does is just make you better because he's showing stuff you know you can do,'' Walker said.



Sounds like he's taking a bit of a swipe at Jay Cutler, since everyone tries to compare Cutler to Favre in his prime.

I'm impressed with his comments too, even if he is trying to sweet talk his way back to Green Bay.

[packers11]

I think Javon knows he ruined a good thing... He now sees that Favre did elevate his game, and gave him those chances...

I feel bad for both sides, if he didn't have that ACL injury, he probably would have still been a Green Bay Packer...

I'm glad though he finally grew up, after being such a little whiny b$%$h, and after the comments he made last season...

When hes healthy , hes a beast... But lately, his knee is still giving him problems...

[hoosier]

I think Javon knows he ruined a good thing... He now sees that Favre did elevate his game, and gave him those chances...

I feel bad for both sides, if he didn't have that ACL injury, he probably would have still been a Green Bay Packer...

I'm glad though he finally grew up, after being such a little whiny b$%$h, and after the comments he made last season...

When hes healthy , hes a beast... But lately, his knee is still giving him problems...

I don't feel the least bit bad for him. He chose to play his cards the way he played them, and things haven't worked out as well as they might have. Nobody forced him out, he burnt his own bridges and now it sounds like he's regretting it. Too bad.

[the_idle_threat]

It's nice to see that Javon's back to saying nice things about my favorite team, but he still comes across as being dumb as a post.

Consider this quote:

"If I'm running a route and the guy's right on me and they don't throw the ball because they think you're covered, Brett would throw the ball and it's like, 'Oh, wow. He jumped over that guy to make the play.' And you can tell yourself as a wide receiver, 'Oh, wow. I made that play?' And then all that does is just make you better because he's showing stuff you know you can do.''

(1) HUH????? :?:

(2) Javon thinks he's complimenting Brett, but in fact it's a back-handed compliment, even if Javon doesn't realize it. He's celebrating bad decision-making on Brett's part in throwing the ball into coverage. Makes you wonder if Brett developed some of those bad habits we all saw last year the the year before by throwing to Javon in coverage, because Javon was bailing him out by coming up with the ball. It's the same thing I've seen Brady do with Moss this year---throw the ball where it shouldn't go because the receiver can come up with it anyway. I hope Brady experiencesd a similar dropoff in efficiency when Moss moves on. :twisted:

(3) As mentioned above, this same comment can come across as a veiled criticism of Cutler, who is presumably not doing these things Brett does. Way to stir up controversy on your own team, Javon. :idea:

[Carolina_Packer]

He can rub $100 bills on his knee to make it feel better.

It would be kind of weird to have him come back after what he did. Do you even think he'd want to come back? Javon should have checked his ego at the door when he was Brett's teammate. Brett is the man in Green Bay, and the team leader. You are not more important than Brett Favre to the Packers organization, the fans or anyone who cares about Green Bay. Why fight that battle? You're going to lose. If he just could have had a little foresight, and self-control, life might have been better professionally for Javon (from a football standpoint, not necessarily a money standpoint).

I think Denver will let him go if he holds to not wanting to restructure. People with two knee injuries approaching 30 need to see the writing on the wall.

[Badgerinmaine]

Walker is not a bad guy. He made a mistake, and now is paying for it. I have little doubt Walker wishes he had handled things differently now.
I think that's right, and I'm glad of it. That still doesn't mean I'm eager to give him Greg Jennings' job.

[Tarlam!]

After the damage Walker did to my favourite Franchise? F__k him. I hope he rots as a minimum wager. F__k him. Punk.

[the_idle_threat]

Underneath that tough exterior, I can see that you really have great affection for ol' J-Walk.

Errr... or mebbe not! :P

[BlueBrewer]

He's still a little bitch, he just has nothing to brag about anymore. His team sucks and he's washed up.

[BallHawk]

If he left Green Bay from strictly a contract standpoint, meaning he didn't say things like "I'd rather retire than play for the Packers" then maybe I'd take him back. However, the guy was a complete ass when he left and, to me, he's burned the bridge too severely to allow him to come back. He was my favorite player, but he's half the player he used to be and I can't see him being in the locker room after the things he said about the organization.

Besides, if Javon Walker comes to Green Bay Ruvell Martin would possibly be gone. And we all don't want that to happen. :wink:

[BlueBrewer]

I'll take James jones all day over washed up walker.

[FritzDontBlitz]

Jeez, such compassion at holiday season.

The guy just made a major mea culpa. If nothing else, at least give him credit for that.

Be back later. I have to grab a dictionary to find out what "mea culpa" means.....

[4and12to12and4]

If he left Green Bay from strictly a contract standpoint, meaning he didn't say things like "I'd rather retire than play for the Packers" then maybe I'd take him back. However, the guy was a complete ass when he left and, to me, he's burned the bridge too severely to allow him to come back. He was my favorite player, but he's half the player he used to be and I can't see him being in the locker room after the things he said about the organization.

Besides, if Javon Walker comes to Green Bay Ruvell Martin would possibly be gone. And we all don't want that to happen. :wink:

The funny thing is, I think that Ruvell Martin IS a better receiver than JV now. Once you reinjure the same knee you completely tore up and had surgically replaced, you're done. Ask Ahmad Green. I was pissed when TT didn't get Javon to stay and when he let Green slip away (not for 5 million a year, I thought he should've had him signed way before that for much less), but TT is starting to look pretty damn smart these days, with our healthy young receivers and healthy young running back who happens to have more yards rushing than anyone else in the league since he's been starting. I will admit that I was wrong, and TT ended up doing the right thing in both scenarios. Now, if both those guys stayed healthy, and we had them, we would have a scary offense, so, maybe TT ran into some good fortune with these guys getting injured, but, no matter which way you say it, they proved to be the right moves at this moment. I wouldn't count on either of them coming back and doing anything even remotely special for any length of time before getting reinjured again. Anyone with a reconstructed knee would tell you the same. Not when you're getting hit like these guys take hits in today's NFL. You're lucky if you're knees hold up for sixteen games if they are the ones God gave you.

For those who stated in this thread you'd give JV a shitload of money to come back, put down the crackpipe, hell, even Cutler won't throw to him. Now, I'd take Brandon Marshall, he's ten times the receiver JV will ever be again, his time is over, he and Green are done. They might have a game or two left, maybe. I hope I'm wrong, I like 'em both. But I wouldn't bet against me.

[Scott Campbell]

Jeez, such compassion at holiday season.

The guy just made a major mea culpa. If nothing else, at least give him credit for that.

Be back later. I have to grab a dictionary to find out what "mea culpa" means.....



Sorry, I'm not buying any of it. Walker knows (probably because his agent told him - he's too dumb to figure it out by himself) that the Broncos will cut him this summer rather than pay that massive roster bonuse. He said he won't take a pay cut, and he knows he's going to be shopping his services again.

Well it won't help his cause if he's still toting around all the GB baggage from that messy divorce, and his pending divorce from the Broncos could get chippy too. He could very well just be on an agent directed PR campaign.

I find the timing of this olive branch just a little too coincidental. Just as he realizes that he's not likely to be a Bronco next year, he suddenly has a case of the warm and fuzzies for his personal relationship with Favre and GB.

Or, maybe I'm just cynical.

[Cheesehead Craig]

Thing is, we don't need Javon. We have a fantastic chemistry going on with the current WR corps and likely they will all be back next year, so why mess with a good thing? To me this falls under "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".

[Joemailman]

I bear no grudges against Javon. That said, he burned bridges when he left here. He is a 30 year old WR who has been healthy 1 out of the last 3 years. He'll make a good possession receiver for somebody...if he stays healthy. Koren Robinson and James Jones are better than he is now.

[Patler]

Being covered with the blood of your friend and having him die in your lap tends to change your perspective on a lot of things. It makes you reconsider your values and priorities. I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. He might be a different person than he was two years ago.

[Merlin]

When you know you may be cut, you have to mend as many fences as possible. Walker has been nothing short of average in Denver, maybe even below. He knows his days are numbered. Maybe he is looking to Green Bay to trade for him....not in a million years.

[FritzDontBlitz]

Jeez, such compassion at holiday season.

The guy just made a major mea culpa. If nothing else, at least give him credit for that.

Be back later. I have to grab a dictionary to find out what "mea culpa" means.....



Sorry, I'm not buying any of it. Walker knows (probably because his agent told him - he's too dumb to figure it out by himself) that the Broncos will cut him this summer rather than pay that massive roster bonuse. He said he won't take a pay cut, and he knows he's going to be shopping his services again.

Well it won't help his cause if he's still toting around all the GB baggage from that messy divorce, and his pending divorce from the Broncos could get chippy too. He could very well just be on an agent directed PR campaign.

I find the timing of this olive branch just a little too coincidental. Just as he realizes that he's not likely to be a Bronco next year, he suddenly has a case of the warm and fuzzies for his personal relationship with Favre and GB.

Or, maybe I'm just cynical.

That still doesnt make it easy to swallow your pride and actually say the words. I don't really think there's room for him in Green Bay anyway, unless DD suddenly decides to retire or something, so if he does want to come back its probably too late to try. I just find his about-face interesting no matter what his reasoning is. He would probably be sought after by other teams and I'm sure his agent has let that be known to him. Yet, he still offers up words like those after all the bitter stuff he put out there when he left. Maybe its just the holiday season working on me, but considering all he's been through since he's left - the injuries, having a friend and teammate die in a bloody mess in his lap, watching your old qb excel while the new golden boy in Denver slowly crashes and burns, it kinda makes me wonder if he really has matured a bit and just wants to offer a feeble apology of sorts. I have no problem with letting a man admit his mistakes, but I understand why so many aren't moved by the comments. If its all posturing we'll find out soon enough....

[the_idle_threat]

I don't know if it's maturity or the old grass-is-greener syndrome that got him in trouble with Green Bay.

[Partial]

Geeez....

Average? What player were you watching? Maybe this year when he's dinged up. Last year, he was spectacular and a play maker despite coming off ACL surgery. He was one of the more productive receivers in the league last year.

I don't want him back, but to call him average is foolish.

[the_idle_threat]

I agree. Foolish. He been WAYYYY below average this year.