Cliff Christl article on nfl.com

[bobblehead]

Cliffy, Cliffy...As usual, I'd have expected better. The facts and logic are faulty. Firstly TT never said he'd have to be a backup and when the media started reporting that after his presser, he specifically called them on it and corrected them. He's just using it as propaganda now.

Reggie White took a year off before deciding to come out of retirement and didn't ask the Packers to sit his replacement so he could start. He wanted to go to a team that needed a DE and it's not like he was looking at the Bears. Henderson was CUT because he was no longer performing at the level the Pack expected. Of course they didn't care where he went. And the Packers never said Favre no longer played at a high level so they care where he goes. Again, Lombardi did not ask for his release as a GM so he could Manage the Bears front office. The dude just wanted to coach again and he wasn't willing to take the job away from his replacement. Hornung was moved because he was injured and still Lombardi hated doing it. He was not dumped because of age.

The Packers don't want to release Favre to go to the Vikings because even if they do want to play Rodgers, they still recognize that Favre is still a damn good quarterback and you don't want to hand your competition a good player that would make their team complete. Sharper and Longwell debatably could have made that team better, but neither was the piece that made them a contender either. Cliffy's also missed the ENORMOUS point that Favre still has trade value. Even White didn't have all that much value after being gone for a year.

This is why I don't miss Cristl.

I miss cliff...he was sort of like bigguns in the RR.

[bobblehead]

The Packers aren't going to cut Favre. I don't think any team in the league would. He signed a contract and now the Packers can either use him as a backup (something I don't want but the team might) or sell him to the highest bidder outside the division.

So did Reggie White what is your logic behind that situation.

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If brett sits this year out and asks for his release next year TT probably would grant it.

As it stands if brett is stubborn and says he won't report to anyone that trades for him the packers will put him on the sideline thru camp and release him before the season opener....unless he happily accepts a backup role waiting for rogers to flop or get hurt in which case MM will welcome him back...odds on that anyone?

I still don't see him playing for anyone but the vikes, I think this "reporting to camp" is just to pressure his release. I could be wrong, but if I were TT I would let him work out a trade with the vikes just to settle this mess, but my price would indeed be stiff.

[MJZiggy]

All he costs TT is a roster spot and salary. If he does come back without the attitude of a team player, it's still bad news for Flynn...

TT has the option of just leaving him on the roster and M3 can even go so far as to place him as an inactive player/emergency quarterback and Brett can't force them to do any different.

And if Favre declares that he won't report to any team he's traded to, that team can still trade for his rights and then he's still in the same boat with the new team as he is with this one. Favre's only leverage here is fan pressure and he doesn't seem to be even doing that good of a job at forcing public opinion.

[RashanGary]

The Dolphins should have just released Jason Taylor under this logic as well. They acted like scared fools to take that 2nd round pick from a non threatening NFC team.

[RashanGary]

If Cliff would have said "they're acting like they have a valuable piece under contract" then I'd agree. I think they do and my guess is nothing will change their approach.

[boiga]

What a bunch of bunkum, especially this bit here:

But where this latest story line turned ugly was after Favre declared that he wanted to play again and general manager Ted Thompson responded by saying he'd take Favre back, but only as a backup. That's what has given this story life and given the Packers a black eye. It's what has embittered the greatest player in the franchise's history, invited a barrage of criticism from the national media and disaffected many of the team's fans.

Like MJZiggy wrote, Ted never claimed that Brett would necessarily stuck as backup, rather he just refused to guarantee him the starter position. But most importantly, that had nothing to do with the media uproar.

What caused the uproar was the 24 hour news cycle and Favre's ridiculous three day interview with Greta. Brett was the one that aired this out to the public in order to try to muscle his way out of the team by embarrassing the Packer management. Campen told him that he had the option to show up at training camp and return to the team. Instead he asked to be released first, and then only decided to come back to the Packers as a second choice when they wouldn't give him up for nothing. The only reason this wasn't resolved quietly is because Favre chose to make noise.

Before the 24 hour news channels, this issue would still have been resolved quietly because no credible news organization would have wasted space on Favre's tell all. The internet is culpable as well because it lets fools like us debate it based on late breaking rumors instead of spacing it out in the daily news.

Ted's choice to play hardball didn't create this media mess. Favre and hacks like Christl did by trying to stir up public sentiment for more readership or a better bargaining position.

[mmmdk]

What a bunch of bunkum, especially this bit here:

But where this latest story line turned ugly was after Favre declared that he wanted to play again and general manager Ted Thompson responded by saying he'd take Favre back, but only as a backup. That's what has given this story life and given the Packers a black eye. It's what has embittered the greatest player in the franchise's history, invited a barrage of criticism from the national media and disaffected many of the team's fans.

Like MJZiggy wrote, Ted never claimed that Brett would necessarily stuck as backup, rather he just refused to guarantee him the starter position. But most importantly, that had nothing to do with the media uproar.

What caused the uproar was the 24 hour news cycle and Favre's ridiculous three day interview with Greta. Brett was the one that aired this out to the public in order to try to muscle his way out of the team by embarrassing the Packer management. Campen told him that he had the option to show up at training camp and return to the team. Instead he asked to be released first, and then only decided to come back to the Packers as a second choice when they wouldn't give him up for nothing. The only reason this wasn't resolved quietly is because Favre chose to make noise.

Before the 24 hour news channels, this issue would still have been resolved quietly because no credible news organization would have wasted space on Favre's tell all. The internet is culpable as well because it lets fools like us debate it based on late breaking rumors instead of spacing it out in the daily news.

Ted's choice to play hardball didn't create this media mess. Favre and hacks like Christl did by trying to stir up public sentiment for more readership or a better bargaining position.

Spot on!

BTW - bratwurst is quite the filling meal - just stating the obvious :P

[pbmax]

P-Blues, ask Jake Plummer how the refusal to report worked out. He didn't get his way and it cost him money.

While I am sure T2 wants a high pick, he can always make the deal conditional on Favre reporting. It is in both their interests that he find one of the potential trading partners worthy of approval.

All of you seem to be assuming that Favre will accept a trade. I have heard nothing from Favre or his agent stating that they want a trade.

Now that Favre might actually show for camp, Thompson seems a lot more interested in making a trade happen. He seems to be far more enthusiastic about the trade idea than he was when he thought that ignoring Favre's desire to play was his best option.

Face it, Thompson is not going to want to put up with the media circus and all of the second guessing involved with having Favre sitting on the bench.

Now take into consideration that Favre can put a stop to any trade by simply not reporting, add to that the fact that the Commisioner is on Brett's side............

That unconditional release is looking more and more possible.

[HowardRoark]

This whole Harlan vs. Murphy thing I find interesting. Maybe it has already been discussed on a different thread, I don’t know. Harlan obviously did an outstanding job during his tenure. The last few weeks it seemed as though the organization was a rudderless ship.

For what it’s worth, Murphy’s dad was dying. That has to have some affect on his focus. This past week, since returning from burying his Dad, I have read a number of quotes from Murphy that I have found impressive. The tone now seems to be that the legacy of former Packers is very important, and Brett will always be a Packer....no matter what happens. Brett may be acting like an idiot, but he’s our idiot. And always will be.

The same tone seems to be working its way through the ranks. I find it impressive, and I believe it will be soon worked out with everyone feeling as though the have “won.” Just like a highly compensated CEO should make things work.

[cpk1994]

I still don't know if that article was really written by James "bus" Cook or Cliff Christl

I alwasys had a huch that ol'Cliffy had a vendetta against TT after the K-Rob artice. This just proves it. I wonder what TT did that pissed Cliff off.