touchdown, Favre

[Partial]

After reinstatement, he may compete to start
TOM SILVERSTEIN

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=779415

The ball is back in Brett Favre's hands, and the country is waiting to see what he does with it.

Almost six weeks to the day after Favre told Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy that he was seriously considering ending his retirement, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced that he was reinstating the legendary quarterback at noon today and ordered the Packers to make room for him on their 80-man roster.

And it appears not only will the Packers take Favre back, they will allow him to compete with Aaron Rodgers for the starting quarterback job. A source close to the Packers told the Journal Sentinel on Sunday afternoon that it was understood between both parties that Favre would have a chance to compete for a starting job.

Before that can happen, however, Favre must meet with McCarthy.

The Packers' coach wants to sit across from Favre and see if he really has the fire to play. Almost all of their conversations have been over the phone, and so McCarthy figures this will give him an opportunity to see whether Favre is serious about coming back and putting in the time it takes to be a starter.

Asked after the team's intrasquad scrimmage Sunday night if he was a hundred percent sure that Favre would be in uniform again for the Packers, McCarthy said:

"That's a great question. That's one of the topics of our conversation tomorrow. I think it's important for people to sit down face to face and answer all those type of questions. We'll do that tomorrow. I look forward to talking to him tomorrow night."

According to at least one of Favre's old teammates, he's serious about returning.

"He wants to play," cornerback Al Harris insisted.

If Favre is given the opportunity to compete for the job, it will be about as complete a turnaround as anyone could have predicted, given that general manager Ted Thompson and McCarthy have stated forcefully for several weeks that there would be no competition for the starting job. Over and over again, they said Rodgers was their man.

McCarthy declined to commit to there being a competition and continued to say Rodgers was his starter. But he said nothing was set in stone until he sat down with Favre.

"There's been indecision throughout Brett's path back here to Green Bay," McCarthy said. "It's important for us to sit down and communicate. That information will come out and will be used to move forward."

Favre wound up back in Green Bay Sunday after Goodell agreed to reinstate him. That followed intense negotiations between the Packers and his representatives on a marketing and promotions deal that would have paid Favre more than $20 million over a 10-year period upon his retirement. But negotiations broke down, and the Packers were forced to take Favre back.

"Obviously, it's a difficult situation," Packers President Mark Murphy said in an interview during the pregame broadcast of the intrasquad scrimmage. "He retired in March. The whole organization, we all moved forward with planning and every decision we made was based on a future without Brett.

"Now that he's back, it's really changed things."

It's unclear exactly why Thompson and McCarthy gave in and might allow Favre to compete for the spot, but there are several possible reasons:

• Goodell ordered them to, although a club source denied that was the case,

• The competition is a sham, and Rodgers will be given the job no matter how Favre performs,

• Once Favre shows he's back in shape and playing at a high level, he will be traded, possibly to an NFC North division rival,

• The two men think Rodgers will beat out Favre in the long run because Favre's not fully committed to coming back.

"We knew it was an eventuality (that he would show up)," Thompson said after doing all he could to get Favre to reconsider. "We're looking forward to seeing him and see how he's doing."

The twin-engine Beechcraft King Air 90 carrying Favre landed at Austin Straubel airport at 7:08 p.m. Sunday from Hattiesburg, Miss. At the airport, 200 or so cheering fans lined a fence outside the tarmac and greeted Favre, his wife, Deanna, and Favre's agent, James "Bus" Cook, some waving signs at the gray-bearded quarterback.

Favre's traveling party loaded into a Cadillac Escalade and was escorted from the airport by two sheriff's vehicles. Later that night, Favre and his wife were seen in their luxury box watching the scrimmage from high above the field where Favre made his name.

Tests to take

The first order of business for the Packers come noon today will be to give him a physical examination and run him through a conditioning test all players have to pass before they are placed on the 80-man active roster. The Packers do not have practice today and are scheduled to return to the field at 2 p.m. Tuesday.

After the physical and run test, McCarthy will meet with Favre and then his other quarterbacks - rookies Brian Brohm and Matt Flynn are the others - to inform them what direction he'll be taking in training camp.

Favre has yet to address reporters regarding the Packers' decision to allow him to compete for the starting job, but before he left he told reporter and close friend Al Jones of the Sun Herald in Mississippi that he has been through a lot the past month or so. He said the bottom line was that he wants to play football.

"My intentions have always been to play for Green Bay," he said. "Why wouldn't I want to play in Green Bay? They have as good a chance to win the Super Bowl as anyone."

Murphy offered the marketing deal to Favre regardless of whether he retired this year, but part of his intention was to give Favre an out if he truly didn't want to play again. Favre has admittedly had a tough time deciding whether to come back since his retirement news conference March 6.

At the intrasquad scrimmage, where a thunderstorm delayed the start 71 minutes, Rodgers received cheers, but there were also some boos mixed in from the thinned out crowd of 56,600 or so. Rodgers played poorly, completing seven of 20 passes for 84 yards and an interception in the end zone.

Afterward, he said, "I'm a football player, and I've got to focus on the things I can control, and that's playing football. With him coming back and if they do open up to a competition, I get a chance to compete. That's all I can ask for."

Favre rejoins the Packers as the NFL's all-time career leader in touchdown passes, completions, attempts, yards and victories as a starting quarterback. He is the NFL's only three-time Most Valuable Player award winner, a nine-time Pro Bowl selection and the holder of the NFL record for most consecutive games started by a quarterback, 275 including playoffs.

Some of his teammates figured a competition was inevitable.

"That's really all you can do is open it up," cornerback Charles Woodson said. "He's reinstated so at that point, once they did that, you've got to give him a chance to win his job. So I think that's only fair. We'll see what happens."

[Partial]

Rodgers: 'It's going to be a dogfight'
ROB DEMOVSKY

http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080803/PKR01/80803081/1058

If there’s going to be a competition for the Green Bay Packers’ starting quarterback job, Aaron Rodgers believes he’s ready for it.

is play during Sunday’s annual Family Night scrimmage might suggest otherwise.

On the same day in which Brett Favre left his Mississippi compound and landed in Green Bay to officially end his retirement and begin his return to the NFL, Rodgers faced a crowd of 56,600 that had to sit through an hour-long rain delay before it watched a shaky performance by the man who since March believed he was about to begin his tenure as Favre’s successor.

Playing with the No. 1 offense, Rodgers completed just seven of 20 passes for 84 yards and ended his only crack at the two-minute drill by throwing an interception in the end zone on a ball that badly missed receiver Greg Jennings. A handful of plays before safety Aaron Rouse picked off Rodgers, some in the crowd began to boo.

“They’re booing all of us, probably me mostly,” Rodgers said. “So, yeah, I take it personally. But it’s not the first time, and it probably won’t be the last time.”

The question now – and one Rodgers surely wants answered – is this: Was that the last time this season that Rodgers will walk onto Lambeau Field as the Packers’ starting quarterback?

For his part, Rodgers said after the scrimmage that he had not been told how things would work when Favre takes the practice field for the first time, presumably on Tuesday. He said he hasn’t been told that there will be a head-to-head competition for the starting job but expects that to be the case.

“I’m a competitor. I’m going to compete,” Rodgers said. “This isn’t going to be easy. It’s going to be a dogfight. I know if they do open up the competition, not a lot of people will give me a chance. But I believe in myself, and I’m going to be the best I can be, and coach will decide from there.”

Though Rodgers’ stats were hurt by several dropped passes, at one point he suffered through a stretch with nine straight incompletions. Six of those came against the second-string defense. What’s more, Rodgers never faced the Packers’ top cornerbacks because Al Harris and Charles Woodson were held out of the scrimmage.

“I thought Aaron was solid,” Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. “The production wasn’t there, whether it was on the front or the back end of the pass play.”

“It a scrimmage,” McCarthy added. “It’s nice to stand up here and say when the offence scores four touchdowns in the scrimmage, boy we feel good about it. Then you watch the film, and it goes both ways. It’s never as good as you think it is, and it’s usually not as bad as you think it is. I’ll just say this, it’s quality film.”

Later in his news conference after the scrimmage, McCarthy said: “If we played a game tomorrow, Aaron Rodgers would be the starting quarterback. I’m not going to take any direction we’ve gone with this football team based on the information I have here today. That’s part of our conversation we’ll have (today), but we have all the confidence in the world in Aaron. I think he’s a player that’s on time. He’s earned this opportunity three years preparing for it, and I’ve very comfortable with him as our starting quarterback.”

In answering a group of reporters’ questions at his locker after the scrimmage, Rodgers said he held no ill feelings toward Favre for returning or toward the organization for possibly reneging on its statement that Rodgers was the starting quarterback.

“I think the organization has been put in a tough spot,” Rodgers said. “It’s a difficult situation when Brett decided to change his mind, but we’re going to welcome him back to the team. … I’ve got an opportunity. If I don’t win the competition, then I’ll support Brett, and we’ll move forward together.”

Behind the scenes, however, a source close to Rodgers painted a different picture of the quarterback’s mindset.

“If Favre comes back, Aaron is going to be hot,” the source said earlier Sunday.

The source suggested that if the Packers plan to give Favre his starting job back, they might be able to placate Rodgers by offering him a contract extension. His current deal, the one he signed after the Packers made him a first-round draft pick in 2005, runs through the 2009 season.

However, Rodgers told the Press-Gazette that the Packers haven't approached him about a contract extension, and that he’s not interested in one at this time.

“Not until I play,” Rodgers said. “There’s no point in extending my contract until I play.”

[bobblehead]

So how loud are you gonna squeal "it wasn't fair" if rodgers beats him out?

[Partial]

I'n not. If Rodgers wins he wins. I want the better player, plain and simple. I think its Favre.

Thraed title is the title of the article by Tom Silverstein.

I thought this quote was very curiously worded from Chuck.
""That's really all you can do is open it up," cornerback Charles Woodson said. "He's reinstated so at that point, once they did that, you've got to give him a chance to win his job. So I think that's only fair. We'll see what happens.""

[bobblehead]

well, i got no problem with brett leading us to a superbowl win, I would love it, but I think rodgers should get the first shot at this point. Either way, win the trophy, I'm a happy guy.

[Tarlam!]

I am highly impressed by A-Rod's public demeanor amongst this mess. He has acted very professionally towards the media since day 1.

Too bad I can't say the same about Favre. He as acted like a spoilt superstar diva since day 1.

I hope A-Rod wins the battle on the gridiron as convincingly as he has won it elsewhere.

[DannoMac21]

I hope A-Rod blows Favre out of the water. This is just too unfair to the young kid.

[HarveyWallbangers]

http://peteprisco.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6315047/9718551

Before they even take the field this season, the Green Bay Packers are already 0-1.

Brett Favre beat them. Badly.

The Packers caved -- what else can we call it? -- and are allowing Favre to not only come to camp but also compete with starter Aaron Rodgers for the No. 1 quarterback job?
Rodgers was supposed to be protected by the Packers. Instead the pocket collapsed and he just took a nasty hit, which begs this question:
Can he get up?

Favre flew to Green Bay Sunday and will report Monday, ending his retirement from the game. The Packers are welcoming him back, but even more surprising is that they will allow him to compete for the starting job.

What happened to all that talk that Rodgers was the starter? What happened to believing in the young guy? What happened to moving on?

Here's what happened: The Packers folded worse than they did in losing the NFC Championship Game at home last January.

So now the 38-year-old Favre is back. Can he re-gain his starting job? Will the competition be fair? Will he leave again?

I've always said no player is bigger than the game. I was wrong. Brett Favre is bigger than the game.

He whined and moaned and complained his way back to the Packers after sitting out four months of off-season work while Rodgers handled it all.

The old man acted like a young kid. Now he can celebrate.

Favre 1, Green Bay Packers 0.

It's not a good way to start your season.

[HarveyWallbangers]

http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=441778

If you're Martin Scorsese and you have a chance to get Robert De Niro or an unproven actor to star in your next film, who do you choose? If you want the film to be an Oscar contender and do boffo box office--and you also want to keep the rest of the cast happy--you go with De Niro.

The Packers face a similar situation now that Brett Favre has come in from the cold and rejoined their roster. And that's why they have changed course in the middle of training camp. They are going from a commitment to Aaron Rodgers as their starting quarterback for the 2008 season to an open competition between Rodgers and Favre.

"When it's opening day, you want your best guys on the field," says a scout from another NFC North team. "You can say whatever you want until it's time to play. But when those victories mean everything, especially opening day against a division opponent on Monday Night Football, the stakes are too high."

You can pontificate all you want about how this decision reflects badly on the Packers' promise to Rodgers. You can argue that Rodgers is having the rug pulled out from under him. You can say coach Mike McCarthy is sending mixed messages to his players.

But remember this: Professional football is a business first and foremost. And by welcoming Favre back to their roster and giving him a chance to regain his starting job--the one he has held for the last 275 consecutive games (including playoffs)--the Packers made a sound business decision.

The Packers tried to trade Favre, to no avail. They weren't going to simply release him and allow him to sign with another team, such as the division rival Vikings. And their attempt to make him a team ambassador with a 10-year, $25 million marketing deal was turned down by Favre after some deliberation. In the end, the Packers made the best decision. If Favre was going to play again, he was going to play for them. And he'll probably play as their starter.

"Everybody knows he was the runner-up (in) MVP (voting) last year," says the NFC scout. "If you're talking about trying to win the whole thing and the best player on your team is a backup, you've got issues."

Favre, who will turn 39 in October, had one of his best seasons in 2007 when he led Green Bay to the NFC championship game. He completed 356 of 535 passes (a career-high 66.5 percentage) for 4,155 yards and 28 touchdowns, with 15 interceptions.

"He played better last year than he probably played in five years," the scout says. "Even if he lost a little bit of arm strength, that means he goes from having a superstrong arm to having a strong arm. There's probably only six guys in the league who can throw it as far as he can."

Assuming Favre wins the quarterback derby--rookie Brian Brohm and Matt Flynn won't be in the competition for the starting role--Rodgers will be a backup for a fourth consecutive season. The team's first-round draft pick in 2005, Rodgers has played in only seven regular-season games and thrown 59 passes. His most extensive action came in a loss to Dallas last season, after Favre left the game with an injury, when Rodgers completed 18 of 26 passes for 201 yards and a touchdown.

Even the Packers don't know what they have in Rodgers, who has played a lot in preseason games but generally against defenses that don't show a lot of different coverages or exotic blitzes.

"I think he's a good athlete and has good mobility," an NFC South scout says of Rodgers. "He's an accurate quarterback on short to mid-range throws. But he's still a young quarterback and is going to have his ups and downs and make mistakes."

Who gives the Packers a better chance of winning--a future Hall of Famer who can still play at a high level, or a player who has never started a game in the NFL? In the end, the Packers were forced to make this decision. But it was the right decision.

Bringing in Favre as the backup would have been like casting De Niro in a cameo role.

[Lurker64]

Too many people in the media are just handing Favre the starting job, when it's really not going to be that easy for him. It's not so much a tremendous victory for Favre anyway, since the Packers haven't yet done anything they didn't say they would do from the beginning, that is they have only added him to the roster in response to Goodell reinstating him. They have not yet crowned him the starter or even allowed him to compete. Favre may not even get sufficient reps in training camp that he will have the ability to beat out Rodgers (if Rodgers takes 75% of the snaps with the #1s, it would be basically impossible for Favre to win the job unless Rodgers falls on his face.) They haven't said "Hey Brett, you're the backup" yet but they never said they would do that, that was primarily a media creation. The only thing the Packers really lost on was their gambit to keep him retired, and Favre coming to camp is only a problem if it 1) causes strife in the locker room or 2) causes a ridiculous media circus, which is not something that has happened yet, and may not happen depending on how they handle things.

Favre will have to clearly beat out Rodgers in camp to get the starting job, which is something I do not see him doing.

Really the only person who has budged from their initial positions is Favre, who both demanded to be released (didn't happen, is unlikely to happen) and to be given his starting job back without a competition (which is not going to happen.)

[Carolina_Packer]

OK, my take on the front office is, their hand was a bit forced. If they add him to the roster and don't allow him to compete for the job, what does that tell the rest of the players? We're not going to start our best guy? Come on! Unless Favre had totally lost it between January and August, he's likely going to come back and win his starting job back. Why wouldn't he?

The team could throw a curve ball and trade him for value, but I hope they view this as a way to mend fences. Sometimes nobody wants to say sorry in a situation, and everyone's so concerned about who's at fault. Forget all that. If the guy still has the pair that he's possessed all these years, and the Packer fans still love to watch him, then give him a chance again. A-Rod deserves nothing handed to him, even if he went into the off-season with the job in hand. Sorry, bud. If you ever get to Brett's point of your career (and playing/starting until you are 38 means you are special), then you can cash in what you've earned in fan capital.

[Lurker64]

Unless Favre had totally lost it between January and August, he's likely going to come back and win his starting job back. Why wouldn't he?

1) Because Favre did basically nothing to prepare him for football in the offseason and (as has been reported in numerous puff pieces on Favre over the last couple years as Favre ages, intense preparation and conditioning in the offseason is more and more important to his success.)

2) Because McCarthy might think that a QB who is methodical, manages the game, and doesn't make mistakes is a better fit for this system, considering that McCarthy's stated that he wants to win via defense and the running game, which doesn't really fit the whole "gunslinger" archetype. If the Packers were convinced that unarguably Favre is the better starting QB, they would have taken him back ASAP.

3) Because Favre is nearly 39 and Rodgers is not and Favre will wear down during the season and Rodgers will only get better as he gets more experience. If they are equal during the preseason, Rodgers wins the tiebreaker on that bit alone. Favre looked "old, cold, and tired" in the playoffs against the Giants and on the road against Chicago (where he was outplayed by Kyle Orton), we're guaranteed that Rodgers is at least not one of those things.

4) Because Favre played poorly in all big games or extreme weather games last year (excepting the Seattle game) and Green Bay anticipates having to play some of those this year (particularly in the playoffs). In the big game at Dallas, Rodgers handled the pressure a lot better than Favre did.

5) Because Favre hasn't had a particularly impressive preseason campaign in nearly a decade and hasn't had to compete for his job in longer than that. He might not be up for it.

6) Because locker room chemistry isn't necessarily going to break in favor of Favre, considering how much he has distanced himself from the rookies over the past several years, and those former rookies make up most of the Roster. Greg Jennings was recently quoted, for example, saying that he would rather have Rodgers. Locker room chemistry is more important than "what the fans say" because good chemistry leads to wins and fans always respect winning."

7) Because in skipping the offseason stuff, Favre might not have developed the on-the-field chemistry with the guys on the team that Rodgers has. It's probable that James Jones has caught more passes from Rodgers than he has from Favre, and it's 100% certain that Jermichael Finley and Jordy Nelson have caught more Rodgers passes.

8) Because if the Packers are looking at two worst case scenarios, cutting Favre or losing Rodgers after next season, they might decide that cutting Favre on the eve of the start of the regular season might be the better decision for the future of the Packers.

9) Because given the way that Favre has thrown virtually everyone in this organization under the bus this offseason, McCarthy and co. might not be particularly favorably disposed towards him. Compare this to Rodgers, who has basically done everything asked of him and he's said all the right things (except for that one SI interview). Retiring, pissing off your bosses, and then coming back is not a particularly good way to get your old job handed to you.

10) Because McCarthy has said "superbowl or bust" this year, and Favre's playoff record in recent memory hasn't been outstanding. Since losing to Vick at Lambeau he's been "2-4 in playoff games with seven touchdowns and 12 interceptions". Favre might give the Packers a better seed in the playoffs than Rodgers would, but can you really trust Favre in the playoffs?

11) The Packers have to move on sometime, and the brief retirement and the antipathy Favre has generated in certain segments of the NFL and the fans of the Green Bay Packers might make "moving on" here the easiest it has ever been, particularly if you believe the conspiracy theorists who say that the Packers had been trying to force Favre out for years, but couldn't. A lot of people who would have been mad last year or in 2006 if Rodgers got the job over Favre wouldn't be mad this year.

12) Because the only really strong argument for why Favre would win the competition is "Because he's Brett Favre", and of the past six years he has "been a top 10 quarterback three times (2003, 2004 and 2007), a competent QB once (2002) and incompetent twice (2005 and 2006)." There's no guarantee what Favre will show up this year.

Now I'm not saying that Favre won't win the job, but there are a number of reasons why he might not.

[Fritz]

If Brett Favre is the starting QB at the beginning of the season with a healthy Aaron Rodgers on the bench, this may well be the beginning of the end of the TT/MM regime.

I really believe that. I think the whole organization is shafting itself both short and long term if Favre trots out against Minny that first game. MM will have lost all credibility, Rodgers will be gone as soon as he can get out, and TT will have lost the handle on the whole thing.

I hope they trade Favre to Minny. I don't care if all they get is a fourth. I think he's poison to this whole organization.

[footballfever]

If Brett Favre is the starting QB at the beginning of the season with a healthy Aaron Rodgers on the bench, this may well be the beginning of the end of the TT/MM regime.

I really believe that. I think the whole organization is shafting itself both short and long term if Favre trots out against Minny that first game. MM will have lost all credibility, Rodgers will be gone as soon as he can get out, and TT will have lost the handle on the whole thing.

I hope they trade Favre to Minny. I don't care if all they get is a fourth. I think he's poison to this whole organization.

Thank God there's some sense in this F'in forum!!!!!! You should have seen the assholes at family night, booing when rodgers took the field. Brett can take them with him where ever he goes. Bandwagon fairweather fricken idiots, the whole lot of em. Why do you pay admission to a family event at lambeau field just to boo someone who is a victim of very unfortunate circumstance?

[Zool]

If Brett Favre is the starting QB at the beginning of the season with a healthy Aaron Rodgers on the bench, this may well be the beginning of the end of the TT/MM regime.

I really believe that. I think the whole organization is shafting itself both short and long term if Favre trots out against Minny that first game. MM will have lost all credibility, Rodgers will be gone as soon as he can get out, and TT will have lost the handle on the whole thing.

I hope they trade Favre to Minny. I don't care if all they get is a fourth. I think he's poison to this whole organization.

Thank God there's some sense in this F'in forum!!!!!! You should have seen the assholes at family night, booing when rodgers took the field. Brett can take them with him where ever he goes. Bandwagon fairweather fricken idiots, the whole lot of em. Why do you pay admission to a family event at lambeau field just to boo someone who is a victim of very unfortunate circumstance?

Anyone who booed might as well just beat themselves to death with a stick. Thats the dumbest thing I've ever heard. Booing a guy at a scrimmage on whats supposed to be "Family Night". Good example for the kids, ya fuckin retards. Ever heard of setting an example?

"Brett's my hero, I must boo someone who has no decision in this Favre created mess!"

Did the fucktards boo Flynn too? He was keeping the 3rd spot away from Brett. Did they boo Driver for not holding out until Brett was reinstated and gifted the starting job? Did they boo their own parents for not using birth control?