Brett Favre, Not A Top Ten Comeback QB?

[woodbuck27]

woodbuck, Marino has 37. pbmax

That is right pb but Favre has by my last recollection 34 and Joe Montana 31. Brett Favre is in fast company there.

I counted and recorded on another thread that since 2001 alone, Brett has had 9 fourth quarter comebacks 'as OUR QB'. He certainly never claims that he does it alone.

"it matches my perception that the Packs success in this area has waned over time, especially as the receiving corp was weakened with the possible exception of 2004 and the decline in talent on defense." pbmax

Yes it certainly helps when Favre has some solid targets.Also we need to see the half back option return. That play where Favre swings a short one out of the backfield to Green was deadly, and may be utilized more this season.

[woodbuck27]

"it matches my perception that the Packs success in this area has waned over time, especially as the receiving corp was weakened with the possible exception of 2004 and the decline in talent on defense." pbmax

Just a note on something I found and for whatever it's worth:

Pro Football Weekly rankings

The magazine recently released its yearly rankings of players, and here’s the good news: Brett Favre is ranked fourth among quarterbacks by the magazine’s editors, who talked to numerous scouts and general managers for guidance.

Here could be some good news: Ahman Green somehow is the sixth-ranked running back, even though he is coming off a season-ending and career-threatening thigh injury, and didn’t show much burst when healthy last season.

Here’s the bad news: Donald Driver is ranked 26th among wide receivers. PFW ranked 33 receivers — and 13 emerging veterans — and not surprisingly, Robert Ferguson didn’t make the cut. In fact, it’s hard to imagine Ferguson, or whoever winds up starting opposite Driver, could start for more than a team or two in the league.

So, in the very real possibility Green circa 2003 and 2004 is never seen again, PFW’s rankings confirm what most of us realize: The Packers’ offense is going to be as explosive as a wet firecracker.


note: This isn't necessarily my view. Rankings may mean alot to some but not alot to me. I just tossed it into the mix, so y'all can observe it. woodbuck27

[MJZiggy]

How is it possible that a player that spent most of the season on IR would be ranked better than the go-to receiver. That is completely flawed.

[woodbuck27]

How is it possible that a player that spent most of the season on IR would be ranked better than the go-to receiver. That is completely flawed.

I agree with you MJ.

[Patler]

Regardless of those states I would still take Favre with 2 minutes left and we're down by 6. Favre is still the master.

Favre has not succeeded in that scenario since the 2000 season.

What in "H" is wrong with you Polaris. Get your facts straight before you piss all over Brett Favre.

Don't take away from him what he helped give to us. If you want credibility get your facts straight before you go popping off PLEASE.

In another thread I tried my damnest to show you the facts on at least 8 games since 2001, where Favre was OUR QB for 9 fourth quarter comebacks.

Woodbuck;
Polaris is toying with you. Read the details. The original post said "down by 6" to which Polaris replied that Favre has not succeeded in that scenario since 2000. I believe he is correct, because all of the comebacks Favre has been successful in since 2000 have been winning FIELDGOALS. Thus the team was down by 2 or less, not the "six" posed by the hypothetical.

Of course Polaris has not shown that Favre has NOT been successful when trailing by 3 to 6 points, where a TD would have won the game and Favre failed. I'm sure he probably has failed in the last 5 years; however, trying to draw a distinction between winning fielgoal drives and winning TD drives, as Polaris is attempting to do, is meaningless to me.

[woodbuck27]

Woodbuck;
Polaris is toying with you. Read the details. The original post said "down by 6" to which Polaris replied that Favre has not succeeded in that scenario since 2000. I believe he is correct, because all of the comebacks Favre has been successful in since 2000 have been winning FIELDGOALS. Thus the team was down by 2 or less, not the "six" posed by the hypothetical.

Of course Polaris has not shown that Favre has NOT been successful when trailing by 3 to 6 points, where a TD would have won the game and Favre failed. I'm sure he probably has failed in the last 5 years; however, trying to draw a distinction between winning fielgoal drives and winning TD drives, as Polaris is attempting to do, is meaningless to me.

Here's the facts 'the DETAIL's' of those comebacks.

woodbuck27 wrote:
Favre led the Packers to these ** 4th Quarter Comebacks since 2001:

D E T A I L S

The 2002 Season There were three **.

1. Sunday, September 8, 2002 - Packers 37 Falcons 34.

posted 09/08/2002

Ryan Longwell's 34-yard field goal with 5:15 left in overtime gave Green Bay a 37-34 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on a steamy Sunday at Lambeau Field.

Atlanta's Jay Feely sent the game into overtime with a 52-yard field goal with five seconds left in regulation. That capped a six-play, 35-yard drive that followed William Henderson's dive into the end zone on fourth-and-inches with 1:10 left that had given Green Bay a 34-31 lead.

The Packers avenged their only home loss last year behind Brett Favre, who completed 25-of-36 passes for 284 yards and two touchdowns, and Ahman Green, who rushed 27 times for 155 yards.

Henderson was stuffed at the line but, still on top of bodies, he lunged the ball past the plane. Following a review of several minutes, referee Ron Winter said: "There is no indisputable evidence to change the call."

Henderson's TD capped a 14-play, 80-yard drive that began after Warrick Dunn's second TD, a 2-yard scamper with eight minutes left that put Atlanta ahead 31-27.



2. Sunday, September 29, 2002 - Packers 17 Panthers 14

posted 09/29/2002

Ten years and two days after becoming Green Bay's starting quarterback, Favre found Donald Driver for a 22-yard touchdown with 4:10 left, leading the Packers to a 17-14 victory against the Carolina Panthers.

Shayne Graham, signed by the Panthers two days ago to bolster their kicking game, missed a 24-yard field goal with 13 seconds left that would have tied the game.


3. Sunday, December 8, 2002 - Packers 26 Vikings 22

posted 12/08/2002

For all but the final few minutes, the Minnesota Vikings looked like they were the ones accustomed to freezing conditions and not the Green Bay Packers. But Tony Fisher's 14-yard touchdown run with 1:06 left gave Green Bay its first lead of the game and a 26-22 victory over the Vikings on Sunday night.

The Packers never led until Fisher's game-winning TD on first-and-10 from the 14.

Green Bay got the ball at its 15 with 4:32 left. An interception by Jack Brewer with 2:12 left was negated by Corey Chavous' pass interference on Donald Driver, giving Green Bay the ball at the Minnesota 25.

After Favre picked up a first down with an 8-yard scramble on third-and-7, Fisher scored on the next play.

Fisher, a rookie free agent from Notre Dame who was making his first career start in place of Ahman Green (knee), finished with a career-high 96 yards on 25 carries.

Robert Ferguson also set career highs with six receptions for 105 yards and the first two-touchdown game of his career.

His 40-yard score pulled Green Bay to 22-20 with 10:48 left.



The 2003 Season There was one **.

4. Sunday, November 16, 2003 - Packers 20 Buc's 13. Note: Teams were tied in the 4th quarter.

posted 11/16/2003

Green Bay had Tampa Bay 's once-vaunted defense on the verge of collapse, so coach Mike Sherman was determined to finish them off.

Facing fourth-and-1 from the Buccaneers 16 in a tie game, the Packers sent Najeh Davenport barreling up the middle for 5 yards instead of going for a go-ahead field goal. Three plays later, Ahman Green scored from the 1 to finish a 98-yard march that gave the Packers a 20-13 victory.

"It was such a beautiful drive, I just hated to let it go to a kicker. I thought we had to finish it off," Sherman said.

"I think everyone, including some of our players, expected us to kick a field goal," quarterback Brett Favre added. "But we just wanted to make a statement at that point, and I think we did."

Playing with a broken right thumb and shrugging off five years of futility at Raymond James Stadium, Favre fueled the nearly 10-minute winning drive with a 23-yard completion to Robert Ferguson on third-and-9 from the Green Bay 3.


The 2004 Season There were four **.

5. Sunday Nov. 14, 2004 - Packers 34 Vikings 31

AP Story: Favre Leads Packers Past Vikings 34-31

posted 11/14/2004

Shootouts usually come down to who has the ball at the end. This one came down to who had it at the bottom.

Minnesota's Derek Ross and Green Bay's Ben Steele, who had been cut by the Vikings in training camp, each claimed ownership of Robert Ferguson's fumble at midfield in the closing minutes.

The officials eventually ruled Green Bay had possession, and the Packers drove for Ryan Longwell's 33-yard field goal as time expired for a 34-31 victory, their fourth straight.
Both Brett Favre and Daunte Culpepper threw four touchdown passes without an interception. It was Favre's 18th game with four or more TD tosses, second only to Dan Marino's 21.



6. Sunday Nov.21, 2004 - Packers 16 Texans 13

Favre Leads Packers To Victory Over Texans

posted 11/21/2004

Brett Favre sat silently as his Green Bay teammates anxiously chatted during halftime.

Trailing by 10 points and down to only one healthy tailback, the Packers were desperately searching for an offensive spark. They found the solution in a familiar place.

"I just listened because I knew what we needed to do," Favre said. "And the talk wasn't going to get it done."

Favre led the Pack all the way back in the fourth quarter and Ryan Longwell kicked a 46-yard field goal as time expired, sending the Packers to their fifth straight win, 16-13 over the Houston Texans.

Favre completed 6 of 7 passes for 42 yards on the final drive -- the only incompletion came when he spiked the ball to stop the clock -- to complete Green Bay's rally from a 10-point deficit in the final quarter.

He finished 33 of 50 for 383 yards with two interceptions and a touchdown to Houston native Donald Driver in the fourth period. Driver had quite a homecoming, catching 10 passes for 148 yards.

Favre "gives you confidence that he is going to do something special in those situations," Packers coach Mike Sherman said. "To be able to rely on his leadership and abilities at those times gives us an opportunity to win a game like this."



7. Sunday Dec. 12, 2004 - Packers 16 Lions 13

posted 12/12/2004

There are still two sure things in Green Bay: Ryan Longwell inside 40 yards and Brett Favre beating the Detroit Lions at home.

The Packers only led for 2 seconds, but that was enough to keep their stranglehold over the Lions, who haven't won in Wisconsin since 1991, the year before Favre's arrival.

Longwell's 23-yard field goal gave Green Bay a 16-13 victory against the Lions and lifted the Packers (8-5) into first place in the NFC North by a game over Minnesota, which lost at home to Seattle.

It was Longwell's third game-winner in five weeks and his 43rd consecutive conversion from 40 yards in.


Favre always has an answer for the Lions.

He led Green Bay back from a 13-0 halftime deficit with four scoring drives, including a 90-yarder into the flag-whipping wind for the Packers' only touchdown after Ahman Green's 79-yard TD catch was negated by a debatable holding call on rookie center Scott Wells.

Favre, who is 14-0 at home against the Lions, completed only 3 of 15 passes for 28 yards in the first half but he was an amazing 16-for-21 in the swirling winds for 160 yards and a touchdown in the second half.

"Even with no defense out there, it (would have been) difficult to complete passes," Favre said.

Snow flurries dampened the field into what Longwell called a "swampy mess" and swirling winds with gusts up to 35 mph wreaked havoc on passes, punts and long snaps and caused a slew of drops.

"There's never anything routine about a field goal here, and today there was nothing routine about an extra point," said Longwell, who slipped on the opening kickoff and left a three-foot skid mark on his game-tying, 28-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter.

"The wind was blowing harder than I've ever seen it here."

Lions rookie receiver Roy Williams said he thought he had a catch on the sideline once and as he went to cradle the ball "the wind took it like a Tim Wakefield knuckleball."

The Lions wasted a prime chance to get into the playoff picture in the muddled NFC, falling to 5-8.

Their quarterback, Joey Harrington, completed only 5 of 22 passes for 47 yards as the Lions relied on rookie running back Kevin Jones, who rushed 33 times for 156 yards and a touchdown.

The Packers hadn't held an opponent to so few completions since Oct. 29, 1978, against Tampa Bay.

"We haven't scored an offensive touchdown in the second half the last five weeks. That is just mind-boggling," Williams said. "We just aren't effective, it makes no sense."

Longwell's game-winner capped a 10-play, 37-yard drive after the Packers got the ball back at the Detroit 42 with 3:27 left and the wind at their backs.

The Packers had a terrible first half. Favre entered the game needing 28 yards to tie Dan Marino's NFL record of 13 consecutive 3,000-yard seasons, and he had exactly that amount at halftime.

Jason Hanson's 31-yard field goal was the only scoring either team managed in the first quarter.

Jones made it 10-0 when he deked safety Darren Sharper, slipped behind center Dominic Raiola and shook off Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila on his way to scoring the first rushing touchdown Green Bay had allowed in 22 quarters.

Hanson added a 36-yard field goal into the wind for a 13-0 halftime lead.

The game turned after a halftime tirade by Sherman.

Longwell's 36-yard field goal made it 13-3. After Green's 79-yard touchdown catch-and-run was negated by head linesman Paul Weidner's debatable holding call on Wells, the Packers were pushed back to their 13.

Favre then drove the Packers downfield against the wind, capping the drive with a 23-yard touchdown toss to Donald Driver that made it 13-10 late in the third quarter.



8. Friday Dec. 24, 2004 - Packers 34 Vikings 31

posted 12/24/2004

Facing a seven-point deficit midway through the fourth quarter after one of his familiar, costly mistakes, Brett Favre brought Green Bay back again.

For a Packers team that lost four of its first five games this season, this probably didn't seem like all that much trouble.

Favre guided a 76-yard drive to set up Ryan Longwell 's game-ending 29-yard field goal, lifting the Packers to a 34-31 victory over the Minnesota Vikings -- and clinching a third straight NFC North crown.

"Never give up. That's been this team's M.O. all season," Favre said, "because we could've quit a long time ago."


So Polaris I make that . . . 8 fourth quarter comebacks, that we saw Brett Favre engineer as OUR QB. . . since 2001.

That is a long ways from none.

Incidently in the game last year when we defeated the Detroit Lions 16 - 13 in O.T. the Packers trailed 13 - 10 after three quarters and that is just one more fourth quarter comeback with Brett Favre as OUR QB.

Now . . . that is 9 fourth quarter comebacks since 2001, Polaris.

That is better than two per season since 2001.