Report: Rex Ryan Didn’t Want Favre

[Gunakor]

Reggie hit Favre in a Milwaukee game so hard, he wondered if #4 was out for the game. Favre brushed himself off, laughed out loud and complimented Reggie.

It was that moment that Reggie thought the kid was for real. Favre was the difference and is why he chose the Packers.

You forgot about God.

White was also known for citing God's will in announcing pivotal career decisions. When he left the Eagles to sign with Green Bay, he claimed God had told him to make the move. And when he came out of brief retirement late in his career, he again attributed the decision to God's instruction.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/columnist/2006-07-30-forum-white_x.htm

Either Brett Favre is God, or Reggie's a liar? Everything I thought to be true, all this time.... Now I'm bummed.

[cpk1994]

I totally agree about Majik. The Packers were on the upswing prior to Wolf, Favre, Reggie, all of them. Majik had an aura of excitement, Majik to Sterling put the Packers back on the map, and were really the first ones to give fans a buzz. The Majik led Packers is when I first really got interested in the Packers.

It really took me a while to accept that Brett was in fact better than Majik, it took a few MVP's to convince me, and I really am not all that convinced. If Majik had Brett's heath, that guy could have been a force. When heathy, man he could play, his reckless abandon was every bit as fun as Favre to watch.

Ya, I know what you mean. It was hard letting Majik go and accepting Favre. We knew what Majik could do. He made the Packers an exciting team. As I said in another post, he was Favre before Favre, but not as healthy.

What Majik meant to the franchise is shown by the fact that he was elected to the Packer HOF in spite of playing in less than 70 games as a Packer, and starting less than 50. He brought excitement back to Lambeau Field.

Thats a good point. That shoulder injury of his was a killer.

[The Shadow]

But Starr and most other QBs who won multiple SBs had stability at the HC spot. Favre had mediocre HCs after Holgrem left for Seattle. Favre didn't help himself with stupid INTs but he was the type of player who needed a HC who is good with QBs and his play didn't improve until TT brought in MM. Rhodes and Shermy were not the type of coaches a player like Brett needed to bring out the best in him!

Well, throw out the one year under Rhodes, and Favre had just two head coaches over 13 years of his career. That's not too bad.

I agree that many young players need a firm hand as a coach, but should a 10 year vet need the same firm hand? Did Bart Starr require a strong willed HC to continue to bring out the best in him after his career blossomed? Did Unitas or Montana need that? Do Peyton Manning and Tom Brady require the coaches to control them?

By the time Sherman got there, Favre should not have needed controlling. He should have evolved beyond that as a QB.

You have really hit on one of my biggest disappointments in Favre, that even in the late stages of his career he seemed to require a coach that controlled him. For all his ability, his knowledge and recollection, his ability to read defenses, he never became the full extension of the coach on the field because he still needed the coach to control him. Most of the great QBs that I can think of matured out of that as they gained success, and the HC could rely on them to do the right thing at the right time in the way the coach wanted it done. Many Packer fans give Favre a pass for never reaching the highest level of that development stage. I think that prevents him from being considered in the small handful for the very best of all time.

Nicely expressed.

[Packman_26]

I totally agree about Majik. The Packers were on the upswing prior to Wolf, Favre, Reggie, all of them. Majik had an aura of excitement, Majik to Sterling put the Packers back on the map, and were really the first ones to give fans a buzz. The Majik led Packers is when I first really got interested in the Packers.

It really took me a while to accept that Brett was in fact better than Majik, it took a few MVP's to convince me, and I really am not all that convinced. If Majik had Brett's heath, that guy could have been a force. When heathy, man he could play, his reckless abandon was every bit as fun as Favre to watch.

I have been lurking around this board for a while but didn't really post because you usually said nearly exactly what I would have said for me. You and I agree on almost everything.
But I guess this is not one of those times. I can't definately say that Majik wouldn't have been great if he was healthy, but I think I can say that the numbers certainly don't suggest it. Majik had a QB rating over 80 exactly once in his time with the packers and the threw more than 10 TDs once in his career. I'm not saying Majik wasn't a solid QB when healthy, I just can't see even putting him in the same sentence as Favre.
I also have to disagree with the Packers being on the upswing before Wolf, Favre, Reggie, all of them. The three years prior, 89, 90, 91, the records fell from 10-6 to 6-10 to 4-12. Sure Majik and the 1989 Packers brought excitement back to Green Bay, but it surely wasn't on the upswing when Wolf and co. arrived.

[sharpe1027]

I totally agree about Majik. The Packers were on the upswing prior to Wolf, Favre, Reggie, all of them. Majik had an aura of excitement, Majik to Sterling put the Packers back on the map, and were really the first ones to give fans a buzz. The Majik led Packers is when I first really got interested in the Packers.

It really took me a while to accept that Brett was in fact better than Majik, it took a few MVP's to convince me, and I really am not all that convinced. If Majik had Brett's heath, that guy could have been a force. When heathy, man he could play, his reckless abandon was every bit as fun as Favre to watch.

I agree that Majik/Sharpe may have started the turnaround. I disagree that Majik would have been a HoFer. Of course neither of us can prove our beliefs, but from what I remember, he wasn't that great of a passer and he wasn't all that smart with his decisions.

What he was absolutely amazing at was making up for his otherwise average play by completing a 3rd and 30 pass, "Majikly" evading a pass-rusher or scrambling for a first while getting creamed in the process.

IMHO, just like we do for most players, we tend to remember the amazing plays and forget why it was necessary to throw a 3rd and 30 pass in the first place. That's just my observation based upon some pretty old memories.

[Waldo]

Did I ever say HOF? I said he could be a force. He wasn't the same guy after he tore up his shoulder (big shocker).

[sharpe1027]

Did I ever say HOF? I said he could be a force. He wasn't the same guy after he tore up his shoulder (big shocker).

You didn't exactly say HoF. In addition to being a force, you said you still weren't convinced that Favre was better than Don. Since Favre is a pretty much assured of being a first ballot HoFer, I naturally assumed as much for Don.

I think the point about the injury affecting him badly and robbing him of his potential stands; I just disagree about what he had shown prior to the injury.

[Patler]

I agree that Majik/Sharpe may have started the turnaround. I disagree that Majik would have been a HoFer. Of course neither of us can prove our beliefs, but from what I remember, he wasn't that great of a passer and he wasn't all that smart with his decisions.

What he was absolutely amazing at was making up for his otherwise average play by completing a 3rd and 30 pass, "Majikly" evading a pass-rusher or scrambling for a first while getting creamed in the process.

IMHO, just like we do for most players, we tend to remember the amazing plays and forget why it was necessary to throw a 3rd and 30 pass in the first place. That's just my observation based upon some pretty old memories.

I have no idea whether or not Majik could have made the HOF. Predicting an entire career is difficult. But there are some interesting stats surrounding Majkowski.

Only one time did Majkowski play an entire season of 16 games, 1989. He lead the NFL in passing yardage that year. His yardage total of 4,318 was surpassed by Favre only one time in his long career of playing 16 games year after year after year. He racked up that yardage throwing to a bunch of receivers. He had Sharpe for 1400+ yards, but the next highest was Woodside with just 527 yards. A lot of yards went to a lot of nobodies.

[mraynrand]

I'm not saying Majik wasn't a solid QB when healthy, I just can't see even putting him in the same sentence as Favre.

Warning! Irony Alert!

[Joemailman]

I agree that Majik/Sharpe may have started the turnaround. I disagree that Majik would have been a HoFer. Of course neither of us can prove our beliefs, but from what I remember, he wasn't that great of a passer and he wasn't all that smart with his decisions.

What he was absolutely amazing at was making up for his otherwise average play by completing a 3rd and 30 pass, "Majikly" evading a pass-rusher or scrambling for a first while getting creamed in the process.

IMHO, just like we do for most players, we tend to remember the amazing plays and forget why it was necessary to throw a 3rd and 30 pass in the first place. That's just my observation based upon some pretty old memories.

I have no idea whether or not Majik could have made the HOF. Predicting an entire career is difficult. But there are some interesting stats surrounding Majkowski.

Only one time did Majkowski play an entire season of 16 games, 1989. He lead the NFL in passing yardage that year. His yardage total of 4,318 was surpassed by Favre only one time in his long career of playing 16 games year after year after year. He racked up that yardage throwing to a bunch of receivers. He had Sharpe for 1400+ yards, but the next highest was Woodside with just 527 yards. A lot of yards went to a lot of nobodies.

Majik's 1989 season seemed...well.. magical compared to what he had been used to from Packer quarterbacks. But for Favre, that would have been just another season. Favre had 11 seasons out of 16 in Green Bay with a higher QB rating than Majik's 82.3 in 1989. Majik had an exciting season in 1989, but it was not really comparable to the best of Favre.

[Packman_26]

I'm not saying Majik wasn't a solid QB when healthy, I just can't see even putting him in the same sentence as Favre.

Warning! Irony Alert!

Did I do that? oh well. Who is John Galt?

[GrnBay007]

I think there may be many spoiled Packer fans out there.

To sit there and compare him to other "greats" and being "up there with other greats" and still criticize but not give him credit is just wrong. Pick him apart all you want but I'll be shocked if we ever see another GB QB do what BF did for GB, especially considering his longevity.

[Partial]

There probably won't ever be another HOF packer quarterback. At least in our lives. I mean how rare is it that some people here have seen two HOF qbs. How many fans of other teams can say that besides the Niners?

Not many.

Favre was da man. He deserves way better than the way this board thinks of him. He has done a lot for the state of Wisconsin.

[Lurker64]

Pick him apart all you want but I'll be shocked if we ever see another GB QB do what BF did for GB, especially considering his longevity.

Depends on how you want to guage "what BF did for GB". If you mean "win one championship", we'll probably see that. If you mean "break all major QB records", we probably won't. If you mean, "get the Packers on national TV a lot", we'll probably see that particularly when we become a championship calibre team again.

I mean, before the Pats won a superbowl, Tom Brady was just Drew Bledsoe's injury replacement, a lot of time "success makes superstars" and not the other way around.

[Tarlam!]

He deserves way better than the way this board thinks of him. He has done a lot for the state of Wisconsin.

Maybe, but the kick in the pants he got and is still getting is, IMO, a direct result of the scandal he caused last season and to an extent, his drama queen antics in previous seasons.

I recognize all the positives. His INT record I could care less about,but I refuse to give him a free pass on the negatives off of the field.