Really Good Andy Brandt Interview

[sharpe1027]

I don't buy this part at all. In retrospect it was obvious he ddn't like TT's ways. I think he wanted out of GB because he felt like they wanted to move on without him......which is fine. I thought that was what Brandt portrayed well in the interview. He felt a bit scored by the management IMO and he wanted to go to the Vikes because of that....and also because he thought he had a shot to win a title there.

Whatever the reason, I too have come to the conclusion that Favre wanted out. I just believe he wanted to make someone else responsible so he could come out looking good. IMO, he should have just manned up from the start and asked to get out. Hell, even Cutler was enough of a man to do that much and to take the heat the went with it.

[mmmdk]

Brett: Hey TT, I'm retired ! Where are the free agents, TT? What have you done for ME lately, TT?
TT: You wanna run the team, Brett? Sure, I'm the Packers starting QB then.

[Fritz]

Funny, but I found little new in Brandt's comments from his observations inside the organization. The only nugget seems to be that Brett wanted to be asked back because of his fear of being Wally Pipp'd by a backup like he did to Majikowski. Brandt has covered this several times since last year's un-retirement.

But I have maintained for quite some time that retire/play routine started long before Aaron Rodgers and Ted Thompson. Brandt confirms (without specificity) that he heard the retirement talk starting in 2000, not 2003 like many count from the Peter King article. He finishes by saying that he and Bus Cook were hoping for 2 or 3 more years after he resigned in 2001.

And the purpose it served was to be sure the Packers and Brett Favre were on the same page (Brett's page); win now. Because if Brett Favre is indecisive about coming back, then the team is under pressure to take steps to ensure he does return. Because no other choice seems logical to fans. This worked like a charm on Sherman who danced like a snake in a basket listening to a wind instrument.

But add Thompson, and then add a viable backup and the calculus changes. Really the person who should get credit here is Woodbuck, who saw this coming a mile away and no one believed him. Now I disagree 180 degrees with him about which direction was better, but he called it.

Favre might pull off a miracle this season with the Vikings. And Thompson may undervalue veteran steadiness. But I think Thomspon's approach is better in the long run. Like Aikman kept hinting at Sunday, it might simply have been time for him to go. Favre knew he was a short run guy and the team was being prepped for the long haul. He did not want to wait. And that is the reason return #1 was aborted, he got an answer he wasn't expecting.

All this hulabaloo is about control. Who got to tell Brett where to play, or when to retire. The team bought one year before the player got his way.

I agree with most of this, PB. The one point I don't agree with is about what Aikman said. When I heard Aikman on Sunday, what I heard him say - and to me he said this clearly - was that what nobody was talking about was the possibility that Favre wanted to come back - but not for the Packers.

Patler has written about this, and if you listen to Brandt's couched comments he is saying essentially that yes, Brett Favre did not want to retire - but he also did not want to play for the Packers. HE wanted out. Again, several intelligent posters have given examples that suggest Favre wanted out of Green Bay for the past few years.
At the same time, the Packers also decided to move on with Rodgers. So they, too, were ready to make a change.

What's sad is that both sides wanted the same end - Brett out of town - but they couldn't make it happen in a way that satisfied both sides.

I don't buy this part at all. In retrospect it was obvious he ddn't like TT's ways. I think he wanted out of GB because he felt like they wanted to move on without him......which is fine. I thought that was what Brandt portrayed well in the interview. He felt a bit scored by the management IMO and he wanted to go to the Vikes because of that....and also because he thought he had a shot to win a title there.

Let's say you're right. Favre doesn't want to come back because he doesn't feel loved enough. Not enough phone calls were made, not enough fealty shown.

Favre is a classic passive/aggressive character. Thompson is a confrontation avoider. Or so I believe. This is a bad combination.