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Packers better off without Favre
Adam Schein / FOXSports.com
Posted: 1 hour ago
So now Brett Favre says he never wanted to be traded and he wants to be a Packer forever.
To quote the immortal Derrick Coleman, "Whoop-de-damn-do."
The Packers should still think long and hard about letting him go.
For the record, here was Favre's response on the Packers web site over Jay Glazer's report yesterday:
"I was frustrated a couple weeks back when Randy Moss was traded to New England, I never wanted to be traded and I don't want to be traded. I want to be in Green Bay. I want to finish my career as a Packer."
My response remains the same: the Packers need to seriously consider making this move and get the wheels in motion to put the Favre era — no matter how successful it was — in the past.
It's time to forget the supposed public relations nightmare. It's time to hold Favre to the same standards as every other player on the team.
Favre continuously popping off on management about not surrounding him with adequate talent, indirectly ripping his teammates, is a distraction and a detriment. So are the constant questions about his eventual retirement.
But Favre's frustrations — not to mention his very public venting of them — should be the last straw. This latest furor comes just days after Favre sounded off on Ted Thompson and Green Bay management on Saturday at his golf tournament in Mississippi. Favre was having daydreams about throwing to Moss, Donald Driver and Greg Jennings. And his tone and word choice indicated he was livid about management getting outbid by the Patriots. New England gave up a fourth-rounder; Thompson offered a fifth-rounder. Green Bay coach Mike McCarthy confessed last week to us that the Packers did want Moss and were in the bidding until the end.
You can't blame them for not wanting to overpay for a receiver with a bad attitude.
I applaud Ted Thompson for that.
The Packers, if you haven't been paying attention, are in the middle of a retooling/rebuilding mode.
Thompson and McCarthy have rightly tried to reload via the draft and last year's haul of A.J. Hawk, Daryn Colledge, Tony Moll, Jason Spitz, Abdul Hodge and Jennings was a good first step.
Thompson has given Aaron Kampman and Nick Barnett the appropriate contract extensions to keep the young, effective core of the defense together.
Green Bay is prepping for 2008 in every area but quarterback, where they are still held hostage by Favre, who can seemingly do and say whatever he wants.
Oh, McCarthy was thrilled when we spoke on Thursday that Favre, still rehabbing from ankle surgery, was planning to show at Packers mini-camp later this week.
It's not often that Favre chooses to show up, or is made to be there like everyone else.
But I'm sure McCarthy's enthusiasm was curbed a bit when he read Favre's quotes this weekend, describing just how useless mini-camp and training camp really are.
Let's be honest — Favre is well along the downside of his career. His decision-making and knack for forcing the ball into double or triple coverage has hurt Green Bay. Last year he tossed 18 picks against 18 touchdowns. That's not good. That's after throwing 29 picks in 2005.
Is he a top 10 quarterback in 2007? Absolutely not.
Green Bay spent a first-round pick on Aaron Rodgers. Maybe it's time to see what he has. I know the Packers won't make the playoffs with Rodgers.
But let's be very honest again here for a second — the Packers aren't making the playoffs with Favre either. Not with their defense and running game.
McCarthy comes onto our radio show every week. And I always feel badly when we have to pepper him with the constant Favre questions. And we have to do the same for all Packers players.
Other teams with a passionate fan base have let a legend go before. It's been done before at the quarterback position.
It was difficult to ever imagine Joe Montana in another uniform. The Niner icon became a Chief at the end of his career. He is still viewed as a legendary member of the San Francisco organization. It didn't mar his career or change how revered he is in the Bay Area.
It was unfathomable to imagine Pedro Martinez leaving Red Sox nation after delivering a World Series to a fan base that has the same passion as Packers fans. It happened. Sox fans were livid. It turned out to be the best thing for everyone.
Hakeem Olajuwon left the Rockets. Karl Malone finished up as a Laker after being a superstar in Salt Lake City, a small market like Green Bay.
Former New York Rangers executive Dave Checketts uttered his famous, "How long do I have to keep paying for the Cup?" quote when he let Mark Messier go to Vancouver.
I'm sure the fine folks in the Green Bay offices have to be asking themselves a similar question.
Let Favre go play for the Dolphins or Jaguars.
Find out what you have in Rodgers.
Get a quarterback into the lineup who won't be constantly questioning the talent around him.
Favre will always be a Packer legend, but the best thing for the sanity and upward movement of the Packers for the rest of this decade is to let him go now.
Adam Schein / FOXSports.com
Posted: 1 hour ago
So now Brett Favre says he never wanted to be traded and he wants to be a Packer forever.
To quote the immortal Derrick Coleman, "Whoop-de-damn-do."
The Packers should still think long and hard about letting him go.
For the record, here was Favre's response on the Packers web site over Jay Glazer's report yesterday:
"I was frustrated a couple weeks back when Randy Moss was traded to New England, I never wanted to be traded and I don't want to be traded. I want to be in Green Bay. I want to finish my career as a Packer."
My response remains the same: the Packers need to seriously consider making this move and get the wheels in motion to put the Favre era — no matter how successful it was — in the past.
It's time to forget the supposed public relations nightmare. It's time to hold Favre to the same standards as every other player on the team.
Favre continuously popping off on management about not surrounding him with adequate talent, indirectly ripping his teammates, is a distraction and a detriment. So are the constant questions about his eventual retirement.
But Favre's frustrations — not to mention his very public venting of them — should be the last straw. This latest furor comes just days after Favre sounded off on Ted Thompson and Green Bay management on Saturday at his golf tournament in Mississippi. Favre was having daydreams about throwing to Moss, Donald Driver and Greg Jennings. And his tone and word choice indicated he was livid about management getting outbid by the Patriots. New England gave up a fourth-rounder; Thompson offered a fifth-rounder. Green Bay coach Mike McCarthy confessed last week to us that the Packers did want Moss and were in the bidding until the end.
You can't blame them for not wanting to overpay for a receiver with a bad attitude.
I applaud Ted Thompson for that.
The Packers, if you haven't been paying attention, are in the middle of a retooling/rebuilding mode.
Thompson and McCarthy have rightly tried to reload via the draft and last year's haul of A.J. Hawk, Daryn Colledge, Tony Moll, Jason Spitz, Abdul Hodge and Jennings was a good first step.
Thompson has given Aaron Kampman and Nick Barnett the appropriate contract extensions to keep the young, effective core of the defense together.
Green Bay is prepping for 2008 in every area but quarterback, where they are still held hostage by Favre, who can seemingly do and say whatever he wants.
Oh, McCarthy was thrilled when we spoke on Thursday that Favre, still rehabbing from ankle surgery, was planning to show at Packers mini-camp later this week.
It's not often that Favre chooses to show up, or is made to be there like everyone else.
But I'm sure McCarthy's enthusiasm was curbed a bit when he read Favre's quotes this weekend, describing just how useless mini-camp and training camp really are.
Let's be honest — Favre is well along the downside of his career. His decision-making and knack for forcing the ball into double or triple coverage has hurt Green Bay. Last year he tossed 18 picks against 18 touchdowns. That's not good. That's after throwing 29 picks in 2005.
Is he a top 10 quarterback in 2007? Absolutely not.
Green Bay spent a first-round pick on Aaron Rodgers. Maybe it's time to see what he has. I know the Packers won't make the playoffs with Rodgers.
But let's be very honest again here for a second — the Packers aren't making the playoffs with Favre either. Not with their defense and running game.
McCarthy comes onto our radio show every week. And I always feel badly when we have to pepper him with the constant Favre questions. And we have to do the same for all Packers players.
Other teams with a passionate fan base have let a legend go before. It's been done before at the quarterback position.
It was difficult to ever imagine Joe Montana in another uniform. The Niner icon became a Chief at the end of his career. He is still viewed as a legendary member of the San Francisco organization. It didn't mar his career or change how revered he is in the Bay Area.
It was unfathomable to imagine Pedro Martinez leaving Red Sox nation after delivering a World Series to a fan base that has the same passion as Packers fans. It happened. Sox fans were livid. It turned out to be the best thing for everyone.
Hakeem Olajuwon left the Rockets. Karl Malone finished up as a Laker after being a superstar in Salt Lake City, a small market like Green Bay.
Former New York Rangers executive Dave Checketts uttered his famous, "How long do I have to keep paying for the Cup?" quote when he let Mark Messier go to Vancouver.
I'm sure the fine folks in the Green Bay offices have to be asking themselves a similar question.
Let Favre go play for the Dolphins or Jaguars.
Find out what you have in Rodgers.
Get a quarterback into the lineup who won't be constantly questioning the talent around him.
Favre will always be a Packer legend, but the best thing for the sanity and upward movement of the Packers for the rest of this decade is to let him go now.
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