I’ve been trying to avoid talking about this subject for the past few days because I’m not a fan of his antics, but it’s becoming national news and I wanted to give my own spin on the subject.
Brett Favre needs to fall back.
I will say this before I really delve into this situation. I think that if the reports are true and Favre is considering a comeback after retiring, it’s a very selfish act on his part. I’ve never liked his wavering nature when contemplating retirement in the past. He needs to declare his intentions now so that everyone can prepare.
I’ve also been very critical of the pro-Favre media coverage that he has received over the years. The sports media tends to present information of Favre in a positive way for him, including some off the field stuff that has happened to him in the past that isn’t relevant to the football side of this argument but does play into the information that’s presented to you. So, when you’re watching ESPN or reading your sports news in the paper or on the Internet, just be aware that some bias exists and has to be acknowledged.
OK, back to the story.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the situation, I’ll try to give you a quick synopsis. Favre was the starting quarterback for the Green Bay Packers for many years and has developed a legendary career. He’s won a Super Bowl, multiple MVP awards and has become a living legend in the sport. However, the past few years, his play had dipped significantly and there were talks of him retiring from football.
However, every off-season he would eventually come back and play. This past season, he had arguably his best year ever and led the Packers to the NFC Championship Game where his team lost to the best team ever, the eventually Super Bowl Champions, the NEW YORK FOOTBALL GIANTS!!!!!
Disclaimer: I’m a little bit of a Giants fan.
So this off-season, Favre decides that he wants to finally retire and has a press conference and everything. It’s an emotional goodbye for him, the fans and even the team itself. The Packers place him on the retired list and the NFL officially recognizes him as not an official player anymore.
The Packers for their part declare former backup quarterback Aaron Rogers as the starter and have done all of their off-season practices, minicamp and all, with him as the starter.
Now, there are reports that Favre is contemplating coming back to the team. Mind you, he has done this in the past, being unsure of his future. The Packers have always been in limbo when making off-season choices because they’re unsure if their starting quarterback is coming back. The team isn’t sure how to really react to this.
The Packers have three choices and I’ll try to give you the objective, Cliff Notes version of it. The main key is that the Packers own his rights as a player so if Favre decides to come back and play, he HAS to do it through the Packers, even if he wants a trade:
1) The Packers can accept him back on the team and make him the starter. The positive of this is that Favre had an excellent season and showed that he still has the skills to be a top quarterback. He did lead the team to a division title and to the NFC Championship game before falling to the eventual SUPER BOWL CHAMPIONS, the NEW YORK GIANTS.
OK, enough mentioning of the SUPER BOWL CHAMPIONS.
The negatives here are very strong. You may divide the morale of the locker room, especially Aaron Rogers, who is 24 years old and can become a free agent season after next. The Packers have groomed Rogers in their system and to have him walk away when he’s a free agent would be bad especially considering that Favre has one or two more years of playing in him, maximum. There’s also the issue of Favre being owed around $12 million dollars on his contract for this season. That affects the flexibility of the Packers salary cap space for future dealings.
2) The Packers can accept him and then eventually trade him. This would be the most win/win situation for both sides if Favre isn’t going to play on the Packers. The only problem is that both sides also have control to screw each one over. OK, let’s say that Favre gets traded to the Bears for example. Favre can decide to not report to the Bears and that screws Chicago up big time. Other NFL teams are very aware of this possibility and will be very hesitant to trade for a beat-up 39 year-old quarterback who is owed so much money on his contract and can regress greatly into a below-average player.
3) The Packers can just straight up release him, take a slight hit on the salary cap and go on with the Aaron Rogers era as planned. The slightly tricky part to this one is that the Packers don’t want him to go to another team and be productive while they struggle. Furthermore, the two teams in the NFL that could use Favre the most happen to be the team’s two main rivals, the Bears and Vikings. Can you picture Favre wearing a blue or purple jersey?
Personally, I don’t get tied into emotional stuff when it comes to sports. As much as people like to get all emotional about it, its professional sports, it’s a business first. That sounds cold, but that’s the way it is.
All of these media members and fans are getting all wrapped up in the legacy of Favre and how great of a player he is. There has always been an undercurrent of unwavering support for Favre, no matter what he does. There have been examples of hero worship when it comes to coverage of him.
But you have to put yourself in Packers general manager Ted Thompson’s shoes, which is a position I wouldn’t mind being in one day, so I’ll play him.
The reality is that you have to look at what’s best for the team in the present with an eye for the future. The present will tell you that welcoming back Favre is the best choice. He’s a proven commodity. However, you can’t underestimate the chemistry of your locker room. There will be players who support Favre and some that support Rogers. The last thing that you need on your team is disharmony. The Packers are good enough to compete for an NFC title with Rodgers, I honestly believe that.
If you’re keeping an eye on the future, you can’t accept Favre back on the team, because he’s not going to play past this year most likely. You have to prepare for life after Favre.
Also, you can’t listen to fans because we (yes, I’m throwing myself in this) don’t know what’s best for our teams most of the time. I’m a smart sports fan but I don’t know everything. The Packers fans will clamor for Favre’s return, but how will they feel in two years when Rogers and Favre aren’t on the team and they’re struggling to win games. They won’t be happy. That’s the beauty of fans. If you choose Choice A over B and choice A is bad later on, all of the fans will say you should have done B even though many of them were in agreement over doing A.
You have to be business like when you’re running a professional franchise.
Your heart tells you that it would be cool to see Favre make one last run of glory, but your head tells you that you have to move on.
Always go with the head.
For now, here’s some Wisconsin music from the Violent Femmes. No disrespect to all of you Badgers out there, but the Wisconsin music scene isn’t very strong. This is the best I could do.
I gotta do better then Violent Femmes. OK, some members of Garbage, including Shirley Manson, were born in Wisconsin. That’s better.
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