Hey Brett...Don't let the door hit you on the way out
Before discussing Mark Sanchez, Manny Ramirez and “Lost”…
Until the 2009 NFL regular season begins, I will not be 100 percent convinced that Brett Favre is done, even following the news that he submitted his formal retirement papers with the league office. I mean, there are ample reasons to be skeptical of an athlete who made Sugar Ray Leonard seem almost decisive about his career plans in comparison. This back and forth, the "will he or won’t he" return drama made has been more annoying than any B-grade soap opera plot. His prima donna ways of holding up the Packers plans probably made even Madonna cringe.
Needless to say, I am not sad that, if it is true, Brett Favre is done. Hallelujah.
Yes, the gunslinger from Kiln, Mississippi was, at his peak, one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history and has nearly every major league passing record, three most valuable player awards (the last one coming in 1997) and a Super Bowl trophy to show for it. Outside of Barry Sanders, Favre was the most exciting player in the league, must-see TV for sure. He took chances that even the most brazen criminal might deem too risky, played through every bump and bruise and did it all with a John Wayne movie star flair. With that said…
The Favre myth, helped along the way by the excessive slurping from the likes of John Madden (his love for Favre is so legendary that Frank Caliendo made a career out of it) and nearly everyone up in Bristol, FAR exceeded the reality on the ground over the second half of his career. Those daring risks too often turned into loud mistakes and often at the worst possible time (see NFC Championship, 2007).
Hard to imagine any other quarterback continually getting the kind of uber-praise heaped on Favre while becoming the NFL’s all-time leader with 310 interceptions. He threw as many touchdowns as interceptions in two of the last three years and that came one year after he tossed 29 interceptions to 20 scores (yes, he threw 28 touchdowns compared to 15 picks the year the Packers made the NFC Championship game. Mike McCarthy was almost able to get Favre to play closer to the vest for the entire year and it paid off…until another costly pick in overtime set the Giants up for the win).
Gene Wang of the Washington Post has a story out today discussing where Favre and his career numbers rank among the all-time quarterbacks. Taking out the likes of Johnny Unitas and Otto Graham who were before my time, I have Favre behind, in some order, Joe Montana, John Elway, Steve Young, Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Dan Marino (the only other QB on this list to rank in the top 10 of interceptions) and Troy Aikman and ahead of Jim Kelly.
Listed behind those Hall of Famers and the others destined to be enshrined is no knock on Favre. If I needed a QB for a game at the O.K. Corral, he probably would be my choice. Nevertheless, if I needed a QB to win one game for me, I am looking elsewhere. Fortunately, for all of us – if Favre sticks to his retirement guns – the Jets and 31 other teams will be looking elsewhere as well.
- Now that Favre is apparently headed home, what do the Jets do at quarterback? Kellen Clemens is arguably their best bet currently on the roster (though some also want to give Brett Ratliff a look) and despite a few brief moments of success during the 2007 campaign, look for the Jets to bring in competition (I have not finalized my latest mock draft, but do not be surprised to see USC star Mark Sanchez end up going to the Jets with their first-round pick). Among the veteran options, Jeff Garcia and Byron Leftwich look to be the best options…
- Speaking of Garcia, there are reasons to knock the 39-year old soon to be free agent at this point in his career – most notably his age and history of injuries – but I see him becoming the 2009 version of Kerry Collins if he lands in the right place. The Bucs defense and injuries across the board cost them a playoff berth, not Garcia, though they will go forward with Luke McCown and competition yet to be determined. For a potential contender, like the Jets or Vikings, Garcia would seem to be no worse than a great Plan B if their younger, less proven options fall flat on their face...
- The second half thrashing
- The signings yesterday involving Bobby Abreu with the Angels and Adam Dunn with the Nationals (ESPN's Eric Karabell breaks down the Dunn acquisition from a fantasy baseball perspective) makes a Manny Ramirez reunion with the Dodgers even more likely. Not only did Manny and his notorious agent Scott Boras likely lose two potential landing spots, the relatively cheap deals the players signed for should lower the market for the hitting dynamo, despite his prowess at the plate. What a miscalculation of the market. I guess that is just another way Manny is being Manny…
- Speaking of Abreu, his signing will be viewed as a massive steal - one year, $5 million - when the Angels once again runaway from their AL West rivals and end up with the best record in the league. We are talking about a player with six straight seasons of over 100 RBI and at least 22 stolen bases while batting over .295 and launching 20 home runs four times each in that stretch. He may not get them past their Bean town nemesis, but look for the 35-year old Abreu to reach or surpass all those levels as he plays for a more lucrative deal in 2010...
- Ok, I will not spoil anything from last night’s episode of “Lost”, but if you have not watched it yet, make sure you are buckled in beforehand. Clearly, the writers are still feeling the effect of last year’s strike as they are jamming in many different story lines at a dizzying pace, but that does not make it any less entertaining. I’d say right now, pound for pound, this season is shaping up to be as good as any since season one. Outside of Jack, I still feel connected to nearly all the main characters and that is no mean feat after all this time. Now if they could just hurry up and get Kate back in the jungle and turn her into a dirty girl again…
- Tivo reminder! The best reality show on TV, Survivor, starts tonight…
Favre is done this time. I have no problem with him coming back last year. And you can't say just because he made an ill-advised, untimely pick against the Giants (whose D had really stepped up that postseason) that he didn't have a great 2007. He still, even this year, had an intangible winner's quality that players and fans could see. You always knew you had a chance with Brett at the helm...although admittedly it could be a double-edge sword.
