Rumor: Eagles have interest in retired QB Brett Favre
It’s that time of the year again.
Howard Eskin of 610 WIP in Philadelphia has reported that the Philadelphia Eagles will have interest in signing quarterback Brett Favre (yes, that Brett Favre) once the new Collective Bargaining Agreement is agreed upon.
Eskin reports that the team could pursue the 41-year-old quarterback after they trade backup Kevin Kolb, who Adam Schefter suggests will be traded to the Arizona Cardinals shortly after the season begins. As funny as it is to joke about another offseason Favre saga, this move actually would make a lot of sense for both parties.
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Five Reasons Why Things Will Be Different in Pack-Vikes Round II
In what could be the most watched regular season Sunday-day game of all-time, the Packers will host Brett Favre for the first time in his career. In week four, Favre torched his old team in a 30-23 victory that seemed more like 30-3. But four weeks later, some things have changed for each team. Here’s five reasons why the outcome will be different this time around.
1. Location
Last time around, Brett Favre and the Vikings has the leisure of not only playing at home in the Metrodome, but also the weather was not a factor for Mr. Favre and his stellar passing game. Fast forward three weeks and the weather conditions call for temperatures in the mid 40′s and a 30 percent chance of precipitation.
Lambeau Field calls for a 100 percent chance of a hostile environment that is sure to shake the “ol’ gunslinger” into making errant passes. Naturally, the nerves have to be getting to Favre as he prepares to face his old team in his old stadium for the first time ever. In week four, the jerseys on defense were green and gold, but the stadium wasn’t.
It’s easy to forget with all the Favre hype, but this game means a ton in terms of determining who stands on top of the NFC North in a few weeks. The Packers are one and a half games behind the Vikes, and with Tampa Bay following the next week, a win against Minnesota would mean first place for the Packers.
Combine that with the temperature change that has hurt Favre over the last three seasons and you have a recipe that, at the very least, is much different than it was in Minnesota. It’s never easy to win on the road in the NFL and next week will be no exception for the Vikings.
2. Packers’ Offense
In week four, the box score would have told you that Aaron Rodgers and the Packers played an outstanding game on offense and had their way with the Vikings’ secondary. However, the truth was that most of Rodgers’ stats came in garbage time while the Vikings played prevent defense.
While the offense was able to move the ball and scored 17 points on offense, the Packers allowed eight sacks and Rodgers was pressured on just about every play, leading to errant passes and a forced fumble on Rodgers’ part.
The offensive line remains the same for the next week’s game, Daryn Colledge will not see any time at left tackle like he did in week four. Also, rookie T.J. Lang has had extra reps at left tackle if Chad Clifton can not go due to an ankle injury. Expect Jared Allen to get his fair share of pressure, but the Packers have changed up their offense and have implemented many short passes that should help.
Rodgers has the second best passer rating in the league and has averaged the most yards per attempt, all while being sacked more than any other quarterback. If the Packers can get those short passes to work, it will take pressure off Rodgers in a mental and physical sense.
3. Injuries
In week four, the Packers missed Atari Bigby and it showed as Favre and the Vikings’ pass attack had their way with the Packers’ secondary. This time around, Bigby will suit up and hopefully change the outcome in the passing game. Vikings Coach Brad Childress admitted that the Packers are a “different team” with Bigby and the difference between him and Derrick Martin will be night and day.
For the Vikings, standout cornerback Antoine Winfield is expected to miss the contest and Bernard Berrian has yet to practice this week. Both players were huge contributors in the Vikings week four victory as Winfield compiled ten tackles and an interception, while Berrian caught six passes for 75 yards and a third quarter, eventual game-winning touchdown from Favre.
Jermichael Finley, who led the Packers in receiving against the Vikings with 128 yards and a touchdown, will miss Sunday’s game along with wide receiver Jordy Nelson. Brett Swain was also lost for the season with a torn ACL against Cleveland, so Rodgers’ targets will be limited to Greg Jennings, Donald Driver, James Jones, Donald Lee, and the backs.
There are injuries for both teams, but clearly the Vikings’ injuries hurt more than the Packers right now, the opposite of week four.
4. Momentum
Aside from the fact that the Packers are coming off a bye week and two wins while the Vikings are coming off a loss, the Packers seem to be hitting their stride while the Vikings are fighting for their lives. The Packers have had three easy weeks to prepare for their big division rivalry game in playing the Lions and Browns off a bye week.
Brett Favre was hardly having fun last week. Those six weeks of momentum might have been lost. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
On the other hand, the Vikings just barely held on to defeat the Ravens in a shootout and went wire-to-wire with the Steelers in a loss. At the very least, the Vikings are more tired than the Packers are at this point. Losing the game in the last six minutes had to be disheartening for the Vikings and while they will not be resting on that fact, it’s different than coming out of Heinz Field with a victory.
No one needs to tell either team to get up for this game, but you can bet the Packers do not want to see Favre leave Lambeau Field with a victory. The tension was not as high in week four as it will be at 3:15 in Green Bay and the Packers will thrive off that.
The Packers finally feel confident in their offensive schemes and their defense has limited teams to three points in the last two weeks combined. Rookies Clay Matthews and B.J. Raji are getting much more involved and Rodgers has settled in, throwing eight touchdowns in the last three weeks. All signs point to the momentum being in Green Bay’s favor when the initial whistle is blown.
5. Twelve is greater than four
You knew it was coming, people. I stayed away from it in week four because thinking about Favre playing against the Vikings in Minnesota didn’t hit me as weird. But seeing Favre walk out onto the Frozen Tundra will be heartbreaking and as much as I love the man, Aaron Rodgers is my team’s quarterback.
Say what you will about the success Favre has had this season, but in four years when Aaron Rodgers is in his prime and Favre is (God, hopefully) on a tractor somewhere in his Wrangler Jeans, you’ll understand why Ted Thompson made the right call. Rodgers has been a top five quarterback this season and has four wins to prove it. Cheer Favre for everything he did for the Packers, but once 3:15 hits look to the other side of the field and watch the future of Green Bay Packers football, #12.
Why I Still Love Brett Favre
Mar. 6, 2008: The day that I thought changed my life.
Yes, you’d only know it if you were a Green Bay Packers fan, but Brett Favre has meant that much to me and every other Cheesehead. I’d go out on a limb and say no other player has meant more to an NFL franchise than Favre has. As I watched his press conference on NFL Network, I found myself choked up and literally fighting back tears as the gunslinger from Mississippi announced his retirement.
He spoke of how he felt he had given as much as he could give to the Green Bay Packers and that there was nothing more to give. Seeing him play my whole life, I knew first-hand the joy he gave me and rest of the Packers faithful.
This was THE best quarterback to ever play the game hanging his cleats up for good. Hanging up his smile. Hanging up his touchdowns. Everything was gone and it was time for me to move on with the Green Bay Packers without Brett Favre, something I had never known.
For the next two or so months, I dealt with the mystery that was life without No. 4 and decided that newly installed quarterback Aaron Rodgers could get the job done. With a pin-point accurate arm and the credentials that almost made him the first overall pick in 2005, everything was in place.
Then one day, while watching Sportscenter, breaking news came out that Brett Favre had the itch to play football once again and was considering coming back for another year.
YES! My hero was back to take the Packers to the promised land and realized that the ol’ gunslinger still had something left in that cannon of his. Not so fast.
As more and more reports came to light, it was discovered that general manager Ted Thompson and head coach Mike McCarthy had already told Aaron Rodgers he was the quarterback of the future and that, somehow, the Green Bay Packers had moved on from Brett Favre.
What? So you are telling me that you are showing the door to the greatest thing that has ever happened to your franchise and almost led you to the Super Bowl last season? That’s right. The Packers, my pride and joy, did the unthinkable and told Brett Favre “no”.
They told him he could come in and back up Rodgers for the season but could not compete for the starting job whatsoever. Someone once said that if a team has two candidates for starting quarterback, they really have none. In what was more of a bluff than anything, the Packers gave Favre that option which he decided to take.
Favre never took the bait and did not show up to training camp, but did send his official reinstatement to the NFL which was granted a few days later. After a lengthy talk with McCarthy in Green Bay, it was decided that Favre coming to training camp was not going to help anyone’s party.
One that will never be forgotten, not even Photoshop could ruin this image for Packers fans.
A few days after that, my hero was holding up a New York Jets jersey and smiling, ready for a new start with a new team. How could the Packers do this to my favorite player to ever step on the field to play the greatest game on earth?
I was mad at the Packers for what seemed like the first time since the Ray Rhodes hiring, and knew it would take time to get over.
Nine wins and seven losses later, Favre had again hung the cleats up as he announced his retirement from the New York Jets.
To make a long story short, there were rumors about him wanting to come to Minnesota early in the offseason and it seemed as though a different official from the Vikings was taking a plane to Mississippi every weekend.
Favre asked for his release from the Jets, had surgery on his shoulder, and began working out at the same high school he did the previous offseason. When push came to shove and the Vikings’ head coach Brad Childress put a deadline on Favre, he decided he did not have enough in the tank to come back. Favre was retired once again.
Three weeks after that, the saga took another unbelievable turn as it was rumored Favre was set to sign a contract with the Vikings out of nowhere. The same quarterback, who three weeks ago said he was done for good, was coming back for another season.
Man oh man, was it ever fun to look at message boards and forums that day! I learned who Benedict Arnold was, saw a picture of Judas wearing a Favre jersey, and heard Favre called a lot of different names that I wouldn’t say to my worst enemy.
But as I read on and on about how mad everyone was at Favre, Ted Thompson, and the Packers organization, it hit me that this was no one’s fault.
Back in May of 2008, two months after Favre has his initial retirement press conference, Favre supposedly went to the Packers and told him that he once again had the itch to play football.
The Packers told Favre that they would love to have him back and were ready to welcome him in with open arms. A few days later, No. 4 told the Packers the feeling had passed and he would stay retired.
Somewhere in between that conversation and the day I saw the Sportscenter Breaking News, the Packers decided that Aaron Rodgers was their man.
While he had not accomplished much other than two season-ending injuries in his career, the Packers felt he was good enough to become the franchise quarterback everyone had hoped he would be.
When Favre came calling once again, the Packers welcomed him in, but this time with a clause thrown in. Sure, the Packers knew Favre would not come in as a back-up, but at least they made the offer.
They didn’t kick Favre out, make him retire, or tell him he was no good. They eventually gave him wishes of starting at quarterback by trading him to the Jets and everyone went their way.
It was no longer fair for the Packers to have to keep waiting on Favre going back and forth, and at some point they had to have something in place for training camp. Making Rodgers their go-to guy gave him full confidence and gave the Packers a definite starter at the most important position on the field.
It has always been my thinking that no player or person is ever bigger than the franchise itself. Yes, I believe Favre has meant more to the Packers than any other human being alive, but as close as he is to God in Green Bay, he still is not.
The Packers were here before Favre and have survived after him, and that was something he was going to have to deal with.
A lot has been made about the real reason for Favre coming back. Some believe he genuinely wants to return to try to add another Super Bowl ring to his storied resume, while others believe he is coming back to spite Ted Thompson and the Packers.
Whatever you believe the reason to be, Favre is not at fault for this either. He isn’t Judas and he isn’t Benedict Arnold. There are no daggers in the Green Bay Packers’ back with Favre’s fingerprints on it.
As much as it hurts and as physically sick as it makes my stomach, Favre is not at fault in the situation and I support his playing for the Vikings.
Last week I wrote an article explaining why Michael Vick deserves a second chance in the NFL, despite his past mistakes and the negative feelings that people would show towards him. If we are going to let a convicted felon back in the league, then there’s no reason Favre can’t play again.
Yes, it’s annoying and we wish that he would just make up his mind on whether or not to play, but who cares if he is indecisive? The NFL is better with Brett Favre and there is no disputing that. The first time Favre felt that now-notorious “itch”, he wanted to come back and play for the Packers.
The Packers made it clear that Favre could not come back and start for the Packers but told him there were other options for him. He exercised that option and played for a team that wanted him in the New York Jets and went on his way.
Yes, he reportedly did not respond to any of Aaron Rodgers’ calls and might have slipped in a few knocks on Ted Thompson in some interviews, but anything he did was going to be blown out of proportion based on the situation.
Now let’s talk about the whole situation with the Vikings. When rumors popped up about him wanting to play again, I had no problem with it. The “here we go again” sigh came into play and I knew that ESPN would be drooling all over the place to get information on one more Favre return, but alas he decided to stay retired.
Then he decided that he wanted to play once more. The team that was willing to take him and he also wanted to play for happened to be the Minnesota Vikings. He is good friends with Brad Childress and offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell. Simply put, a guy wanted to play football and one team wanted him.
If you want to believe that Favre is doing this to get back at the Packers, go ahead and believe that. Be mad at Favre and do not cheer for him when he enters Lambeau Field on Nov. 4. Forget the great memories that he left us for 17 years and the Super Bowl he brought us.
As for me, I wish Brett Favre the best. I do not wish the Minnesota Vikings anything good and hope that the Packers embarrass both Favre and the Vikings both times they meet this season. But it’s still Favre and he is still the same guy that I tried to replicate hundreds of times in my backyard as a youngster.
Let him play if he wants to play, regardless of when he makes that decision.
If you want to be mad at someone, be mad at the Vikings. The Minnesota faithful won’t want to hear this, but they handled the situation terribly and came out looking pretty bad.
Childress told Favre that there was a strict deadline for him and there would be no going back on his situation. Three weeks later, all credibility Childress had was out the window.
It’s quite obvious that Favre did not want to attend any part of training camp and was going to wait until it was over to make his return, but the fact that Childress lied to his players, the fans, and everyone else makes him look pretty bad.
Last season, it was much easier to cheer for Favre’s team and Favre himself. The Jets had no affiliation with the Packers, and the better the Jets did during the year, the better the draft pick in return would be for Green Bay. This time around, any move Favre makes will directly affect the Packers.
That being said, I am a Packers fan before I am a Brett Favre fan. I trusted that Thompson and McCarthy had it right when they decided on Rodgers, and a year later they look right. Argue what Favre has or doesn’t have left in the tank to play for the Vikings, but the Packers are better off with Rodgers.
I hope he enjoys playing football and shows it in his emotions because, regardless of helmet color or uniform, nothing makes me happier. He is still my hero and favorite player to ever play the game and I am happy to see him back.
Whether he misses the playoffs or gets the Vikings their first Super Bowl, nothing will replace what he did for the Packers and their fans. We thank you Brett, and wish you the best of luck in the future.
Brett Favre to the Vikings: Good PR Move and That’s It
Well the day finally arrived, folks. I never once mentioned Brett Favre to the Vikings in any of my articles and never took a stance on the issue because, to be honest, I never wanted to imagine that it might come true.
Another article will come later that breaks down my personal feelings on Favre wearing purple, but for now, we’ve got a free agent signing to break down.
Today it was announced that, pending a physical, Favre will join the Minnesota Vikings and presumably take over the starting quarterback responsibilities. With Tavaris Jackson still fighting the injury bug and Sage Rosenfels being, well, Sage Rosenfels, it’s easy to believe that Favre will be an improvement over the two.
Favre will turn 40 right before the start of Week Five and will be entering his 19th year in the National Football League. It has been a storied career for Favre, who has won three MVPs, a Super Bowl, and holds all major passing records including completions, passing yards, and touchdowns.
As good as his career has been, he has made just about as many headlines in the last two offseasons than he did the last 16 combined. Coming in and out of retirement became almost a game for people, and no one knew what to believe.
He played with people’s emotions, couldn’t decide what to do, retired, un-retired, retired again, “got the itch” again, said no, and is now on a plane to Minnesota.
For the Vikings, the addition of Favre is one of the biggest PR moves in football history. The move is literally the equivalent of Derek Jeter to the Red Sox or Coach K taking a job with the Tar Heels. For a struggling franchise who has never won the Super Bowl (in four attempts) and doesn’t have the biggest fan base, Favre will be like a Godsend.
Last season, the Vikings ranked 25th in all of football in attendance, and have not had a competent quarterback since Randall Cunninghman or Daunte Culpepper in his glory days. Fans will come in flocks to see their once-hated rival don the Vikings helmet, will buy jerseys in heaps, and will get to experience what it is like to cheer for Brett Favre.
Favre looks like the last piece to a Vikings team that can run the ball on offense and stop the run of defense. Last season, Jackson and Gus Frerotte faded towards the end of the year and could not do anything in the playoffs, as the Vikings were taken down by the Eagles in the first round.
But in breaking it all down, will the 40-year-old gunslinger really be able to take the Vikings to the promised land?
Haha, yeah ok...
Last season with the Jets, much drama was made about Favre’s ailing bicep and shoulder, and was dubbed the reason Favre struggled at the end of the year. He just did not look like the same quarterback and visibly struggled.
New York would end the season 1-4 after knocking off the Patriots and the then-undefeated Titans to finish 9-7 and miss the playoffs. Head coach Eric Mangini was promptly fired and Favre announced his ”retirement”.
Last year with the Jets, Favre finished the last five games with two touchdowns and nine interceptions. Four of those games were in cold weather, with a game in Miami being the only warm weather contest.
Say what you will about last year’s end of the season failures, but this isn’t the first time Favre has fluttered at the end of the year.
In 2007, Favre finished the year (the last five games) with six touchdowns and seven interceptions. Just two of the games were in cold weather conditions, but Favre also played terribly against the Giants in the NFC Championship Game, completing just 19 of 36 passes and being intercepted twice.
In 2006, Favre threw four touchdowns and eight interceptions over the course of the last five games. Four of those games came in cold weather atmospheres, and while the Packers won four of their last five games, they did so in spite of Favre’s lackluster performances.
In 2005, Favre met cold conditions in his last five games and threw just one touchdown compared to ten interceptions in that span.
More so than just an injury to Favre last season, it has become apparent that the wear and tear he takes during a 16-game season gets to him by season’s end. Remember, Favre starts and plays in every single game, which is something 95 percent of quarterbacks do not do.
That means 16 games of hits, throws, scrambles, and sacks that do the body no good at all. Throw in Favre’s age of 39 (and soon to be 40) and you have a recipe for disaster for the Ironman.
Favre played his cards right this season by waiting until training camp was over to finally join the Vikings, but Favre didn’t really take a beating before the regular season in previous years anyway.
Playing in the NFC North will surely make things easier on Favre as he begins his season with the Vikings. They play Cleveland, Detroit, and San Francisco in the first three weeks, which will surely make it easy for Favre to get the rust off.
A week four match-up in Minnesota against the Packers will be his first test, and there will be much more than just a regular season game riding on it.
The Vikings have a fairly easy schedule this season, playing the AFC North and NFC West, and the season has clearly become Super Bowl or bust. Whether or not Favre can lead them to an NFC Championship will not be apparent until later in the year, but a quick start will be important to keep the fans excited and buying into the Favre signing.
The way I look at it is if Favre was any other quarterback coming off a season in which he led the league in interceptions, would he warrant a $10 million contract?
Add the fact that he is 39 years old and coming off shoulder surgery and you have a huge question mark.
The Jets had nothing but bad things to say about their season with Favre after he retired. He rarely interacted with the players, had his own locker room, played the blame game, and accomplished very little on the field.
While Favre has a great relationship with head coach Brad Childress, nothing says that he will interact with the Vikings any better. Add in Favre’s late arrival and that chemistry will need to come even faster if he is going to succeed.
For a guy who last month said he would not come back because he was not in good enough shape physically, Favre must have been drinking a lot of Gatorade or something, because the Vikings expect him to play 16 games plus the playoffs.
If he has 11 good games and flounders in the last five like he has the last four years, the Vikings will accomplish nothing.
For Brad Childress, the move will either make or break his future with the Vikings. He has all but given up on Jackson, and the fourth round draft choice he gave up for Rosenfels is now being spent on a backup.
Smart thinking says he should have called up Eric Mangini and talked this move out before he actually did it.
It’s all but set in stone that Favre will join the Vikings, and is expected to start in their preseason game on Friday against the Chiefs. It starts a journey that will last the next 19 weeks and, hopefully for the Vikings, beyond.
The track record on Favre says that he is all but finished as a superstar quarterback, but he is an upgrade over either of the two quarterbacks in Minnesota that were battling it out for the starting spot. While an upgrade, Favre also has the capability of ruining things in a hurry.
Only time will tell.
Welcome back, Brett.
Donald Driver: More Than a Game
Donald Driver, entering his tenth season for the Green Bay Packers, is closing in on a few all-time records for the Green and Gold. He has six 1,000 yard receiving years and has racked up 43 touchdowns in his storied career as a Packer. However, what gets lost in the stats and first down shimmys is how Driver got to this point. This is his story.
Donald Jerome Driver was born to Marvin Driver and Faye Gray on February 2nd, 1975 in Houston, Texas. It quickly became apparent that Driver had serious speed, as at an early age he was given the nickname ‘Quickie’ by his parents who got so tired of chasing him around the house.
The youngster learned a quick lesson of humility very early on in his life. His mother would often skip meals to continue working late through the night and, at one point, Driver and his four other siblings lived in a U-Haul truck for days and nights on end. Driver also lived in numerous hotels that his mother paid for using food stamps, as well as living in friend’s houses and not knowing what tomorrow would bring.
Laying in his bed one night, shared with his brother, Driver told his brother he would get his family out of the hell they were living in. After his parents divorced, his father went to jail and Driver turned to drug dealing as a way to cope with the tough times.
After spending many nights without parents and multiple holidays by himself, at the age of 14, Driver moved in with his grandmother Betty Lofton. There, his grandmother made him attend church and bible study on a weekly basis.
It was then that Driver attended Milby High School in Houston, where he excelled in sports from the day he stepped on campus. He was a four sport athlete, lettering in track, football, basketball, and baseball all four years.
His father was an outstanding football player who could have made it in the pros, but when his father died, he needed to support his wife and had to give up his dreams. Driver would watch highlight tapes of his father that led to his interest in football. In high school, Driver was an honorable mention All-State player in football and excelled in track and field.
To say that Donald Driver has been through tough times would be putting it very lightly.
Driver’s hard work on the field paid off as he received a four-year scholarship to attend Alcorn State University. There, he became an Olympic class high jumper, topping out at seven feet, six inches. He won the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Athlete of the Year Award three years in a row. Had he not taken up football as a profession, Driver could have qualified for the 2000 Summer Olympic Games.
On the gridiron, Driver showed just as much progress and production. In his final year at Alcorn State, the senior caught 55 balls for 1,128 yards and ten touchdowns. Going into the 1999 NFL Draft, he was just six feet tall and weighed 174 pounds and was considered by many more of a track star than someone that compete in the NFL. However, the Green Bay Packers gave him a look in the seventh and final round of the draft, selecting him with the 213th overall pick.
Nine years and 577 catches later, Driver is the same person that laid in the bed next to his brother, promising to help his family out. The only difference is that Driver is now helping others.
In 2000, Driver began the Donald Driver Foundation with the goal to “help change homeless family and education issues each day with strong hands that build and strengthen instead of destroy and weaken, with strong minds that invent new ideas to achieve these goals, and with loving hears that overflow with love and compassion.”
The foundation has helped 17 families purchase homes and assist in mortgages in the Green Bay and Houston areas and also provides ten $1,000 tuitions to students in Texas, Mississippi, and Wisconsin.
Driver has hosted fundraisers for the foundation that include the annual Donald Driver Golf Classic, the Celebrity 9-Ball Shootout, and the annual Donald Driver Football Camp.
In his nine year career, Driver has become one of the biggest NFL players to help in the community.
In 2002, Driver was given the “Walter Payton Man of the Year Award” for the Packers for his work in the community. He has been given numerous awards for other work that he has done and received a “JB Award” in 2007, named after CBS’ James Brown, given to a select few players in the league for their contributions to their communities.
He does not have the mouth of a Terrell Owens or the ego of a Chad Johnson. Yet, the little known track star out of a small school in Mississippi has made it big in the NFL. At 33 years old, Driver has not let up one bit and has stayed the Packers second best option on the offensive side of the ball.
A big part of why Greg Jennings does not have the wide receiver superstar ego has to be because of Driver. He is an excellent mentor that has been through every rough patch out there and has no doubt helped in that regard.
To put it very lightly, Donald Driver understands hard work. He also understands that sometimes it takes a little help from others to get through tough times in his life. The stats speak volumes about Driver’s play on the field, but his cheek-to-cheek smile speak even louder about how grateful Driver is to be where he is at. Shimmy on, Donald. We’re all cheering for you.
Come on Brett…Really?
As I sit in my Anthropology class taking notes, I glanced over at a kid’s computer and saw that Brett Favre is ready to hang up the cleats again…all I can say is Brett, “I hope the Jets know that every penny they spent on you was NOT money well spent.” What did Brett do this year that Kellen Clemens couldn’t have? Run around like a little kid after touchdowns? Get called a “gunslinger” by the CBS TV crew after every completed pass? If Brett is actually done for good I would be more than disappointed. Not just that my favorite athlete of all time would leave the game for good, but that he did it in a Jets uniform and the way he did it. Brett knew he was done after the 2007 season and I’m sure of it. He wasn’t the same Brett after Thanksgiving, and sorry but Ryan Grant beat the Seahawks in the Snow Bowl. He took a bad Jets team and turned them into a 9-7 ballclub that played as many playoff games as the Chiefs. I’m sure Eric Mangini is grateful right about now. The fact is that Brett lost and the Jets did too and, as scary as it sounds, I hope the Bears or Vikings take a stab at #4 because he just doesn’t have it anymore. He’s the reason I love football and would cut my left pinky off to see another Packers Super Bowl. He’s also the reason my team has a free third round draft pick and their QB of the future. To the Jets, he’s the reason Kellen Clemens lost a year of experience and the reason Jets jersey sales went up this year. Unfortuanetly that’s about it. I think it’s time we all take a trip out to Hallmark and get Ted Thompson an apology card because he knew something that we all assumed: that AA-Rod was ready and that Brett waited an off-season and 16 weeks too long to go hunt. Hopefully this time “all good things must come to an end” for good.
