I believe Favre may very well rank as the greatest regular season QB of all-time. But add the playoffs in there, and while I whole-heartedly agree that he's a first-ballot HoF'er, he's not in the top five all-time. No QB either played bad games in playoff games or made more critical bad throws in a big game to cost his team than Favre. It's too bad that the last play of his career is a fine example of what I speak of. But he did provide a lot of fine moments for the Packer faithful, and deserves best wishes for his retirement. He has the retirement of his number and the Hall of Fame to look forward to, and deservingly so.
Wow. Brett Favre, one of the greatest pro athletes many of us have been fortunate enough to see announces his retirement, and some here take this opportunity to cap on him. Classy. He owe you money or something? What I want to know is why someone can't say anything negative about the man without it being considered "classless". I agree with the comments about his INTs. The man threw a lot of them. He personally cost his team some games (and titles) due to REALLY BAD decisions. He also won his team a lot of games (and title) because of that mentality, and that washes out for a lot of people, but that doesn't mean he's immune to criticism for the first part. In a thread talking about his career, that sort of discussion should be open game without it being taken as "classless". As for the interceptions -- that number is fairly meaningless for most quarterbacks. How many were random bounces or tips? How many were the fault of the receivers? How many came in situations where the score was heavily in the opponent's favour with time running out? I can't answer that. But I can say I saw him make decisions in important games (throwing a ball straight up in the air because he was under pressure, throwing into triple coverage in the redzone) that 1st year QB's don't make...and he was doing that in his 16th and 17th year. And to come out the day after your father dies and have the best game of your career. That's a game I will always remember. And that falls right in line with my other point in that at least 3 of his TD's that game were thrown up for grabs where his guys made a play at the other end. I will remember that game not only for his heroic effort, but the way his teammates all had herculean efforts to give him that game of his life. That says a lot for the man, in and of itself. He was a good QB, a terrific leader, and an amazing personality. He did make a LOT of bad decisions, however.
No QB either played bad games in playoff games or made more critical bad throws in a big game to cost his team than Favre. yes, but I wouldn't say it was specific to playoffs. He did the same in regular season too, though just threw a lot of WINS around it. I guess what I'm getting at is his "consistency". His style of play was fun to watch and he literally pulled out games single-handedly during his career. Sometimes he even made bad teams pretty good with that style of play and ability he had (well deserved of the MVP those years he won it). But the lack of consistency in that style of play makes it very difficult to win championships. In most cases you have to win 3 or 4 games in a row to get to the SB. And that's hard to do with a guy who just "wings it". As you mention that last play of his career is very indicative of Favre's WHOLE career. An absolutely atrocious decision on a ball that should have never been thrown, and a mistake that you wouldn't expect a ROOKIE to make, all causing a loss on a game they could have won had he played smarter. Again, it's hard to compare against the fact that they may not even be in that position in the playoffs without that gunslinger mentality to begin with, but it's worthy of looking at/criticizing never-the-less.
What I want to know is why someone can't say anything negative about the man without it being considered "classless". What I want to know is why I can't say it was classless. That wasn't exactly what I said. But feel free to snark. I will feel free to comment on it. And I don't believe I was addressing anything you posted. I admit my bias. To me, to comment on Favre's failings on a Brett Favre retirement thread looks a bit like someone has an agenda. The guy announces that he is ending a sure HOF career, so now is the time to find the dark lining in the silver cloud? If someone else can say what they want, so can I.
In addition to all of his great work on the field, Favre will always have a place in my heart because of his appearance in "There's Something About Mary." One of the all time greatest walk on gags in comedy history.
My personal favorite quarterback in a comedy is Peyton Manning from when he hosted SNL a little while back. Too bad NBC removed the clips from youtube.
He also did a lot of charity work for Katrina victims. Once again, a classy dude. And Joey, you are right. His "There's Something about Mary" gig was awesome stuff.
Sucks for the Packers losing a hall of famer who outplayed guys 10 years younger than him. Even though the Pack have a good team, I don't know if Aaron Rodgers can lead them to the playoffs. Brett had to retire sometime though and everybody knew it. At least he ended on a good note by getting the TD record and getting to the NFC Championship Game which they almost won.
Once again, a classy dude Well continuing on my "classless" path of not felating the man on the day of his retirement, I'll bring up another criticism I have. Why is Favre always considered the ultimate class act? This is the same guy who refuses to teach Aaron Rodgers because he says he doesn't owe him anything. A year or 2 back, he kept his team in utter dark about whether he was retiring and said he didn't owe them anything as far as letting them know his retirement plans (leaving them wondering what to do with their QB situation). He criticized his own teammate (Walker) for not getting to camp (and Walker then blows his ACL in his contract year illustrating the fact of WHY HE SHOULD HAVE held out). He openly criticized his FO for not making a play for Moss. It just seems to me if a guy like T.O. would do something like that, the media would be all over him....but when Favre does it guys like Wilborn on ESPN say "He's EARNED that right". I mean, I don't hate the guy, but I'm not ready to put him on a pedestal either. He was a good football player, but let's not sling a cape on him, stamp his chest with an S, and make him the epitome of class and honor.
I will miss him. He was never one of my favorite players, nor would I ever watch a Packers game just to see him, but when I did watch, I really enjoyed the game. You can say whatever you want about his career numbers, but the one fact remains. For 17 years this guy was one of the best performers on the field. In modern American professional sports, it's all about entertainment, and he certainly provided a lot of it.
Well-timed, I'd say. He had an MVP year if it weren't for Brady. He's going out virtually as on-top as one can get. You can nitpick holes in his game if you like - but really I think that is as indicative of his brilliance as anything. The guy is so popular and good and seemingly decent that it's catnip for haters. I'd say he's a top ten all-time QB.
I've changed my mind. Brett Favre is a dick. Good riddance, asshat.
He went to the Packers, matured, and had a huge career. I'm sure the Falcons and their fans wondered "What Might Have Been" for a long time, but in those days, prior to the trade, Favre was a stumbling drunk. I listened to him on Sportscenter talking about when he was with Atlanta and how he was out drinking constantly. He showed up after the team photo had been taken one year, said he made up an excuse to the coach about being in a car wreck or train wreck, and the coach then looked at him, eyes all bloodshot, hair everywhere, and said, "Son, you are a trainwreck." Alcohol almost halted his career and his marriage, but he overcame it. Hopefully he sticks with this retirement.
See ya Bret. I'll miss ya.
thanks for the memories.
INTERCEPTIONS! What quarterback has not had significant ones? I like "blaming the receiver." Not only is Favre a great player in this game, he is a great model for young people (and older for that matter). Best wishes and all blessings. Enjoy!
Hey, if you don't make mistakes, you ain't trying hard enough (or doing anything new). Heard on the NPR about this, and how his style of play tended to drive the coaching staff crazy because of the interceptions, yet, at the same time, allowed him to make completions most people wouldn't even try. Happy retirement, Brett. There's more to life than just the pigskin, so I hope you enjoy it.
RE: Bret Favre's INT numbers I liken this to a guard in basketball and the amount of turnovers they produce. Just like Favre (obviously one of the all-time greats) many great guards have huge TO numbers (check out Stockton, Kidd, Johnson, and AI's numbers) If you are handling or passing the more you are more apt to turn it over. I think the INT numbers are a direct result of Favre staring in so many games and throwing the ball as much as he did.
Also the int's are a direct result of him taking more chances, i liken it to when brett threw that one pass to freemen that bounced off a viking and hit freeman in the back and he still caught"brett'll throw it up there and see what happens"
Brett Favre helped to give us all 17 great years of football to watch. Favre should go down as ONE OF the best QB's in the game, and also the most durable QB ever. As far as this statement from above: How many times did they hurt their team by playing instead of having the healthier player play in their place? I'd still take a hurt, hung over, puking Brett Favre then a healthy Aaron Rodgers, or ALMOST any back up, any day! So did the Packers, and it got them to the playoff's in 11 out of the 16 seasons he was with them. Thanks Brett, you sure as hell were fun to watch on Sunday or Monday, oh and the occasional Thursday or Saturday too.
Why the Falcons are glad to see Farve go.
Doesn't seem right. But there he is, up there telling us it's true. Still has more game than what, 3, maybe 4, other qb's in the league. Doesn't seem right. But there he is.
Being in Wisconsin for this is a bit like being surrounded by Maddens. It's as scary as it sounds. I can't talk to anybody about sports without them gushing to me about how much they'll miss Brett and how much he meant to them, often punctuated with how well they think Rodgers will do. It was cute at first but I'm growing weary of it. /not really a Packer fan, though I liked watching Brett.
It amazes me how many of you have missed the point to one extreme or the other. His interceptions did not at all diminish his quality, nor did his greatness lie in his superior play. Favre will not go down as the greatest QB ever. Probably not even top five. And even if he did, that too, is not his legacy. What Brett Favre will be remembered for is the child-like joy with which he played the game, and with the way that joy was contagious to the fans. The game was always more fun with him on the field. The game was always in question if he was on the field and the pack trailed. But mostly, he brought a joy to the game that we dont see enough in our star players. In a day dominated by business-like play of Peyton Manning, or Tom Brady, or the love-me-some-me attitudes of Terrell Owens, or the emperor palpatinesque coldness of Bill Belicheck, Brett Favre reminded us that football is a game no matter at what level you play. He will absolutely be in the hall in five years. He will absolutely be remembered as one of the all time greats, but what he brings to the game is not just tallent, or knowledge, its something far more basic, and far more valuable:joy. Thank you Brett, enjoy your retirement.
And thank you, Mister Madden, for stopping by.
I think that I will remember Favre less for his statistics and more for how much fun he seemed to have playing the game. Maybe more than any other player, it seemed like the camera so often caught him smiling or laughing or cracking a joke. It's a good way to be remembered.
That's my feelings exactly, lbb. I try not to get involved in the "He's a top-three all-time QB" or top ten, whatever. There's no way of proving that. But the way Favre approached the game, the competition, having fun to the point you can still almost imagine these guys are actually playing a game is something very few athletes have ever managed to pull off. When a player like this retires people (rightfully so) tend to forget the horrible, interception-riddled playoff games and other career blips and instead remember the good. There was one hell of a lot of good with Favre. Same thing went when Jim Kelly was in Buffalo. Believe me, I remember all the moaning and BS people used to toss Kelly's way when he'd throw one of his many late-game, key interceptions. He endured a lot of garbage and abuse by fans during his years with the Bills but, in the end, people remembered the great accomplishments, the great games, and the love those same fans showed Kelly at his Canton enshrinement will probably only be topped by the love shown to Favre when he goes into the Hall of Fame. Kelly proved (and proves to this day) how he grew to love the city of Buffalo (no small accomplishment) the same way Favre loved Green Bay. That's what fans remember and respect someone for, long after the playing days are over.
I have complete respect for any professional player who remains loyal to the community he plays in. I have always linked Favre with my undying love for George Brett because of this. In addition, just as you won't hear an ill word spoken about Favre in Green Bay, you won't hear one about Brett in the KC area. That plus what lbb said. Damn, they were both fun to watch.
HOW MANY MORE TIMES DO WE HAVE TO SEE HIM CRY ON ESPN. THEY SEEM TO RUN HIS RETIREMENT EVERY HOUR. GET A LIFE.
Easy on the caps lock there trigger.
Yo, chip chop; change the channel.
