Favre to Retire

[McCall]

There is no one out there today who makes better decisions or is more consistant.

[Sterling84]

?Best? is such a retarded thing to argue. It?s pointless, but sadly so is expecting anyone to fight the impulse. We are destined to argue what cannot be proven or disproven.

I?ll be the first to admit that Brett Favre has made some of the WORST plays I?ve ever seen in my NFL-watching life. But I (we) loved that he didn?t seem to fear those moments. He seemed to understand that greatness can only be achieved by daring to be great; by being willing to fail.

I don?t mean to overstate his importance like the fawning John Madden?.Nobody ever lived or died from anything Brett Favre ever did. But at the same time, within the realm of sports achievements?.and confined within THAT realm of importance?..very few people played any game the way Favre played football. And I will miss that. EVERY Sunday probably for the rest of my life.

Tom Brady has 3 rings. Troy Aikman has 3 rings. And yet I defy anyone to describe to me any singular ?Oh he did NOT just do that? moment provided by Aikman or Brady. I could probably list 30 for Favre off the top of my head. And those are the moments that WILL live on 25-50 years from now.

And I don?t write that as an indictment OF Brady or Aikman. Far from it. But those two and many others are/were efficient game managers on stacked teams. Accurate, calm, effective?wonderful players in their own right. But people don?t fawn over efficiency. Accountants are efficient. Short order cooks are calm and accurate.

Honest to Pete. I wouldn?t trade what I was given to me as a fan for ALL SIX of those other guys rings. Not at the expense of the gridiron memories #4 has provided me. You can have them. And you can have the records. Manning can have them all in a few years. It won?t change a thing.

Brett Favre was the real life ?Tin Cup??through and through. If you don?t get that, you just don?t get that.

[ShinyHubCaps]

It's really lame that whenever people encounter criticism of something they like, they immediately label those that criticize as "haters." It's immature and a silly way to delegitimize those who disagree with you.

No, it's like you going to a memorial service and hurling insults at the deceased. The trend of the thread was toward honoring Favre and his career. The article said he had one of the most storied careers, and I figured we would talk about that without other people (the so-called haters) saying "It's about time," "What an overrated athlete," etc. It upsets the mood of the thread and has no place in here, especially within an intelligent discussion.

Having said that, the reason why he never got chastised for throwing interceptions and blowing games is because he was like a savior to the team (24-40 with Majkowski and Tomczak as QB; 38-26 the first four years since Favre started), and he won more games than he lost. Some of the fan loyalty was blind, but for the most part, Green Bay fans are respectful of the players, unlike, for example, New York Giants fans, who are ready to throw the coach away, QB away, or boo their own team over the littlest things.

I'm not saying that anyone is better than anyone, but for someone who has never known another QB for the Packers, this will be difficult for me. I respect him and wish him the best of luck in any future endeavors, probably quiet and far away from football. The memories, like Sterling84 said, will live on.

[DEAD!]

Let's all celebrate the beginning of the Aaron Rodgers era!

[mania]

There is no one out there today who makes better decisions or is more consistant.

Manning's career TOUCHDOWN:INT ratio: 2:1

Brady's: 2.29:1

Manning's playoff record: 7-7

Brady's: 14-3

Manning's career T:INT ratio: 1.24:1

Brady's: 2.17:1

Somehow, I don't see that as being more consistant or making better decisions.

But... your mileage may vary.

[TFoA]

I'm sure the Falcons also hate him for the uniform he wears, since they traded him anyway. (And Vick for the orange uniform he now wears.)

Nah. I mean, come on, the trade was great back then. The Falcons got the 17th pick for a guy whose nickname was Buckhead Brett. The man was basically a drunk down here, and would've been a drunk here if he stayed. Him getting traded to Green Bay, a small town in relation to the rest of the NFL was the best thing that ever happened to him. So yeah, I definitely have no regrets about trading Favre, because seriously, who would've had that much foresight to know that Brett Favre would be...well, Brett Favre???

[illwauk]

YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It is time to rejoice. Hopefully it is real this time. I think it is crazy that one super bowl win makes you the greatest QB of all time.

Says the guy with Rex Grossman's jersey in his sig

You probably also think Terry Bradshaw was better than Elway, Marino, Unitas and Peyton Manning...

Anyway, I'm not believing this til I hear it from a local source. It makes no sense that he'd retire after going to the NFC Championship when he came back after a 4-12 season. But then... when has anything Favre has ever done made any sense?

[ShinyHubCaps]

Well Jay Glazer is the NFL insider for CBS. He knows his stuff when it comes to injuries and whatnot. I'm sure he has some credentials to break the news.

However, there have been other false reports, such as one on a Packers website. The webmasters were asked to create a dummy page in case Favre did retire. Some people found it, and the news spread before it was official.

So I'm going to guess that it's real. If not, then I'll change my sig back. At any rate, I think I'll take this time to post the obligatory list of Brett Favre records, assuming it to be complete:

* Most career passing touchdowns: 442

* Most career passing yards: 61,657

* Most career pass completions: 5,387

* Most career points by a quarterback: 2,730

* Most wins by a starting quarterback (NFL) regular season Career: 160

* Most consecutive seasons with 20 or more touchdown passes: 12 (1994-2005)

* Most consecutive seasons with 30 or more touchdown passes: 5 (1994-1998) (Note: only five other quarterbacks in NFL history have recorded at least two consecutive 30-touchdown passing seasons in their careers: Steve Bartkowski, Dan Fouts, Dan Marino, Jeff Garcia, Y.A. Tittle.)

* Most seasons with 20 or more touchdown passes: 13 (1994-2005, 2007) (tied with Dan Marino)

* Most seasons with 30 or more touchdown passes: 8 (1994-1998, 2001, 2003-2004)

* Most seasons leading the league in touchdown passes: 4 (1995-1997,2003)

* Most consecutive 3,000+ yards passing seasons: 16 (1992-2007)

* Most games in a season with 300 or more passing yards: 7 (2007) (ties Dan Marino)

* Most consecutive 300+ completion seasons: 16 (1992-2007)

* Most (And most consecutive) AP NFL MVP awards: 3 (1995, 1996, 1997)

* Most consecutive starts by a quarterback (NFL): 253 (273 including playoffs)

* Most career starts by a quarterback: 253

* Most career games with 3 or more TD passes: 63

* Longest touchdown pass: 99 yards (to Robert Brooks, 1995) (tied with several others)

* Most career touchdown passes of at least 75 yards: 14

* Most career pass attempts: 8,758

* Most touchdown passes in a single stadium (record set at Lambeau Field): 207

* Most career interceptions thrown by a quarterback: 288 (note: the record holder before Favre had over 2,000 fewer pass attempts at the time Favre took over the record)

* Most career wins by a starting quarterback, regular season and playoffs combined: 171-102

* Most career games at the quarterback position: 257

* Most career victories over a single team (23 against the Detroit Lions)

* Most consecutive postseason games with one or more TD pass: 17

* Third quarterback ever to have victories against all 31 NFL opponents (Peyton Manning, Tom Brady)

[Mac the Knife]

Favre is precisely one day older than I am, and I always sort-of lived vicariously through him as a football fan. I'm now officially an old man.

[Coast2CoastAM2006]

good, he can be gone and stay gone.

don't let the door hit you on the way out the door.

*throws a party*

[pcgd]

Anyway, I'm not believing this til I hear it from a local source.

http://packers.com/breaking_news/

sorry...

[TFoA]

Oh well, it's not like he'll stay retired. [/espn]

But seriously, if this is it...I'll miss Favre. I guess my lasting memory will be that play he made in this past season's NFC Divisional Playoffs. Y'know, the flip play. That's Brett Favre in a nutshsell. Making dumb decisions, but making it work a.k.a. backyard football. I'll miss the dude on the field.

[illwauk]

It's on the front page of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel site... crap...

I'd acutally be ok with this if Aaron Rodgers didn't tear a ligament everytime someone breathes on him too hard in practice...

[JustForFun]

Look up "gunslinger" in the NFL dictionary and there will be a picture of Favre next to it.

With Favre, you either got miraculous wins or exasperating defeats. He was the ultimate balls-out player, and that both helped and hurt his play.

In any case I certainly haven't encountered a more consistently entertaining player in the years I've watched pro football.

[DDR]

Everyone can have their opinions, but if you don't think Favre was one of the best (I'm not saying THE best, mind you) then you're not a hater, you're just wrong.

[Sterling84]

At least now I can get my #4 Jersey and frame it up for the basement.

I've waited 16 years cause all my other Packer (authentic) jersey choices careers ended soon-thereafter.

Fullwood (no comment), Sharpe, Campen, Newsome. All done within a year of purchase.

I've been trying to think of my "definitive" Brett moment, while leaving out the obvious ones. I.E. Sharpe in Detroit WC, MNF ni Oakland, Flip passes, Rison in SB, scramble at MCS vs Atlanta, TD vs NYG while concussed etc.

Some that came to mind:

MNF win in Jax....a rocket line drive TD pass that split the corner and safety like he so often did. I've never seen a pass like it before or since.

Blowout of Denver at home in the SB season. Blitzed heavily up the middle a similar lazer beam while furiously backpedalling. Had no business finding its mark for six.

What's another euphimism for "rocket"? A ridiculously accurate pass vs Cincinnati in 95 or 96 (at home) that must have had eyes cause it passed through the arms of maybe 3 defenders in route to its target.

Any and every pass he ever threw to Sterling Sharpe....the 4TDs to Sterling in Dallas with a bloody face comes to mind.

And that 30+yd scramble in the rain and wind on Halloween vs the Bears.

Good times.

[usahockeyrube]

Whoo Hoo!

Go Vikes!!!!

[DDR]

At least now I can get my #4 Jersey and frame it up for the basement.

I've waited 16 years cause all my other Packer (authentic) jersey choices careers ended soon-thereafter.

Fullwood (no comment), Sharpe, Campen, Newsome. All done within a year of purchase.

I've been trying to think of my "definitive" Brett moment, while leaving out the obvious ones. I.E. Sharpe in Detroit WC, MNF ni Oakland, Flip passes, Rison in SB, scramble at MCS vs Atlanta, TD vs NYG while concussed etc.

Some that came to mind:

MNF win in Jax....a rocket line drive TD pass that split the corner and safety like he so often did. I've never seen a pass like it before or since.

Blowout of Denver at home in the SB season. Blitzed heavily up the middle a similar lazer beam while furiously backpedalling. Had no business finding its mark for six.

What's another euphimism for "rocket"? A ridiculously accurate pass vs Cincinnati in 95 or 96 (at home) that must have had eyes cause it passed through the arms of maybe 3 defenders in route to its target.

Any and every pass he ever threw to Sterling Sharpe....the 4TDs to Sterling in Dallas with a bloody face comes to mind.

And that 30+yd scramble in the rain and wind on Halloween vs the Bears.

Good times.

I got that beat. I have (and still wear to Bears games) a #89 Mark Chmura jersey. Yeah....

[illwauk]

Fullwood (no comment), Sharpe, Campen, Newsome.

Most esoteric list ever...

And this is from someone that had a Walter Stanley jersey as a kid...

"But I wanna see Brett Fav-wah!!!"

Fixed it for you...

[Joshawaggie]

As a Vikings fan I say, thank GOD!

As a football fan I say, I think he had another year in him, oh well.

Brett should be considered one of the greats, but IMO not the greatest, and no, that's not division rivalry jealousy talking.

Now that Brett is gone, the balance of the NFCN shifts favorably to the Vikings, muahahaha.