2008 Woodie Awards
Gunslinging great overstayed welcome
Janssen McCormick
Issue date: 3/6/08 Section: Sports
With all those records and years of consistent play, Brett Favre's resume seems to indicate that he's the greatest quarterback ever to play the position yet that isn't exactly true. For a number of reasons we shouldn't crown Brett just yet, and while I'm not disputing his hall of fame status some of the slobbering over his legacy is over the top. First of all we should look at the competition he put up those big stats against. For most of his career he was gifted with a weak slate of NFC Central opponents, getting eight games per year against abysmal Bucs and Bears squads, a Lions team that consistently underperformed with the Barry Sanders and Herman Moore show and the Vikings as the Pack's only real threat. Post-realignment the NFC North has been among the weakest divisions in the league, allowing Favre to sling his way to four division titles but not matching the success of the 1996 and '97 seasons.
This gunslinging play is often cited as part of the Favre legend, the whole idea that he plays the game like a kid in his back yard in an era of overpaid prima donnas (just ignore that 10 year $100 million contract he signed back in '01). While it's a nice sentiment and all without a dominant defense like the Reggie White and Gilbert Brown anchored units of the mid '90s there to stop the bleeding caused by Favre's unnecessary turnovers the Packers suffered. Favre was, after all, the all-time leader in interceptions. And it was his interception total which rose following his career low of 13 in the Pack's Super Bowl season, throwing more than 20 picks in four of the remaining 11 seasons of his career including a league leading 29 in 2005's 4-12 campaign. The Packers success was often tied solely to Favre's arm, and when he forced throws the team's fortunes faded.
And while all streaks eventually come to an end Favre was under center for the Packers first playoff loss at Lambeau to what should have been an outmatched Falcons team and two subsequent home losses at Lambeau. In the years following the Packers' "dynasty that could have been" Favre went 3-5 in the playoffs; throwing more interceptions than touchdowns and finishing with the all time postseason interception lead. Highlights included Favre's idiotic interception to close out this year's NFC title game giving the Giants their third shot at the game winning kick and that throwback to the good old days of Sammy Baugh when Favre matched Baugh's age old record of six picks in a post season game in 2001.
This gunslinging play is often cited as part of the Favre legend, the whole idea that he plays the game like a kid in his back yard in an era of overpaid prima donnas (just ignore that 10 year $100 million contract he signed back in '01). While it's a nice sentiment and all without a dominant defense like the Reggie White and Gilbert Brown anchored units of the mid '90s there to stop the bleeding caused by Favre's unnecessary turnovers the Packers suffered. Favre was, after all, the all-time leader in interceptions. And it was his interception total which rose following his career low of 13 in the Pack's Super Bowl season, throwing more than 20 picks in four of the remaining 11 seasons of his career including a league leading 29 in 2005's 4-12 campaign. The Packers success was often tied solely to Favre's arm, and when he forced throws the team's fortunes faded.
And while all streaks eventually come to an end Favre was under center for the Packers first playoff loss at Lambeau to what should have been an outmatched Falcons team and two subsequent home losses at Lambeau. In the years following the Packers' "dynasty that could have been" Favre went 3-5 in the playoffs; throwing more interceptions than touchdowns and finishing with the all time postseason interception lead. Highlights included Favre's idiotic interception to close out this year's NFC title game giving the Giants their third shot at the game winning kick and that throwback to the good old days of Sammy Baugh when Favre matched Baugh's age old record of six picks in a post season game in 2001.
Be the first to comment on this story