Friday, July 11, 2008

To Favre or Not to Favre - that is the question

For those of you who check in for my daily postings you may have noticed that I have yet to comment on the Favre Saga. I have gone around on this issue and had landed squarely on it will never happen. But the news today of Favre forcing the Packers to make a decision by requesting an unconditional release.

This is a brilliant saga to watch unfold. The Packers are sitting in an absolute lose-lose situation. That, first and foremost is what I enjoy seeing the most. Best case scenario they release Favre and he has a better season than Aaron Rogers with any team. Packers' front office looks terrible. Worst case they keep Favre have a mildly successful season but miss the Super Bowl. Another year of stunting Rogers' growth and there is every reason to believe he would force the Packers to make a move with him.

While I want to see the demise of the Packers, I'm more concerned about the success of the Vikings. So what does this mean for the Purple.

When news first surface that Favre was possibly rumored to potentially think about maybe coming out of retirement I wasn't too interested. Quickly Peter King thought it would make sense for Favre to wear Purple, then I was intrigued but not interested. Not only was I not interested but my initial reaction was that we don't want him and I convinced myself we also don't need him.

The more I sit on this and the more it becomes a possibility that he could end up playing 8+ games in the Dome, the more I am coming around on this.

FIRST and foremost, the chances of Favre wearing purple in Week 1 are thin for a myriad of reasons.

1 - The Packers just cannot let that happen. It would be bad if Favre left and went to the Super Bowl with Tampa Bay. But if he takes the Vikings, a division rival, to the Super Bowl it would be incredibly embarrassing and people might lose their jobs in Green Bay.

2 - I really believe that Brad Childress would not want him.

  • 2A - Jackson is Childress' guy. He has put his reputation on him and I get the feeling he wants to prove that he was right.
  • 2B - Favre takes a lot of chances his QB style is exactly what Childress is trying to teach TJax NOT to do.
  • 2C - Chilli is big on what message is he sending. And the message he is sending to "his guy" is that you are not good enough to get it done.
3 - Who knows if Brett wants to be here. He has been around long enough to know what playing for a team like Minnesota or Chicago would do to his reputation and legacy.

So I really will be SHOCKED if Favre becomes a Viking. I think he wants the Pack to bring him back and this is his way to force that issue.

But knowing it is a much longer shot than your national pundits are making it out to be, lets discuss Brett Favre as a Viking. In the last 24 hours I have changed my position. I want to see Favre in purple.

IF you have a problem with this because we hate the Packers and we hate Brett Favre. How can we want to see the face of our most hated rival on our team? To this I have to say GET OVER IT. If (and I think this is a big IF) Favre can lead our team to the Super Bowl it would mean nothing less to me. If you honestly believe that you would enjoy it less, you are absolutely kidding yourself.

IF you are OK with Favre but you think, we could have a long term future with Jackson. Wouldn't this one year experiment stunt his growth and shatter his confidence? I like TJax and I can buy this argument, but it has two fatal flaws.
  1. Jackson has done nothing to prove that he has a long term future in this league. We are excited about his potential based on two quarters at Denver and the information being disseminated to us out of Winter Park this offseason. Maybe he is more confident and maybe he's ready to take the next step, but MAYBE HE'S NOT. The likelihood of him throwing more INTs than TDs is just as likely (probably more) than him having a monster turnaround. I am excited for Jackson's future, I really am, but Favre is a much more quantifiable entity and you are kidding yourself if don't think he gives us a better chance to win NOW.
  2. This is a win now league. And as I just stated above Favre gives us a better chance to win NOW.
IF Jackson were more of a sure thing then you don't sacrifice his future for a 1 year window with Favre, but Jackson might be the one piece that keeps us from the Super Bowl this year. I like his future but you have to roll the dice with Favre.

IF Favre is out there we can't let him go elsewhere. Don't let him go to Chicago. Don't let him go to Tampa. Letting him go elsewhere and succeed would be a massive swing and miss.

IF, IF, IF Favre gets his unconditional release the Vikings absolutely have to do what it takes to get him on their roster. John David Booty will have to give up his jersey and then we can all book our hotels in Tampa.

Finally, this needs to be done because as much as some of us may not want to see Favre in purple, what this would do to Packer fans is indescribable. They would put on a brave front and try to spin this somehow. But their team was 13-3 a year ago, went to the NFC Championship game, LET BRETT FAVRE GO and he wins it all with their rival. They can spin that however they want, but Favre finally gets to a team good enough to win the Super Bowl cause the 2008 Packers are not good enough to get it done!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

This was my first visit to your site, and it will be my last. I am a devout Vikings fan and disagree with your comments completely on the Favre issue not only because of our rivalry with GB but in the kind of quarterback (and now we know what kind of person) Favre is. I know it is never safe to assume anything, but I am going to assume that most Vikes fans would feel the same. We don't need the drama. Give T-Jack one more shot.

Tom said...

well I'll type my thoughts even though you'll never read them.

1. You are not coming back because you disagree with me?

2. I think highly of T-Jack, but if you can get someone who has the experience and proven track record that he can lead you to the Super Bowl, you do it every single time.

Favre: 28 TDs, 15 INT (2.8 INT%)
Jackson: 9 TDs, 12 INT (4.1%)

you can't reconcile those numbers against let's HOPE Jackson is better this year.

Let me be clear, I like Jackson and have always disliked Favre. But if QB-A gives you a chance to win more games and advance further in the playoffs than QB-B, you do that. I like watching my team win more than I care about the last name of my starting QB.

But you won't read this cause you are never coming back.

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