The Favre bashing -- whats up with it?

[Truck]

Everytime I see Brett Favre's name on this board, its always bashing.

So what am I hearing?

1. He should retire --
Obviously the guy isn't as good as he was when he was 28, he's 37...and he's still better than most NFL starters...so why should he retire? Are there 15 other QBs you'd rather have on your team for this season? Are there 30? He should start as long as he's still better than any replacement the Packers could find

2. He's not in Mannings/Brady's league
Manning/Brady are the best QBs of this decade. Favre was the best QB of the 90s. He is the only 3 time MVP winner. Thats not an easy feat. In the mid 90s, he was absolutely dominant. People were saying he might be the best ever. People are now saying that about Manning/Brady. And in 10 years ppl will say it about someone else.

3. He's selfish
Troy Brown has said he plans to keep playing until they tell him he can't. I bet Brusci feels the same way. Thats essentially what Favre feels. Its not up to him to decide he can't contribute anymore. Its up to the coaches.

17 years, 10 playoff appearances, 3 MVPs, 1 superbowl. Nothing bashworthy there. And he's going to lead his team to another playoff appearance this year.


So here's my question to you:
When Brady is 37, and he's still NFL starting material, but not elite...Are you going to be on this board posting "Brady must retire now", "Brady is killing this team", "Give the backup a chance, with Brady here we're going to be medoicre", "Brady is selfish" like you're saying about Favre?

Or are you going to relish in the opportunity to see him for as long as possible, even though he'd only be 70% of his former great self?

The sad part is there definitely will be ppl here whining about Brady. Hell, it'll probably start happenning long before Brady is 37.

 

[Terry Glenn is a cowgirl]

I'm SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO sick of hearing how much fun he is having by throwing interceptions.

WHO GIVES A F_CK!?!?

Not I...

 

[Mogamedogz]

So here's my question to you:
When Brady is 37, and he's still NFL starting material, but not elite...Are you going to be on this board posting "Brady must retire now", "Brady is killing this team", "Give the backup a chance, with Brady here we're going to be medoicre", "Brady is selfish" like you're saying about Favre?

Or are you going to relish in the opportunity to see him for as long as possible, even though he'd only be 70% of his former great self?

The sad part is there definitely will be ppl here whining about Brady. Hell, it'll probably start happenning long before Brady is 37.

Brady wont be playing at 37, I can GARUNTEE you that (because he wont need to). Call me crazy, but he just doesn’t strike me as the "washed up old jock" type, who will hang around to pad his stats and sniff the glory "one more time".

Peyton on the other hand...

 

[FloridaHerb]

Brady wont be playing at 37, I can GARUNTEE you that (because he wont need to). Call me crazy, but he just doesn’t strike me as the "washed up old jock" type, who will hang around to pad his stats and sniff the glory "one more time".

Peyton on the other hand...

With 3 rings and counting Brady could retire now, he's New England's QB of a lifetime and he doesn't have anything to prove except to himself now.

I wouldn't be all that surprised to see him push himself and his abilities to go "one more time" or to see all of New England get behind him with a "Let's win this one for Tom" mentality and frankly considering what he's done for the Patriots he would completely deserve it.

Tom Brady's life is football, he'll hopefully announce his retirement on a day that he can hold up another Lombardi trophy and ride off into the sunset with it (figuratively, the trophy stays in Foxboro) but if that falls short and he announces his retirement after a second, third or fifth losing season I'll still be watching.

Favre on the other hand......eh.....who cares? This is a Patriots Forum!

 

[Truck]

I'm not saying he's going to go play to prove something. Some players just enjoy playing. Is Curt Schilling trying to prove something? No, he just enjoyes pitches & the atmosphere. I dont know enough about Favre to know if he's playing for stats, or for enjoyment. Either way it doesnt matter cuz my above points still hold.

Herb,
You're right, its not a Packers Forum. And like you said, you won't care if there's 4 losing seasons at the end of Brady's career. I won't either. So then why are ppl getting on Favre (btw, there are been scattered playoff appearances, not consecutive losing seasons at the end of his career) when the same exact thing is likely to happen here in 7 years.

All I'm trying to say is let the man play. He's still good (not great), he's still better than the backup, and he's not hurting the team.

 

[NYPatsFan]

Many Patriots fans despise the man for no apparent reason, other than the fact that other people love him and appreciate his talents. I think it stems from all the "ballwashing" that Favre has received over the years, the very same ballwashing that Tom Brady receives right now.

Fans from other teams have turned on Brady for the very same reason that Patriots fans turned on Favre... jealousy.

I love Favre. I think he's great. Not in the same way that Brady or Manning are great, but still a great QB.

 

[primetime]

The difference is that Favre actually is selfish. The Packers may have a chance at a playoff berth this season, but the last few seasons have been lessons in mediocrity. Favre may be the most over-rated QB in history because of the media-love; I was just never a fan, and you can argue with me to kingdom come but I will never list Favre as a top 10 QB of all time.

 

[OtisCampbell]

The only thing that has always turned me off about Favre is the constant end of year "Will I retire, won't I retire" drama and drivel. And that might not even be his fault, just the media trying to sniff out something to type.

 

[sieglo]

You asked why the Favre bashing. I think a lot has to do with the constant media ballwashing over the last few years. This came despite the fact that Favre's TD to INT ratio was like 1:2 and he generally was sucking.

No question Favre was a great QB. He's still a pretty good one now. But can we please reduce the media ass kissing?

 

[desi-patsfan]

You asked why the Favre bashing. I think a lot has to do with the constant media ballwashing over the last few years. This came despite the fact that Favre's TD to INT ratio was like 1:2 and he generally was sucking.

No question Favre was a great QB. He's still a pretty good one now. But can we please reduce the media ass kissing?

But...but...hes having so much FUN!!!! Look at him....running around like a little kid...You know only Brett Favre loves playing in the NFL...the rest are just zombies.

 

[patsfan209]

Many Patriots fans despise the man for no apparent reason... I think it stems from all the "ballwashing" that Favre has received over the years, the very same ballwashing that Tom Brady receives right now.

I do give him his due as a great QB who's fun to watch.

My beef with Favre is not because he's a media darling all these years... I'm sure most of us long-time Pats fans still feel our team had a legit shot at beating Favre and the Packers at Super Bowl XXXI. And I felt Favre's SB ring was more of a "gift" by Parcells.

If Green Bay somehow, someway, makes it to the Super Bowl this year, with Favre at the helm, and the Pats represent the AFC... it would feel so good winning it this time at his expense.

 

[SVN]

i think its the media hype which gets most people as in "no one has more fun than favre playing football" as if they know every player in the league or coverage of his Mississippi hometown or his family and father and all the tough times he has gone through blah blah blah. Dont get me wrong, all are good stories but there is an overdose of it now and i cant take it .

 

[nukin]

Everytime I see Brett Favre's name on this board, its always bashing.

So what am I hearing?

1. He should retire --
Obviously the guy isn't as good as he was when he was 28, he's 37...and he's still better than most NFL starters...so why should he retire? Are there 15 other QBs you'd rather have on your team for this season? Are there 30? He should start as long as he's still better than any replacement the Packers could find

2. He's not in Mannings/Brady's league
Manning/Brady are the best QBs of this decade. Favre was the best QB of the 90s. He is the only 3 time MVP winner. Thats not an easy feat. In the mid 90s, he was absolutely dominant. People were saying he might be the best ever. People are now saying that about Manning/Brady. And in 10 years ppl will say it about someone else.

3. He's selfish
Troy Brown has said he plans to keep playing until they tell him he can't. I bet Brusci feels the same way. Thats essentially what Favre feels. Its not up to him to decide he can't contribute anymore. Its up to the coaches.

17 years, 10 playoff appearances, 3 MVPs, 1 superbowl. Nothing bashworthy there. And he's going to lead his team to another playoff appearance this year.


So here's my question to you:
When Brady is 37, and he's still NFL starting material, but not elite...Are you going to be on this board posting "Brady must retire now", "Brady is killing this team", "Give the backup a chance, with Brady here we're going to be medoicre", "Brady is selfish" like you're saying about Favre?

Or are you going to relish in the opportunity to see him for as long as possible, even though he'd only be 70% of his former great self?

The sad part is there definitely will be ppl here whining about Brady. Hell, it'll probably start happenning long before Brady is 37.

Last year was a really bad year for Favre. This year is a pretty good year for him. Last year he looked like he should retire. This year he looks like he is young again.

The difference? He is not taking those chances and trying to put the ball in impossible spots. I like Favre - hes the reason I got into football ... but last year I agreed it was time to hang up the stirrups. This year - so far - he has proven a lot of people wrong

 

[Tunescribe]

It's relatively simple: Favre has a big ego and allows it to overshadow the Packers as a team. He's also careless on the field and hurts his team's chances nearly as much as he helps it.

 

[denverpatsfan]

Yes why would anybody bash him. He has won the SB 5 times and has been the MVP of the league many times as well.

Oh wait a minute. He only has 1 SB ring? I don't understand. The way the media portrays him you would think he wins it every year.

You understand why he gets some flack here?

 

[unoriginal]

He gets flack because Pats fans have Tom Brady. We can afford to sneer at lesser HoF quarterbacks.

While I'm at it, George Blanda, Norm Van Brocklin and Terry Bradshaw were **** quarterbacks too. I'm sick of all the ballwashing they receive from older fans. You talk to them, you'd think Brocklin could walk through walls. Completely overrated.

 

[tuckeverlasting]

I do give him his due as a great QB who's fun to watch.

My beef with Favre is not because he's a media darling all these years... I'm sure most of us long-time Pats fans still feel our team had a legit shot at beating Favre and the Packers at Super Bowl XXXI. And I felt Favre's SB ring was more of a "gift" by Parcells.

If Green Bay somehow, someway, makes it to the Super Bowl this year, with Favre at the helm, and the Pats represent the AFC... it would feel so good winning it this time at his expense.

my problem with favre stems from the superbowl also. one touchdown throw and he takes his helmet off and starts running around the field like he'd won something. now it's called the brett favre rule where no one can take their helmet off while on the field. i've never heard madden mention favre having his own rule.

 

[FrontSeven]

Everytime I see Brett Favre's name on this board, its always bashing.

If Favre had a real running game he'd be the favorite to show up in the SB next February, so I guess he's not as irrelevant as some guys tell us.

Football fans can be so stupid that it makes the head hurt. The jealousy is so think that you can slice it with a knife, but they won't admit it. It reminds me of a phobia like homophobia. Some fans have a phobia about anybody besides Tom Brady getting any spotlight.

If you want to argue that the spotlight routine is overdone in general, I would agree with that. It's been overdone with Favre, but it's also overdone with Brady and Manning. The media people leap on these guys like they're actually important people in the world. Bzzzt. They play a game for a living.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

It's relatively simple: Favre has a big ego and allows it to overshadow the Packers as a team. He's also careless on the field and hurts his team's chances nearly as much as he helps it.

The Packers are working through a rebuild Favre was thoroughly against. Now that it's well underway he is forcing them to carry him through that progressing rebuild in hopes of one last shot at glory for Brett Favre. If things go sour later this season, as they probably will once he breaks dink and dunk house arrest (anyone see him arguing with McCarthy on the sidelines Sunday...), the talk will revert to how he should retire. Only because of his selfishness and ego they will have no backup groomed to replace him on a rebuilt team ready to compete in the ever crappy NFC. That will force them to either endure massive growing pains and/or a series of aging veteran seatwarmers while they identify, probably having to acquire, and groom his replacement. By the time that all pans out McCarthy will be long gone.

I'm not sure his mentoring a youngster would be in that players best interest, but his refusal to even pay lip service to that, and his reluctance to step aside in abyssmal times to even allow them to kick replacement tires, speaks volumes about his me first mentality. He hasn't won since Holmgren left, and Holmgren left in part because he knew handling Favre with a ring would be next to impossible. He took Hasselback with him and spent two years beating the Favre out of him in hopes of creating something viable to work with.

Gunsingers can be fun to watch when they win, and agonizing to watch when they don't. The are seldom personally accountable because their makeup won't allow it. Pat's fans should know this. They are a dying breed in this coaches league even when they aren't aging out to boot. Players like Brown and Bruschi are fully accountable and don't demand to be starters, they are willing to be role players or rotational players, and they aren't eating up $10M in cap space in the process. Favre isn't willing to backup or mentor anyone. If he doesn't get the start every Sunday regardless of individual performance, he's taking his ball and going home, just like our former gunslinger. They would be no worse off in GB had they let him do just that two years ago. Instead because of PR and dead cap concerns they have let him retain emotional, financial and practical control over an entire franchises's future.

 

[Deus Irae]

(anyone see him arguing with McCarthy on the sidelines Sunday...)

Favre was right and McCarthy was wrong. McCarthy needlessly burned a timeout.