Thursday, August 7, 2008

Winners & Losers in Brett Favre Soap Opera


Is it really over?

Yep, and the future Hall of Famer is on his way to Broadway.

Brett Favre has been traded to the New York Jets to end the summer long soap opera. Might as well have something to do to kill time from the pre-draft prep until the preseason.

Winners:
The New York Jets - Hey, Gang Green was 4-12 last year and had invested heavily in veteran players in the offseason.

The question mark around the Jets was at quarterback. They knew that Chad Pennington didn't have the big-time arm to play QB and weren't sure what they had in Kellen Clemens.

GM Mike Tannenbaum and head coach Eric Mangini have to win NOW in order to ensure job security for the 2009 season. For a conditional third round pick - that could turn into more - this gamble was totally worth it for the Jets. There is no downside, especially considering that Favre is sure to have a chip on his shoulder heading into the season to prove the Packers wrong.

I don't want to hear about a plan for the future, and neither do Tannenbaum and Mangini. This is the NFL, win now or find another job.

Brett Favre - His biggest error was changing his mind on what he wanted to do. Retire, play, retire, play......you can't get on him too harshly for that. If his words are accurate, and the Packers pressed him for an answer early in the offseason, his initial stance makes sense.

At the end of a long football season, the body is beaten up and the thought of going thru another year - at Favre's age - it is understandable why he wouldn't commit to another season.

Favre's legacy is cemented, no matter the disaster of the summer. He'll always be an icon in Green Bay and his NFL records cannot be taken away. A successful run in New York can only enhance his legacy.

Losers:
Green Bay Packers - They've gone from a team one win away from the Super Bowl in a conference without a powerhouse club to a team relying on a QB who has never started an NFL game.

I don't want to hear that they were a team ready to move on or that they'd promised the job to Aaron Rodgers. That argument is just plain stupid.

As I said earlier, this is the NFL. Win now while you can. The window of opportunity can slam shut very quickly. Favre gave them a better chance to win that Rodgers, period.

Also, the PR disaster is one that won't go away quickly. The $20-25 million offer to stay retired? C'mon, that is insulting. GM Ted Thompson and coach Mike McCarthy have put their jobs on the line with this decision.

Bottom line is this, they wanted Favre out of Green Bay. Not sure why, but it doesn't matter.

The Green Bay Fans - The icon is gone and they are stuck with the above referenced management who's egos seemingly have gotten in the way of sound, logical thinking.

Aaron Rodgers - Don't blame Rodgers, who has patiently waited for his chance. Truthfully speaking, I'm sure Rodgers would have preferred to have won the job from Favre in camp than taking it this way.

Rodgers has said all the right things so far, he should be complimented for that. However, once a few of his passes fall short of the intended target, the boo-birds are going to come out in full force in Lambeau Field.

While he has done nothing to deserve the treatment that seems inevitable, Rodgers is going take the brunt of it. No matter what he does, he'll never be able to turn Lambeau Field into Mr. Rodger's neighborhood.

The frozen tundra belongs to Brett Favre and will for a long time.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

farves an idiot

Anonymous said...

Wow this Pugsley guy is good!

Anonymous said...

You are a Texas Ranger fan. Stop telling everyone you are an A's fan