Sunday, December 11, 2011

Where is Brett Favre's Place in History?

When I went to Green Bay for the Rams game, I bought my son and daughter each things from the stadium Packers Pro Shop. I knew that these things would mean more to them because of where they came from. One of the things I got for Hunter was a 2011 Packers team set of football cards. He thought it was awesome. He looks at the cards over and over and is constantly asking questions about Not just the stats on the cards, but what I think about the team and who I think are the best Packers of all time. He also asked if I had cards from when I was a kid. Up into the attic I went. I happen to have a decent sized collection of football and baseball cards, including a Tony Gwynn rookie, 2 Ken Griffey Jr rookies and a few different Brett Favre rookies.

I also have a 1995 Team Pinnacle insert card with Favre on one side and John Elway on the other. Well, Hunter is already a Packers knowledge sponge and he knows that the Packers lost to the Broncos in Super Bowl 32. So Hunter starts asking me questions. About that Super Bowl. About why Favre was in a Falcons jersey on his rookie card. About Don Majkowski. And then he dropped the bombshell on me. "Dad do you think John Elway was a better QB than Brett Favre?"

The real bombshell to me was that the answer came to me so quickly. I told him that yes, I did think Elway was a better QB than Favre. Elway took the Broncos to a total of 5 Super Bowls and won 2. He had led the Drive. He was THE comeback QB for the Broncos before there was Tebow. And I think in a different era Elway would have had more yards and TDs.

The more I thought about it, the more frustrated I got. I'm a Packers fan. How could I dare to take Elway before Favre? I just kept coming back to the early Super Bowls and what could have been. I also remember thinking about how Elway grew as a player. As he got older, Elway became a much more thoughtful QB. His completion percentage went way up in the 2nd half of his career and his TD/INT ratio was much improved as well.

You can't say the same for Favre. He was the same gunslinger at 41 as he was at 23. The more I looked at the stats, the INTs, the playoff runs that were ended by horrible throws, the more I realized why I've been so mad at Favre for so long. It wasn't because he went to Minnesota. It wasn't because he thumbed his nose at the fans by saying the Viking fans were better. And it wasn't because of the obscene texts he sent. I'm mad at Favre because instead of continuing to grow as a QB, Favre chose to just sling the ball around. I'm mad because Brett Favre is the most talented QB I've had the pleasure to watch live. I'm mad because Brett Favre's place in History should be at the top of the mountain by a long shot and he's not.

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Thank You Skip Bayless

I know, I know. WTF am I thinking? Thanking Skip Bayless? Why would I do such a stupid thing? I dislike Skip just as much as the next Packers fan. He's a troll, plain and simple. I've been begging people to stop feeding him. So why am I saying thank you? I'll get there. But first, some of the tweets that get everyone so torqued off.

1. "All I'm saying about Packers: They don't have that 1 win vs. NE, Balt, Pitt, SF, .O., Dallas or any hot/healthy team that made me say wow." So, he's saying we didn't play the Saints the first week of the year I guess.

2. "You'd better believe I'm taking Tebow over ARodg in last 2 mins. I've SEEN Tebow do it again/again/again. ARodg hasn't had many chances." I was left speechless after this one.

3. "Kevin Smith lost early, more DB injuries, Hanson missed easy FG, Suh self-destructs - this season meant-to-be for Green Bay. More breaks!" Yep, they've caught every break. Nothing like the great breaks of losing one of your top DBs in the second game of the year, losing your long time LT for several weeks and having a starting DE miss more than half the season.

4. "For that matter, I dare Aaron Rodgers to try to convince me face to face how all-time great HE is. He's certainly arrogant enough to do so." This one angers me more than anything. Rodgers has never claimed to be anything. It's fans, the media and Rodgers own play (but certainly not his words) that have put him on the pedestal.

So, why do I say thanks to Skp? Simple. Rodgers himself has spoken about using falling in the draft and the fallout from trading Favre so Aaron could start as fuel to keep getting better. We as fans get to watch an 11-0 football team that still plays with a chip on their shoulder.  I truly believe that the naysayers like Skip are a big reason for it. So here's to hoping Skip can naysay Rodgers to the MVP and the Packers to the SUPER BOWL.

THANKS SKIP!!!