Brett Farve Retires

You can look back at past posts and know exactly how I feel about Mr. Farve, the Packer. And if you are new, he falls into the Shashefski of people who don't pronounce their name the way it's spelled. One of my pet peeves. Anyways I want to go on the record saying Farve went out the way I wanted to see him go out. Choking in a big game with a 70.7 QB Rating and his final pass being a game winning one, an interception to the New York Giants' Cory Webster. As I mentioned in past Farve columns, I don't like the player and I think he is one of the most overrated Quarterbacks of all time. With that said keep reading, he will go down in my book as one of the top Quarterbacks to play the game.


Brett Favre came into the NFL and for almost all of his 17 seasons was regarded near and far as one of the game's best. Today he made the right choice, walking away from the game while he still could walk. It's no lie that Favre has been suffering for over 2 years from aches and pains that go with almost 2 decades as an NFL Quarterback, and it was starting to show, specifically in cold late season games at Lambeau. The man who was once called, "an old Tony Romo" by Brian Urlacher will be linked to good and bad memories and remembered by many an NFL fan.


Again, he will go down in my book as one of the top Quarterbacks to play the game. I might not rank him as high as Marino, Elway, and Montana, but Favre belongs in the Top-10 of all-time and is definately a first ballot Hall of Famer. His will he won't he antics of the last 4 off-seasons were a tad unprofessional and a little damaging to the Green Bay franchise, but most can look past them. He ultimately did the thing that was best for him by walking away.


Most fans, love him or hate him, remember Favre as the guy who ran down the field and picked up his lineman. Who jawed back and forth with Strahan and Sapp. He played the game with a smile on his face from first gun to final whistle. He ran around, up and down the field, like a kid playing a game, his favorite game. All too often those kids who love playing the game are killed in College or their early pro careers and it becomes work. Favre had passion and fire, and I wish he had been on the Bears instead of beating Chicago routinely throughout the 90's. I may rag on Favre occcasionally, and I usually backed it up with, he is still one of the All-Time best, just overrated by the constant media lovefest. So in perfect hypocricy or whatever you want to call it, this one "media" member is joining in on the many Favre reports we will see and hear in the coming days.


He walked away early, a lot earlier than usual or expected, which is a nod to the Green Bay fans and organization. They will have the entire off-season to move on and officially give the ball to Aaron Rodgers. I think that is how you kind of know it's for real this time. He isn't putting it off for whatever, and yes they were selfish, reasons he did in the past. He woke up yesterday and realized that he was tired.


Favre was oft labeled as a gunslinger. I took offense to this being a good thing, because to me that just meant he was risky, and apparently lucky in his career. Though the results were not always the best for Green Bay and Favre (and recently were great for Chicago) the gunslinger mentality worked well in his earlier career when his ball had a little more umph on it.


I could say all sorts of negative things about Favre, and I probably will in the future and God knows I have in the past. But as a guy, who respects the game of football, on a day when a guy, who played the game the way it was meant to be played, walks away, I decide...he deserves, nothing but respect for what he has done.


If this is in fact the case the Favre has hung up his cleats he walks away with:


9 Pro Bowls

#1 in Passes completed, passes attempted, yards, TDs, and consecutive games played (as well as interceptions thrown.

He was in the top 5 or 10 in many other categories.


After 257 games, 8758 passes attempted (5377 completed), 61655 yards, 442 TDs and 17 years, Brett Favre walks away from the game that he loved, and he played with a smile for years. And before you can call me a hypocrite realize, I hated on Favre because he was a Packer, and that's what you do in rivalries. As Brett walks away from the game, he is no longer a Packer, or Bear Killer. Just one of the best to ever play his position, and he always did it with a smile. Besides it looks like he working on his Rap Career.