Favre Leaning Towards Retirement (Again)
Favre has made his decision (maybe? he’s worse than a politician) and that decision doesn’t involve the Jets:
Brett Favre has decided he doesn’t want to play for the New York Jets and is seriously considering accepting the Green Bay Packers’ offer of about $20 million over 10 years to remain retired because he doesn’t think he’ll get his wish to play in the NFC North Division, according to a report on ESPN.com Thursday night.
…
“There isn’t a perfect solution to this, but Mark Murphy is at least trying,” Favre told ESPN’s Ed Werder via text message on Thursday night. “We know what they want and where I stand. His solution, although awkward and unsettling for most, may be the best in the end.”
Somewhere Chris Mortensen is crying for not being the recipient of this text message.
I know half are sad and half are cheering, but I hope this resolves the infatuation with Brett Favre for Jets fans. Hypothetically, even if Favre does wind up playing for the Jets do you really want him now? Is this decision final?
It’s hard to say, because nothing ever seems final with Brett, but it sounds like it’s over for the Jets, at the very least. I was nervous at the beginning of this process, and I have to say that I think although Favre is a great Quarterback, it’s best that the Jets won’t get him. It does concern me that Tannenbaum thought this move was necessary … but that’s a topic for another post …
Now that this is done, here’s who looks bad from my perspective:
1) Brett Favre — Everyone says he’s an indecisive person when it comes to awkward situations like this, and there’s no proof otherwise. He might be one of the NFL’s greatest Quarterbacks, but the past few years with his flirtation with retirement, then his insistence to return to the league have been comical. For all the gushing people do about his love of the game, he looks like a fool now because he wanted to play, but only for a certain division, which since the Packers are smart, aren’t going to let him play in over their dead body.
2) The Green Bay Packers — Basically, even though they wanted to move on from Brett, the airing of the laundry of forcing Favre out of the league, and then not helping him play elsewhere (even though he’s an idiot and only wanted to play in the NFC North) makes them look like an organization who would enjoy crushing a child’s dying wish.
3) The New York Jets — The Jets must have come to terms with Ted Thompson. But now, despite doing that, they look like the nerd who asks the head cheerleader to prom in front of everyone and gets shot down. You can’t blame the nerd for asking her out, but at the same time, some things are better left alone. Now Tannenbaum is going to have half a riotous fanbase who is pissed he couldn’t get the deal done, no matter how hard he tried. I respect that Tannenabum got a deal in place, but it really doesn’t matter because Brett has chosen that he doesn’t want to play outside the NFC North and that’s that. What’s worse, he has to have lost the trust of his Quarterbacks. How do you look Chad Pennington straight in the eye after this debacle?
Filed under: Main Page, Opinion/Bent
If Bret accepts the money and reitres than I will think a lt less of him for sure. He is admitting that he doesn’t really love football, he loves money and being in the spotlight. If he really just wanted to play again he would accept a trade to the Jets or Tampa.
As far as the Jets go, I don’t think they look bad in this situation. Maybe a little embarrassed that Favre doesn’t want t play for them, but they had to make a play for him. He is a better Qb than what they have and if they didn’t have to give up too much they had to make a deal. If the QB’s on the Jets don’t trust the organization, oh well. If they are mad, oh well. In my opinion they are now going to try even harder to show the FO they were wrong in wanting Favre. If they prove the FO wrong than that means they played well for us.
Chad will get injured and Clemens will thrive –
I’m guessing they do their due dilligence on all kinds of players in and out of football and regularly don’t do anything about it either. It’s their job.
I don’t think anybody with any knowledge of this process, including current players, thinks about this at all. As they say, it’s out of their control and they don’t waste their time on those things. We shouldn’t either.
Bassett,
I have to disagree entirely with your item #3. It was never the Jets decision to make, it was known all along that GB called the Jets, and when poised with the question do you have interest in BF, they said maybe. The kept it close to the vest, and even informed CP and KC, so it don’t think there should be any problem on their part. CP even stated that any good FO will always look for ways to better their team. I think the Jets played it right, very low key, and not revealing anything. Thats why I think Craig Carton’s antics were appalling.
well said guys, thanks for the thoughts. I see your point, and that’s been something i’ve considered heavily through the whole process …
I’m def gonna lose some respect for Favre here. All he does is complain he wants to play. Then, the Jets make a play for him and he says “well I want to play Football, but only in the NFC North”. He loves football so much that he would rather be paid to retire than to play football in the AFC?
Also, the Jets don’t look bad to their players. They never really admitted anything. Maybe slightly embarrassing for their fans/Front Office for being shot down by Favre. But, I’m happy we went for the Home Run. Sometimes, even when you ask the Head Cheerleader out and she says “No Thanks”, it’s good to show everyone you had the balls to do it.
Over? Did you say “over”? Nothing is over until Brett decides it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no! And it ain’t over now. . .
Bluto-inspired rant aside, I will only believe this is over when we get to February and there’s no more football left in this season to be played. I truly believe this will be an ongoing story all season long because that’s how long Favre will need his massive ego stroked — good luck to The Pack if Rodgers gets so much as a hangnail “Oooh, time for a phone call to Kiln” “HE’s still out there” … “Brett to the rescue” I can see Peter King getting all gushy about this already.
My only consolation is that we’ll only have to hear the whispers about up until the NFL trade deadline in October … for this season, anyway. Then it’ll all start up again next March.
R,
If Brett signs this deal. He will not be allowed to play football anywhere else but Green Bay. There will not be any waiting until the trade deadline to see who he signs with.
IF
And like Fox Mulder, I want to believe that will be the end of it, but as many players in the NFL have repeatedly shown, contracts are signed to be broken …
Depending on who you believe, this may be less of a bribe, and more like a threat. According to some sources (CBS sportsline reported this), this $20 million marketing deal with GB was on the table right after he announced his retirement in March, but the full details hadn’t been worked out yet. GB management is basically saying that if he un-retires, the deal is off, and he’s out $20 million.
But Jerry, he will make that and more in two years (especially considering the discounted value of future payments).
And, Basset, as posted in a later thread (I start with the newest articles), I think Tangini offered themselves as the threat to Favre showing up. If he had balls and came to GB, I think rather than suffer the consequences (enumerated in the other post), they might trade him to us given the lack of risk (also enumerated elsewhere).
Hard to blame Tangini for trying to get a future HOF QB on the cheap.
h
Jerry — It’s a hollow threat — No way Favre believed he’d be paid for doing marketing for the Packers while SIMULTANEOUSLY playing for another team — That’s a League-banned conflict of interest that even the dumbest player in the League understands –
I think the Jets look bad because they went 4-12 last year. The perception of pursuing and missing out on Favre, whether true or false, will have little to no consequence to the Jets image in the eyes of the average NFL observer.
As far as the perception of management within the team? I think players want to feel that the front office is making every effort to put the players that give them the best chance to win on the field. Out of deference to Chad and KC you won’t hear anyone say it loud but I guarantee there were at least some Jets who were impressed at the effort to sign a future HOF QB.
And “how do you look Chad Pennington straight in the eye…?” You look at him like a guy who played very poorly last year. And if he says he only played badly because of injury it only makes your case stronger, since Favre is famous for being an iron man as much as anything.
As for KC, he’s got to know he didn’t show enough last year to preclude investigating the availability of a SB winner, even one in his twilight years.
If Chad really still has the ability his most die-hard supporters claim he does, the Favre flirtation should only motivate him more to show it. It better. Because (assuming KC doesn’t overtake him and win the job before the opener) it’s certainly his last hurrah.
Favre is a disgrace… all that talk about wanting to play and now he’s not gonna because of money… I will not remember Favre as a great qb but as an attention starved, immature, indecisive pain in the ass
Johnny– It’s not so much a hollow threat if Favre was only planning on playing for one more season, which is always a possibility with him. And if he’s playing in a place where he’s not happy, then it sure wouldn’t be worth it for him. GB is basically suggesting that he re-evaluate how badly he wants to play in the available scenarios, and then determine if it’s worth losing out on the $20MM deal.
Johnny, you wrote “Chad will get injured and Clemens will thrive –”.
I should probably know better by now than to ask if you are serious, but if you are, what are you smoking?
I have no problem with the “Chad will get injured” part (he might), but what in the world makes you write that “Clemens will thrive”? Is it his poor showing so far in camp that gives you confidence or is Kellen your cousin or something?
It’s fine to be anti-Chad (as you’ve made clear in every single posted you’ve ever written), but to prop up the other guy just because he ISN’T Chad is short-sighted and reeks of the non-logical, Rich Kotite/Herm Edwards brand of football.
I think its real hard to fault Jets management for trying to entice a HOF QB to solidify the biggest question mark on the team, even for the short-term. Favre also spurned Tampa Bay. His statement that he wanted to only play for the Pack or against them in the same division shows only one thing to me: he’s pissed and fels disrespected. In Favre’s opinion, the Pack should welcome him with open arms because he still represents the best chance for them to win the Super Bowl. Ultimately, I actually think Favre looks sort of sad here. He’s arguably one of the greatest (if not the greatest) QBs of all-time, yet he’s not wanted by his own team, for whom he’s never missed a start. It’s just a bizarre scenario and, now, also part of Jets lore. Like Riggins leaving, Reggie White spurning the Jets, Peyton not coming out after his junior season or the original leap frog trade by Atlanta that changed the course of 3 franchises.
Sack – as you said, “In Favre’s opinion, the Pack should welcome him with open arms because he still represents the best chance for them to win the Super Bowl.”
Um, to be honest, that’s my opinion too. I’m still scratching my head why the Pack ‘wants to go “in another direction’.
I mean, I know there is some really bad water under the bridge right now, but what really changed from the time he left the locker room after the NFC Championship till now? assume he hadn’t attempted to retire. Would the FO be telling Lord Favre that it was an open QB competition this summer? No, that only happens in Jets camps after 4-12 seasons. And even if they did, why can’t Favre have a chance to win the starting job now?
It is all so assinine to me. If I’m a Packers fan, or a teammate I’m feeling pissed off that my FO isn’t putting its best foot(ball) forward. And Big Ted don’t give me the “long term best interest” company speak. The fans are the stakeholders of this publicly owned team. This is not the Raiders we’re talking about, they were one game away from a SB! This Thompson guy is behaving like Al Davis, except he doesn’t even own the team.
NYC Parking — Kellen Clemens can be Terry Bradshaw revisited — Look at Bradshaw’s early stats –
http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/B/BradTe00.htm?redir
Sack you nailed it once again. The tragedy truly is Bret Favre looking like a fool. In today’s world where athletes get what they want (NBA, MLB), the NFL has rules in place that gives management the ultimate upper hand. That is why parity works in the NFL and no where else. That is also why it is truly the model of success and popularity in our country. This story is all about a proud man trying to stick it to his former bosses and appears that he can’t. The Favre saga was personal. Let’s hope it is over soon and move on. It’s funny how the Jets got involved in the hoopla.
Roger Clemens was much more of a prima donna and it turns out was much more of a douche bag. The only difference is that GB isn’t NY and Ted Thompson isn’t a sucker like Cashman.
Not to quibble too much with an off topic subject, but…
R in CT, The Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, not the Germans.
As for Favre, I don’t think this reflects poorly on the Jets at all. Pennington knows he didn’t play well last year, whether it was injury or not. I don’t think he would be upset about it. Maybe concerned about where he would be, but I don’t think he’d tank the season just to get back at the Jets. If anything, it may light a fire under him to raise his game play to prove to the Jets or any potential future team that he is worth it. I’m still in Clemens’ corner until I see them on the field, but I don’t think it will hurt us to have Chad unless he plays like last year.
sjfalcon2001- Not to quibble with your quibbling but that’s a quote from the film, “Animal House.”
Sorry I didn’t see that one…
I know it’s a “classic” movie, but I’ve never seen it. the comment makes more sense to me now. Thanks for the correction…