Brett Favre: The Final Word?

Had enough of the Brett Favre story? I have.

That's why, when I was unable to move the above photo into position so it did not cut off Favre's head, I decided to keep it anyway. So much symbolism: nip this story in the bud, the man has lost his head, the head of the Packers is gone...take your pick.

I cannot escape it. ESPN would talk about Brett Favre every five minutes if they could.

Everything has already been said. When I used to work for an environmental organization, we had a saying: "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle." The media have parts two and three down pat.

I think the supersaturation has the opposite of the intended effect. The media wants to keep us informed. Instead, we cannot sift out real information from the same ol', same ol'.

For instance, I have heard many pro-Favre people say Ted Thompson did not want him from the start, even that he was pressuring the star into retirement. However, the evidence is strong to the contrary. Consider the following from the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel's July 13, 2008 issue:

• Feb. 22: Thompson calls Favre after hearing his star quarterback is mad he had not been called. Aside from the possibility Thompson feels Favre has earned the respect not to be pressured into a decision, Favre directly tells him what he heard was not true.
• Feb. 25 (that's just three days later, people!): Coach Mike McCarthy talks to Favre about lessening the star's load to help make it easier for him to come back.
• Feb. 29: When Favre says if he had to make a decision now he would retire, Thompson and McCarthy tell him to think about it over the weekend, and McCarthy suggests changing reps or offseason things to help ease the load. Remember last year when Favre wanted to miss spring camp to plan his daughter's graduation party, even though it was weeks after the camp? They were basically talking about giving him that kind of leeway.
• March 4: Thompson, McCarthy, and PR director Jeff Blumb are in Thompson's office and Blumb reaches Favre on his cell phone and talks for a few minutes before handing the phone over to Thompson. After what the GM describes as 15-20 minutes of conversation, the decision was made to hold the press conference announcing the retirement.
• March 6: In the press conference, Favre mentions not being fully committed or being able to give 100 percent, saying this would not be fair to the team or fans.
• Late March: Favre asks offensive line coach James Campen whether the Packers would take him back. McCarthy calls Favre and hears the same question. After a talk with Thompson, the two agree they would be fine with his return and call to inform him, adding they want to come see him. By the end of the month, however, Favre calls back to cancel the visit, saying he and Deanna (his wife) had a long talk and decided to stick with their original decision.

This only considers what happened in just over five weeks. Thompson also paid Favre a visit on May 6, before those late-May team activities. He said the furthest Favre went in addressing a return was saying he may have some doubts or change his mind.

Then, last night (July 15), I read more details of his FoxNews interview on the ESPN scroll. It turns out he has said he questions Thompson for several reasons:

1. Thompson failed to keep Marco Rivera and Mike Wahle. I questioned each of those myself, but understood the difficulty of matching large contracts for guards in the salary-cap era, especially one who was in his mid-30s with a history of injuries, no matter how much he played through them. And I think the fact that the line was one of our strengths last season mitigates these concerns. The fact that Wahle and Rivera have not been impact players (Rivera is out of the league) makes this assertion absurd.
2. He did not interview Steve Mariucci. I will go one step further: I would have simply offered Steve the job unless Sylvester Croom, whom I would have interviewed in order to meet the "Rooney Rule" requirements of the league, had blown me away. But you are questioning the move that brought what, in any sensible analysis, was the true coach of the year to the Packers?
3. Thompson did not sign Randy Moss. We are supposed to inherit that ticking time bomb to appease Favre, so he can scrap the gameplan more than ever and just heave the ball downfield like this is some kind of sandlot game? And where were we going to get the money to top the $10 million-plus highest offer Moss received (from Philadelphia, and that still did not get his signature) while we are paying Favre $12.8 million? Does Favre know about the salary cap? So now we have proof he did quit because we didn't buy him the present he wanted on March 1.
4. He cannot trust him to say what he means. WHAT?! YOU are accusing someone ELSE of that? This is like me saying I do not like someone because they are opinionated! You, Brett, the man who changed his mind three weeks after retiring, then changed it back three days later. The one who says he cannot give 100 percent and now says he is ready to play but the team does not want him. The team that spent five weeks trying to make it easier for you to come back has never wanted you.

Yeah, I have heard enough.

Should the team have taken him back? Yes, and I said as much a couple weeks ago. Should they have told him he has to be a backup? No, that is absurd. He was a Pro Bowl quarterback last year.

But the job was Aaron Rodgers' throughout minicamp and OTAs, and the coaching staff made modifications to play to Rodgers' strengths, so you don't just take it back from him. Tell him he has to compete for the starting job: If he cannot win it, he is not worth all of this hassle.

Should they offer to bring him back in this capacity now? Absolutely not! After he has played the coquette? After he has slung mud on the organization that has catered to his whims on and off the field? After he threw his coach under the bus?

No, now I am not even sure we owe him a trade. Now I think, if we cannot get good return, we say tough luck. He has Chad Johnson-ed us, lowering his trade value by trying to force a release, and if that has made it so we cannot get a first-day pick for him, leave him in Limbo like he has done to us.

We had a saying where I grew up, in America's dairyland: "you made your bed, now lie in it."

That has dual meaning for Favre, and maybe he never heard that saying in Kiln, MS. But one thing is for sure: I still respect the heck out of Brett Favre the football player, but I have little respect left for Brett Favre the man.