Bleacher Report - Articles by Walter Thompson Jr.

Jason Taylor Returns To South Beach

Walter Thompson Jr. — Wed, 13 May 2009 21:15:15 -0400

Free-agent defensive end Jason Taylor has agreed to return to the city where he played all but one of his 12 seasons in the NFL.

Taylor signed a one year deal worth $1.1 million on Wednesday. The deal also includes $400,000 of additional incentives he turned down.

The Dolphins all-time sack leader forced his way out of Miami last year and found himself with the Washington Redskins after he threatened to retire if he was not released by the Dolphins.

As new president of football operation Bill Parcells was coming in, Taylor was trying to break free from the team that had drafted him a decade earlier.

Parcells granted Taylor his wish by releasing him before the 2008 season. Taylor left Miami Beach, with a bad taste in his mouth, but that did not stop him from staying involved with the community.

“My heart has always been in Miami and so I'm truly excited to call myself a Dolphin once again," Taylor said in statement released on Wednesday.

The 2008 season with Washington was one of his worst seasons, only recording 29 tackles, 3.5 sacks, and one forced fumble.

He missed three games with an injury last year. Combine that with the miserable stats, some believe that Taylor may not have anything left in the tank.

But with a new regime in Miami that may be enough to rejuvenate his passion to play the game in the city he once ruled like a gladiator, not to mention his off the field involvement with the community.

Taylor joins a Miami team that is one year removed from one of the most impressive turn arounds in NFL history, led by former jets quarterback Chad Pennington.

In 2007, which was Taylor's last year in Miami, the Dolphins finished 1-15 and played a huge role in Taylor mulling retirement, "Dancing with the Stars" and eventually ending up in a Redskins uniform.

In 2008, the Dolphins finished 11-6, including a first round playoff loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

Taylor joins fellow veteran Joey Porter on the defensive line, who re-emerged as a force on the defense last year with 47 tackles, 17.5 sacks, and four forced fumbles.

With Taylor back in the fold, the Dolphins' defense will be much improved. The only question is, how much gas does he really have left in the tank? History shows that just when you think the old vet is done; he comes back swinging for the fences.

This just shows you that you really can go back home again. This move is smart for both Taylor and the Dolphins. Taylor gets to be close to his family and the Dolphins are getting a proven commodity. Fans in South Beach are in for a wild ride in 2009.

Dallas Cowboys Cut Terrell Owens: Are You Kidding Me?

Walter Thompson Jr. — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 12:23:07 -0500

After three years as the No. 1 receiver for the Dallas Cowboys, sources say Terrell Owens has been released.

If this is true, it is a sad day for the Cowboys. This move comes as shocker for many Cowboy fans and football fans in general.

Yes, there have been rumors that this could eventually happen, but no one in their right mind actually believed he would be released. Up until this point it was just speculation.

It was only a couple of months ago that Jerry Jones and Terrell Owens stood before the media and shared a huge bowl of popcorn, celebrating a four-year, $34 million extension that included a $12 million bonus for the future hall-of-fame wide receiver.

So why now? Why cut the most productive receiver that you have had on your team since Michael Irvin donned the star on his helmet? Why cut T.O. before you are about to move into a brand new state-of-the-art football facility in 2009?

Yes, there are some fans out there that are glad to see this happen, but there are huge factions of Cowboy fans that are left scratching their heads. “Dumbest move in Cowboys history, stayed tuned for the crash and burn,” one Cowboys fan said.

Another fan said, “A wise person told me long ago that someday Jerry Jones would eventually make me not want to be a Cowboys fan.” Well this may be the day of reckoning for “America’s Team.”

"Get rid of TO? Are you serious? They should get rid of Tony Romo, who crumbles when games are on the line,” as another fan voiced his opinion.

This move makes no sense. Who do they actually think is going to put up the numbers that Owens has put over the last three seasons? Owens is one of the most prolific receivers in league history.

Obama Proposes Eight Team Playoff

Walter Thompson Jr. — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 09:03:32 -0500

The 2008 college football regular season will soon come to a close in a couple weeks. The debate about whether the current Bowl system is fair continues.

Since its inception in 1998, the Bowl Championship Series has caused controversy among college football fans everywhere. This year will be no different. The fact is some very competitive teams will be left out of the national championship picture.

Under the current BCS system, only the top two ranked teams are allowed to play for the national championship on Jan. 8. Many people ask what is the BCS and how does it work?

The BCS consist of five premier college football bowl games, which traditionally begin on New Year's Day. The games include the Sugar, Fiesta, Orange, and Rose Bowl. Then the BCS National Championship game is played on Jan. 8.

The BCS standings consist of three major components. They are the USA Today Coaches Poll, Harris Interactive College Football Poll and an average of six computer rankings.

The six rankings include the Peter Wolfe, Wes Colley, Sagarin, Seattle Times, Richard Billingsley and Kenneth Massey computer rankings. Each component counts as 1/3 of a team's BCS ranking each week.

The age-old question that many fans and football experts have is why not get rid of the BCS and just have a traditional playoff like the lower divisions in college football? Many experts say that it will make for some great football.

President-elect Barack Obama even has an opinion on this issue. "I think it's about time we had playoffs in college football. I'm fed up with these computer rankings and this that and the other. Get eight teams—the top eight teams right at the end. You got a playoff. Decide on a national champion," Obama said in a Monday Night Football interview with Chris Berman on the night prior to his monumental presidential election.

Just imagine each week you would get the top teams in the country like Alabama, Texas Tech, Texas, Florida, Oklahoma and USC, just to name a few, going to battle with the winner moving on and the loser going home. This is what's best for college football.

Fans want to see the best match-ups possible and what would be better than the top teams in the country engaging in a one and done playoff. The entire season would rest on that one game. Each game would have the atmosphere of a national championship game. If you are lucky enough to survive you move on to the next week.

Obama even has an idea on how the playoffs would work. According to the associated press, Obama's proposed playoff system would consist of three rounds and the top eight teams playing over a period of three weeks.

In a recent interview on CBS' 60 Minutes Obama said he would be in favor of trimming back the regular season and starting the playoffs earlier.

Under Obama's plan if the playoffs were to start today using the current USA Today coaches poll the first round games would include: No.1 Alabama—No.8 Penn State, No.2 Texas Tech—No.7 Utah, No.3 Florida—No. 6. USC, and No.4 Texas—No.5 Oklahoma. That is a college football fans dream.

Sounds pretty simple, but there are some higher powers that don't want see this happen. Specifically the BCS Governance, which is the group that manages the BCS.

The BCS Governance is made up of 11 NCAA D-IA conference commissioners, the director of athletics at the University of Notre Dame and representatives of the bowl organizations.

Any decisions made by the BCS Governance has to be approved by the presidential oversight committee, whose members represent all 119 Division 1-A programs. Everyone has something at stake in this BCS system and the biggest issue is money.

With a playoff in place, some of the traditional bowl games would become almost irrelevant and revenue for these games would drop. Bowl game representatives don't want to see that.

Another issue of concern is student athletes having to play more games, which could conflict with their classes. That argument is squashed because D-IAA teams have a playoff and it doesn't seem to affect those athletes. Basketball players play more games than anyone during the school year and no one seems to complain.

The BCS Governance seems to make every excuse not to have a playoff because they stand to lose millions of dollars. The problem is they are all benefiting from this system and teams and fans are being cheated out of being able participate in and witness some of the greatest football games in history. There are no checks and balances when it comes to the BCS.

It is time for a playoff in D-IA football and Obama says he plans to throw his weight around in order to make a playoff happen in the near future. "I'm going to throw my weight around a little bit. I think it's the right thing to do," Obama said on 60 Minutes.

Simplifying the BCS formula (collegefootballpoll.com)

A = Harris Poll
B = Coaches Poll
C = Throw out the high and low of the six computer rankings for each team. Add the remaining four. Divide that total by four.
Result: A+B+C = Total Score

Florida State Defense Is Legit

Walter Thompson Jr. — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 18:26:18 -0400

Jacksonville, Fla.—On Saturday afternoon, the Florida State Seminoles (3-1) came into Jacksonville Municipal Stadium with one thing on their mind: win. That was the goal after a lackluster effort against Wake Forest the week before.

This would also be a day when FSU head coach Bobby Bowden would coach in his 500th career game as a head coach. Bowden was also seeking his 376th career win trailing Joe Paterno by one game.

The Seminole defense proved that they were as good as advertised. Many people questioned them after the first two ball games of the season against Division I-AA teams. They came out last week and only gave up 12 points against Wake Forest. Colorado would be their biggest test of the season so far.

Starters Dekoda Watson, Neefy Moffett and Patrick Robinson joined the defense on the field after serving their four-game suspensions, and what a difference it made. The defense now has even more depth.

Colorado (3-1) starting quarterback Cody Hawkins was running for his life all day as big Everett Brown, Moffett and Budd Thacker applied pressure from up front. In fact, Moffett got a sack on the first play of the game, which set up Antone Smith's 2-yard touchdown run.

“We’ve got the best end in the country in Everette Brown, and he told me what the take-off was and I just listened to him and I got a sack," Moffett said.

Jamie Robinson added an interception in his first action of the year. “It felt pretty good. I just thank the Lord for blessing me with the opportunity to get the pick," Robinson said. That’s something Mickey [Andrews] has been talking about a lot, especially since we didn’t have any."

The defense came out fired up, as if they knew that they would have to win today's game without any help from the offense. They did not want to leave anything on the table.

The offense for the Seminoles would show up via the running game, with Antone Smith rushing 25 times for 154 yards and three touchdowns. He had a 60-yard touchdown run with 2:29 to go in the first half.

"I got really personal last year about getting run down from behind by the defense. I gave everything that I had on that run and dug down deep to get into the end zone and not let anyone catch me from behind," Smith said.

Colorado would have a punt blocked for a safety by Dekoda Watson. That would be followed up by a 36-yard Graham Gano field goal.

The Seminoles put 12 points on the board in the final three minutes of the first half. Bobby Bowden and Seminoles would take a 19-7 halftime lead.

In the third quarter, Graham Gano would hit 52 and 44-yard field goals to expand the Seminoles' lead to 25-7 heading into the fourth quarter. The defense completely shut the Buffaloes out in the third quarter.

In the fourth quarter, the Seminoles special teams would get involved. Michael Ray Garvin, a world-class sprinter, would take a kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown. That would give the Seminoles a 32-14 lead. Cody Hawkins would add two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, but that would be it for Colorado.

Antone Smith would cap of his monster day with a 2-yard touchdown run to put the Seminoles up 39-21. Smith is the first FSU running back to score three touchdowns in a game since 2002.

"I just do what I can do to help the team. When I go into the game and my number is called, I go out and run the ball as hard as I can," Smith said.

The Seminoles got help from every aspect except the passing game. While better than last week, the Seminoles passing game still needs a lot of work, as Christian Ponder would take every meaningful snap in this ball game.

He went 10-for-22 for 119 yards and an interception. The Seminoles rushed for 259 yards on 49 carries. That is a sign that Offensive Coordinator Jimbo Fisher just does not trust his young quarterbacks.

This was a day of pounding the rock with Smith and the occasional swing pass to the back and receivers. Can this work against Miami next week, or will the Seminoles actually be forced to throw deep down the field?

The fact is Jimbo knew he could play it safe with the defense playing as well as it did. Florida State made no progress with the quarterback situation.

Still, Jimbo needs to find a way to get this offense rolling with the quarterback throwing the ball, because Miami has a lot of speed, and speed kills. Their defense is just as good as Florida State's, and this should make for one heck of a ball game.

The defense deserves a lot of credit. They seem to be at full strength. They did have a couple of miscues, but most of them were from guys who were playing in their first game of the season, so expect them to fix that.

Bobby Bowden said his team had no problem getting up for this game after last week's loss.

“You know one thing happens when you get beat like we did last week. You don’t have any trouble getting their attention the next week cause you’re mad, you’re mad, they know you’re mad," Bowden said.

The defense looks like they are one of the top defenses in the country and playing the way FSU defenses are supposed to play. The fact is the Seminole defense is legit.

This was a very important game for the Seminoles, but they won't be celebrating too long. "By tomorrow night we’ll be working on Miami," Bowden said.

Seminoles Back To Reality: Quarterback Decision Holds Back Florida State

Walter Thompson Jr. — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 18:49:59 -0400

Tallahassee, Fla: Seminole fans left Doak S. Campbell Stadium on Saturday night disappointed, frustrated, and whatever other words you want to add.

Wake Forest kicker Sam Swank and the Demon Deacon defense defeated FSU 12-3. Drew Weatherford, please stand up, you are needed on the field.

The fact is, Seminole fans were tricked into believing that the offense was better than it really was. After two straight weeks of explosive, high powered offense against inferior opponents, the truth was revealed on Saturday night against No. 18 Wake Forest (3-0).

FSU (2-1) head coach Bobby Bowden told reporters in his post game press conference that his team has some work to do.

"We're not where I hoped we were," Bowden said. Coach Bowden did, however, give credit to the defense for keeping it close. "Now our defense played about as good as theirs. If our defense hadn't been playing good tonight, that score would have been awful."

The defense gave the Seminoles a chance to win this game time and time again. The defense managed to keep the Demon Deacons out of the end zone all night long, only allowing four field goals.

One thing is for sure. Mickey Andrews had the defense ready to play. The offense was basically at full strength with Preston Parker back in the lineup, but someone forgot to tell Jimbo Fisher that his No. 1 and 2 quarterbacks do not have nearly enough experience, not even enough to beat Wake Forest.

Swank hit 4-of-7 field goals. Swank made field goals from 48, 29, 49 and 31 yards. By missing three field goals from point-blank range, Swank left the door open for Florida State to take the lead on numerous occasions, but the Seminole offense never took advantage.

In fact, the offense drove into Wake Forest territory only to turn the ball over seven times, including two fumbles and five interceptions.

Seminole fans learned one thing on Saturday, and that is Christian Ponder and D'Vontrey Richardson are not ready to play quarterback in the ACC. They are simply not experienced enough. That left some fans muttering the all-too-familiar name of Drew Weatherford.

Weatherford is the most experienced quarterback on the team with over 7,400 yards passing and 39 touchdowns in his Seminole career. He can lead this team and give them the experience at quarterback that they need. The receiving corps needs a quarterback that can get the playmakers the ball. That did not happen tonight.

Offensive Coordinator Jimbo Fisher made the call to go with Ponder as starting quarterback days before the opening game with Richardson as his backup. The huge question is: What did Weatherford, a senior, do to lose his job, and would he be a better fit at quarterback?

Preston Parker returned tonight and was game with three receptions for 34 yards, but did not get the ball nearly enough. When in the red zone, Greg Carr was not targeted at all.

The Seminoles still have to face Colorado, Miami, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, and Florida this season. This is not a time to have a quarterback out there learning. Drew Weatherford gives this team the best chance to win football games.

With this latest loss, Bobby Bowden falls one win behind Joe Paterno in all time wins. Paterno earned his 376th win on Saturday against Temple. This team has a lot of work to do, and the schedule just became a lot harder with this unexpected setback.

Paging Drew Weatherford...Drew Weatherford, you are needed on the field immediately.

Seminoles Looking For Revenge and Redemption Against Wake Forest.

Walter Thompson Jr. — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 17:40:03 -0400

After last Saturday's 46-7 beat down of UT-Chattanooga, the No. 24 Seminoles (2-0) now get set for what could be their biggest game of the season.

On Saturday night at 7 p.m. in Doak S. Campbell Stadium players, coaches, and fans will be taken back to Nov. 11, 2006—when Seminole nation came crumbling down. For the first time ever at the "Doak" the Seminoles got manhandled 30-0 by Wake Forest.

That one loss represents where the Seminoles have been the last two seasons. The game spurred the resignation of former Offensive Coordinator Jeff Bowden and left many Seminole fans asking even louder for the legend Bobby Bowden to retire.

Coach Bowden stood tall and committed himself and his staff to rebuilding the once feared Seminole empire.

In came former LSU Offensive Coordinator Jimbo Fisher to fill the same position at FSU. Along with him, came Offensive Line Coach Rick Thickett, Runningback Coach Dexter Carter, and Wide Receiver Coach Lawrence Dawsey. Chuck Amato also returned to coach the linebackers.

After a lackluster campaign in 2007 at 7-6, the Seminoles came into the 2008 season looking to prove that they belong in the top-tier of college football programs.

The team roared out of the starting blocks with two dominating performances against Division I-AA teams Western Carolina and UT-Chattanooga, allowing a total of 7 points between the two. Now the real season begins.

FSU Head Coach Bobby Bowden knows those first two games didn’t prove much. "It doesn't mean a darn thing because we haven't played a 1-A school," Bowden said.

"Now we're fixin' to step it up a notch." The team doesn't need any motivation for this week’s game. The veteran players from two years ago remember what that night felt like. It was cold, rainy and just an all out miserable day at the "Doak."

Seminole veteran linebacker Derek Nicholson and his teammates are taking this game very serious. "This is a big game, big test," Nicholson said. We'll see how good our team really is."

No. 18 Wake Forest (2-0) is seen as one of the best teams in the ACC. That may seem funny to some casual football fans because it was only five years ago when Wake Forest and Duke were battling head-to-head to not finish dead last in the conference.

The Demon Deacons have built a solid program over the past couple of years and basically came out of nowhere.

Their unusual misdirection offense continues to catch teams off guard and Florida State knows about it all to well. Being shut down at home two years ago and giving up one big play one year ago, made Wake Forest a thorn in the side of the Seminoles that they just can't seem to remove.

On Saturday night, revenge and redemption will be what fuels and motivates this Seminole football team. When the flaming spear drops at center field Wake Forest may have flashbacks from 90s when the Seminoles used them as their tune-up for their next opponent.

Revenge is coming Seminole nation, so lets get ready to rock the house on Saturday night and create the most hostile environment in college football.

Florida State-Western Carolina: The Seminoles' Swagger Is Back

Walter Thompson Jr. — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 08:20:43 -0400

Tallahassee, Fla.—The swagger seems to be back in Seminole nation, as Florida State blanked Western Carolina 69-0 last Saturday night at Doak S. Campbell Stadium.

It was an unusual start to the 2008 season for FSU, as a hot and sunny day turned into a torrential downpour. A game that was supposed to start at 6 p.m. was postponed to 7 p.m. This was also a day when Florida State would play 28 freshmen due to disciplinary and academic reasons.

This would also be sophomore QB Christian Ponder's first start. The weather conditions only added to the nerves of the young players.

Both teams warmed up once again and began play at 7:30. The Seminoles scored off of a 68-yard punt return by Tony Carter with 13:11 left in the first quarter. Play was immediately suspended due to lightning in the area.

At 8:30 both teams returned to the field to warm up and resume play.

It would take two-and-a-half hours for Ponder to make his much-anticipated debut—and what a debut it was.

Ponder completed 11 of 17 passes for 196 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions.

Ponder was not the only Seminole QB to turn some heads.

Sophomore D'Vontrey Richardson entered the game in the second series in the third quarter, and the team did not miss a beat.

Richardson went 5-6 for 57 yards and a touchdown. Richardson did most of the damage with his feet, with four carries for 68 yards and two touchdowns.

Simply put, the Seminoles have two strong quarterbacks to play with.

As a whole, the offense put up 561 total yards of offense.

The swagger is definitely back in Tallahassee. Many skeptics will say Florida State just beat up on a lower tier team, and they may be right. But in past years FSU has let lower-tier teams stick around longer than expected, and not intentionally.

With the team at half strength due to suspension, the Seminoles proved that their young players are ready to play, and that they can play. This is a much improved football team. The final score is a testament to that. The young guys who had never played a major part on this team stepped up and played like professionals.

The defense let the Catamounts get close to the Seminole red zone two times, but the Seminole defense bent but did not break. They held the Catamounts out of the end zone. In previous years the defense may have let a team like Western Carolina taste the end zone, but not on this day—not this team.

The Seminoles stay at home for the next two weeks to play UT-Chattanooga and then No. 19 Wake Forest.

Seminole nation may have witnessed the beginning of the long road back to the top of college football for Florida State. The young and hungry talent may make the trip a little shorter than expected.

NFL Contenders and Pretenders

Walter Thompson Jr. — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 04:02:08 -0400

On Sunday afternoon the road to Tampa, FL for Super Bowl XLIII officially begins. Football fans all across the country will fill stadiums, local sports bars, and living rooms to officially kick off the 2008 NFL season.

The draft is over, exhibition games are over, and now it's time to play some football.

The usual suspects are back to put up a strong campaign. Teams like the Patriots, Chargers, Cowboys, Colts, Giants, and Steelers should have successful seasons.

At this point, the dream of winning a Super Bowl is very much alive for fans of all 32 NFL teams. On Sunday, however, the pretenders will be separated from the contenders.

Contenders

When you mention contenders a couple of teams come to mind. The first team out of the AFC has to be the New England Patriots.

After going 18-1 last year, they are poised to bounce back from their loss to the Giants in Super Bowl XLII. They possess the deadly, unstoppable combination of Tom Brady and Randy Moss, who connected 98 times for 1,493 yards and 23 touchdowns in 2007. Defense is the Patriots' only question at this point.

An aging defensive unit that lost Pro Bowl cornerback Asante Samuel to the Eagles in free agency has to find away to stay one step ahead of the younger competition. Just this week the Patriots signed two-time Pro Bowl cornerback Deltha O'Neal.

Another contender is the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts are coming off of a 13-4 season, which includes a second round playoff loss at the hands of the San Diego Chargers.

The Colts were handicapped at wide receiver, with veteran Marvin Harrison missing 12 games in 2007 due surgery to remove a bursa sac from his knee.

The offseason hasn't gone any better with Payton Manning missing all four exhibition games, due to the same exact surgery. Manning practiced for the first time since his surgery this week and all signs point to the Colts being the second best team in the AFC.

In the NFC the contenders are very clear. The Dallas Cowboys seem to be everyone’s No. 1 choice.

The Cowboys return this season with Terrell Owens and Tony Romo looking to finally break through in the playoffs and win for the first time since 1996, when they defeated the Vikings 40-15 in the wild card round at Texas Stadium.

The Cowboys have strengthened their defense with the addition of cornerback Adam Jones and linebacker Zach Thomas.

Brett Favre's move from the Packers to the Jets in the AFC makes the road to Tampa a little bit easier for T.O. and the Cowboys.

The New York Giants are the other strong contender coming out of the NFC. However, they will have to find a way to make up for the loss of Michael Strahan, who retired after winning the Super Bowl last year.

Osi Umenyiora was supposed to be the seamless replacement for Strahan, but Umenyiora went down with a torn ACL in the preseason, which effectively ended his season.

Even with all of that the Giants are still a top contender because the NFC is pretty weak when compared to the teams in the AFC.

Pretenders

Now on to the pretenders, teams that look good on paper but are not that great when they step on the field.

The Green Bay Packers parted ways with Brett Favre after 16 glorious years, including a Super Bowl victory in the '96-'97 season.

Aaron Rodgers is expected to lead this team to the playoffs, but the Packers will experience some letdowns from the fourth-year quarterback who has only thrown the ball 59 times in his NFL career. He will hit the wall at some point in this season and backups Brian Brohm and Matt Flynn are both rookies.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are a team that has lot of expectations coming off of last year’s 12-6 performance, during which they made it to the divisional round of the playoffs. Honestly, the performance last year is not likely to be repeated. The Jaguars have looked awful in the preseason and the AFC is just too tough.

Dark Horses

The two dark horse teams that fans should keep an eye on are the New York Jets and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Many people are overlooking these teams.

The Jets are a team that finished 4-12 and were in the basement of the AFC last year. With the addition of Brett Favre, expect this team to make the playoffs and possibly do more than that this season.

Tampa Bay is a team that made the playoffs last year. With the injury that the Giants suffered, the Buccaneers could rise up and be the third or fourth best team in the NFC.

Super Bowl Predictions

Patriots vs. Cowboys

The season is almost here, fans. The players are ready. The coaches are ready. Are you ready?

Brett Favre: Let Him Play!

Walter Thompson Jr. — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 15:37:08 -0400

On Friday Brett Favre officially asked for his release from the Green Bay Packers in a letter sent by his agent Bus Cook. This comes after Favre communicated to the Packers that he has the "itch" to play football again and was interested in rejoining his team.

Following the 2007/2008 season, Favre announced his retirement from the NFL in a very emotional press conference. Favre told reporters he definitely felt he could still play.

Looking at his stats from last season, there is no doubt that he can still play at a very high level.

In what was thought to be his final season, the legendary QB racked up 4,155 yards passing, 28 TD, 15 INT, and a 95.7 QB rating.

This was one of the most productive seasons in his career. In the 2007/08 season Favre broke the all-time records for most passing yards, touchdowns, and victories.

Why is Favre planning a comeback now when teams are preparing for the upcoming season? Favre made his decision to hang up his cleats in March. Now it is July.

Ever since Favre was a young kid, he has been playing football. And, this is the time of the year that all football players, active or retired, get anxious about playing.

That's what Favre is—a football player—and that does not go away in four months. That is what he has been doing his entire life.

The Green Bay Packers have a huge decision to make—do they release Favre and move forward with the Aaron Rogers era or do they mend fences with Favre and welcome him back with open arms?

The Packers have everything in place to be a playoff caliber team once again if, and only if, they have Brett Favre as a QB. NFL teams only have about a three-year window of opportunity to seriously compete for a championship. This would be year two for the Packers. Bringing back Brett Favre would allow them to pick up where they left off last year.

The Packers were one quarter away from making it to Superbowl XLII. There is no doubt that Green Bay is at least the second best team in the NFC with Favre at the helm. With Rogers leading, there are a lot of questions to be answered. But, the most important one is whether the Packers can make the playoffs with him.

Essentially, Rogers is a rookie even though he has been Favre's back-up for the past three seasons. He has only thrown 59 passes in his three years in the league. Most of that came against the Cowboys last year, when Favre went down with an injury.

The Packers need to understand one thing. You don't get many opportunities to win a Superbowl. They were close last year, and they could be even closer this year with Favre at the helm.

With Aaron Rogers you are basically conceding to the rest of the league and starting over. Why would you start over when you have a huge opportunity to win a championship? If Favre wants to play, then you let him play.

You don't kick a legend out of the door. It is disrespectful and just plain stupid. The veterans on that team deserve an opportunity to seriously compete for a championship. Let Brett Favre finish what he started. Let him play, let him play!