Lovie Smith Welcomes Brett Favre Back to the NFC North

With Jay Cutler under center, Lovie Smith welcomes Brett Favre back to the NFC North with open arms!

For recent history, the Bears-Packers rivalry has mostly been a Bears fan-Brett Favre rivalry.  Bears fans had been waiting 12 years for the dominance by Favre to end.  That happily changed for the Bears in 2004, when the Bears hired Smith.

Smith has understood what the Bears-Packers rivalry means since he was hired in January 2004.  We only need to travel back to 2005 when the first prelude to the end of Favre was captured.   A Smith-coached team ended the ridiculous streak of 11 home losses to Green Bay with the Bears' 19-7 victory on Dec. 4, 2005, before nearly 60,000 fanatic fans at Soldier Field.  

At that point, Favre's record was a ridiculous 21-8 against Chicago.  However, since Smith arrived, the Bears' record against the Packers is 7-3, with Chicago still gleefully retaining the all-time edge against its foe to the north, 90-80-6.

With a retooled offensive Line, a re-engineered training plan for his defensive line, and a new Pro Bowl quarterback under center, Smith certainly has to be excited about lining up each week against the NFC North.  He knows full well, he fundamentally has the most complete unit ready for battle.

Asked recently about the possibility of another comeback by Favre, Smith replied "I'm on record of being a Brett Favre fan. He's a great player. So I assume, if he's available, teams will try to get him."

However, one has to wonder if Smith is envisioning the drama unfolding in the Green Bay and Minnesota camps that could clearly open the NFC North for his taking.