There's Something About Brett

Brett Favre, back in 1999 when you heard his name you thought of one of the upper echelon quarterbacks of the league.  A smart and saavy field general who could complete passes with just a small window to his reciever.  Now when you look at Brett Favre do you really think of him as that same old "gunslinger" as John Madden would call him or would you call him just lucky.

Brett has thrown 310 interceptions in his career.  And if the numbers trend continues he would finish this season with a total around 330.  So how does a 22 interception season turn into a $25 million contract.  Most NFL general managers wouldn't give him more than 2.5, but Favre was the golden boy of your divisional rival and Brett has made it no secret of his disdain for Ted Thompson.

So what made Brett Favre such a precious commodaty for the Vikings.  They did have a glaring need at quarterback.  With only Sage Rosenfels and Tarvaris Jackson the only signal callers with game experience, it really doesn't scream confidence in your quarterbacks.  But other quarterbacks were available early in Free Agency like Byron Leftwich and Chris Simms.  Both quarterbacks were once decent starters for their clubs, but fell out of grace either through coaching change or injury.  So why wait til the end of training camp for a 40 year old when you could of had a guy in his late 20's in for all of training camp learning the playbook.

Maybe its Brett's ability to complete the difficult pass or maybe its just that he finds ways to complete passes.  When you actually look at his passes its amazing he only got away with 22 interceptions last season.  Brett has made a career of just throwing it up there and hoping one of his recievers comes down with the ball.  However in Minnesota it might not be as bad with a speedy receiver like Bernard Berrian.  Brett also won't be asked to pass as much because of Adrian Petersen's presence in the backfield.

Maybe its the Vikings inability to win in the playoffs.  Last time the Vikings were a legitmate playoff threat was 1998 when Cris Carter and Randy Moss teamed up to wreak havoc down the field on passing plays.  Brett has won a superbowl and brings the experience and mentality to show these kids the way.

Or maybe it is Brett's desire to stick it to the Pack.  We all know already that it isn't his "desire to play the game he loves".  He's proved that by retiring twice and each time telling the media how he's burned out and the passion just isn't there.  Brett has started reminding most people of "The Boy Who Cried Wolf".  Every time he says he's done people know they can't take him for his word. 

Michael Jordan retired twice, but the first time he returned was because he knew he had made a mistake trying to pursue a baseball career.  The second time he returned was because the Wizards needed an attraction to make them relevant.  Since Brett was traded to the Jets, he has made it no secret of his ill will towards his old team.  The difference between these two athletes is Michael knew it was over after his last season with the Wizards.

So now that Brett has the chance to play against his old team will this be his last year.  Or if he goes 0-2 against them will he decide he needs to hold the media hostage for another off season.  Hopefully when this season is over Brett will know where the passion for this game is.