Fool Me Thrice, Brett

The annual Brett Favre retirement saga is in full effect.

August 3, 2010.

A day that will live in infamy.

The day the most magical man to ever step foot on an NFL field retired.

That is, if this day holds up.

March 4, 2008 never had a chance.

February 11, 2009 certainly didn’t.

Brett Favre fooled me twice before. This third time, I’m not believing it until one team is hoisting the Vince Lombardi trophy and I didn’t see Brett Favre on the field.

Brett Favre, Vikings Head Coach Brad Childress and Vikings owner Zygi Wilf have all neither confirmed nor denied this report.

"I'm not a big hearsay person," Childress said, according to ESPN. "I've got to hear it from the horse's mouth."

Ryan Longwell, Favre’s friend and teammate, spoke with Favre Tuesday and stated that Favre never implied he was retiring. According to WCCO-830 Radio Minneapolis, "I don't know where the reports came from, but he certainly hasn't said that to me," Longwell said.

Is there any reason to trust this retirement report, yet?

Brett Favre is emotional and known to waiver on his decisions.

He is getting older. It takes more time to heal. He is still hurting. He always has a difficult time making up his mind.

First he wants to retire.

Then, each time the season creeps up, Favre feels the itch again. At times, nobody appears to have more fun on the field than Brett Favre. The ‘old man’ on the team is often the most jovial of all.

As he has stated in the past, football is all he knows.

He’s been at the podium before.

Tears and memories poured as he decided to retire.

All for naught.

He came back.

He went to the Jets.

Then he went to the Vikings.

Even if Favre were to jump back on to the podium tonight to announce his retirement, is there still a reason to believe him?

We can only believe that Favre will retire when he doesn’t step foot on an NFL field again.

Favre ended the past two seasons with an injury. Two years ago it was his arm. Last year, his ankle. He’ll have surgery, then question if he can still compete at a high level. Yet he still can. More importantly, he still does.

With the Vikings plethora of offensive weapons, Brett Favre was an MVP candidate in 2009. It could be easily argued he should have been awarded the notion over Peyton Manning. Favre, at the very least, should have been co-MVP. Favre and Manning would then be the only two players in NFL history awarded four Associated Press MVP awards.

Favre set a career high in completion percentage with 68.4. He eclipsed his QB Rating with an astounding 107.2. The 4,202 yards were the third most of his career. The seven interceptions were by far the least of the gunslinger’s career as a starting QB. Finally, his 33 touchdowns were the most since 1997.

Not bad for a 40 year old who questioned himself heading into the season.

Favre outperformed his fantasy draft position by a wide margin in 2009. A late round waiver pick in most drafts, Favre was one of the top, most reliable signal callers in both fantasy and reality realms.

The Vikings offensive starters return. Wide receivers Percy Harvin and Sidney Rice have much needed additional experience. Heading into 2010, he is a top 10 QB.

It is difficult to believe he would eclipse his outstanding, unforeseen 2009 season. However, he would still be a legitimate fantasy threat each week with his amazing arm, new found ‘take-what-the-defense-gives’ mentality and offensive weapons.

According to some sources, Brett Favre is retired. According to others, Favre is undecided. Ed Werder, where are you!?

Where does Favre rank in fantasy now?

As a top 10 QB option, he could be drafted anywhere between the fourth and eighth rounds.

If people truly believe he is retired, there is no need to waste time deciding where Favre should be drafted. He is simply undraftable.

With these reports swirling through sports nation, Favre is back to last year’s status. He is a late round waiver pick. Except now we know what he is capable of in the Vikings offensive system. He has arguably the most upside of any late round pick.

Until it is confirmed during the season that he will not play, he is worthy of being taken as a backup QB.

Ben Roethlisberger will miss four games due to suspension. He is generally drafted after round 12. We know Roethlisberger will be back on the field in October.

We won’t know for sure if Favre is retired now or would stay retired. Those willing to take a chance on Favre should draft him in this range as well.

The Vikings bye is Week 4. For Favre fans who believe these retirement reports, that is great news.

It is possible the Vikings stumble out the gate with Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels managing the game.

If the Vikings could convince Favre to play, he could return Week 5 against the New York Jets on ESPN’s Monday Night Football. That would give him almost two weeks to prepare for the game. It also gives Favre an extra two months from now for his ankle to continue healing.

It is tough to believe that Favre will stay retired. It is evident by the success of his 2009 season, setting career highs and taking his team to the NFC Championship game, that Brett Favre still has what it takes to compete at the highest level.

Brett Favre has been talking about his ankle the entire offseason. It appears to be a defining reason for why he is contemplating retirement. Favre has played in a remarkable 309 consecutive games, including playoff games. He has taken vicious hits for 18 seasons. Yet when people thought he was down and out, he was on the field the next game to strike fear in opposing defenses.

He is the epitome of an ‘iron man.’

It is difficult to believe that this ankle injury will force one of the toughest men in sports history into retirement.

Favre turn 41 years old in October. His body is telling him so.

Brett Favre can still play like he is 21 years old. He knows it.

It is possible the third time is the charm after all.

Until then, see you soon, Brett.

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