As a long-time Packer fan I was THRILLED to get Favre out of Green Bay when they did. The circus around that guy had gotten tired and my recent memories of him were losing games to the Eagles and Giants in the playoffs where he looked like a rookie QB. He was acting as if he were the Green Bay Packers and that is simply insulting to the fans who remember that of the 13 titles in Title Town he only contributed one.

However I do agree with some that you are not giving Brett his due. He probably should have done more with the talent that Ron Wolf left in Green Bay, but that cannot ALL be laid at his feet. The Packers had a coaching carosel after Holmgren left and that is NEVER a good thing for even the best players. The guy has virtually all of the passing records right now until Manning or someone else can catch him.

The funny thing to me is that you claim to be guru and yet you call out Terry Bradshaw as a QB with better skills than Favre. Are you really going to pull at that string? The Steelers won Four Super Bowls with T.B., but he will be the first to admit that much of their success was not due to him. In fact Terry finished his career with more interceptions than touchdowns and had what would be viewed today as a mediocre quarterback rating. This is better than Favre?

Outside the simple numbers I actually think that Brett and Terry are great comparisons. Brett was drafted by Atlanta and used to sleep through Glanville’s meetings. Terry struggled mightily as a starter early in his career. The fans in Pittsburgh wanted his head and he used to hide from the public in his first few years. The one thing that they both have in common is their adjustment from small town Southern living to big city lights. Favre was probably blessed that he played his career in the NFL backwaters of Green Bay. If he had played in a major market like New York he may never have cut it. Terry suffered from depression and made the most of his opportunities when they came along. Brett did the same and also had to publicly battle pain-killer addiction. You cannot compare dissimilar experience and come out with a who is better and Farve must be overrated. If anything I suggest that you look at the list of Brett’s back up quarterbacks that made it in the NFL as starters (T. Detmer, D. Petersen, A. Brooks, M. Brunell, A. Rodgers, and K. Warner just to name a few). For some reason he was able to beat all of these guys out in camp and Holmgren was not going to start a guy just because he was the starter the year before. There are many ways to measure an NFL players success and it just shows that much of the talk is baseless.

Quarterback play is as much about leadership as it is about skill. There have been quite a few players that inspired confidence in their cohorts with far less physical ability than Brett. There have also been many Quarterbacks that have failed with much greater athletic ability than Brett (how will we remember the once vaunted Vince Young?). The biggest problem that Favre has right now is that his skills have diminished and his playing style has not evolved enough to keep him relevant. This in turn has hurt his ability to lead other players (see the Jets player quotes after the season). He simply cannot lead by example as he once did.

It is sad that he came back for this year as it will not do him any favors for posterity. His behavior toward Green Bay has made him persona-non-grata to many loyal to the Green & Gold. His stop in NY has not won him any supporters either and I am sure there will be many more Bob’s to criticize him over the next few years until he gets into the Hall.

Once Favre is in the Hall Bob can start telling us that Peyton Manning is “Overrated” because he only won that Super Bowl against the Bears and even though he has many passing records he is not close the the great players before him such as Montana, Marino, Elway, and FAVRE.

I think it is silly to cut down a player of the stature of those listed above. Favre owns the quarterbacking records for wins, yardage, touchdowns and the like. His come-from-behind victories are among the most. He, himself, considers Marino the best. But truth is, how do you compare players, let alone generations. You can go by records, total wins, total championships and on & on. But if we’re into this comparison mood – which as I indicated is a bit silly – all quarterbacks will have a difficult time comparing to Otto Graham (mentioned above). As a Cleveland Brown, his teams compiled a 105-17-4 record, a career passer rating of 86.6 , along with 188 touchdowns in ten seasons of play. He played six seasons in the NFL and took the Cleveland Browns to the NFL Championship Game all six seasons, winning three NFL titles.

Including four seasons in which his team captured four AAFC titles, Graham played ten total seasons of professional football and made the league championship game all ten seasons, winning seven league titles.

Then again, that was before free agency when your opponents could go from worst to best in a single year. His teammates were his teammates for a career, unlike today. So how do we really compare and judge? We don’t. We just enjoy the game and those few spectacular players who consistently perform spectacular and never make excuses.

I do not understand why people must tear down someone who has meant so much to the game … to the NFL. And another thing, Brett Favre’s name not only brought millions of dollars into the Packer organization, but also into the NFL. His face was equated world-wide with the NFL. His jersey continues to be a top seller. Let’s give the man his due, recognize he once again played through the last 5 games with a serious injury – as he has so many times before – and never made it an excuse. All the other quarterbacks you mentioned – as great & deserving as they were – missed many games due to injury. You don’t win 3 MVPs, be runner up or in the top 3 or 4 much of your career (and 2nd in 2007), own every major passing and win record in existence, and not be considered one of the greatest quarterbacks – perhaps player in his/her sport – ever. Brett Favre – regardless your bias feelings – has earned the respect so many are showing him.

One last note … It’s remarkable that Peyton Manning may very well top many of those records … assuming he stays healthy. More than anything else, Brett Favre’s toughness, and the toughness exhibited to date by Manning, set the two of them apart as remarkable athletes. But they are 7 years apart in age, and Peyton has the task of staying healthy until he’s 40 to reach the same altitude as Favre.

I noticed that Warner threw two interceptions that resulted in scoring by the Patriots–funny no one is discussing him as over the hill.

Brett Favre is an exceptional icon in NFL football. For his longevity, and his ability to throw miraculous or horrible long balls. You never know which and he keeps the game exciting. This year it did look like the stress of the summer and then a new team and offense wore him out. At the same time, the team went bust and he has taken all the blame.

I admire the kind of man Brett is, with his family and wife. I also admire his willingness to give extra to make a wish kids. I do not think there will be as exciting and charismatic football player as Favre this generation.

Don’t bother replying. I am not interested in getting my hackles up for someone doing it just because…