My Brett Favre Blog

After the NFL 2007-2008 season, Brett Favre (Green Bay Packers, Jersey No. 4), one of the best ever quarterback to play the game is expected to retire. His career spans 17 years from 1991 to 2008. A remarkable player, Brett Favre started in the NFL when legends and superstars played in the game.

He competed against, and even bested, some of the premier quarterbacks at the time such as Steve Young, Troy Aikman, Jim Kelly, Dan Marino, and John Elway. All of these players are retired and are members of the NFL Football Hall of Fame. But Brett's years playing football outlasted them all, allowing him to surpass many NFL records.

College and early NFL years

Brett Favre played collegiate football at the University of Southern Mississippi. In his junior season, he lead the Golden Eagles to an upset of the sixth ranked Florida State. In the 1991 NFL draft, the Atlanta Falcons picked Brett Favre in the second round as the third quarterback to be selected overall. Dan McGwire was drafted 16th in the first round by the Seattle Seahawks and Todd Marinovich was drafted 24th in the first round by the Los Angeles Raiders.

Brett Favre only played a handful of games for Atlanta then he was traded to Green Bay for a first round pick in 1992. He backed up Don Majkowski (nicknamed the Magic Man by the sports press) until Majkowski's injury in the third game of the season against the Cincinnati Bengals. By engineering a come-from-behind victory and Majkowski's injury, Brett Favre earned the right to start the fourth game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He has not relinquished that position ever since.

The Best All Around Quarterback?

A case could definitely be made for Brett Farve as the best NFL quarterback of all time. He holds some of the most prestigious awards for his position:

* Most wins by a starting quarterback (NFL) regular season career: 159 (Regular season record: 159-93)

* Most career passing touchdowns: 440

* Most career passing yards: 61,556

* Most career pass completions: 5,368

* Most career pass attempts: 8,747

* Most career interceptions thrown by a quarterback: 288

* Most career games with at least three touchdowns: 63

Furthermore, he's taken the Green Bay Packers twice to the Superbowl, beating the New England Patriots in Superbowl XXXI (1996) and losing to the Denver Broncos in Superbowl XXXII (1997). Perhaps when making a case for the best quarterback, probably the strongest of his cards is his longevity.

Brett Favre owns the most consecutive start by an NFL quarterback. He hasn't missed a game since he started for the Green Bay Packers in 1992, the fourth game of the season against the Pittsburgh Steelers. That was 253 regular season games ago (not including the 20 or so playoff games).

RL Aguirre is a writer/producer for KSPR-Perspective Radio podcasting online talk shows on movies comic books and local sports

In what appears to be the final chapter (for now) in the Brett Favre Vikings story, Favre was signed to a deal to make him the Vikings starting quarterback. The Vikes have long believed they were one great QB away from Super Bowl immortality, but does this really have them Miami-bound in 2010? Let's take a look at some finer points and mark a few games on the Minnesota Vikings 2009 schedule.

The Vikes are super mega solid at RB with Adrian Peterson. We all know that. The problem in the past is that teams looked across the line and saw Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels, so they loaded the line in an attempt to stop the run. Makes sense, but they can not do that so readily now. Now they see a 3-time MVP and Super Bowl winner breaking the huddle. I believe this can only help Peterson and the Vikings.

And now the Brett Favre Vikings, as I like to call them, because they are his team now, make no mistake about that, are immediately a bigger deep threat. Bernard Berrian averaged over 20 yards a catch last year on 48 catches from the inferior Rosenfels Jackson combo. That is the highest average for any receiver with over 35 catches! And now Brett Favre is winging it? Please!

Only two Tight Ends caught more TDs last year than the Vikes' Visanthe Shiancoe; a couple of guys name Tony Gonzalez and Antonio Gates. The arrival of Favre means Shiancoe immediately becomes a top-10 TE again this year.

Schedule time! Let's see, Brett Favre Vikings host the Aaron Rodgers Packers October 5. There are waaaayyy too many angles and dramatic possibilities to discuss here, but even if you are not a Packer Backer or a Vikings Fan, you have got to tune in to see this matchup. Playoff implications abound.

Then the Pack hosts the Vikes in Labeau Field on November 1, on All Saint's Day. So do not eat too much Halloween candy the night before, and break out your favorite Saint's relics, because this is going to be a monster. Brett knows a little about playing in Lambeau, and Rodgers was absolutely fabulous replacing the legend last year. I can't wait.

Brett Favre Vikings, wow, it doesn't sound right, but unless the flip-flopping Favre changes his mind again, get ready for some drama in Minnesota in 2009, and possibly a Super Bowl run.

You think you know Brett Favre? Check out 10 Trivia Truths about Brett Favre that you didn't know.

And check into http://www.FAVRE4VIKINGS.INFO for season long updates, stats and more.

Brett Favre has been waiting for this for over a year, when he joined the Jets. I always thought that he was going to make history and complete his Legacy with the N.Y Jets. Life doesn't work out the way you think it would.

Brett Favre got an opportunity from the Minnesota Vikings which was the Arch nemesis for Green Bay Packers (his former team - where he created his legacy). Everyone thought that Favre was on his way to destroy his legacy by playing for Vikings, but people forgot for a brief moment that Favre is a Living Legend, and legends don't go down so fast.

2010 is Brett Favre's year, and he will prove this to everyone, who has ever criticized him. The missing piece for the Vikings, was a top of the line QB, which they have now found in Favre. Even though we don't know if Favre is going to stay with the Vikings for the years to come, but he is here to extend his Legacy as Minnesota Vikings take on the Dallas Cowboys, in their home ground.

I feel assured of my NFL Prediction, for this game, as I watch the Vikings get a fabulous start on their way to what I believe would be a great Vikings Victory. Brett Favre has Turned 40 this year, and I believe deserves to win the SuperBowl this year in 2010.

Tony Romo is trying real hard, but at Half time has been restricted by the Minnesota Defense, which is as Solid as ever. I hope for the sake of NFL's History, that Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings take home the Super Bowl this year.

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The current phase of the Brett Favre Saga focuses on Brett's move to the New York Jets NFL franchise team and how this will impact his family life as well. The Brett Favre family will continue to essentially be under a microscope by the media sector specific to New York City. This will be an enormous change from the more relaxed mid west style of living which the Favre family is accustomed to. Fortunately, the Favre family is quite likely already used to the tabloids and their ways. This should not affect his performance on the playing field, however when there is essentially no way to get away from it all in an atmosphere which resembles a circus, this it may just prove to be too much of a distraction.

The New York Jets have been somewhat overhauled as a team recently and this could provide a decent scenario for Brett Favre to fill a position within the team. Just how long it will take him to learn the plays and ways of the Jets is a very valid question. This could very well be the beginning of a bumpy ride indeed.

It is unfortunate that the end of his sixteen year career with the Green Bay Packers had to come to an end by the Packers turning him away when he chose to return from retirement after only a few months. Although there were not many National Football League teams interested in acquiring the aging quarterback, the New York Jets do appear to be genuinely willing to make some concessions and adjustments for the former NFC hero. One of the only things that have remained as a rock solid fact is that the Green Bay Packers are going to be led by the unknown quarterback Aaron Rodgers who just so happened to be the underling of the great Brett Favre for the last several seasons in Green Bay Packer Land.

What is left to now be accomplished by Brett Favre in his late thirties after displaying a fair amount of indecision regarding his retirement from the sport of professional football is an often asked question in the world of professional sports today. It appears that the most popular opinions are that Brett will very likely not be up to the same standards which most expected of him to be at during the peak of his career. Although during the 2007 NFL regular season his performance was outstanding, and he led the Packers to the NFC Championship game, his performance during that final game was of a particularly poor quality. Many observers considered that performance to be representative of the current level of his ability, which could spell a great deal of inconsistency for the New York Jets.

Could it be inevitable that the great Brett Favre winds up like so many professional athletes who should have quit while they were ahead? Such as the fabulous Johnny Unitas or the great Joe Namath both of whom should have quit the game sooner than they did, only to place a less than admirable finality on their respective stellar careers. On the other hand, Joe Montana one of the greatest National Football League quarterbacks to ever play the game managed to lead the Kansas City Chiefs to the AFC Championship game at the ripe old age of thirty seven.

The 2008 National Football League season will answer these questions and the answers will indeed prove to become history. The Brett Favre Saga is one of the great sports stories of the new century so far and his legacy spans a good twenty years already when one counts his collegiate and professional career as the ultimate quarterback number four.

Author Troy Sevine is a life long Green Bay Packer fan and a freelance writer who reaches hundreds of readers every day.

For the last 16 years, Brett Favre has not only been the quarterback for the Green Bay Packers, but he has also been the "face" of the franchise. It's difficult to think about the Packers without thinking about Brett Favre, too. Favre and the Packers go together like a hand in a glove.

Some would say that there has never been another football player that meant as much to their team and their fans as Brett Favre did. In any case, there's no denying that he was the "face" of the Green Bay Packers franchise.

So, if Favre was the "face" of the Packers and he is now retired, that brings up an interesting question. Who will be the new "face" of the Packers? This is a question that I've seen kicked around quite a bit lately by Packer fans. And when the question is brought up, some great names are thrown around. Barnett, Tauscher, and Driver are just a few of the more common names I often hear.

But I have to disagree, respectfully.

If asked, "Who will be the new face of the Green Bay Packers?", I'd have to answer, "No one - at least not anytime soon!"

My favorite active Packer player right now is Donald Driver, but I don't think Driver or any other player on the team right now could be referred to as the new "face" of the Packers.

We have some talented players on our team right now, and we have even more up-and-comers with a lot of potential, but I think you have to be careful before you go calling a good (or even a great) player the new "face" of the franchise. I just don't think it works that way.

I think when someone is the "face" of the franchise, it's obvious. There's little room for differing opinions or dispute. It's just a fact, whether you like it or not. I don't think we vote for such a player. I think such a player has to earn that position. They have to step up into that position and claim it. They become the face of a franchise through leadership, through performance, through attitude, through commitment, and through domination. You don't earn that just by being a good player - or even a great one. You earn it because you have something special, something spectacular, something above and beyond the norm.

Brett Favre was (and is) special. I think people like him are few and far between. They are one in a million. When the next one comes along, we won't have to vote him in as the new "face" of the team. We'll just know that he is - and so will everyone else. It will be undeniable.

It's too early to declare someone else the new "face" of the Packers. It may not happen for a long time to come. I'm in no rush to do so. Besides, Brett Favre will always be the "face" of the Green Bay Packers to me - retired or not!

That's one guy's opinion - worth what you paid for it!

Chris M. Smith owns http://www.Favre4Sale.com, a Brett Favre fan and memorabilia site. He specializes in Brett Favre merchandise, including jerseys, autographs, helmets, footballs, cards, photos, game-used items, and other Brett Favre gear. He also features the latest in Brett Favre news, videos, articles, pictures, bio info, and retirement information. Visit his site: http://www.Favre4Sale.com

Copyright 2008 Chris M. Smith

Brett Favre learned the hard way what many people who work for a living have known for a long time: when your time is up, management claims go out the window. Before Favre came to Green Bay, most pro football players would rather go to Siberia for a vacation than play for the Packers. He has taken the Green Bay Packers to two Super Bowls, won one, and came ever so close to getting them to the Super Bowl last year. He's set every conceivable quarterback record, and has displayed a remarkable consistency from year to year in the most injured position on the field. So when Favre decided to "unretire," what did Green Bay do? They sent him packing.

So how does this relate to management? What does Favre's trading have to do with running a professional football team, or managing a business? The Favre debacle points out several management myths that I'd like to explore some detail.

Management myth number one: We reward good performance. Green Bay, like every professional sports team, and every business that I know of, holds this deceptively simple maxim as the cornerstone of their management philosophy. As Brett found out, what this really means when translated is: we reward you when you have value for us; when we perceive that the value is gone, so is the reward. Last year, Favre had one of the best seasons in his career: he set records for most touchdowns, yards, and added to his record of consecutive games played by a quarterback. Yet, this year, Green Bay decided that it would go with a four-year quarterback who never started a game, has been repeatedly injured, and that Favre would be his backup. While he is thirty-eight years old, Green Bay decided that last season was a statistical aberration, and that Favre could not repeat last year's performance: he had to go.

Management myth number two: our employees are our greatest resource. This mantra should be familiar to anyone who has read an annual report. It is repeated by every company so often that it has become standard boilerplate language in every policy statement, employee manual, and PR piece in existence. Unfortunately, the first thing most companies do when times get difficult is began hacking away at their greatest resource. The euphemisms are varied: restructuring, re-alignment, right-sizing, down-sizing, taking advantage of market opportunities, etc. In the case of a professional sports team, players are the greatest resource that a team has; without the players, there would be no sports teams, period. Brett found out the hard way that restructuring does not always refer to a player's contract.

Management myth number three: we would be loyal to our employees if they would be loyal to us. Which comes first, the chicken or the egg? Unions were started because employers took advantage of their employees; they are perpetuated for the same reasons. Until the NFL players association began clamoring for free agency, and started striking to get management's attention, the players were locked into one team for life, with little chance of establishing market value for their services. The pendulum may have swung too far with players having little or no loyalty to a franchise, but as Green Bay demonstrated, there is little loyalty to one of the best players in the game when it is deemed that his time is up. Employees at most companies are confronted with the realization that employer loyalty goes out the door once times get tough. Ask any of the millions of blue and white collar workers who found themselves "restructured" or outsourced over the years, how much loyalty the company exhibited towards them.

Management myth number four: trust us, we have a plan. This one is closely allied with myth number three - the company has a plan and you're a part of it, until you're not. Brett found out that companies can change plans quickly, and then you're stuck holding the bag. You walk in one day, and you don't fit in, you've become expendable, you have been replaced by someone who fits the plans better (usually younger or in most cases - cheaper). As Brett learned, trust and planning don't often go together when companies change direction.

Management myth number five: We value your input. That's where most companies stop: what they don't say is: "We value your input, just as long as you keep it to yourself." Brett found out that you can change your plans, or have a change of heart, and then want to talk about it to your employer. He thought his employer would listen, because they said they would listen. They said it over and over again, most companies do-unfortunately, they don't mean it. What they meant was, we'll listen to what we want, and what happens to reinforce what we believe, otherwise, keep your opinions to yourself.

Management myth number six: We value you as a person. Right. Then why do the actions of so many companies scream out just the opposite? As Brett found out, and so many people know, you are a commodity. Commodities are used. When you cease to have value, you can be discarded. A corollary to this myth is, don't ever have the temerity to express your opinion to the public if it contrary to management's opinion. Brett did the unthinkable: he called management's bluff, and then went to the media to say that maybe he should have been treated a little differently.

Athletes, like entertainers, usually don't have to face the harsh realities of the workplace until they get too old or seem too outdated to stay relevant. Then, they find out what most people already know: companies, teams, management, call them what you will, often don't mean what they say, or respect their athletes or performers longer than their useful lives (there's that commodity aspect again).

The sad part about all this isn't the fact that a star athlete found out the hard way that management teams are looking after their (perceived) best interests, but that it occurs at all. Companies and teams in general would be better off if they actually meant some of the things that they declare in these six management myths.

As for me, I hope the Jets go 16-0, meet the Packers in the Super Bowl and beat them 74-0.

Author Biography

Peter Ponzio, the author of Children of the Night, is a CPA with over 30 years experience in Corporate Finance, holding positions as divergent as Treasurer, VP of Sales Administration, Vice President of IT, and General Manager of an internet start-up company in the late 1990s, and CFO at a subsidiary of a Fortune 100 company.

Mr. Ponzio graduated with a degree in English literature from Loyola University of Chicago, and an MA in Literature from Northwestern University.

Peter's website can be reached at http://www.peterjponzio.com