Tuesday, August 5, 2008

These are the Favres of Our Lives

First off, let me say Favre is one of my all time favorite football players. He is a great blue collar player who I have admired for years. However, he should have retired. He had a great year, made a conference championship appearance, and looked as great as he ever did. He retired with most of the passing records and the most consecutive starts. There was a good indication that Favre was not quite done when he agreed to be on the Madden cover. However, most put it aside and assumed he would be the one to break the Madden curse.

Then the curse struck and Favre got the itch. He wanted to comeback, but Green Bay had moved on. Green Bay was right to move on after Favre retired. They have other plans for their future and Favre was no longer among them. However, the Green Bay front office made the horrible decision of trying to hold on and get as much value as they could from him. Favre should have been released and allowed to pursue his career elsewhere. Now this whole mess has become a soap opera and most of America is burnt out on Favre. I think the worst casualty in all of this was the man who started it, Brett Favre. Favre seems to have lost his spirit and love of the game. Its that spirit that has carried Favre through 17 seasons. Maybe Favre does need a new environment to foster that love of the game. I hate to say this, but maybe the Deity of Wisconsin needs to move on.

In that spirit, I viewed an article EA did a few days ago in which the simulated how different teams would do with and without Brett Favre at the helm. I was fascinated by the article and decided to do my own analysis of how some teams would fare with Brett Favre at the helm. If you are curious how the simulation went here is the link to the article:
Favre Simulation

New York Jets

From Favre's standpoint this is not the worst place to end up. The Jets have a good offensive line weighed down by recently added Alan Faneca. Thomas Jones would certainly benefit from having Favre. Favre presence would take eight players out of the box and open up running lanes for the Jets. However, the receiver corp is nothing terribly spectacular. Although Coles can get open at will, the rest of the receiver corp is young. Before anyone frets though people were saying the same thing about the Packer's receivers last year. Given that the Jets are a year removed from a playoff run, New York would be an ideal place for Brett Favre to land and make a playoff run.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Jon Gruden collects QBs so it is no surprise that Tampa Bay is in the running for Favre. Tampa Bay would be a nice fit for Favre. Having Joey Galloway to bomb the ball to all day would not be a bad thing in the least. Having Graham and Dunn running the ball, Tampa will go pass first and use the running game as a tool to keep the defense honest. Tampa Bay however does not seem to be terribly enthusiastic to acquire Favre given that they have a veteran in Garcia who helped them earn a playoff berth.

Minnesota Vikings

Although it is increasingly unlikely that Favre will be playing in the NFC North lets pretend shall we. Think about the headache defensive coordinators would have trying to stop the Minnesota offense. They could try and put people in the secondary to hold back Favre, but what about the young phenom Adrian Peterson? It would be a double edged sword no defense could hold back. The Vikings would be a nice landing spot for Favre, but it is highly unlikely.

Chicago Bears

Once again let's pretend that Favre would go to a NFC North team. The Bears would be an awful fit for any QB, much less Brett Favre. Hester is fast, but unproven as a receiver. The only other reciever worth mentioning is Brandon Lloyd who may be in for a career rebound, but is not the best go-to receiver. They have an old offensive line and a lackluster running game. Favre may not be enough for the Bears to pull themselves out of ruin.

So, if Favre and the Packers are really through where would I like to see him the most? Honestly, nothing would make me happier than to see Favre play the Patriots twice a year. For too long the Patriots have had a blank check to run the AFC East. With Favre behind the helm the Jets can stand a chance against the Patriots. With Buffalo's defense building up and Miami in repair mode, avre and the Jets can contend long enough to make the AFC an open competition as opposed to a one man show.

No comments: