longtimefan
14 years ago
source 

DEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- It was halftime of the NFC championship game in January 2008, and Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy was fed up with Brett Favre.

The veteran quarterback's numbers were fine -- 10-of-18 passing for 163 yards with a touchdown and a 104.6 passer rating -- and the Packers led the New York Giants 10-6.


But on a blustery night at Lambeau Field, where the game-time temperature was 1 below with a minus-23 wind chill, there were signs Favre was on the verge of freezing up. His body language suggested he simply didn't want to be on the field.


As those who witnessed the scene tell it, McCarthy was venting in a corner of the locker room when, in a particularly stressful moment, he blurted out something to the effect of, "If that guy weren't Brett Favre, I'd bench his ass!"


The rest of the story is well-documented. After halftime, Favre was 9-of-17 for 73 yards and threw two interceptions, including the overtime dagger into the hands of Giants cornerback Corey Webster that set up New York's winning field goal.


At 38 years old, Favre had provided evidence the Packers needed to move on when he retired, waffled and ultimately demanded his release the next summer. If Favre no longer could handle the cold, no longer could win in January, what was the point of getting strung along every offseason and letting former first-round draft pick Aaron Rodgers' development go to waste?


The Minnesota Vikings don't have Aaron Rodgers. They have 27-year-old Tarvaris Jackson, who already has flamed out in multiple shots at the starting role.


They also have Favre, a 41-year-old future Hall of Famer who has made abundantly clear he plans to start a 316th consecutive NFL game on Sunday at New England despite a significant ankle/foot injury -- and mistake-prone play that had Childress considering a switch in the second half last weekend.


There's a saying in NFL personnel departments that you compound an error by refusing to admit it soon enough. And that's precisely what Childress would be doing by sticking with Favre because of his name, a $16 million salary and the borderline-embarrassing way the Vikings begged him to play a 20th season -- if Childress thinks Jackson has a chance to do better.


Whether Jackson has that chance is hypothetical, of course. Everyone including Childress knows about Jackson's shortcomings and failings last time around, and if he had ascended beyond developmental QB, there would have been no need to entice Favre -- twice -- to come take the job away.


However, there's no question Childress is frustrated with Favre, as well as a 2-4 record that's turned the Vikings from contender to punchline in less than two months. After Sunday's 28-24 loss at Green Bay, Childress used his media conference to heap blame on officials and Favre's three interceptions -- an outburst he said on Thursday was a product of "being aggravated. That's it. You snap every now and then."


Favre ranks 30th in the NFL in passer rating (68.0). Opponents have turned his 14 turnovers -- five more than he committed in 2009, putting him on pace for a career-high 37 -- into 51 points. He was a physical and emotional wreck on Sunday night, the weight of his on- and off-the-field problems visible on his face as he held back tears in the locker room.


And even if Favre gets some practice work on Friday, he will have missed the bulk of the reps this week with an injury that had him in a walking boot for days -- making him even less mobile and no closer to finding the rhythm, timing and tempo he's lacked all season with his receivers.


All that said, this is Brett Favre, and deciding to sit him against his wishes for even one week would have far-reaching implications, particularly if Jackson flops. Considering how Favre has approached the week, it's probably a matter of when, not if, he declares himself fit to play on Sunday.


The near-comical dichotomy continued on Thursday afternoon -- Favre calling out within earshot of reporters that he needs a Size-15 shoe to accommodate a splint for his fractured heel, and Childress hours later saying Favre is "doing a little better every day. Whether it's good enough to play in an NFL football game remains to be seen."


The guess here is Childress will give the NFL's all-time ironman one more shot to prove he's willing and able to play efficiently and within the system, as he did so well one year ago. There's too much to lose, too much hell to pay, if Favre is put in a position to play the victim before kickoff.


And if he fails, because of injury or everything else, it finally wouldn't matter that he's Brett Favre. Few would fault Childress for trying to patch a sinking ship, at least temporarily, by doing the same thing McCarthy had a notion to do with Favre on that frigid night in Green Bay.


Bench his ass.

Greg C.
14 years ago
I thought the story about the NFC championship game was B.S., then I clicked the link and saw that the article is by Tom Pelissero, who was a good reporter for the Press Gazette when he covered the Packers. I doubt that Pelissero would print that if he didn't have a good source.

At any rate, I don't see Brad Childress benching Brett Favre. Chilly will go down with the ship, and Brett is the ship. Also, I think the ankle is not as bad as we've been told it is, and there's a decent chance that Favre gets healthier and plays better the rest of the season.
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Zero2Cool
14 years ago
They're reporting from Minnesota that Childress is strongly considering starting Tavaris over Brett this week.
longtimefan
14 years ago
Starting to led credit to the rumors I heard and posted here...Zero also agreed with me, bu seem lot said we were full of fluff
Porforis
14 years ago

They're reporting from Minnesota that Childress is strongly considering starting Tavaris over Brett this week.

"Zero2Cool" wrote:



That's a load. How many times have we heard this crap over the last two years? Unless Favre can't walk, he'll start. Even if he can only start one series before curling up into the fetal position.

http://nfl-facts-and-rumors.blogs.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/22475988/25544616 

There are reports out of Minnesota that the unthinkable could happen: Brad Childress could choose Tarvaris Jackson over Brett Favre this Sunday. Judd Zulgad and Chip Scoggins of the Star Tribune write that Favre intends to play on his fractured ankle, but that hes told a few people close to him that he isnt sure Childress will give him the green light. B. Favre (US Presswire)

Favre was held out of practice Thursday. If hes kept on the bench Sunday, his NFL record 291 consecutive starts streak would be snapped.

Neither Childress nor Favre said anything definitive Thursday.

"He's doing a little better every day," Childress told the media. "Whether it's good enough to play in an NFL football game remains to be seen. Just taking it a day at a time."

Favre, who no longer has a walking boot but is still showing a noticeable limp, was asked if he would practice Friday. "I wouldn't put anything past me to be honest with you," he said. Childress would not say whether Favre needed to work on Friday in order to play on Sunday.

Vikings offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell has a much better relationship with Favre than does Childress. (Bevell coached Favre in Green Bay.)

"Surprising would probably be a good word," Bevell said regarding the possibility that Jackson might play ahead of Favre. "[Brett has] never not been out there, so it would probably be a surprise."

Greg C.
14 years ago
It's funny to hear the reports of Favre walking with "a noticeable limp." Since when has that kept him from playing? He played the whole fourth quarter with a limp last week. He plays better when he limps. It improves his concentration.
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longtimefan
14 years ago

It's funny to hear the reports of Favre walking with "a noticeable limp." Since when has that kept him from playing? He played the whole fourth quarter with a limp last week. He plays better when he limps. It improves his concentration.

"Greg C." wrote:



He did?

Thought he missed a few passes on final drive?
RedSoxExcel
14 years ago

It's funny to hear the reports of Favre walking with "a noticeable limp." Since when has that kept him from playing? He played the whole fourth quarter with a limp last week. He plays better when he limps. It improves his concentration.

"longtimefan" wrote:



He did?

Thought he missed a few passes on final drive?

"Greg C." wrote:



Or he caused the offside and then caused the guy to facemask Matthews to make it 1st and 30 isntead of 1st and 10 at the 20. Come on man, you have to be kidding me if you think he didn't play great on that last drive. They got down there, if Harvin gets a foot in. I understand the whole objectivity thing but I don't understand how you can say he didn't play great on that final drive. Every QB in the history of the game has missed passes.
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RedSoxExcel
14 years ago
By the way, if this is true, Mike McCarthy should be fired immediately. This is one of the stupidest things I've ever read.

Your going to bench a guy at half-time for going 10-of-18 passing for 163 yards with a touchdown and a 104.6 passer rating -- and the Packers led the New York Giants 10-6? A guy that was a big reason for you going 13-3 and getting to the NFC Championship game, you'd bench him? WTF? So if he was any other QB, he would have benched a guy with those types of numbers and the lead? WTF?

If this is true, that explains why he didn't make anytime half time adjustments. Or any in the game period, he couldn't focus on Plaxico Burress/Al Harris because he was looking at Favre. That explains why right out of half, the Giants drove and took the lead - he had other thoughts at half.

What a joke, that's really what he was p'd off about at half-time of that game? If true, fire him immediately.
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Cheesey
14 years ago
You were not there to see Favre during that halftime Redsox......so how can you say that? Mike McCarthy was THERE. I'm sure what he saw must have been something for him to blurt that out.
Seriously, i know you love Favre, but try to look at it with no agenda and see if what i said might make some sense.

Fan Shout
beast (3h) : Seems like he was just pissed because he was no longer the starter
beast (3h) : Campbell is right, he's rich and he doesn't have to explain sh!t... but that attitude gives teams reasons to never sign him again.
dfosterf (22-Feb) : I have some doubt about all that
dfosterf (22-Feb) : I read De'Vondre Campbell's tweet this morning (via the New York Post) Florio says that if he invested his earnings wisely, he will be good
beast (20-Feb) : I haven't followed, but I believe he's good when healthy, just hasn't been able to stay healthy.
dfosterf (20-Feb) : Hasn"t Bosa missed more games than he has played in the last 3 years?
Mucky Tundra (19-Feb) : He hasn't been too bad when healthy but I don't feel like I ever heard much about when he is
Zero2Cool (19-Feb) : Felt like he was more interested in his body, than football. He flashed more than I expected
Zero2Cool (19-Feb) : When he was coming out, I thought he'd be flash in pan.
Mucky Tundra (19-Feb) : Joey seems so forgettable compared to his brother for some reason
Zero2Cool (19-Feb) : NFL informed teams today that the 2025 salary cap will be roughly $277.5M-$281.5M
Zero2Cool (19-Feb) : Los Angeles Chargers are likely to release DE Joey Bosa this off-season as a cap casualty, per league source.
Zero2Cool (18-Feb) : If the exploit is not fixed, we'll see tons of "50 top free agents, 50 perfect NFL team fits: We picked where each should sign in March" lo
Zero2Cool (18-Feb) : Issue should be solved, database cleaned and held strong working / meeting. Boom!
Zero2Cool (18-Feb) : It should be halted now.
Mucky Tundra (18-Feb) : usually spambots are trying to get traffic to shady websites filled with spyware; the two links being spammed were to the Packers website
Mucky Tundra (18-Feb) : you know when you put it that way combined with the links it was spamming (to the official Packers website)
Zero2Cool (18-Feb) : Yep. You can do that with holding down ENTER on a command in Console of browser
Mucky Tundra (18-Feb) : even with the rapid fire posts?
Zero2Cool (18-Feb) : I'm not certain it's a bot.
Mucky Tundra (18-Feb) : I've got to go to work soon which is a pity because I'm enthralled by this battle between the bot and Zero
Zero2Cool (18-Feb) : Yeah, I see what that did. Kind of funny.
Mucky Tundra (18-Feb) : now it's a link to Wes Hodkiezwicz mailbag
Mucky Tundra (18-Feb) : Now they're back with another topic
Mucky Tundra (18-Feb) : oh lol
Zero2Cool (18-Feb) : I have a script that purges them now.
Zero2Cool (18-Feb) : 118 Topics with Message.
Mucky Tundra (18-Feb) : what's 118 (besides a number)?
Zero2Cool (18-Feb) : They got 118 slapped in there.
Mucky Tundra (18-Feb) : that's why it confused the hell out of me
Zero2Cool (18-Feb) : Yeah, but this is taking a headline and slapping it into the Packers Talk
Mucky Tundra (18-Feb) : Wasnt there a time guests could post in the help forum?
Zero2Cool (18-Feb) : lol good question, kind of impressed!
Mucky Tundra (18-Feb) : So how is a guest posting?
Mucky Tundra (18-Feb) : Tell them its an emergency
Zero2Cool (18-Feb) : Working. Meetings.
Mucky Tundra (18-Feb) : Lots of fun; the spam goes back 4 or 5 pages by this point
Mucky Tundra (18-Feb) : I thought you'd look for yourself and put 2 and 2 together lol. I overestimated ya ;)
Mucky Tundra (18-Feb) : I thought Guests couldnt post?
Zero2Cool (18-Feb) : And gosh that's gonna be fun to clean up! hahaa
Zero2Cool (18-Feb) : Oh. Why not just say that then? Geez.
Mucky Tundra (18-Feb) : check the main forum, seems a spam bot is running amok
Zero2Cool (18-Feb) : What?
Mucky Tundra (18-Feb) : Is the Packers online game "Packers Predict" now available for 2024? I can't tell
Zero2Cool (17-Feb) : Bengals planning to Franchise Tag Tamaurice Higgins
Zero2Cool (14-Feb) : Packers are hiring Luke Getsy as senior offensive assistant.
Martha Careful (12-Feb) : I would love to have them both, esp. Crosby, but either might be too expensive.
Zero2Cool (12-Feb) : Keisean Nixon is trying to get Maxx Crosby and Davante Adams lol
Mucky Tundra (11-Feb) : Yeah where did it go?
packerfanoutwest (11-Feb) : or did you resctrict access to that topic?
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