August 14, 2008

He’s “Leaving On A Jet Plane”
By: Rhonda Reigstad

The classic Peter, Paul and Mary song couldn’t be more prevalent than now in Wisconsin.  The last couple months have been unlike any other.  No one thought back in March it was going to be like this.

Legendary Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre announced in March he was retiring from the game of football.  In an emotional press conference with his wife, Deanna, by his side, he told the country that it was time to leave.  Just a few weeks later, his agent called and said Favre wanted unretire and come back. 

It was announced that late Wednesday evening, August 6, the New York Jets made a deal with the Packers to get #4 and let their starting quarterback, Chad Pennington, go.  It was a move Pennington was expecting to happen but it doesn’t make it any better when you hope that you will spend your entire career with the same team.

There have been plenty of mistakes made throughout this whole ordeal.  Starting at the top, general manager Ted Thompson has probably made one of the biggest mistakes of his entire tenure.  One has to wonder how much pressure he put on Favre to make a decision after the last few years when we have all been wondering “Will he or won’t he return?”  The media circus has been horrible and for the fans excruciating wondering if there would be one more year. 

Thompson has shown he doesn’t do well in the draft or free agency, a couple picks excluded, and now it’s the whole Brett Favre fiasco.  Rumor has been going around that they wanted Favre out of Titletown to make room for one of Thompson’s first draft picks, quarterback Aaron Rodgers.  This is Rodgers’ last year under contract and they supposedly wanted him to get a chance to play. 

It’s hard to say how much Coach Mike McCarthy had to do with this.  Give the guy credit—he has kept his team in tact through this entire media circus.  He knows the caliber of player that Favre is and one would have to think that he would have done anything to keep #4 instead of trading him to the Jets.

Speaking of the trade, how ridiculous is it what the Packers are getting in return?  If Favre plays a certain amount of snaps, they will get a second through fourth round pick and if they reach the Super Bowl, the Packers will receive their first round pick.  It’s as if the Packers don’t value the guy who brought so much to the city.  Most other teams would have gotten a lot more in return for such a valuable player.  Years ago, Fox analyst John Madden said that Favre was a quarterback any NFL team would want to have and build an offense around him.

Watching ESPN after the announcement, former San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Jerry Rice made some good points.  He knows what it’s like to be pushed from team to team when a lot have thought you were done with your career.  He said this may be a good thing for Favre to be traded to help revitalize him.  But trying to learn a new offense at the age he’s at will be hard after being in the same system for 16 years. 

Favre’s transition from the smallest to the largest market in sports is going to come as quite a surprise to the guy from the south.  He’s going to have all eyes on him.  If he thought it was tough in Green Bay, just wait for New York.  Those fans are not forgiving whatsoever, and especially the Just End The Season JETS. 

Femmefan stands alone in the world of Sports-related web sites, and has a large and loyal following. Femmefan's articles, written by women and men, combine humor, and passion; with a little "dirt" thrown in for good measure. Femmefan subscribes to the theory that games are meant to be fun, and we are always about having a good time. Sometimes humorous, other times edgy and provocative, but never boring - Femmefan.com is the premier on-line magazine for the female sports junkie (guys love us too!)