Why Do People Like Brett Favre?

> This morning, PedrioaTheDestroyah and I had a little debate via email. It all started with a simple question, “why do people like Brett Favre?” We’ve seen the Sports Guy post similar online conversations on the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network website, so we thought it would be fun to post ours on our websites. Enjoy…or don’t, really doesn’t matter.

PtD: Why do people like Brett Favre? Packer fans shouldn’t anymore, and god knows Jets fans shouldn’t. I guess Dolphins fans have a reason, though.

JB: Who likes Brett Favre?

PtD: The media, and apparently middle America. Someone must like him or he wouldn’t be on TV all the damn time.

JB: Just because he’s a story doesn’t necessarily mean people like him. I think people used to like him, I know I used to love watching him play. I’m sort of ambivalent towards him now. But, he’s still one of the greatest QB’s ever, so he’s news.

PtD: Yeah, but the story is that he is now terrible, but people keep saying he is good. People say he started the season strong, but that’s not really true. He was never playing very well. For instance, his first touchdown of the year may as well have been a punt. He literally just threw it straight in the air with no idea what jet might catch it.

The Jets played well at times, only that was when he wasn’t allowed to throw like a jackass because Mangina said he needed to work within the offense. Then they got to 8-3, and Favre decided he could do whatever he wanted, and then their season went to hell.

JB: I'm sensing you have strong feelings about this.

PtD: Oh yes, this summer Brett became my most hated of all athletes...and he took it to a new level on Sunday. No one (except Steven A. Smith, preach on) calls this loser out.

JB: Ok, I look at it like this. Brett Favre is like George Carlin at the end of his career. Back in the day, Carlin was one of the funniest comedians around, a transcendent talent. But, once he got older, he stopped being funny. Only no one acknowledged this. People kept buying his CD’s, going to his shows, and laughing at his “jokes”. But, it wasn’t because he was funny, it was because he was George Carlin. He kept trading on the Carlin name that he had built up earlier. That’s the stage that Favre’s at in his career. He’s not a quarterback anymore, he’s Brett Favre.

PtD: I’m fine with there being idiots who continue to like him, there will always be those idiots. My problem is that every time Jaws is asked about Brett Favre he should say the following...“Brett Favre is not capable of being a quarterback in the National Football League.”

JB: Really? Not capable? He may not be capable of being an elite QB, or even a good one for that matter. But, I think Ryan Fitzpatrick, Tyler Thigpen, Dan Orlovsky, Ken Dorsey, and J.T O’Shaun-Hill all started several games this year.

I think that’s one of the big myths about NFL QBs. There really aren’t that many good ones. Anytime Tony Romo is anywhere near a discussion of who the best QBs in the league are, you’re in trouble.

PtD: Oh, I completely agree (although Thigpen actually looked promising at the end of the year), I just don’t think Favre can get a team in the playoffs. And it’s not just that Brett gets credited as being good, but he’s considered one of the best. He’s made the Pro Bowl! Do you know how crazy that is? I get the feeling Brett is going to fake an injury and not go, but he should get up in front of all those cameras and say…hey, I had a very bad season, and therefore I cannot accept an invitation to the Pro Bowl.

And it’s inexcusable that ESPN didn’t bash the Favre pick. This kid gloves shit needs to stop. The guy is still playing, he’s not a retired legend yet. At one point on Sunday, Jim Nantz and Phil Simms were blaming an interception on an injury that occurred after the pick had happened. And I’m sure Brett came out with this shoulder thing to the media knowing full well there was a good chance he would lose...and this way its the arms fault. I want to punch him.

JB: I think you’re being a little overdramatic. Plus, he has a torn muscle.

PtD: Meh, it’s partially torn. Big Ben and Tom Brady have both won Super Bowls with separated throwing shoulders. What I’m saying is...throwing a two yard pass directly to a 300 pound D lineman is not caused by an injury, it’s caused by being terrible. And, that was honestly the worst TAINT I’ve seen in years.

JB: Or maybe the best? That was a hell of a run by the big guy. Plus, those kinds of int's on screens happen all the time. I think Jarrett Lee (LSU’s QB) threw 2 of them this year.

PtD: 1. The LSU QB is a joke. 2. Brett stared down that lineman, then threw it to him. The lineman didn’t step in front, he was standing there. Brett threw it right to the Dolphin player.

JB: I don’t think that’s true. Favre faked the screen to the left, then whipped around and threw the ball. He probably could have avoided the throw, but I wouldn’t say he stared the receiver down. You’re way too emotional about this.

PtD: Best case, he threw the ball without looking. My view may be extreme, but my conclusion that the media and the Jets should hate him more than they do is very accurate. The Jets came out yesterday and said they would give Brett as long as he needed to decide if he wants to play next year. Why in the hell would they want him? Brett sucked down the stretch…what was it, 1 TD and 9 ints his last 4? But he’s a gunslinger. Apparently, gunslinger also means terrible quarterback.

JB: I’m not even sure what we’re arguing about anymore.

PtD: That the Jets are crazy to want him back, and Brett Favre needs to be ridiculed in public by members of the media.

JB: Ha, that’s never going to happen, he’s a legend. It’s like when Jerry Rice was at the end of his career but wouldn’t stop playing. He was awful, but everyone still talked about him like he was Jerry Rice. I guess nobody really noticed though because he didn’t have the ball every play.

PtD: I agree with you on that, I’m just saying it’s wrong, it’s always wrong.

JB: Cool, I just like comparing things. So far I’ve compared Favre to George Carlin and Jerry Rice.

PtD: And I’ve compared Favre to a terrible quarterback. If more people did that, I’d be happy. I must once again give props to Steven A., though. On Sports Reporters this Sunday, he called Favre “an interception waiting to happen.” I liked that.

JB: Ha, you like Steven A. Smith.



Oh, on a scale of one to Gus Johnson, this probably goes for a Craig Sager.
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The Lions will not go winless

> So, the Detroit Lions are 0-14, and it seems to be the consensus with the talking heads that they will more than likely lose their remaining two games to finish as the first team in NFL history to go 0-16. I just wanted to be on record as saying that they will definitely, no question about it, not go 0-16. Their next two games are at home against the Saints this Sunday, and they finish the season on the road against Green Bay. The Packers defense is pretty terrible, so maybe the Lions get lucky and pull that game out. But, it won’t matter at that point. Because they will absolutely beat the Saints this weekend. The only question is if the game will be close.

Let me just say that I don’t want the Saints to lose. I’m hoping Drew Brees can prove me wrong here and will the team to a win. But, I’ve been watching and following the Saints since I was a little kid (which unfortunately, was a really long time ago), and I know their m.o. pretty well. This is exactly the type of game they lose. I mean, just looking at recent history, you can go back to 1999 when the Saints gave up that hail mary as time expired, giving the reincarnated Browns their first franchise win. Or back in 2003 against the Jaguars, when they went 75 yards on the last play of the game, somehow lateraling the ball 3 different times in the process, only to lose the game because they missed the extra point. This is what they do. So, losing to an 0-14 team seems like just their thing.

Maybe if the Saints were still in the playoff race, or if Reggie “ow, my leg” Bush was going to be playing (on second thought, this might help them), or maybe if they hadn’t let the offensive coordinator leave the team early to go be the head coach at Syracuse, maybe then I’d think differently. But at this point, it seems to me the Saints have pretty much called it a season. And even if they haven't quit just yet, this still seems like the classic “team with nothing to lose vs. team with nothing to gain” scenario. When you add that to the Saints history of selective mediocrity, I’d say this one’s in the bag for the Lions.

On a scale of one to Gus Johnson, I give this a Troy Aikman. Read full post...

The NFL's overtime system blows

> Last weekend, I was hanging with my buddy PedroiaTheDestroyah, and we were bitching about the current overtime rule in the NFL. I know we’re not exactly the first people to complain about this, but with the Saints losing last night in overtime without ever getting the ball, it seems kind of relevant for me today. I mean, in a league that prides itself on fairness and parity, with the hard salary cap, roster limits, and the way they run the draft, I can’t believe the NFL has let their overtime rules stay this way for this long.

It’s pretty well established that the team that wins the toss in overtime wins the game like 60% of the time. And in about 30% of overtime games, the losing team never touches the ball in the OT period, just like in last night’s game. Doesn't really gel with the whole fairness and parity thing. I don’t know, maybe the NFL likes being the only sport that doesn’t give both teams a chance to win in overtime. But I doubt it. This seems like the kind of thing that stays this way because it’s always been this way. Well, if the NCAA can change their rules to implement an overtime period (I think they started their overtime system back in 1996), I don’t see why the NFL can’t make a similar change.

PtD and I aren’t really fans of the college system, where both teams get a possession from the other team’s 25 yard line. We think the best thing to do would be to go with the NFL system with a few tweaks. It’s not like this would be a difficult fix. Just keep the system like it is now, only add a rule that the game can’t end until both teams have had at least one possession in the overtime period. So, last night, once the Bears scored their go-ahead field goal, they would have had to kickoff to the Saints. If the Saints turn the ball over, they lose and the game’s over. If they score a TD, they win and the game’s over. If they kick a field goal to tie it, then it’s sudden death, and the next team to score wins the game. Pretty simple, I think. Maybe the Bears go down and win the game on their next drive, but at least both teams have had a chance to win at this point.

Now, this would totally change the strategy teams use in overtime. Under these rules, teams would probably rather be on defense first, so they’d know exactly what they needed to win the game when they had possession. Also, this would prevent situations like last night, where the Bears got a 38 yard pass interference penalty to get down to the Saints 15 yard line. And instead of trying to move the ball forward from there, they just took a knee in the middle of the field to set up a field goal. Lame.

Again, I may be a little more biased than usual given the results of last night’s game, but I’d have to say that this is probably the greatest overtime plan ever. Now somebody just needs to tell the Commish.

On a scale of one to Gus Johnson, I’d have to give this a Michael Chiklis.
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