with that scamp Brett! BTW big, I hate to be a told ya so... 
but told ya so!
Posted on 05/04/2009 3:06:23 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Brett Favre eventually will go back to Green Bay, make peace with the organization that humiliated him when it didn't want him back last summer and traded him to the Jets, and retire as a Packer. But he didn't need the Jets to release him last week from the last two years of his contract for that to happen.
So, let's connect the dots and see where they lead:
• Favre retired in February, but the Jets refused his request to release him, wanting to keep his rights in the event he changed his mind and wanted to play again - he is prone to flip-flop, of course - and Kellen Clemens and Brett Ratliff stunk up their new $75 million practice facility in the offseason.
• The Jets traded up to get Mark Sanchez in the draft last weekend and the text-messaging between GM Mike Tannenbaum and Favre intensified. Favre still wanted to completely cut his contractual ties with the Jets. Three days later, the Jets released him. Sources say Favre, who will be 40 in October, wants to keep his options open. Favre released a statement saying, "At this time, I am retired and have no intention of returning to football."
The three key words: "At this time."
• The Vikings are a quarterback short of being a Super Bowl contender, and they need to sell tickets and have been trying for years to get a new stadium.
If Favre was planning to stay retired, why would he even request the Jets cut him? The dots? They lead right to Minnesota, exactly where Favre wanted to be traded last year. The Vikes have Sage Rosenfels and Tarvaris Jackson, meaning Favre can step in and try to write a better ending to his career after he ran out of gas with the Jets and stick it to the Packers at the same time.
One NFL source insists Favre can't peacefully retire until he finds a way to get revenge on the Packers. He wants back into the NFC North so he can face the Packers twice. The Bears traded for Jay Cutler and the Lions drafted Matthew Stafford. Hello, Minnesota.
"Favre can't stand Green Bay," the source said. "He wants to play Green Bay and say, 'I told you so.' His bitterness is creating this. I think he's calling Minnesota. I think Minnesota is talking about this as we speak. You haven't heard the end of Favre. No way. He is bionic. As long as somebody will let him in, he will play."
The Jets did Favre a huge favor by cutting him now. They were under no obligation to let him go. But Favre actually had the Jets in a vulnerable position and ultimately they would have no choice but to cut him if he came out of retirement:
• The Jets are $12 million under the salary cap. Favre's base salary for 2009 is $13 million. If Favre told the Jets tomorrow he was coming back, they would be given three days by the NFL to activate him. To activate him, they would have to get under the cap. To trade him, he would have to be activated. They are going to need a chunk of that $12 million cap number to sign Sanchez. They could no longer afford Favre. The math didn't work.
• When the Jets traded for Favre last August, the Packers smartly put in a poison pill that made it impossible for the Jets to turn around and trade Favre to the Vikings, Bears or Lions. If they traded him to an NFC North team last year, they would have had to give the Packers three first-round draft choices. If they did it this year, they would have had to give the Packers two first-round picks.
The Jets are convinced the Vikings are the only team Favre wants. If they felt they could trade him anywhere else, they might have considered retaining his rights. Ultimately, they saw no reason to hold onto Favre when they couldn't get anything for him in a trade. The only way this backfires is if Tom Brady is not ready for the start of the season and Favre signs with the Patriots. By the Jets releasing him, the real loser is Green Bay if Favre goes to Minnesota and plays well. The Packers did not call the Jets to complain after they released Favre.
• Once the Jets drafted Sanchez, he became the face of the franchise and the Jets no longer wanted Favre back even if he wanted back. Favre was not a willing tutor to Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay. There's no reason to believe he would have embraced Sanchez. And the Jets wanted no part of the soap opera Favre put the Packers through last summer. The Jets rented Favre for one year at a cost of a third-round pick. It almost paid off. If they the Jets were not able to get Sanchez, they would not have cut Favre last week.
Favre has used the last four months to let his torn biceps tendon in his throwing arm heal up. The time off has also let him recharge his competitive spirit. Training camps don't open until about Aug. 1. He reportedly hired a personal trainer. The web site Pro Football Talk reported last week there was a flight that left Minneapolis for Hattiesburg, Miss., on Wednesday morning and returned later in the day. The trip supposedly was made the day after the Jets released Favre. Was the Vikings' hierarchy aboard?
Before long, Favre will be throwing to the high school kids in Hattiesburg. And then you can figure he will start leaking word around mid-June he's got the itch to play again.
At least I hope it is a photochop ...
Not sure Michael Jordan is the best example. Didn't he come back and play a year or two with the Washington Wizards? Had a good game about one out of four.
He had many of his worst games at Minnesota...he used to blame it on the crown at the mid-line axis.
Or buy a car or two from this guy...
All this because he doesn’t want to cry in public again.
Another crybaby.
I’m pretty sure real Vikings didn’t get all weepy in public.
My guy says that Brett is on his way to MN right now to try to pass a physical......
I’m a huge Favre guy, but he’s done. He can’t hit the precision pass anymore. The Jets had barely taken off and they crashed the last month of the season. He doesn’t have the stamina and he still throws too many picks.
with that scamp Brett! BTW big, I hate to be a told ya so... but told ya so!
Brett will forever be a legend in Green Bay but he really should just go away and quit making a horses arse out of himself.
At least he isn’t going to Dallas where a building could fall on him.
It's a sad way to end your career. Try and humilate the Packers? Why stick it to an organization because of one manager?
Shows bad form in so many ways.
I like watching Bret Farve and his commercials. I think he’s at the end of his career ... think he should just pack it in and get a job as a coach at a high school ...
“Hang on for years and become pathetic.”
...he’s already pathetic. I used to really admire Brett. He has now become the poster boy for the spoiled athlete who has had his ass kissed for so long, that he just cannot give it up. Just go away while you still have your health.
When Rickey Henderson was 46 years old he was playing for a team called the San Diego Surf Dawgs (below “A” level in minor league baseball), hoping for another chance at playing in the major leagues. Fortunately for him, that didn’t count against his five years of waiting to be eligible for the Hall of Fame voting. I don’t think professional football has anything equivalent to the Surf Dawgs.
“...I don’t think professional football has anything equivalent to the Surf Dawgs....”
Except maybe the Detroit Lions.
Joe Kapp ! Threw 7 touchdown passes in a game and he was great in The Longest Yard...! bring him back!!...magritte
I was soo missing another press conference with Brett Farve crying. Thank you Brett. Thank you.
Except maybe the Detroit Lions.
Good one!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.