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Favre, Pacman Drama Is Getting Old
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Haven't posted here in a while, but since this post is not about baseball, why not?
You know what kind of annoys me?
The two NFL players who received arguably the most media attention this year were hardly major factors for their respective teams with their actual play on the field.
I am talking about Brett Favre and Adam "Pacman" Jones, of course.
The Favre drama was never-ending this summer. The Four Letter network shoved down Green Bay Packers coverage down our throats without mercy, and even Greta Van Susteren devoted a whole show to the situation with an exclusive interview with the Future Hall of Fame quarterback.
In the end, the Packers decided to part ways with the face of their franchise, choosing Aaron Rodgers to become the quarterback of the future in Wisconsin. Favre was sent to New York, with high hopes and expectations set before him. The move hogged all the headlines in the Big Apple, even putting the reigning Super Bowl Champion Giants and their star quarterback, Eli Manning, on the back-burner in preseason coverage. Pundits were predicting that the Jets would reach the promised land, with the right quarterback to push them over the top—a much better option than that weak-armed Chad Pennington. (How did that turn out, by the way?)
In my opinion, the Packers made the right choice all along. I thought that Rodgers gave Green Bay the best chance to win in the short term, in addition to solving the Packers' long-term need at the position; the Legend was going to have to call it quits at some point.
Favre had an outstanding campaign in 2007, there is no denying it. He led the Pack to its best season in a long, long time, passing for 28 touchdowns and 4,155 yards. In an outstanding comeback, he increased his passer rating from 72.7 in 2006 to 95.7, showing off his past MVP form. The performance was the outlier to his overrated play at the position since 2004, though, and it did not take Nostradmus to call for a regression.
As I said would happen back in July, the fan favorite failed to live up to expectations with the Jets. Sure, he had to learn a new offense on the fly, adjust to new teammates, and did not have any real receiving threats who he could count on to make big plays. Plus, he was hurt the final six weeks, when he played more like a washed up veteran than an MVP.
Any way you slice it, though, Favre was close to a replacement-level QB, especially in the past six weeks. His disastrous play at the position, in fact, seriously hurt the Jets’ chances of making the playoffs, something that seemed like a given when New York took down Matt Cassell and the New England Patriots a few months ago.
Favre had some highs and lows throughout his rollercoaster time with the Jets. But there were mostly lows. Teammates do not call out their brothers out of the blue.
The facts, which do not have inherent biases or favorite players, simply do not lie. While the typical Favre fan will defend him to no avail, it is hard to look past his pedestrian numbers. He finished 21st among qualifying quarterbacks in passer efficiency rating, producing an 81.0 mark. Not surprisingly given his consistently reckless play, he did pace the league with 22 interceptions while throwing for exactly as many touchdowns. Not a good ratio there, huh?
The more advanced value metrics were not kind to Favre for his poor play, either.
And, as far as the injury defense, who is really surprised that a 39-year-old QB entering his 18th season could get hurt? Really, that came out of left field, a bigger surprise than Cliff Lee coming back to win the Cy Young Award if you ask me.
Rodgers, on the other hand, finished sixth in the NFL with a solid 95.0 passer rating. The 26-year-old gunslinger threw for 4,038 yards, completing 341 passes in 536 attempts. He also found the end zone 28 times, more than all but three QBs in the game. That total was against only 11 picks as well.
There is not a single person who can look at this data objectively and decide that the Packers would have been better off with Favre. While intangibles such as leadership are important, did he have control over the Jets' huddle? Based off some of his teammates comments, the answer looks like it would be no.
The ardent #4 supporters point to the Packers’ record and failure to miss the playoffs. Rodgers could not get it done in the fourth quarter, they say. He was not clutch.
Wrong.
Last time I checked, football was a team game. As in, there are other facets outside of the quarterback that influence the outcome of a game and affect a W/L record.
Using wins or record to evaluate a player's performance is silly. Downright silly. Is it Rodgers' fault that he had poor teammates on defense? It is the same thing with people saying that Albert Pujols should not have won M.V.P. because the Cards did not make the playoffs. Because, you know, his teammates were bad, and he could not pitch. Pujols should have given Tony LaRussa a late-inning relief option, right? Shame on Sir Albert for not being able to close.
Or we could look at it this way. Is Kerry Collins an elite QB? Was Rex Grossman? Grossman, after all, led the Chicago Bears to a Super Bowl. No, of course not. On both counts. They each happened to have good teammates, though, which cures all in the eyes of some within the media who hold Favre in the highest possible light.
On the other end, it is like saying Drew Brees, the best QB in the league this year, is not all that good at his job. Going by record, he must not be. That Brees is just awful. After all, look at his team’s record. Shame on the man, he should have been able to play defense and kick field goals, too. He is no Collins, just look at the records.
See?
For all the attention given to Favre this offseason, it was amazing how poor he was at, you know, actually playing football. Leaving his poor play aside, the Green Bay organization ensured its future, anyway, but how things unfolded only reinforces that they made the right choice.
And, as Favre ponders retirement, I am only hoping, for the sake of us all, that he does not drag out the process as long as he did the last time around. Hopefully, he will retire, though he is obviously not going out in the same way that he could have. Make no mistake about it, he was one of the greatest men to play his position in football history.
But the end of the road is here. And if it is not, I just hope this non-story does not dominate the airwaves and newspapers across the country. Give it a rest already.
The other player, Mr. Jones, has never been talented enough as an athlete to merit the attention that he receives. I could care less about what he does off the field. Honestly, who does? Some people must, or the content executives at ESPN would not continue to make it a lead story. But, seriously, who are these people? I want names.
Jones is just not that good. If he were a model citizen, the young outfielder for the Baltimore Orioles would be the most famous athlete named Adam Jones. His time in Dallas is done. I fear, however, that his face time on Sportscenter is only going to go up.
Can we get back to real analysis and stories that matter? Please!
'Tyler Hissey covers Major League baseball for Scout.com, serving as the publisher of RaysDigest.com. Hissey also co-hosts Around The Majors With Teddy and Tyler on BlogTalkRadio. The show continued its division-by-division breakdown on Monday (1:00, Eastern), focusing on the A.L. West. Click here to listen to the latest show.'
To reach him, send an email to TylerHissey@gmail.com. He awaits your hate male, Brett fans.
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