Goodbye Brett

On Wednesday, Bret Favre called it quits…again. But this time, it wasn’t the heart that gave out (momentarily, we saw in hindsight) but the thing which has made him the incredible quarterback he ‘was’: his arm. Favre was very honest in a conference call with reporters that the tear in his bicep tendon would only get worse and would eventually need surgery. At 39, it would be time consuming and laborious for Favre to rehab an arm that finished him tied for 10th in the NFL in victories, 21st in passer rating, fifth in completion percentage, 22nd in average yards per attempt, 11th in passing yards, ninth in touchdown passes, 31st in interception percentage and first in giveaways.

The question is, “Will Favre stay retired?” The Everyday QB answer is, “Most definitely, yes”. The prospect of rehabbing the arm, finding another team or re-earning the starting spot, are paths that Favre does not want to take. As much as he loves the game of football, when you have played at the level that Favre has played at for so long, it will be too difficult to not play at that level ever again. The Chicago Tribune says, “His late-season performance can be attributed mostly to age. Favre no longer is a cold-weather quarterback and he wears down as the season goes on. His throwing shoulder gave him problems late in the year. Over the last two seasons, his passer rating over seven games in temperatures lower than 40 degrees is 79.1, according to STATS.” The Tribune thinks that maybe in a warm-weather stadium, Favre would play better. But you’re talking about a guy who played 18 seasons in the frozen tundra of Green Bay and put up the numbers he did, I think the argument is moot.

It’ll be sad to see Brett Favre off the field. He is a great competitor. Great at throwing on the run. Accurate and an example of what it means to play a game with passion. But I’m happy for him. I think he will find a rest that he may not have found in the last few seasons in the NFL and he can look back over his 19 years in the NFL and see the amazing things he accomplished. Well done, Brett, well done.