Green Bay’s favorite son has chosen to hang his cleats up after 17 seasons in the NFL. No, he did not get to leave the game with another Lombardi trophy, but considering the season that he had the year before and the fact that he played on such a young team over the last few seasons, I’d say the ending was just as good. Brett Favre held a press conference today where he announced his retirement and broke into tears. To paraphrase the former gunslinger, he announced that even though he felt as if he could still play, he just did not want to do it anymore. Favre leaves the game as one of the most beloved players to ever compete in any major sport and arguably one of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time, but where does he or where should he actually rank in comparison to some of the other all-time greats at the same position?
I have to say the thing that I find most impressive about Favre is his 253 consecutive regular season starts (the streak is 275 if you count playoff starts). Cal Ripken Jr. is one of the few athletes that I actually consider a hero, and most people would define him by his 2,632 straight games, but I have to say Favre’s streak is more impressive. While it obviously takes a degree of luck to be able to play in that many games in a row for either streak, the fact that Favre did it in a violent and contact based sport is truly amazing. On top of that, he plays the position of quarterback, where it is pretty much considered the job of the defense to make sure that quarterback cannot continually play the game. The fact that he played in that many straight games is a testament to him being a true tough guy, despite the many tears he shed in retirement press conference (just kidding, it’s okay for a man to have an occasional cry if he has three MVP’s I suppose).
Favre was definitely great, but I do think that he has been overrated to a certain degree. I can not argue that he did not have a strong arm or was not able to get the ball into the end zone on a regular basis, but there is a good list of Hall of Famers who were also capable of doing that. My argument here is not that he does not deserve to be a Hall of Famer at his position, because he definitely does, but it is totally illogical to argue that he is one of the best five players ever at his position, perhaps you could make an argument that he goes in somewhere from five to ten, but 10 to 15 would probably be more fair. Despite his 3 MVP’s, he was not a better player overall than Johnny Unitas, Joe Montana, Terry Bradshaw, John Elway, or Dan Marino, ring or no rings.
While most arguments in sports and where players rank all-time are based on championships, I think what defines a player is when you talk about if you were the coach or manager of a team and you were playing in the biggest game of the year, who would you want the game to rest on? Favre is one of the most undisciplined players I have ever seen, and it would make it difficult for me to even consider him for that scenario. For every big game he won, he lost one with a big interception, in fact he holds the record for most interceptions by a quarterback during the course of a career. I almost wonder to myself, if Favre were just starting out today in the NFL as a younger player with his same skill set, depending on the city, I am not absolutely certain that his career would span 17 seasons. Today the younger players have a much shorter leash than he ever had, consider quarterbacks like Rex Grossman, Patrick Ramsey, and up until recently, Eli Manning when it comes to interceptions and the benching process. What generally makes someone great is their decision making process, today Peyton Manning and Tom Brady are the two names you would hear from a coach if asked who they would want leading their team down the field if they needed six points and only had two minutes left. The reason for that is not because they have such strong arms, which they do, but because both are smart with the football. Their two of the best decision makers that the game has ever seen. Too many times Favre tried to win the game with a pass in too small of a space and cost his team the game instead. Players like Unitas and Montana built their top 10 quarterback reputations on being smart with the football and triumphing by being patient when the chips were down. Because of this, despite the greatness that Favre did achieve at Lambeau Field and other stadiums, he will never be the guy who comes up in the conversation of hypothetical last drives, thus does not deserve an argument on his behalf for all-time top five quarterback consideration.
The skills that Favre did have being paired with his emotions as a player and the excitement that he brought to anyone who has ever watched him play are what will define him and his greatness in our memories, and the emotions he brought will largely define that success specifically. In reality though he is not even the greatest quarterback to ever lead the Green Bay Packers, but due to his emotions and character he will probably has and will continue to outshine the person for whom that honor should be considered, Bart Starr. I do however find it ironic that the future Hall of Famer’s last pass in the NFL was an interception that also cost his team the NFC Championship.
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