Favre follows flop with flips: Writer wrong?

By Os Davis  |   Tuesday, November 14, 2006  |  Comments( 4 )

Green Bay Packers
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Wait a minute, who was that guy the Green Bay Packers had at quarterback on Sunday? You know, the dude who was consistently completing third-down strikes? You know, the guy who threw the ball 42 times for two TDs and zero picks in a winning cause? That guy in uniform number four who was jumping into the arms of his receivers if not bodily hoisting them up himself? (Heck, he would have done Ozzie Smith backflips if he could...)

Because this writer refuses to believe this guy is 37, to believe this is the same quarterback pronounced DOA over a month ago here at RealFootball365, to believe that the hurler who threw five interceptions in the first four games is the same Brett Favre who played in the Metrodome on Sunday in the 23-17 win.

It's been that kind of season for the Pack, one might say, except exactly the terms with which this team will be described in football history are unknown. After all, the most consistent aspect of this team thus far has been its inconsistency. This team, the very picture of resurgence, has chased a 1-4 start (and seeming elimination from playoff contention) with a 3-1 run. Quietly (or as quietly as anything Favre does can be done this season), Green Bay has gone from also-ran to believeably on the bubble.

(Of course, they could just as easily finish 8-8. Check out the tough run of the next three weeks: versus the New England Patriots, at the Seattle Seahawks and against the New York Jets.)

The change in attitude - perhaps under the veteran-like leadership of whatsisname - is visible. After eking out the Week 3 victory in Detroit, the Pack failed to capitalize on opportunities against the Philadelphia Eagles the following week on "Monday Night Football."

After departing the Buffalo Bills with a disappointing loss characterized by the infuriating mistakes characterizing the season's first quarter, the Packers surprised the Minnesota Vikings behind the long arm of this new guy at quarterback. Against Buffalo, Favre and Co. turned in a lackluster performance highlighted by turnovers, turnovers and turnovers. This past week, zero. (Guess that $15 million to Scott Wells paid off.) The Packers got the lion's share of possession time, ran up almost 400 yards of offense while outperforming the Vikes ... and won. Now that's the way it's supposed to happen.

QB and Packers alike also managed to avoid the bothersome bugaboo of the 2006 season, namely the fourth-quarter turnover. When seeking to play the clock correctly and seal the win in what would be their final drive, the Pack constructed a drive involving seven passes. Nothing unusual there, to be sure, but most impressive of all the throws was the last, a conservative toss out of bounds. As Bob McGinn of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel starkly put it, "On another day, Favre might have done something stupid. Not Sunday."

"That kind of season" is a good one for cheeseheads this week, who are seeing the dogged questions of the year's beginning suddenly being answered in a positive way.

Who would have thought that the best rookie coach in the NFC might well end up being Mike McCarthy? Heck, after the Chicago Bears opener, it looked as though McCarthy might run third in his divisional competition behind Brad Childress and the Detroit Lions' Rod Marinelli.

Who would have thought that these Packers - particularly with their minimalist receiving corps - could find ways to win should Ahman Green manage, say, just 55 yards on the ground?

Who would have thought that the Pack would have shown the fortitude to stick with this effusive, sometimes wild QB in lieu of the spaghetti-armed vet of the 29 interceptions in 2005?

And who is that dude showing veteran leadership of the type that just might carry Titletown into the playoffs again? It may be Brett Favre, but this buzzard isn't ready to admit it yet.

On the edge of your seat for the conclusion of the Green Bay Packers' season? Stay with RealFootball365.com
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About Os Davis

Os Davis has taken a twisted route to get to RealFootball365.com in his nearly 17 years in professional writing, working in any number of capacities in the sportswriting, news reporting and film criticism worlds. In print media, Os has served as editor at a few publications, including Albuquerque's...
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