Favre’s return: Good news and bad news

By Os Davis  |   Monday, February 05, 2007  |  Comments( 11 )

Green Bay Packers
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News item: Brett Favre will return for another season with the Green Bay Packers.

Excellently timed for Super Bowl weekend, Favre's announcement caused quite a stir of speculation and enthusiasm. Perhaps the best news here is that the QB mercilessly cut short the will-he-won't-he game he's played in years past.

The bad news is the predictable wave of hyperbole this item is triggering. In the tsunami of Super Bowl coverage sometime on Saturday I think it was (it's all a blur, a long televisual blur now), one talking head or another sitting next to a hyperactive Steve Young stated without embarrassment that Favre is "still one of the best five or six quarterbacks in the NFL." Hmmm. Well, the eliminated among Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Marc Bulger, Peyton Manning, Donovan McNabb, Carson Palmer, Philip Rivers and sometimes Michael Vick might take issue with Favre in the top five.

Of course, the good news is the prospect of watching these guys having to backpedal should Favre be not-quite-up to spec.

The bad news is that Favre may not in fact be quite up to spec. In quarterback rating, the 37-year-old ranked 25th to fall just behind - get this - Rex Grossman. His 18 TDs versus 18 interceptions made for a ratio vastly improving on his 2005 marks of 20 against 29, but they're hardly impressive numbers. (Grossman threw 23 TD passes against 20 interceptions, by the way.)

The good news is that many of the ugly numbers this past year can be blamed on a shaky start in which the Packers went 1-4, were outscored 138-77, and eked out a one-touchdown win against the Detroit Lions ('nuff said) while a young coach and roster put the "green" in "Green Bay."

The bad news is that the man's 56 percent completion rate, well...and the fumbles, well, these just can't be blamed entirely on a novice line.

The good news is that Favre, mind-boggling stats or no, provides veteran leadership for a young team.

The bad news is, um, aren't the Packers supposed to be rebuilding?

The good news is that, for the first time since the glory days of the 1990s, Cheeseheads were able to hear their team talked about at Super Bowl time.

The bad news is it wasn't in context with the actual game itself.

The good news is the debate is on!

More good news: The Packers can afford Favre's new contract and still have room under the salary cap to go for a big-name wide receiver. Like Randy Moss or (just imagine) Terrell Owens.

(Whaddya mean, that's bad news?)

The bad news is that we're unlikely to see Aaron Rodgers (Remember him? The first-round draft pick/heir apparent?) get playing time next season. Well, it's bad news for Rodgers at least. The good news for sadistic types is that Rodgers' run for the karmic record books is well on track.

And that's the news. Welcome back, Brett Favre!
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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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