My My, Hey Hey
During Monday night's football game between the Green Bay Packers and Baltimore Ravens, there was one particularly revealing play. Nobody scored on the play; it wasn't a game-changing play. The final score was 48-3; there weren't really any game-changing plays since it was the Ravens' game for 60 minutes.
Brett Favre dropped back to pass. He looked for his first option. He looked for his second option. He would have looked to his checkdown receiver, but he was flushed out of the pocket by the Raven pass rush. He rolled out to his right, got some time to throw, and threw a bomb.
As the ball was in the air, Al Michaels, Monday Night Football's play-by-play commentator, said "Quintessential Favre," referring to the quarterback's ability to keep fighting to make a big play until he got the chance. He got the chance on this play, and his pass was headed toward the end zone, where Donald Driver awaited the ball--along with three other Ravens defenders. The pass was intercepted.
In retrospect, it was a bit funny to hear Michaels say "Quintessential Favre" on an interception, but his quip was an accurate one. Favre leads the NFL in interceptions this year with 24, a career-high. His QB Rating is 73.1, the lowest it's been since his third year in the league. He ranks 23rd in the league in that category.
The man once won three consecutive MVP awards. He's the only player ever to do that. In fact, nobody has ever won three non-consecutive MVPs, either. During that three-year span, he also won a Super Bowl, two NFC Championships, and three NFC Central division titles. He was the definition of a franchise quarterback, and my generation's most popular player.
Every generation has that one team that everybody loves growing up. Back in the '70s, it was usually the Cowboys (because they were on national TV all the time) or the Steelers (who won four Super Bowls in the decade). Then, in the '80s, the Raiders and 49ers were very successful and garnered a lot of young fans. In the '90s, kids took either side of the Cowboys-49ers rivalry.
Then, both the Cowboys and 49ers started losing their players to free agency. Brett Favre hit his prime and made the Packers the next big thing.
And now he's throwing up jump balls into triple coverage, for any number of reasons--his defense can't keep his team in games, he has no one he can trust to make plays on offense, he can't get time in the pocket, etc. He's still got some of the tools, but at this point in his career, he's an old, stubborn quarterback. He's going to force every throw because he believes he can make it. He used to be able to because his arm was a little better and his supporting cast was a lot better. Now the Packers' success is riding on his arm, and they're 3-11.
It's sad to see the premier player of your youth go washed-up, but that's what Brett Favre is now. According to footballoutsiders.com (my bible of football statistics), he's ranked 12th among QBs in DPAR, which rates a players total value. He's ranked 19th in DVOA, whcih rates a player's value per play. In other words, he would be a starting quarterback for less than half the teams in the league. That's saying something for a three-time MVP. It's saying, "Retire."
Brett Favre dropped back to pass. He looked for his first option. He looked for his second option. He would have looked to his checkdown receiver, but he was flushed out of the pocket by the Raven pass rush. He rolled out to his right, got some time to throw, and threw a bomb.
As the ball was in the air, Al Michaels, Monday Night Football's play-by-play commentator, said "Quintessential Favre," referring to the quarterback's ability to keep fighting to make a big play until he got the chance. He got the chance on this play, and his pass was headed toward the end zone, where Donald Driver awaited the ball--along with three other Ravens defenders. The pass was intercepted.
In retrospect, it was a bit funny to hear Michaels say "Quintessential Favre" on an interception, but his quip was an accurate one. Favre leads the NFL in interceptions this year with 24, a career-high. His QB Rating is 73.1, the lowest it's been since his third year in the league. He ranks 23rd in the league in that category.
The man once won three consecutive MVP awards. He's the only player ever to do that. In fact, nobody has ever won three non-consecutive MVPs, either. During that three-year span, he also won a Super Bowl, two NFC Championships, and three NFC Central division titles. He was the definition of a franchise quarterback, and my generation's most popular player.
Every generation has that one team that everybody loves growing up. Back in the '70s, it was usually the Cowboys (because they were on national TV all the time) or the Steelers (who won four Super Bowls in the decade). Then, in the '80s, the Raiders and 49ers were very successful and garnered a lot of young fans. In the '90s, kids took either side of the Cowboys-49ers rivalry.
Then, both the Cowboys and 49ers started losing their players to free agency. Brett Favre hit his prime and made the Packers the next big thing.
And now he's throwing up jump balls into triple coverage, for any number of reasons--his defense can't keep his team in games, he has no one he can trust to make plays on offense, he can't get time in the pocket, etc. He's still got some of the tools, but at this point in his career, he's an old, stubborn quarterback. He's going to force every throw because he believes he can make it. He used to be able to because his arm was a little better and his supporting cast was a lot better. Now the Packers' success is riding on his arm, and they're 3-11.
It's sad to see the premier player of your youth go washed-up, but that's what Brett Favre is now. According to footballoutsiders.com (my bible of football statistics), he's ranked 12th among QBs in DPAR, which rates a players total value. He's ranked 19th in DVOA, whcih rates a player's value per play. In other words, he would be a starting quarterback for less than half the teams in the league. That's saying something for a three-time MVP. It's saying, "Retire."
posted by Kevin A. Doran at 7:10 PM
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