For at least one week in 2008 the Green Bay Packers will play in prime time. The Green & Gold will open the season with a home game against the Minnesota Vikings on Monday Night Football. What a way for Aaron Rodgers to begin is reign as starting quarterback. No pressure there.

Personally, I like it. Rodgers will have a chance to come out show the world the Packers are still a force to be reckoned with even without the great Brett Favre. The Vikings are a team Rodgers should be able to beat with a little help from his defense in shutting down Adrian Peterson. A big win and the Packers will be off and running.

The rest of the schedule might come in out in the next week or so and I could see the Packers getting another Monday night game and maybe even a Sunday night game

More to come…

I think the Packers are doing the right thing right now in free agency. Simply put, there is nobody that is worth the money out there worth signing. The NFL has adapted to free agency by following former Green Bay Packers’ general manager’s example of building from within and keeping the core of your team intact while picking and choosing free agency. The problem is, now there are not any good players available in free agency if they are not a contract or attitude problem player, both of which want huge contracts. Green Bay Packers general manager Ted Thompson is doing the right thing, believe me. This guy has the utmost confidence in his ability to find players in the NFL Draft and the last three years as the Packers’ GM proves him right so far.

That said, as far a backup quarterback for Aaron Rodgers, there is nobody out there other than Mark Brunell that would be better than last year’s third-stringer Craig Nall. Nall has played well when he had the chance in Green Bay, after Favre spotted him a lead in last year’s finale against Detroit Nall did OK for not having playing in a long time. Nall is better than the brittle Trent Green, the hurt Culpepper, or the fat Quinn Gray. Send Nall through head coach Mike McCarthy’s quarterback school and he should be fine, but that means signing him in the very near future.

I would love to see the Packers snag Colt Brennan in the upcoming draft to put some pressure on Rodgers. He might very well be available for the Packers depending on where they have him ranked. You don’t want Rodgers thinking he is the man with no competition. I think the drafting of Rodgers inspired Brett Favre to the good seasons he has had the last two years after throwing 29 picks in 2005. Even a legend knows he has to be the best player at his position to keep the team’s confidence in him, Favre stepped it up the last two years and I think he showed Rodgers the way and I have to wonder if Favre, the most unselfish player of all time, thought it was not only best for himself, but best for the Green Bay Packers to retire at this time.

Either way, I love Brett Favre. Packers’ fans are the most luckiest of all time. This is another argument, but how many passes did Joe Montana throw backhanded for touchdowns?

Anyone? Anyone?….

More to come…

Aaron Rodgers talked the talk and looked the look that could make him a superstar in the NFL. If only it was that easy. Brett Favre asked for patience when he came to Green Bay and promised he could be the man. While Rodgers didn’t exactly promise he could be Brett Favre, he made it clear he was ready for the challenge. The first thing he admitted to was his two injuries he suffered the last two years but he believes were flukes and assured the fans that he is well aware the man he is replacing started 275 straight games. All Rodgers did, and rightly so, was plan to play 16 games this year. If he does, the Packers will be in good shape.

Here is one of my Favre memories. I think it was against the Rams in 2006 after a short touchdown run by Ahman Green I think it was, Favre was running off the field and passed a referee on his way, Favre ran five yards by him, stopped, came back and slapped that poor ref on the butt so hard he has a story to tell the rest of his life. In fact, if I had a buck for every butt Brett slapped unsuspectingly, I might be living next to him in Mississippi.  Steve Sabol from NFL films says Favre is the single biggest sound-bite and highlight contributer in the 88-year history of the NFL. Amazing. Got any left-handed footballs by the way?

“Put ‘er in the ‘ole vice”!

I don’t have much to say. Need to regain my composure. Might be starting to sink in…

Please, Packers’ fans, do not let the media influence you in these crucial post Brett Favre days. Everybody and their uncle wants to predict the future one day after Brett retires. Can we just let things play out and see what happens. You may be right, you may be wrong. Let’s not write off the Pack just yet. Twelve months from now, maybe, but hey, praise the man and don’t let the idiots like me lesson your optimism  for the Green Bay Packers in the future.

I’m still working on my Favre memories, here is a teaser. The day Favre is playing the Giants at Lambeau Field and Favre is knocked out of the game with a concussion. Screw that. Favre, runs out to the huddle without telling anybody and simply throws a touchdown pass to Javon Walker. The Packers lost that game, but it was vintage Favre. You almost have to restrain him to keep him off the field.

More to come…tons more to come…

The unthinkable has happened, Brett Favre has retired. This is a sad day for Packers’ fans, NFL fans, and sports fans everywhere. I don’t care who you are, Bear fan, Viking fan, you had to like watching Brett Favre play football. To think the Packers will take the field next year with someone other than No. 4 hard to comprehend. I know I have been critical of Brett and I even said it was time for him to hang it up. Deep down I never thought it would really happen this year. The lure of the Super Bowl I thought would bring him back, not drive him away, as it appears to have done.

In his voice message to ESPN’s Chris Mortensen, Favre seemed like a man wearing the weight of 253 consecutive starts on his shoulders. Like I said a before, if Favre comes back it is Super Bowl or bust and that is a lot of pressure on someone, even Brett Favre. It sounded like Favre doesn’t have the passion left to do the things necessary to continue playing at a high level, and Favre would never sacrifice his level of play just to play longer. To me, the final record Brett set is one of his all-time great marks. In throwing for  4,155 yards last year Favre set the record for quarterbacks in their last season. Beat it by about 600 yards over Roger Staubach. That might be a record that lasts as long as his consecutive starts record, or more. Brett walked away on his terms, still healthy and still able play at a high level.

I  am the first to admit I have already shed a tear or two for greatest quarterback of my rememberable Packer life. How can one not when watching Favre destroy the Raiders 41-7 a day after his dad dies (thank-you NFL Network)? That is the reason the world loves Brett Favre, he is one of us. He played the game like I did in my parents back yard, which was the biggest on the block so most games were played there. I could easily picture Brett out there with us, at age 8 or age 38, running over my sister’s tree.

Everybody is already trying to determine where Favre ranks in history. If you rate quarterbacks by championships, then Bart Starr is the greatest of all time with five in seven years. If you rate them on intelligence,  Starr should still be first by most will say Joe Montana. If you rate them on ability, most will say John Elway. If you rate them on arm strength, Favre is number one. But when you put all of that together I would have a hard time choosing between Johnny Unitas and Favre. Those two guys probably did more for the NFL with their styles of play and will to win than anybody else, and Favre has won more games than any quarterback in history.

I’m sure you are all aware of my emotional rant hours after the Packers’ devastating loss to the Giants in the NFC Championship game. You are all free to hit me with the “be careful what you wish for” email. I will apologize for that rant right now. I’m sorry for loving the Packers too much. That said, I do love the Packers and I do think they still have a bright future. I’m still a fan today ad will be tomorrow. General manager Ted Thompson was preparing for this day since the day he took the job. Now we will find out if his plan works or if he is the next guy out of job, only he won’t be retiring. Thompson’s choice of Aaron Rodgers holds the career of not only Thompson, but also head coach Mike McCarthy  in the balance.

I think the Packers will be OK. Brett Favre can never be replaced. I don’t think there will ever be another quarterback like him who like Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods clearly transcends the sport they are in. For all Tom Brady’s success, he’s no Brett Favre. The rules of the NFL have changed and tough guys at quarterback are not really needed any longer. Favre was big and played big. How many times have we heard him compared to a lineman?

I’m going to think back and put together some of best Brett Favre moments for you. Maybe I’ll have some you might not remember, having seen every game No. 4 has ever played, half of them live at Lambeau.  We’ll look to the future later. For the time being it’s all about Brett Favre.

More to come…

This year’s Brett Favre watch is getting more ridiculous by the minute and one has to wonder if the Packers really even want him back. According to Fox Sports’ John Czarnecki the Packers and Randy Moss had agreed to a three-year $30 million dollar deal until Favre said he could not meet Moss’ request that Favre play two more years. If this is true, combined with comments made yesterday by ESPN’s John Clayton that Favre has demanded the Packers add an offensive playmaker in order for him to return this season one has to begin wondering if Favre is still in his right mind.

Brett Favre is not the general manager of the Green Bay Packers and the fact that he thinks he is just cracks me up. Number one, the one and only Super Bowl Brett Favre won was because the Packers had the number one defense in the NFL and arguably one of the greatest of all time. 17 years in the league and Favre still doesn’t know that defense wins championships. The real Packers’ general manager, Ted Thompson is well aware of that fact and I expect him to use the second-round draft pick he received in exchange for Corey Williams on defensive help. In fact I would not be surprised if the first three picks next month are all defensive players.

Favre wants more playmakers? What is wrong with Mr. Touchdown Greg Jennings? Donald Driver isn’t any good anymore? James Jones has no future? Ryan Grant is a bum? The only weaknesses on offense the Packers have is guard and depth at tight end. Playmakers? All Jennings does in catch touchdowns and when was the last time you’ve seen a running back break so many long runs for touchdowns? Sure I think Grant needs to prove himself this year, it is certainly possible he does do just that. Favre needs to worry about himself a little more and let Thompson and head coach Mike McCarthy do their jobs.

One has to wonder if privately Thompson and McCarthy aren’t growing tired of Favre’s antics. I guarantee you both Thompson and McCarthy believe they can win with Aaron Rodgers at quarterback in 2008. No matter what they say publicly, Thompson and McCarthy have to be worried about what Favre’s games are playing in their attempt to lure free agents to Green Bay. The first question of every free agent has to be “is Favre coming back”? Followed by, “how many years do you think he will play”?

This isn’t 2006 when the Packers had a new coach taking over and Favre wasn’t sure if he wanted to learn a new system and so on and so forth. Favre knows what the situation is and if he is waiting for Thompson to make a move just to appease him he has another thing coming. Thompson didn’t draft Rodgers with his first pick as general manger just for the fun of it. The Packers hold all the cards and I would hope that has been made clear to Favre. I have to believe it has or he would have made his decision by now. Can Favre accept that arrangement?

I don’t care either way because I think with or without Favre the Packers will be one of the favorites to win the NFC next year. But the time has come for a decision. I mean, come on. If it is this hard to walk away, then play another year. If you just want to take it easy and golf the rest of your life, then great, just let us know. The Packers will be just fine either way. But please, get it over with.

More to come…