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Brett Favre a Seahawk? Nutty, maybe, but it makes sense to me
JOHN MCGRATH; THE NEWS TRIBUNE
Published: April 14th, 2006 01:00 AM
Enlarge image
MORRY GASH/ THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE
Brett Favre, 36, is the NFL’s only three-time MVP (1995-97).
As Brett Favre continues to ponder retirement with a hem-and-haw dance not unlike the hokey-pokey – you put your left foot in, you put your left foot out, you appear at hastily arranged April press conference and wonder what the commotion is all about – a school of thought is building that Favre isn’t ready to leave football.
He’s just ready to leave the Green Bay Packers, who are in the throes of a rebuilding project so comprehensive it’d guarantee that Favre’s 16th NFL season would be as joyless as his 15th season was. Of course, because he owns a status in Wisconsin second only to St. Vincent of Lombardi, Favre is reluctant to demand the Packers deal him.
At least one observer – Hall of Fame coach John Madden – senses Favre’s uncertainty is steeped in an ulterior motive.
“It sounds like he may be setting himself up to be traded,” the longtime pro football analyst told the NFL TV network on Tuesday. “There are a lot of teams that could use him. There are a lot of moving parts in this that could include the draft and could maybe include Brett Favre.”
If Favre really is angling for a trade, his wish list would not be unlike that of any other 36-year old quarterback bound for enshrinement in Canton.
He wants to join a team with a shot to win the Super Bowl. He wants to play in an offensive system he knows, overseen by a coach he trusts.
Hmmn. Are you thinking what I’m thinking?
You probably aren’t, but that’s OK. Work with me.
Brett Favre could be available. The Seahawks are looking for a veteran to back up Matt Hasselbeck – not only to assure stability in the event Hasselbeck suffers an injury, but to expand Seneca Wallace’s role from second-team quarterback to Steelers-style slash man. As in: Receiver/returner/gadget-play passer.
You’ll recall the momentum in Super Bowl XL permanently turned toward Pittsburgh when former college quarterback Antwaan Randle El threw a touchdown strike, on a gadget play, to Hines Ward, a former college quarterback. Meanwhile, Wallace, whose acrobatic sideline catch was a highlight of the NFC Championship Game, did what backup quarterbacks usually do. He watched from the sideline.
Which poses the deal-breaking question about Favre: Would such a proud, supremely confident athlete consider winding up his glorious career as an understudy?
Well, no, not at first. But if he’s determined to play for a contender, Favre might have to be convinced the 29 interceptions he threw last year had more to do with his declining skills than the scarcity of top-quality receivers on the injury-riddled Packers.
Granted, Favre again led the league in completions – and attempts – but he retained his starting job only because he was the legendary Brett Lorenzo Favre from Kiln, Miss. If he were Brett Lorenzo from Fall River, Mass., the Packers would’ve released him before Halloween.
So what would compel the Seahawks to trade for him? His been-there experience. If Hasselbeck were to limp off the field in the third quarter of the first playoff game, who’d be preferable to Brett Favre?
Wallace, rarely summoned for meaningful duty after the exhibition season? Jamie Martin, the journeyman free agent the Seahawks recently brought to Kirkland for a job interview? Or David Green, last year’s third-round draft choice?
I’ve never been big on the idea of the Seahawks acquiring fading superstars for a last waltz on their way to Canton. When Seattle signed Jerry Rice midway through 2004, I saw potential timing problems on pass routes (there were), a deserving candidate such as Jerheme Urban phased out of the receiver rotation (he was) and a threat to team chemistry (not that it mattered, for the 2004 Hawks had none).
Favre would be different on every count. Timing problems on pass routes? (He’s been working in a Holmgren-designed system since 1992.) Deserving candidates phased out? (The Seahawks are searching for a backup quarterback.) Team chemistry? (He regards Holmgren as something of a second father, and Hasselbeck as a brother.)
Now let’s talk about the particulars, such as salary-cap space. As I understand it (and there is every possibility I don’t), the Seahawks have $7.5 million to spare.
Oh, and what might the Packers demand in return? A package, presumably, heavy on draft picks – the kind of guys who’d have minimum impact by their absence on a team with designs on returning to the Super Bowl. Then again, given the headaches Favre has caused the Packers with his indecision, one suspects they’d settle for a package that included a fluffy pillow and a couple of aspirin.
Brett Favre to the Seahawks? It’s ridiculous, sure, but we’ve got nearly five months until the opener, and if I hear one more complaint about the rotten calls in the Super Bowl, I’m gonna go nuts.
I guess I already have.
JOHN MCGRATH; THE NEWS TRIBUNE
Published: April 14th, 2006 01:00 AM
Enlarge image
MORRY GASH/ THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE
Brett Favre, 36, is the NFL’s only three-time MVP (1995-97).
As Brett Favre continues to ponder retirement with a hem-and-haw dance not unlike the hokey-pokey – you put your left foot in, you put your left foot out, you appear at hastily arranged April press conference and wonder what the commotion is all about – a school of thought is building that Favre isn’t ready to leave football.
He’s just ready to leave the Green Bay Packers, who are in the throes of a rebuilding project so comprehensive it’d guarantee that Favre’s 16th NFL season would be as joyless as his 15th season was. Of course, because he owns a status in Wisconsin second only to St. Vincent of Lombardi, Favre is reluctant to demand the Packers deal him.
At least one observer – Hall of Fame coach John Madden – senses Favre’s uncertainty is steeped in an ulterior motive.
“It sounds like he may be setting himself up to be traded,” the longtime pro football analyst told the NFL TV network on Tuesday. “There are a lot of teams that could use him. There are a lot of moving parts in this that could include the draft and could maybe include Brett Favre.”
If Favre really is angling for a trade, his wish list would not be unlike that of any other 36-year old quarterback bound for enshrinement in Canton.
He wants to join a team with a shot to win the Super Bowl. He wants to play in an offensive system he knows, overseen by a coach he trusts.
Hmmn. Are you thinking what I’m thinking?
You probably aren’t, but that’s OK. Work with me.
Brett Favre could be available. The Seahawks are looking for a veteran to back up Matt Hasselbeck – not only to assure stability in the event Hasselbeck suffers an injury, but to expand Seneca Wallace’s role from second-team quarterback to Steelers-style slash man. As in: Receiver/returner/gadget-play passer.
You’ll recall the momentum in Super Bowl XL permanently turned toward Pittsburgh when former college quarterback Antwaan Randle El threw a touchdown strike, on a gadget play, to Hines Ward, a former college quarterback. Meanwhile, Wallace, whose acrobatic sideline catch was a highlight of the NFC Championship Game, did what backup quarterbacks usually do. He watched from the sideline.
Which poses the deal-breaking question about Favre: Would such a proud, supremely confident athlete consider winding up his glorious career as an understudy?
Well, no, not at first. But if he’s determined to play for a contender, Favre might have to be convinced the 29 interceptions he threw last year had more to do with his declining skills than the scarcity of top-quality receivers on the injury-riddled Packers.
Granted, Favre again led the league in completions – and attempts – but he retained his starting job only because he was the legendary Brett Lorenzo Favre from Kiln, Miss. If he were Brett Lorenzo from Fall River, Mass., the Packers would’ve released him before Halloween.
So what would compel the Seahawks to trade for him? His been-there experience. If Hasselbeck were to limp off the field in the third quarter of the first playoff game, who’d be preferable to Brett Favre?
Wallace, rarely summoned for meaningful duty after the exhibition season? Jamie Martin, the journeyman free agent the Seahawks recently brought to Kirkland for a job interview? Or David Green, last year’s third-round draft choice?
I’ve never been big on the idea of the Seahawks acquiring fading superstars for a last waltz on their way to Canton. When Seattle signed Jerry Rice midway through 2004, I saw potential timing problems on pass routes (there were), a deserving candidate such as Jerheme Urban phased out of the receiver rotation (he was) and a threat to team chemistry (not that it mattered, for the 2004 Hawks had none).
Favre would be different on every count. Timing problems on pass routes? (He’s been working in a Holmgren-designed system since 1992.) Deserving candidates phased out? (The Seahawks are searching for a backup quarterback.) Team chemistry? (He regards Holmgren as something of a second father, and Hasselbeck as a brother.)
Now let’s talk about the particulars, such as salary-cap space. As I understand it (and there is every possibility I don’t), the Seahawks have $7.5 million to spare.
Oh, and what might the Packers demand in return? A package, presumably, heavy on draft picks – the kind of guys who’d have minimum impact by their absence on a team with designs on returning to the Super Bowl. Then again, given the headaches Favre has caused the Packers with his indecision, one suspects they’d settle for a package that included a fluffy pillow and a couple of aspirin.
Brett Favre to the Seahawks? It’s ridiculous, sure, but we’ve got nearly five months until the opener, and if I hear one more complaint about the rotten calls in the Super Bowl, I’m gonna go nuts.
I guess I already have.