Guess what everybody?!?!?!
I’m not writing a basketball article this week.
I apologize for the lateness of this article, I was out of town and unable to write yesterday. I feel as if I need to address the recent Brett Favre situation.
Recently reports surfaced that Brett Favre and Brad Childress are meeting to discuss the upcoming season. The two apparently talked about the direction of the offense, the future of the team, all the necessary issues.
Well, except for actually deciding whether Favre is coming back.
I would expect Favre to be undecided about returning. This is something that happens every year, and everybody in the world but me seems to accept it. But the fact that Childress is by all accounts perfectly ok with this tentativeness is very concerning.
For starters this is a slap in the face to all of Favre’s teammates in Minnesota. They’re showing up to camp on time, ready to go. They’ll be killing themselves in two-a-days for weeks, fighting to make their team the best it can be. Then Brett Favre, superstar cruises in a week into the preseason, suddenly joining the team.
Now maybe I’m missing something, but I wouldn’t want to play with a guy who thinks he can show up three weeks after the rest of the team. That’s called entitlement. Favre has some sort of legend that follows him everywhere, and people just assume he can play by his own rules. It’s inappropriate, it’s disrespectful and it’s honestly lazy for Favre to hang out in Mississippi while his “teammates” break their backs for the next few weeks.
Honestly, I don’t understand. I think everybody would agree that Peyton Manning, for example, is a better quarterback than Favre. But does Manning miss two-a-days and stroll into training camp in the middle of the preseason? Absolutely not. How is it fair for Favre to expect his teammates to give 100% for them in January when he doesn’t give them even 1% in early August? Isn’t it commonly said that great seasons are built in camp? But apparently not Brett Favre seasons. Apparently he can do whatever the hell he wants.
Second, I cannot believe Childress’ unbelievable submission to Favre’s every wish. Has Childress ever stood up to Favre? He couldn’t even bench him in a late season loss against the Panthers. Compare that to Manning. With the Colts fighting for an undefeated season, Colts coach Jim Caldwell decided to yank Manning from a game which the Colts were winning. Did Manning complain? No. Did Manning whine? No. He did what he was told. Don’t you think Manning wanted to go 16-0? With the Bills left for week seventeen, a win against New York would have assured the perfect record. But Manning is a good team player who obeys his coach. He followed a simple rule that apparently is required of everybody except Brett Favre.
Now as the Carolina game shows, Favre clearly thinks he can do whatever he wants without Childress stopping him. And Childress is proving that Favre can by letting him decide when to comeback, letting him decide the outlook of the Vikings’ season, let him leave his teammates wondering whether they’ll have a competent quarterback next year (sorry Tavaris, even you know it’s true). What Childress is doing is spineless and desperate, and it all but invites Favre to subvert his authority and take control of his team.
I understand that Childress wants Favre to be a Viking this season. In fact, it’s in his best interest career-wise to have Favre playing under center for Minnesota. But what he cannot do is allow Favre to play puppet-master with the Vikings’ season. It’s relinquishing control of the team to a player, something no Super Bowl winning coach would ever do. I honestly believe that if Childress wants to win the Super Bowl, he’s got to take charge of his team. If Brett Favre can’t handle it, maybe they shouldn’t rely on him as a quarterback.
But I have most ire with the experts. I’m tired of hearing how “you never challenge Brett Favre,” and “Brett Favre plays by his own rules.” That’s absolutely ludicrous. This guy holds several significant passing records, and there’s plenty to be said for that. But he’s also not even played in a Super Bowl in this decade. He has thrown his teams out of games with his trademark “gunslinger” decisions that only seem to work in ultimately meaningless regular season games. If I were to pick a QB to lead my team to a title, it wouldn’t be Favre. He’s too unreliable because he ultimately does whatever he wants.
I believe that this is the NFL, that teammates should give their all for each other and do all they can to ensure success. By skipping out on two-a-days and preseason games, Favre has proven he doesn’t buy into that philosophy. That’s why if my favorite team got Brett Favre, I wouldn’t be happy. I would say that he will bring them some dynamite games but will ultimately make a dumb mistake that ruins the season (fyi, he’s done this for three years running).
Why should Favre play by his own rules if he’s in the same league as the other guys? Why should he be unchallenged when he’s far from perfect, when he still makes backbreaking mistakes but never seems to change his risky style? Favre helped the Vikings make the NFC title game, but he ruined their Super Bowl hopes, and I am certain he will again.
That’s my two sense. By allowing this Brett Favre saga to continue, Childress is ignoring his other, just as crucial players, he is destroying his own authority, and he is hoping to see different results from a man who just does not change. If he’s willing to trade all of that just to flame out in the playoffs again, then that’s his funeral. But I’m tired of everybody setting the highest price for a product that isn’t the best around. I’m tired of people accepting that on the Minnesota Vikings, 52 guys play by different rules than the 53rd. Brett Favre, the guy who hasn’t won a Super Bowl in 15 years, just isn’t worth the hype.
I hope Minnesota doesn’t win the Super Bowl. Then maybe they’ll dump Favre and Childress and pick up a QB who doesn’t think he’s God and a coach who doesn’t worship him like one.
