Brett Favre series part 4

Roberto Ruiz-Maki

Brett Favre was known as a “prankster” during his playing days. His pranks ranged from pantsing guys who didn't wear underwear, to putting a bag with a dead animal, along with its blood and guts, inside a teammate's locker. In his early years I think it was fair to say that Favre was a good teammate, as long as you did not mind insensitive, grotesque pranks. That is the way of the NFL though, and it is not fair for us to judge when we know not what goes on behind closed doors. Favre was considered a good teammate, making long practices easier to get through and two-a-days (two practices in one day) less painful.

To win a championship in any sport, you not only have to have talent and drive, but you also need cohesiveness. A team is labeled as such for a reason, and if players feel like one player is above everybody else, then the team will fall short of its ceiling. Bill Simmons of ESPN calls it “The Secret,” and I believe that Favre never really got it throughout his playing career. Yes, he made teammates feel like family when times were going well, but when times got tough he began to pout and blame everybody but himself, something that a person who knew “The Secret” would never do. The Packers did everything they could to keep Favre happy; from hiring his favorite coaches, to paying him more than any NFL player when he signed contracts, the Packers tried to keep their star player content.

My final argument for Favre not being the best quarterback ever is simple. Ask yourself this question: if I had to bet my life on a football game, and I got to choose the football team, who would my quarterback be? If I wanted to have fun and get excited, I would choose Favre. If I wanted to win the Football game, I would choose Steve Young (my top five would look like this: Young, Joe Montana, Tom Brady, Johnny Unitas, Bart Starr). Favre lost every big game in which he was the deciding factor. Even the Super Bowl he won was largely decided by the heroics of Desmond Howard.

The fifth and final part to the Brett Favre series will be coming out tomorrow night. I will wrap it all up and pay tribute to Favre, because even though I do not believe he belongs in the top five best quarterbacks of all time, he will always be top two in my heart (right behind Aaron Rodgers if he can win a title).