'Favre' Downs with Stock & Doc
Brett Favre special
by Ben Stockwell and Paul Hopkins
12/3/2008
 
Now that one of the icons of the modern era has announced his retirement, Stock and Doc pay tribute through their first ever special roundtable. The duo debates his place in history, his legacy and of course, the immortal question, is he the best ever?
 
1st Down – It is surprising that Brett Favre has chosen to retire now, with his final pass attempt being an interception in a Conference Championship.
 
DOC – FACT ! – I've got to be honest and say right from the off, I thought he had one more year in him. This year Favre looked to have got that zest for the game back, and led an exciting and young Packers team to home field advantage in the Conference Championship. Sure, they lost, but they were excellent all season, and another year's experience would easily have been of benefit to them. You could question whether he perhaps trusted himself enough to play at the level he did this year, another time, and decided that it was better to be safe than sorry? Maybe this was always the plan from when he said he could come back in 2007? Or perhaps the loss to the Giants hit him hard enough to knock him into retirement? However you interpret it, it's still a bit of a shock that it's come now, and an era has come to an end. I just hope John Madden was sat down when he heard the news, and people were checking on him throughout the night!
 
STOCK – FICTION ! – I'm not saying for a second that I expected him to retire, but it is not surprising either, if in recent seasons it's been a toss-up as to whether he would return then there is no reason why this off-season would be any different for him. Certainly you can make the point that he is leaving this team just as they are moving in the right direction, just a step away from the Superbowl, but that step is the biggest of all of them. How long does he have to stick around to see if he can go out on the absolute high note? If he comes back this year then he's putting too much pressure on the rest of the team to go one step further for him. It's tough to make that next step, he gets to leave after his best season in probably the last five or more years and he is leaving the Packers on a positive note with the roster in a positive state for his successor, Aaron Rodgers. Much as the common theme of uninformed guess work in the media was that he would return, his retirement should not be overly surprising to anyone.
 
2nd Down – Brett Favre played a key role in the rise in popularity of the NFL in Britain.
 
DOC – FACT ! – Course he did. Just reminiscing now, I realise that when he began his streak of starting games, I was just 10 years old! That's a period during which much has happened in the NFL in the UK. It's not all down to him, but has Brett Favre being around accentuated it? Course it has! Anytime you can showcase one of the all-time legendary players in a sport whilst trying to draw in new viewers, especially one that people seem to be able to relate to on a personal level, then its of great benefit. One of the biggest selling points of the NFL to outsiders I find, is the personalities and characters involved, and Brett Favre provided that. Football can be a complex game to pick up, but the human side of it is easy to grasp. Favre showed that, and of course, its fun to watch someone doing something they love, and having fun themselves. That was certainly Brett Favre.
 
STOCK – FACT ! – And this counts not only for the UK but the NFL in general. Favre has been the pre-eminent quarterback in an era which has seen the NFL surpass Major League Baseball (thanks to their problems with steroids and the strike season after the NFL's own labour troubles) as America's top professional sports league. He has an appeal that transcends national boundaries and even stretches outside of fans' loyalties, I'd bet some slices of reformed Wisconsin cheese that even Bears fans don't truly hate him, he's the sort of player that people just love watching play. He is the prototype gunslinger at quarterback that is a big part of the attraction of NFL in the UK, so yes, he has played a key role in this, he was Manning and Brady in one package in the 1990's.
 
3rd Down – Brett Favre came back in 2007 just to get the passing records.
 
DOC – Ouch! Controversial stuff! I'm going with FICTION ! – not because I don't think it was part of the motivation, because I bet it was. It certainly would be for me, so I'm not decrying him for that. But I don't think it was the only reason. Players like Favre want to play and they want to win rings. Whether he thought they could go as far as they did this year in August I don't know, but just like they took a lot of us by surprise I believe they took themselves by surprise. So the plausibility of this argument does have some merit. As does his view that he doesn't really want to play anymore. Surely this season coming offers more hope than the last? Either way, it had to be about more than records, and throughout the season it showed that it wasn't just about them.
 
STOCK – FICTION ! – I obviously don't know for sure whether it was a contributing factor, but I struggle to believe that it didn't at least factor into his decision making. Who in their right mind would pass up so many passing records? It's not the sort of thing that you really take great pride in at the time because you're still in the moment building for the next game, but now Favre has retired, he will start to realise just how much these records mean and what an outstanding career he has had to compile these records without being the sort of player that is merely a “compiler”, he is an all-time great with the records to go along with it. He most certainly made the right decision to come back, he benefitted the team, he benefitted himself in the short term and his legacy, an almost perfect final season.
 
4th Down – Brett Favre will not go down as the greatest quarterback of all-time.
 
DOC – FACT ! – Sorry, but despite the post-retirement nostalgia that will go on, he won't. I actually think it's the most impossible question to answer since everyone has their own perspective. In his favour, Favre might hold all the records, but against that, he only has one ring. That's not all down to him but it just shows you how impossible it is to determine the best ever. What I will say is that I have not enjoyed watching any player more than Brett Favre, and I will miss that. Great entertainment, but also great determination and perseverance. Favre is one of those guys that we all think we would play football with the same attitude as, but in all likelihood we wouldn't be able to. That his personality outshone even the great talent he had, is arguably as bigger a compliment as we can give. It's a shame he's gone but someone else will emerge to take that spot. He's had a great career, there'll only be one Brett Favre and I'm thankful he covered the vast majority of the first two decades that I've followed this game. But he is not the best ever in my opinion.
 
STOCK – FACT ! – Who has gone down as the greatest quarterback of all-time? If no-one before has gone down as it, then I don't see that Favre, or Manning when he retires, or Brady when he retires will suddenly change this great debate and give us a definitive answer. Favre will go down in the discussion amongst the all-time greats but as with all the others, it will depend on the individual judging it and what they're looking for in their great QB. You can look to Otto Graham who was the ultimate winner, John Unitas who was the modern QB 30 years ahead of his time, Dan Marino who has become the bench mark of what scouts look for in prototype pocket QBs (in terms of size, arm strength, release time etc.), Joe Montana as the ultimate performer in the crunch? There is a plethora of options for the greatest QB of all-time and if there is no definitive answer already Favre isn't going to magically provide it, but he will most certainly be in the heart of the discussion.