Recently Vikings’ owner Zigi Wilf indicated he was not interested in pursuing the new free agent Brett Favre. So I find Brad Childress’ comments here at the very least, curious. Specifically, when asked if the team has discussed the possibility of going after Favre, Childress said:
“We haven’t. It doesn’t mean we won’t,” Childress said. “We talk about everything, from what’s going on in the United States on the front page today. … So, yeah, I’m sure we’ll talk about that.”
While Childress attempted to make this a general, non-statement, I don’t think he succeeded. I’m not sure why he’d say “it doesn’t mean we won’t ” or “I’m sure we’ll talk about that” if this were something that they weren’t considering. CindyV and Trav have both wondered if Favre may end up in Minnesota based on some of these recent comments by the Vikes and also on the fact that Favre asked to be released. I must say that I didn’t think the whole Favre-to-Vikings story had legs initially, but these Childress comments make me wonder.
I’ve said this before, but I would be profoundly disappointed if Favre ended up on the Vikings. Not only do I think he’d be good there (yes, believe it or not, better than Tarvaris), but I also don’t think Packer fans could forgive him. Imagine, Favre being announced at Lambeau wearing a heinous purple uniform to a chorus of boos. It would be really, really sad.
packergeeks 
May 3, 2009 at 12:00 am |
It would feel bad to boo Brett. But Brett isn’t thinking about his legacy in Green Bay. Brett wants to stick to Ted Thompson. Playing for the Jets wasn’t sticking it to Ted. It might have if Brett’s arm had stayed healthy and the Jets were in the playoffs. But as Brett’s arm went south, so did the Jets. In the end, it looked like Thompson was the smart one. That must have stuck in Brett’s craw enough for him to try to stick it to Ted again. I can’t imagine the anger in Brett to pull the retirement stunt a second year. He makes himself the laughing stock of the NFL.
May 3, 2009 at 12:59 am |
do we really think Favre has a vendetta against thompson? or do we think he just wants a shot at winning another super bowl? i believe it is the latter. and the vikings just happen to be one of the best teams in contention without a good quarterback – they also happen to be a rival of his former longtime team. but…maybe i’m giving favre the benefit of the doubt. i agree it would be sad to see him in purple.
May 3, 2009 at 9:04 am |
Well, if he does come back with the Queens, I hope we get “pick six” Favre when the Pack gets to play him. We know he can do it….
May 3, 2009 at 11:10 am |
Brett had his chance at one last Superbowl his last season with the Pack. He blew it with his play which was simply horrible. The Jets could have at least gone to the playoffs, but Favre blew that, too.
May 3, 2009 at 11:12 am |
This from SI Online this morning:
One NFL source insists Brett Favre can’t peacefully retire until he finds a way to get revenge on the Packers. He wants back into the NFC North so he can face the Packers twice. The Bears traded for Jay Cutler and the Lions drafted Matthew Stafford. Hello, Minnesota. “Favre can’t stand Green Bay,” the source said. “He wants to play Green Bay and say, ‘I told you so.’ His bitterness is creating this. I think he’s calling Minnesota. I think Minnesota is talking about this as we speak. You haven’t heard the end of Favre. No way. He is bionic. As long as somebody will let him in, he will play.”
May 3, 2009 at 11:50 am |
I think if Favre decides to unretire once again and go play for the Vikings, the team ought to give jersey number 4 to someone currently on the roster. My vote is to Tyrrell Sutton.
May 3, 2009 at 12:40 pm |
That is an interesting article from SI. I just don’t see Favre being that motivated by getting even with TT. He may hope that TT fails but I doubt he is going to base a decision on that factor alone. I think LACHEEZ hits it on the head in that MN just may be the perfect storm for Favre and it is probably tempting for him. It is a risk for Favre though. If he comes back and flops or that teams flops in the playoffs he seriosuly degrades his public image but it also pisses away that $20 million marketing deal that is on the table from the Packers. But, if he comes back and wins another ring that $20 million will be a drop in the bucket compared to his marketing worth in MN and the rest of the country. He probably also assumes if he wins that ring in MN that most Packer fans will blame TT and not him for how things went down. In the end, I think it comes back to what Brett thinks he can achieve in MN. If he thinks he would have a real good chance of winning a ring in MN then he will be in training camp. If not, then I doubt he puts his 20 year history with Packer fans and that $20 million marketing deal at risk.
May 3, 2009 at 1:33 pm |
If Favre goes to the Vikings then even the great memories I have of him playing in Green Bay will be enough to make me not intensely dislike him. I can’t believe this is just about winning a Super Bowl because otherwise he wouldn’t have retired after losing in overtime in the NFC Championship with a young and talented team. If he is so desperate to win a SB that he’s willing to destroy his legacy in Green Bay then he wouldn’t have retired in the first place.
It will be interesting to see if there are reports of him having surgery. It seemed like the consensus was that he needed surgery on his arm to continue to play – it would get better on its own but not enough to play at a high level. If he gets the surgery then I’d say he’s going to be in purple and could be scary. If he doesn’t then he may stay retired or at the very least struggle playing.
May 3, 2009 at 2:13 pm |
Hearing the wrods “Favre can’t stand the Packers” made me a little nauseous. Packerbelle, does he have time to have the surgery & heal by season opener? Favre is a great football player but I think calling even him bionic is going a bit far. I like what one guy (higster, hipster) in an earlier post said that he hopes we get a “very, very effective pass rush”. Obviously a few pick 6’s would be nice also.
If Favre can hold a burning grudge this long I think it says sometihng about his mental make up, unless there is truly something to the fact that maybe the Packer’s tried to rush (force) him into that retirement decision after 2007. It’s pretty obvious TT wants this team to have his “stamp”all over it. Hopefully Lacheez & DaveK are on the right track & Brett thinks this may be his last legitimate chance at a Super Bowl run. I find it hard to be believe that he would go play a year for the Jets and risk an injury, which happened (not to mention turning down 20 mil) unless he just wanted to play. His asking for his release (twice) from the Jets does cause one to wonder. I guess the cards just fell his way.
In hindsight, I wish Packer mngmt & Aaron & Favre had sat down last year and agreed to let Favre have one more year with the Pack & barring a SB win, 2008 would be Favre’s last year and Aaron gets the team. I’m not big fan of TT’s but I have to say after the draft I feel a little more confident with him.The one thing I know for sure is, I would not want to be in his shoes. Too many big time decisions. Go Pack.
May 3, 2009 at 4:14 pm |
I miss Big Irv. I have a feeling he wouldn’t be putting up with this crap.
May 3, 2009 at 9:13 pm |
I think you’re right, Packerbelle. Daddy Favre might not have approved of these diva-esque descents into idiocy. This is the dumbest grudge I’ve ever witnessed. Favre’s logic can basically be distilled into this: “Screw TT! He had the audacity to value the franchise’s future over mine! I’ll show him! I’ll throw touchdowns!”
I think the past year has given us all a glimpse into Favre’s fragile psyche. There is something wrong with him right now — I don’t know if he’s drinking again or what, but his eyes have the glossy, glazed-over look of a Scientology recruit. What a sad sack.
May 3, 2009 at 9:55 pm |
Favre is proving to be nothing but a whiny D-BAG. Comments starting with the words “at this time” are absolutely intentional, the man craves attention.
If he really would wear purple into Lambeau then I will have lost the little bit of respect that I still have for him. And I hope that Clay would “RETIRE” him once and for all!
May 3, 2009 at 10:24 pm |
Why don’t we wait until he actually does something?!!
May 4, 2009 at 9:24 am |
All snark aside, I think all of these reports about Favre wanting to signwith the Vikes to stick it to the Packers are all sourced to the same place. So I am not yet too worked up about it.
That said, I think the most interesting bit came from Bedard’s blog a few days ago:
“A Jets players told me a few months ago: “‘It’s not over between him and the Packers. I know a lot of it started from the people around him. But he’s bought into it.'”
From this, it would appear that Favre may not have had a whole lot of animosity against the Packers and/or Ted Thompson until “people around him” started chirping. I don’t think it takes a lot of thought to figure out who that might be.
I think Packerbelle is right. With Irv gone, Favre has become more receptive to some of these other voices than he might have been before.
I still think Sutton ought to get No. 4 if Favre signs with the Vikings, though.
May 4, 2009 at 1:28 pm |
“From this, it would appear that Favre may not have had a whole lot of animosity against the Packers and/or Ted Thompson until “people around him” started chirping. I don’t think it takes a lot of thought to figure out who that might be. ”
I tend to agree with that. When he retired (the first time) it seemed very genuine. He thanked TT and MM and said that there was nothing they could have done to change his mind. He even said that he and Deanna were going to take a year off from public events and such.
Fastforward a few months and it is a vastly different scenario and I wondered at the time (and still do) if someone had been getting him riled up. Maybe I’m grasping at straws, but it would be nice to think that it wasn’t an act for 16 years and that he just went a little crazy in retirement and let the wrong people influence him.
May 4, 2009 at 3:07 pm |
Good point Sportspack!!
May 6, 2009 at 1:14 am |
Fvare will sign with the Vikes soon. Everyone better boo Favre when he returns to Lambeau because he doesnt care about Green Bay or its fans and don’t tell me he does. If he honestly cared about winning a championship he wouldn’t have retired after 07. His pride was hurt when he found out that he was replaceable, even though the Pack tried to bring him back repeatedly after the 07 season. Everyone should remember something Favre said to Sterling Sharpe in 94; he told Sterling to stop being a baby and just play because everyone is replaceable in the NFL. Favre said that because he thought everyone was replaceable until the media inflated Favre’s ego and Irv passed away. Now Favre has no good mentor to help him with his decision making and he is driven by childish behavior and dare I say it; uneducated actions. He listens to his agent who is simply trying to make more money off of Favre and truly doesnt care about Brett. I dont care if Green Bay Mgt hates Brett or Brett hates Green Bay Mgt; it is just simply sad to see someone like Favre being taken advantage of by his agent and the fact that Brett is too stupid to see that he is being taken advantage of. Unfortunately I don’t feel sorry for him though because he is now so consumed with revenge; that he will never be able to see clearly again what he meant to Pack fans; or he just simply doesn’t care about Packer fans. I have a feeling he now only cares about self-serving actions and could care less about his image in Green Bay becuase he knows Packer fans will always buy his merchandise and he will always be rich from the actions of his past and the devotion of the great fans of the Green Bay Packers. Thanks for betraying us Brett! I guess we deserved it for always supporting you! Don’t pretend like you don’t understand the rivalry between the Pack & Vikes and what your signing with the Vikes means to Packer fans.