It doesn't even bug me that he went to New York and spent a season in an odd sort of purgatory, then came back to a division rival. He was just hopping from the situation the Packers smartly saddled him with to the situation he really wanted. And, in truth, it's probably a good situation for all involved: Favre could well be an upgrade at quarterback for the Vikes (though a five-year-old handing the ball off to Adrian Peterson 50 times a game might have been an upgrade on the hot-and-cold duo of Sage Rosenfels and Tarvaris Jackson), so both he and the team get closer to that elusive Super Bowl.
That none of that irks me may have to do both with my remove from the Midwest, where the NFC North's rivalries are brewed, and my pessimism about Favre's skills.
It's easy for me to not mind Favre in purple because I won't hear about it daily. I suppose that someone in Eau Claire would be of a different mind, but the mostly "meh" response from Packers camp shows that even Wisconsinites might be over this story.
Further, as a Packers fan who saw Favre toss interception after interception for the Packers, I find it hard to believe he won't do the same against the Packers. Plus, the Packers defense knows his tendencies well, and will be revved up to take their pounds of flesh forcibly in the two meetings this year; Favre can only directly impact the Packers' season in two games, and those will be the two games circled in red on every defender's calendar. Whatever talent he brings to Minnesota, it seems to me it will be only as valuable as, and perhaps less than, the motivation he provides to the Pack.
Lest we forget, that's a Packers team two years removed from an NFC Championship game that Favre lost almost by himself, and one that could be very good if Aaron Rodgers continues developing into one of the better quarterbacks in the league and the roster avoids the tsunami of injuries that sunk the team in 2008.
Article comments
1 - Matthew T. Sussman
See, this is why we practice the Brett Favre Drill all summer. So when it actually happens, we all remain calm.