I have football on my mind today, but not like the way it is with most other people right now.
First off, there was the induction ceremony for the Pro Football Hall of Fame last weekend, and not only did I cover Brett Favre for a couple of seasons with the Packers, but also Tony Dungy when I worked in Florida. He was the first pro/college head coach I had to deal with and will always have my respect. Moreover, I had met Kenny Stabler more than a few times after moving to Alabama.
Talk about legends ...
Moreover, LSU is getting ready to open its season against Wisconsin at Lambeau Field, which is the kind of game I love to see. Great teams, great fans, historic location. However, I think a lot of college football writers are going to be a little on the shocked side when they get there.
The first time I went to Lambeau was when I was covering the Buccaneers, and a couple of weeks beforehand the beat writers got to do a conference call with Reggie White, then with the Carolina Panthers. For some reason we had some time to kill before the interview formally started when someone on our end said, "Hey Reggie, we're going to Lambeau soon, what's it like?" His response: "Imagine you're driving in the middle of nowhere, and then there's a football stadium."
I thought there's no way it's really like that so after my plane landed in Appleton (25 minutes south of Green Bay) the night before I drove up to check it out. All I could smell were the farms in the area and then sure enough there was this big football stadium.
The next morning when I drove back all I could smell were brats cooking on hundreds of grills.
Consequently, my pregame ritual for every home Packers game was to have a brat.
Here's one of the stories I included in the book,
No Time Outs, which was reprinted courtesy of the
Appleton Post-Crescent. The tricky thing about doing this story was coming up with something fresh and new with Favre, as just about everything imaginable had been written about him and the columnist for our Gannett team coverage had co-authored the quarterback's book.
I find it funny that the story had an LSU reference in it. Go figure.
Dec. 15, 2000
Headline: Just like old times
Subhead: Favre enjoying what he believes
will eventually be another trip to the top of the NFL for the Packers.
GREEN
BAY _ It was a typical day at the Favre house with the three-time Most Valuable
Player of the National Football League lounging about and his 11-year-old
daughter Brittany preparing for a basketball game.
Figuring that her
old man might know a few things about competition, she asked a question that
defenders have been wondering for years.
“Dad,”
she said. “Do you ever get nervous?”
The
reply was yes.
“But it’s not a
negative nervous or scared,” the father said. “I think in order to be good at
something, I think you have to be a little nervous about it, and you have to be
excited about it _ you have to be an excited nervous. You want to do well. If
it didn’t bother you, then you wouldn’t have the drive.
“When
I step out on the field, or I go out on a last drive with a chance to win,
yeah, butterflies are there and stuff. I just play as hard as I can, reckless.”
With
that, Brittany had an understanding of why the father is still one of the best
at what he does. Why after winning a Super Bowl, making millions and being
involved with everything from a candy bar to a cameo role in the movie “There’s
Something About Mary,” quarterback Brett Favre still loves to suit up as the
Green Bay Packers quarterback.
Sometimes even he
can’t wait to see what he’ll do next, but while the passionate mantra _ “Love
to play, work hard, be in there. That’s basically it” _ has remained the same,
his approach and attitude have had to change.
Some would simply call it maturity.
Although
most Packers fans will forever consider the 2000 season a disappointment
regardless of whether Green Bay squeaks into the playoffs or not, it will also
be one Favre is forever proud of. Despite two injuries _ elbow tendonitis and a
foot sprain _ that would have sidelined most 10-year veterans, the 31-year old
has only added to his legacy:
_
Favre has started a record 139 consecutive regular-season games at quarterback,
93 more than the nearest pursuer, Indianapolis’ Peyton Manning. It’s also the
eighth-longest active streak at all positions.
_
With a 58-11 record at Lambeau field and Milwaukee, he enjoys the
second-highest winning percentage (.841) in home starts among NFL quarterbacks
who began their careers on or after 1967 (Terry Bradshaw 67-12, .848). Favre is
a perfect 26-0 at home when the temperature is 34 degrees or colder.
_
Favre has thrown for more than 3,000 yards in each of the last nine seasons,
trying Dan Marino’s amazing mark from 1984 to 1992. He also became the
second-fastest player in league history to reach 250 career touchdown passes.
Favre needed 141 games, Marino 128.
Yet
those are just numbers. Favre prefers to focus on things like confidence, poise
and pride.
“We’re
judged on statistics _ football, basketball, baseball, life,” he said. “How
many magazines did you sell today, how many papers did you sell? I know that
because I won three MVPs on statistics and it’s always nice to look at, but
seventy years from now, if I’m lucky enough to be alive, you look back and I
threw for X-amount of yards. Who cares?
“But I can always
say that I won a Super Bowl. I can say I played with good guys, Reggie White,
LeRoy Butler, Frank Winters. I think that’s more important. As you get older
you learn that some of the things that you thought you’d do forever, you can’t
believe you did at some time. I look back on this season and I can’t believe that
this team has held together the way we have, though 14 games, with the injuries
that we’ve had.”
On
offense alone, Green Bay has been without its best lineman and gone with two
rookie tackles. The tight end is a rookie and without injured Dorsey Levens
(knee) the starting running back essentially is too as 23-yard-old Ahman Green
is a feature ballcarrier for the first time. The changes on defense have been
just as pronounced with injuries, new starters and a new scheme that is
beginning to jell.
Despite
this, both starting receivers might have 1,000-yard seasons for the second
straight year and Green, who also leads the Packers in receptions, needs just
60 yards for his first 1,000-yard rushing campaign.
Early in the
season it was obvious that Green Bay would only win when Favre led the victory,
but that’s no longer the case. Sunday against Detroit, he was admittedly off,
saying that of those 139 starts, 130 were probably better statistically. Yet
Favre and Co. came through in the clutch and Green Bay won 26-13. Years ago the
performance would have bothered him, but no longer. Victory made it a good
game.
“I
still feel like I can throw with anyone in the league, make great decisions
great plays _ the touchdown to Donald (Driver) at Carolina _ but I also know
that you can’t make a living doing that,” Favre said. “You can’t make a living
winning on the last play. Yes it’s dramatic, fans love it, but it’s just too
hard for any one player, any one team to do that week in and week out. So just
try and keep us close, you don’t have to get it all at once, and if it comes
down to the end, I feel like I’m better than the next guy.”
Call
it the evolution of an already great quarterback who has an incredible rivalry
with every other team and countless players, not just Tampa Bay defensive
tackle Warren Sapp. One who surprises himself by saying and thinking the kind
of things that coach Mike Holmgren used to drive him crazy with.
“He’s
everything I expected,” said end John Thierry, who in six years with the
Chicago Bears never beat Favre. “Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t like him at
Chicago, but he had my utmost respect. I’ve gained even more respect here.
“He’s
the one that gets the team going, a phenomenal leader and a great player.”
Most
Packers can’t find the words to articulate what Favre means to the franchise. First-year
coach Mike Sherman said, “I know one thing, I never want to bet against Brett Favre.
He’s a special guy.” Perhaps the best compliment came from linebacker Brian
Williams, “He’s just Brett Favre,” because there is no comparison.
Of
course, last year many were wondering if Favre’s days as an elite quarterback
were over. As some fans called for backup Matt Hasselbeck (who will almost
certainly be traded this offseason for draft picks) to play, Favre might have
too, comparing his fatigue and frustration to that of a retiring, burned-out
coach. The more the Packers struggled, the more he shouldered the blame and
consequently tried way too hard to make big plays. Favre threw for 4,091 yards,
more than two his two MVP seasons, but the team wound up 8-8 and coach Ray
Rhodes was fired. Favre compared the “forgotten year” of 1999 to being a sort
of wake-up call.
“I
was so spent by the eighth game that I don’t know if I had anything else,”
Favre said. “I know I played as hard as I possibly could. I don’t regret
anything I did last year, but it was almost like a blur for everyone. It was
one of those years, when you look back to that season, people will go, ‘I don’t
even remember that year.’ Whereas I think I’ll remember this year more than any
other year aside from the year we won the Super Bowl.”
Even
though this team isn’t anywhere near as good as the 1996 Packers, Favre means
that last part. For him, this season’s numbers have been pretty average, 292 of
500 attempts completed for 3,336 yards, with 17 touchdowns and 14
interceptions. It adds up to a 78.1 passer rating, well below his 87.1 career
average. Favre hasn’t had so few touchdowns since his first two years as a
starter (18 in 1992, 19 in ’93).
Rather he enjoys
the process of getting to the top almost as much as being there, and compares
his current excitement to the Packers’ upswing to the Super Bowl that began in
1993.
“I’m enjoying it
right now, probably more so this year than I have in quite some time,” he
continued. “We were scoring touchdowns, we were killing people. We were like,
‘OK, we’re going to do it.’
“Now we’re
working for everything and it’s not guaranteeing us anything. I’ve been at the
bottom, I’ve been at the top. Nothing really phases me any more so I kind of
appreciate the tough times too. I’ve always said if you went 16-0 every year,
you’d be bored, you wouldn’t appreciate the guys in the locker room, how hard
it is to get there, not that everyone struggled. I think that’s part of it,
part of life. I’m really enjoying it and take it as it comes.”
Although no one
might do more when the stakes are highest (the 91.1 postseason passer rating
ranks among the best ever behind Bart Starr’s record 104.8), Favre has been
forced to learn the hard way that ball control and chemistry almost always win;
because in the NFL, more games are lost by teams than won.
“Sometimes
talent, I think, is looked at as the No. 1 thing that makes a team great,”
Favre said. “It helps, but look at Washington. They probably have no chemistry
in that locker room. It’s ‘me, me, me’ and ‘What’s wrong with these guys?’ Sure
Norv Turner got fired, I saw three or four guys doing interviews saying, ‘Now
we have a guy who cares about his players’ and all this stuff. It’s easy to rip
the coach. I don’t know Norv Turner and I don’t know anything about that team.
You take their talent and our talent, they should whip us every day of the
week. But why is it that we have the same record?”
The
point was further driven home during the Oct. 1 home defeat to the Chicago
Bears _ a game that might mean the difference between making the playoffs and
being in Mississippi for New Year’s. While most remember Favre’s final pass
attempt, a drop by Franks that could have put Green Bay into position to
attempt a game-tying field goal, he instead dwells on the first throw. It was
up the middle to Franks with safety Tony Parrish stepping in for an
interception.
“The
whole momentum changes,” Favre said. “They go in and get seven points. Before
we knew it we were down three scores. We came back, but it was too late, no
different than Indianapolis against us. Of all the plays and throws I’ve had
this year, that’s the only play I wish I had back. That’s the one play that
really gives a good example of why I need to play consistent, be the veteran
leader and handle the team the way they hoped that I would.
“I feel like I’ve
done that. My touchdowns are way down in comparison to the years past. We’re
7-7, but I think it could be a lot worse.”
OPTIONAL
There
are countless examples of Favre’s continuing love affair with pro football,
from watching his reaction to a touchdown pass to a typical conversation about
the game that might last for hours. For example, here’s what he thinks about
Florida State quarterback Chris Weinke winning the Heisman Trophy at 28, the
same age Favre took home his third MVP:
“His
age to me, it didn’t matter,” said Favre, who compared Weinke to Josh Booty, a
Louisiana State player who came back after playing baseball without anywhere
near the same success. “I’ve never been out of football, but I know this, I was
probably better in baseball than football. I’ve been out of baseball a long
time and I’m 31 years old. If I went back now and played minor-league baseball,
which I think I could do, I might not be near as good as I think I am. I
haven’t seen a fastball in quite some time. He hadn’t seen a pass rush. Just
because he’s older doesn’t mean he’ll go “Oh, it’s not as bad as I thought.”
OPTIONAL END
The
married father of two likes the direction Green Bay is headed.
He
thinks the team will only get better as the young players develop into proven
veterans.
He
believes general manager Ron Wolf will again surround him with the necessary
coaches and talent to succeed. Guys like returner Allen Rossum, of whom Favre
admits he had “no idea who the guy was when we picked him up.” Now he’s
considered one of the best special-teams players in the league and has shown
heart players twice his size lack.
“It all comes
down to guys wanting it,” Favre said. “I think this team really wants it.”
