Article:My Take on the Favre Trade (Like you need another one)

With the unveiling of my horse racing videos and the right-around-the-corner featuring of my NFL newsletter and college football video picks, I’ve decided that http://davesdime.com will no longer be a home for only podcasts. It will be a Vegadaveshmorgasboard of multimedia, complete with video, podcast, and writing. I certainly hope you aren’t sick of me yet; I’m getting a little sick of myself.

I’ve decided to do this for a few reasons. One, versatility… might as well mix things up to keep things fresh. Sometimes you can hear my opinion, sometimes you can read it, other times you can see it. Seems fun to me. Secondly, there are some topics that I feel are better suited for writing and others that I feel are better suited for podcasting. I try and write with a little bit of personality (isn’t this just oozing with it?), and sometimes I believe my points will be better expressed in writing. Does this make any sense? Who knows.

Quite frankly, I’m just too bored of the whole Brett Favre “Saga” to write, record, and edit a show for him. Why should I commit to going through all this effort for him when he wouldn’t even commit to coming back over the offseason?

Here are few of my personal favorite lines (paraphrased for simplicity) from this whole debacle…

“I felt like they were pressuring me to make a decision before draft day and free agency.” - Those jerks! How dare they say ‘Hey Brett, you don’t have to rush your decision, but the sooner you could let us know the better so we know how to prepare for the next few weeks.’ How dare they want to know so they can decide whether they should be drafting and signing free agents towards rebuilding for the future or attempting to win it all this year! How dare they put the team first! This is Brett Favre’s world; we’re just living in it.

“They have said they want to move on, so release me and let me move on.” - Um, not quite the same thing Brett. You consistently told upper management through text, phone, and in person that you had slight doubts, but you wanted to stay retired and you would not commit to coming back. After sticking to this for months, when the team has prepared for the year without you, you come back in the picture and demand to be played or released. They moved on because you forced them to, not because they chose to. Therefore, why should you get the luxury of just choosing to move on?

“The Packers should have went and got Randy Moss and should have interviewed other coaches for the head coaching job.” - Great. The team that you spend your last season with makes it a magical one, including an improbable run to becoming a powerhouse in the NFC. This is how you repay them, by throwing them under the bus. Classy. Favre put the Packers in a no-win situation. Release him, and he likely signs with the Bears or Vikings and plays against the Packers twice, once at Lambeau; a PR disaster. Trade him, and you just traded away the face of the franchise and the fanbase’s hero. Start him, and you basically solidify the truth in Green Bay that no one else matters but him.

I can’t believe that tarnishing all those great years in Green Bay and estranging yourself from the organization and the fans is worth it for one more season.

On the flip side, stupid trade for the Jets.

Kellen Clemens was drafted 49th overall in 2006 to be the Quarterback of the future for this team. He has paid his dues, and it is his turn to start the season as the Jets QB and see what he can do with it. This year the Jets have no real chance of going all the way; the Colts, Patriots, and Chargers are all a league better then the Jets, and the Steelers, Browns, Jaguars, and Titans all project to do better too. This should be a re-building year for the Jets - they should have started Clemens all year to see what he was made of. If he was the guy, great, build a team around him. If not, go get someone in the next draft or over the offseason.

Adding Favre does not make the Jets a contender. All it does is make them take a giant step backwards as to knowing who the QB that will lead them when they ARE a contender in a few years will be.

Even if Favre has an excellent season and miraculously gets the Jets into the playoffs, where they are bounced by superior teams immediately, I’ll still say this was a bad trade. This was Clemens’ team to run this year.

Lastly, in the aftermath of all this, the Dolphins are the big winners, adding Chad Pennington who the Jets released to make room for Favre. Pennington may leave a lot to be desired when it comes to arm strength, but he can run the West Coast Offense as good as anyone, and also runs an excellent play action fake, which should come in handy with Ronnie Brown leading the way in Miami. Pennington is a vast improvement over Josh McCown.

So congrats New York, not only did you set yourself back, you made a hated division rival stronger in the process.

All for good ol’ Brett Favre.