Brett Favre

Biography
Brett Lorenzo Favre (pronounced "Färv") (born October 10, 1969 in Gulfport, Mississippi) has been the starting quarterback for the Green Bay Packers. He is widely considered one of the best quarterbacks in the history of the NFL. Favre is the NFL's only three time MVP (1995-97), and is known for his durability and toughness, holding the NFL record for consecutive starts by a quarterback with 248 (268 total starts including playoffs). He is of French and Choctaw ancestry.

Kiln
Favre was raised in Kiln, Mississippi (pronouced Kill), and attended Hancock North Central High School there. He played quarterback, lineman, strong safety, placekicker and punter in a primarily Option offense offense coached by his father, Irvin Favre. Mr. Favre said he knew his son had a great arm but also knew that the school was blessed with good running backs. As a result, the Hancock North Central HS ran the Wishbone (running) offense during Favre's three years on the team.

College
Favre received only one scholarship offer after high school. It was from nearby Southern Mississippi—which wanted him to play defensive back. Favre wanted to play under center instead and clawed his way up from the seventh string to the backup job and then to the starting position just three games into his freshman year. He took over in the second half against Tulane on September 19, 1987 and led USM to a comeback victory with two touchdown passes. Favre led the Golden Eagles to a big upset of Florida State, then ranked sixth in the nation, September 2, 1989. Favre capped off a six-and-a-half-minute drive with the game-winning touchdown pass with 23 seconds remaining.

Favre's college career was turned upside down on July 14, 1990, when he was in a near-fatal car accident. When going around a bend a few tenths of a mile from his parents' house, Favre lost control of his car. It flipped three times in the air, crashed into a tree and got stuck there. Only after his brother smashed the window with a golf club could he be evacuated to the hospital. On the way there, inside of the ambulance, his mother was sitting with him. “All I kept asking [her] was ‘Will I be able to play football again?’” Favre recalled later. Doctors would later remove 30 inches of Favre's small intestine. On September 8, Favre led Southern Miss to a comeback victory over Alabama. Alabama coach Gene Stallings said, “You can call it a miracle or a legend or whatever you want to. I just know that on that day, Brett Favre was larger than life.”

Even at the end of his four year college career, Favre earned a Teaching Degree from Southern Miss, with an emphasis in teaching children with disabilities

Atlanta
Favre was drafted in the second round of the 1991 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons with the 33rd pick. His entire career (the 1991 season) in Atlanta was unremarkable:
 * He was a third-string quarterback with an affinity for partying.
 * He went 0 for 5 passing with two interceptions.
 * His very first pass in the NFL resulted in a touchdown. . . for the other team.
 * He got into repeated clashes with head coach Jerry Glanville.
 * He missed the team photo because he'd been out partying the night before.
 * He made a $100 bet with Jerry Glanville that he could throw the ball into the upperdeck of Fulton County Stadium. Favre won the bet and Glanville paid him the money.

Ron Wolf, new general manager for the Packers traded a first round pick (17th overall) for Favre during the following off-season. As it turns out, while Wolf was GM of the New York Jets the previous year, he had intended to draft Favre but the Falcons took him one pick prior to the Jets.

Given Favre's history at the time, many Packer fans felt that the trade was a poor decision by Wolf. Fortunately for them, they were wrong. Although the trade is now regarded as one of the most lopsided in NFL history, it nearly didn't happen. According to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel] and other sources, during the physical after the trade, Favre was diagnosed with avascular necrosis, the same degenerative hip condition that ended Bo Jackson's career, and doctors recommended he be failed. Wolf overruled them and the Packers would never be the same.

Green Bay
Favre's first completion as a Green Bay Packer was to himself. On September 13, 1992, in a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Favre's pass attempt was deflected by Ray Seals. Favre caught the deflection, but went down for a loss of 7 yards. He started the game in the second half.

He has started every Green Bay Packers game since September 20, 1992, when Don Majkowski went down injured against the Cincinnati Bengals. Favre did not play well during most of the game, prompting the fans to chant "Det-mer!", referring to Ty Detmer who was also on the Packers at the time. Favre proceeded to lead the team to a comeback victory however, throwing the game-winning touchdown pass to Kitrick Taylor with 13 seconds remaining. Favre was so thrilled that he nearly forgot that he was supposed to be the holder on the extra point try. Favre never liked having to hold the ball for the kicker, and when he had to do it in this instance he let go of the ball several seconds before Packer kicker Chris Jacke could kick it. Fortunately, the ball stood up on its own tip long enough for Jacke to convert the extra point.

The next week's game against the Pittsburgh Steelers began the longest consecutive starts streak for a quarterback in NFL history, a number that continues to grow despite numerous injuries, including a broken thumb on his right (throwing) hand that he suffered in week 7 against the Rams during the 2003 season. At the time the Packers were holding a record of 3-4 going into the bye week. After the bye week, in spite of the fracture in his throwing thumb, he led the Packers to a 10-6 record in the regular season and a victory over the Seattle Seahawks in the playoffs. Even more impressive was the fact that he led the league with 32 touchdown passes. The 2003 season was just one chapter in the story of Favre's toughness.

In the early years under head coach Mike Holmgren, Favre struggled to keep his game under control, often making high-risk throws that resulted in many interceptions. Eventually he learned Holmgren's system and became one of the league's top quarterbacks, winning the first of three MVP awards in 1995, a season in which the Packers made it to the NFC Championship Game, upsetting the San Francisco 49ers to go further in the playoffs than any Packer team since the Vince Lombardi era.

While being treated for various injuries, Brett Favre developed an addiction to painkillers. He went public with his problem in May 1996, and immediately sought rehabilitation after a press conference admitting his problem. He remained in rehab for 46 days.

The Years of Super Bowls XXXI and XXXII
Favre led the Packers to their greatest season in 30 years in the 1996-97 season, winning his second consecutive MVP award in the process. Green Bay compiled an NFL-best regular season record of 13-3, beat the 49ers and Carolina at Lambeau Field in the playoffs, advancing to Super Bowl XXXI at the Louisiana Superdome. Ironically, Favre's first Super Bowl and the first Super Bowl for the Packers in nearly 30 years was to be a short drive from Favre's boyhood home of Kiln.

Favre completed 14 of 27 passes for 246 yards and 2 touchdowns in Super Bowl XXXI, including an 81-yard touchdown pass to Antonio Freeman in the second quarter (then a Super Bowl record; this was surpassed in Super Bowl XXXVIII with Jake Delhomme's 85-yard touchdown pass to Muhsin Muhammad). Favre also rushed for 12 yards and another touchdown, as the Packers won Super Bowl XXXI over the New England Patriots, 35-21.

Favre and the Packers continued their dominance of the NFC the next season. Favre was named co-MVP of the league with Detroit Lions running back Barry Sanders, his third straight award. Favre is the only player in NFL history with 3 MVP awards.

Green Bay fought their way to Super Bowl XXXII by beating the Tampa Buccaneers and the 49ers (again). They lost to John Elway and the Denver Broncos by the score of 31-24 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego after turning the ball over on downs on their final drive while trying to score a touchdown to send the game into overtime. Favre had a superb performance in the game, completing 25 of 42 passes for 256 yards and 3 touchdowns, with 1 interception. Still, he took the loss to the Broncos hard, and considered retirement in the off-season. Eventually, Brett decided to continue playing.

Middle Career Years
Favre and the Packers continued posting positive results through the next few seasons. Through the 2004 season, the Packers had the longest streak of non-losing seasons (13) in the NFL. This was despite an 8-8 record under one-year coach Ray Rhodes, and a 9-7 season under coach Mike Sherman in his first season as the Packer head coach. They also failed to make the playoffs in either 1999 or 2000. This marked the first time in 7 years (1993) that the Favre led Packers didn't make the playoffs. The streak of non-losing seasons ended in 2005, with the Packers finishing 4-12 during the final season of Mike Sherman's tenure. Although seldom discussed by the media, Favre has not had as much success in the postseason since Super Bowl XXXII. He is 3-5 in the playoffs since the 1998 season. Two of those losses were at home in the first round (or wild-card game). The first was the first ever post season loss at home in the history of the Packer franchise.

Favre was the target of controversy at the end of 2001 when, in the regular-season finale against the New York Giants at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., Favre rolled to his right and slid down at the feet of hard-charging Giants defensive end, his friend Michael Strahan. It was Strahan's lone sack of the game and gave him the NFL's single-season sack record of 22.5, which topped Mark Gastineau's record of 22 set in 1984. Favre claimed he'd changed the play at the line of scrimmage, but the rest of the team appeared to run a different play. The Packers were winning the game handily—and did win 34-25—and Favre's offensive line had relegated Strahan to a non-factor for most of the game. Players and fans from around the league were highly critical of the play, and comedian Jimmy Kimmel even lampooned the episode in a skit during FOX NFL Sunday shortly after, depicting a "Strahan" and a "Favre" in an elegant ballet that culminated in "Strahan" sweeping "Favre" up off his feet and gently laying him on the ground.

One of the defining moments of Favre's career, and arguably his greatest game ever, took place on December 22, 2003, in a Monday Night Football game against the Oakland Raiders. The day before this game, his father, Irvin Favre, died suddenly of a heart attack. Favre elected to play and passed for four touchdowns in the first half. He ended with 399 passing yards as the Packers proceeded to rout the Raiders 41-7 on international television (receiving applause from the highly partisan "Raider Nation"). Afterwards, Favre said, "I knew that my dad would have wanted me to play. I love him so much and I love this game. It's meant a great deal to me, to my dad, to my family, and I didn't expect this kind of performance. But I know he was watching tonight." He was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week. He then went to his father's funeral in Pass Christian, Mississippi and returned in time to lead the Packers to a dominant 31-3 victory over the Denver Broncos. The victory resulted in the 2003 NFC North championship when the division-leading Minnesota Vikings lost an 18-17 game to the Arizona Cardinalson a last minute touchdown. Favre won an ESPY Award for his Monday Night Football performance.

From 2002 to 2004, Favre threw a touchdown pass in 36 consecutive games, the second longest streak ever behind Johnny Unitas' 47.

Since March 2, 2001, Favre has been signed to a "lifetime" contract with the Packers, the first in team history. The deal made Favre the first $100 million player in NFL history.

In 2005, despite throwing for over 3,000 yards for a record fourteenth consecutive time, Favre had a terrible season overall. His season consisted of only 20 touchdown passes and a league-leading, career high 29 interceptions. His passer rating was 70.9, 31st in the NFL and the worst single season rating of his career.

For the first time, people in the major media were questioning his age and ability. Many speculated that Favre would retire. However, on April 26 2006, Favre announced that he would remain with the team for the 2006 season. Despite earlier comments that the 2006 season would be his last, Favre announced in a press conference on May 6, 2006 that he has not ruled out the possibility of returning beyond the 2006 season.

As it turned out, the decision to return was a wise one. After a mediocre 2006 season, which consisted of 18 TDs against 18 interceptions, Favre came on in 2007 to have the best year of his career since the Super Bowl years of the mid-90's. In 2007, Favre led the Packers to a franchise regular season record tying 13-3 mark. His 4157 yards marked the fourth time in his career he passed for more than 4000 yards and it was the 16th consecutive season where he passed for than 3000 yards. Both are NFL records. To round out the statistics, he passed for 28 TDs and 15 interceptions for a rating of 95.7.

On November 4, 2007 after Brett Favre and the Packers defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 33-22, he became only the 3rd quarterback to have defeated all thirty-one other current NFL teams. The other two quarterbacks are Peyton Manning and Tom Brady.

Family tragedies
On Sunday, December 21, 2003, Favre's father Irvin had a heart attack and ran his car into a ditch near Kiln, where years earlier Brett Favre had nearly died. At the scene, Sgt. Joe Gazzo of the Mississippi State Highway Patrol said: "It didn't appear that the accident was serious enough to cause him to be unconscious, so that leads us to believe that a medical condition was what caused him to go off the road." Irvin Favre went off the road at 5:23 p.m., according to eye-witness reports, and was pronounced dead at 6:15 p.m. An autopsy done the following day showed that Irvin Favre died of a sudden heart attack.

Several family crises followed Irvin Favre's death. Favre's brother-in-law, Casey Tynes, was killed in an all-terrain vehicle accident on Favre's Mississippi property. Soon after, Brett's wife, Deanna, was diagnosed with breast cancer. Following aggressive treatment, she made progress and has recovered well.

More recently, in late August 2005, Favre's family suffered another setback. Hurricane Katrina blew through Mississippi, destroying his family's home there. Luckily, none of his family members were injured. Brett and Deanna's home in Hattiesburg, Mississippi was also damaged by the storm.

On December 13, 2005, Brett's grandmother, Izella French, suffered a stroke. She is currently in stable condition.

Honors and awards

 * Favre has won the National Football League's Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award a record three times, all in consecutive years (1995, 1996, and 1997; the last shared with Barry Sanders). He is the only NFL player to have won it more than twice.


 * Sports Illustrated's 2007 Sportsman of the Year.


 * Favre has been selected to play in the Pro Bowl nine times in his career.


 * Favre is a six-time All-Pro selection.


 * Favre was named to the NFL 1990s All-Decade Team.


 * Has received the NFC Offensive Player of the Week honor 12 times.


 * Chris Greicius Celebrity Award from the Make a Wish Foundation in 2007 for "being a true standout, even among the many generous celebrities who help create magical experiences for the kids who wish to meet them."


 * Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle declared November 29, 2004 as Brett Favre Day to honor Favre's 200th consecutive NFL regular season start. That night, the Packers defeated the St. Louis Rams on Monday Night Football.


 * In 1999, he was ranked number 82 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players. In 2005, TSN published another special feature honoring the 50 Greatest Quarterbacks.  With his career statistics considerably augmented, Favre was ranked number 4, behind Johnny Unitas, Joe Montana and John Elway, and just ahead of previous Packer quarterback legend Bart Starr.


 * Men's Health Magazine voted Favre the "Toughest Person in America" in 2003.


 * United States Sports Academy Male Athlete of the Year Award in 2007 finishing ahead of Tiger Woods and Tom Brady.


 * According to Sports Illustrated, he was named a sports enemy of four states: North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota (each of them home mainly to Minnesota Vikings fans), and Illinois (home mainly to Chicago Bears fans).


 * His high school, Hancock North Central (Kiln, Miss.), honored him in May 2004 by renaming its field, ‘Brett Favre Field,’ and unveiling a life-sized statue of the quarterback at the stadium’s entrance. The school previously had retired his jersey (No. 10) in 1993.


 * Established the 'Brett Favre Fourward Foundation’ in 1996; in conjunction with his annual golf tournament, celebrity softball game and fund-raising dinners, foundation has donated more than $2 million to charities in his home state of Mississippi as well as to those in his adopted state of Wisconsin.


 * Is a partner in a Green Bay restaurant, 'Brett Favre's Steakhouse'; operation has a sister location, 'Brett Favre's Two Minute Grill', in the Lambeau Field Atrium.


 * Cameo appearance in the 1998 comedy film There's Something About Mary.


 * He won the NFL's sexiest man competition run by FoxSports on January 22, 2006.

Records and Milestones
Favre currently possesses a number of NFL records:
 * Most seasons with 30 or more touchdown passes: 8 (1994-1998, 2001, 2003-2004)
 * Most consecutive seasons with 30 or more touchdown passes: 5 (1994-1998)
 * Most consecutive seasons with 20 or more touchdown passes: 12 (1994-2005)
 * Most seasons leading the league in touchdown passes: 4
 * Most consecutive 3,000-yard passing seasons: 16 (1992-2007)
 * Most 3,000-yard passing seasons: 16
 * Most 4,000-yard passing seasons: 4
 * Most consecutive NFL MVP awards: 3 (1995, 1996, 1997 [co-MVP with Barry Sanders])
 * Most NFL MVP awards: 3
 * Most consecutive starts by a quarterback: 253 (274 including playoffs)
 * Most Career Games with at least 3 TD passes: 64
 * Most consecutive post season games with a TD pass: 17
 * Longest touchdown pass: 99 yards (to Robert Brooks, 1995) (tied with several others)

Only five other quarterbacks in NFL history have recorded at least two consecutive 30-touchdown passing seasons in their careers: Steve Bartkowski, Dan Fouts, Dan Marino, Jeff Garcia and Y.A. Tittle.

As of the 2007 playoffs, Favre owns many NFL passing records:
 * First all-time in career pass completions, with 5,021
 * First all-time in career passing touchdowns, with 445
 * First all-time in career passing yards, with 61,830
 * First all-time in career pass attempts, with 8,781
 * First all-time in career interceptions thrown, with 288
 * First all-time in career wins as a starting QB, with 161
 * Third all-time in career record by a starting quarterback, at 161-93 (John Elway, 148-82-1)

In addition, Favre owns a number of team records, having printed his name into almost every passing category in the annals of Green Bay Packers history.

Only one player has caught a Brett Favre pass in both college and the NFL. Interestingly enough, both passes were interceptions by cornerback great Deion Sanders - as a Seminole at Florida State and as a Dallas Cowboy. Sanders returned both interceptions for touchdowns.

Consecutive starts
Considered the Iron Man of the NFL, Favre is the only professional athlete in any sport to have started every game his team has played over the past 16-year period. He is currently in sole possession of fourth place for all-time NFL starting streaks of players in any position. During the first 200 straight games started by Favre, 178 other quarterbacks started in the NFL. In that time, the St. Louis Rams alone have started 13 different quarterbacks.

2007 regular season

 * 4,157 passing yards
 * 28 passing touchdowns
 * 15 interceptions
 * 535 passes attempted
 * 356 passes completed
 * 66.5% completion rate
 * 95.7 passer rating

Regular Season Career (as of 23 January 2008)

 * 8758 passes attempted
 * 5377 passes completed
 * 61657 passing yards
 * 442 passing touchdowns
 * 288 passes intercepted
 * 30.41 passing attempts per interception

Post-season Records and Statistics

 * 12-10 record in the post-season
 * 721 passes attempted
 * 438 passes completed
 * 5311 passing yards (241.4 ypg)
 * 39 passing touchdowns
 * 28 passes intercepted
 * 25.75 passing attempts per interception in the post-season
 * 9 Pro Bowls
 * 2 Super Bowl appearances.
 * 1 Super Bowl victory

Scouting Report
Strengths: Outstanding arm strength -- he still has a cannon and can make every possible throw. Throws a beautiful deep ball. Senses pressure well and steps up in the pocket to avoid the rush. Will play hurt and sees no significant loss of skills when injured. Reads defenses well and makes good progressions. A great improviser who can make plays when none seem possible. Shows good footwork in his set-up. Has a quick release. Understands the game very well. An intense competitor and great leader. Has a great work ethic.

Weaknesses: Can be extremely streaky. Has a gunslinger mentality, which can be a good thing sometimes, but also a bad thing when he tries to do too much. Will constantly force throws that aren't there because of supreme confidence in his arm strength. Has inconsistent mechanics in his delivery. Thumb injury in 2001 has led to an increase in fumbles. Not a threat to take off and run; more of a scrambler than a runner at this point.

Trivia

 * First NFL completion was to himself.
 * Has a teaching degree specializing in Children with Special Needs

Advanced Stats
Advanced Stats (Brett Favre)

Individual Seasons

 * Brett Favre 1991
 * Brett Favre 1992
 * Brett Favre 1993
 * Brett Favre 1994
 * Brett Favre 1995
 * Brett Favre 1996
 * Brett Favre 1997
 * Brett Favre 1998
 * Brett Favre 1999
 * Brett Favre 2000
 * Brett Favre 2001
 * Brett Favre 2002
 * Brett Favre 2003
 * Brett Favre 2004
 * Brett Favre 2005
 * Brett Favre 2006

Awards

 * Won the AP NFL MVP in 1995, 1996 and 1997
 * Won the AP Offensive Player of the Year in 1995
 * Won the Bert Bell MVP Trophy (Maxwell Club) in 1995 and 1996
 * Won the PFWA MVP in 1995 and 1996
 * Won the UPI NFC Offensive Player of the Year in 1995 and 1996