March 6
Brett Favre rules out return to playing football
By CHRIS JENKINS, AP Sports Writer
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP)—Sitting by himself on an airplane ride up to Green Bay on Thursday morning, Brett Favre struggled to find a sincere and graceful way to say he was finished with football.
In the end, his tears told the story.
“It’s been a great career for me, and it’s over,” Favre said, his voice cracking with emotion during a news conference at Lambeau Field two days after he announced his retirement. “As hard as that is for me to say, it’s over.”
Wearing an untucked collared shirt, blue jeans and several days’ worth of stubble, Favre said he was convinced he could still play on Sundays, but had lost his passion to practice and prepare the way he would need to lead the Packers to another Super Bowl.
Given that fact, he could draw only one conclusion: It was time to hang up his helmet.
“I have way too much pride,” Favre said. “I expect a lot out of myself. And if I cannot do those things 100 percent, then I can’t play.”
After a farewell news conference that lasted just over an hour, Favre put his arm around his tearful wife, Deanna, and left the stage—presumably for good.
He takes with him a Super Bowl victory, virtually every quarterback record worth having and the widespread admiration of his peers and fans.
The 38-year-old Favre also leaves with graying hair and a deliberate gait— signs that the years were quietly taking a toll on the man who was celebrated for playing a serious and precise game with the carefree joy of a little boy.
He cried Thursday as he discussed his decision.
“I promised I wouldn’t get emotional,” he said. But as the tears flowed, he added, “I’ve watched hundreds of players retire and you wonder what that would be like. You think you’re prepared …”
Favre thanked the Green Bay Packers for letting him play.
“I hope that with every penny they’ve spent on me, they know it was money well spent,” he said. “It wasn’t about the money or fame or records. I hear people talk about your accomplishments and things. It was never my accomplishments, it was our accomplishments.”
Favre is the NFL’s only three-time MVP, and leads the league with 442 touchdown passes, 61,655 yards passing and 160 career victories. He started 253 consecutive regular-season games, more than any other quarterback in history.
Favre also holds the more dubious mark of 288 interceptions—an indication of the wild streak that only made him more human to the fans who adored him.
The same was true of Favre’s highly publicized struggles with an addiction to prescription painkillers, his support of his wife through a battle with breast cancer, and a memorable Monday night game against Oakland after he lost his father.
Favre’s exit comes after a remarkable 2007 season, but his final pass was one to forget: An interception in overtime of the NFC championship game, a mistake that set up the New York Giants’ field goal that sent the Packers home instead of to the Super Bowl.
Most folks figured Favre couldn’t exit that way, especially when he had at least one more good year left in him.
But barring a change of heart in the upcoming weeks, months or years, the final chapter in his storied football career began Monday night.
Favre called Packers coach Mike McCarthy and told him he planned to retire, then finalized his decision in a conversation with Packers general manager Ted Thompson on Tuesday morning.
But until the news conference, Favre hadn’t explained his decision to his fans. He said Thursday there was nothing left to prove.
“I’m going out on top,” he said. “Believe me, I could care less what other people think. It’s what I think, and I’m going out on top.”
Favre’s retirement came as a surprise to Packers executives, coaches and teammates, virtually all of whom expected him to return. And it was a shock to fans who sat patiently, year after year, while Favre flirted openly with retirement—because, of course, he never really meant it.
To a generation of fans who watched Favre start every game since taking over as the Packers’ starting quarterback during the 1992 season, it didn’t make sense. He wouldn’t just decide he was too tired to play and walk away.
Would he?
Recent comments by Favre’s agent, Bus Cook, stirred suspicions about the “real” reason Favre was retiring.
Had the Packers’ front office not done enough to talk him into coming back?
Was Favre’s retirement a knee-jerk reaction to the fact that wide receiver Randy Moss, a player Favre lobbied the Packers to sign a year ago, had re-signed with the New England Patriots without an apparent effort from the Packers?
Favre’s comments Thursday indicated the decision was much simpler.
“I did it, but it got hard,” he said. “I don’t think it would get easier next year or the following year. It hasn’t up until this point. It’s only gotten tougher and something told me ‘You know it’s gotten too hard for you.’ I could probably come back and do it. Suck it up. But what kind of a toll would that take on me, my family or my teammates? At some point it would affect one of those if not all of them. Maybe it has already. I don’t know.”
Some who know Favre have doubts that he will be able to spend Sundays on the couch when he still has the ability to play.
Favre said Thursday he had no definite plans for the future and did not know whether he would be involved in football or with the Packers, but ruled out a return to the field.
“I don’t even want to think about next year,” he said. “Will I watch games? I’m sure I will. Will I be involved? I always made the joke I’d be here for an honorary coin toss. Well, that time may come, so I may be back for something like that. But as far as giving advice, I don’t think that will happen.”
FINAL 2007 STANDINGS
NFC North
W L T Pct PF PA Home Road Div Conf
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Green Bay 13 3 0 .813 435 291 7-1 6-2 4-2 9-3
Minnesota 8 8 0 .500 365 311 5-3 3-5 3-3 6-6
Detroit 7 9 0 .438 346 444 5-3 2-6 3-3 4-8
Chicago 7 9 0 .438 334 348 4-4 3-5 2-4 4-8
*** Final 2007 NFC Statistics -- Green Bay Packers ***
Won 13, Loss 3
09/09 W 16-13 Philadelphia 70598
09/16 W 35-13 at NY Giants 78701
09/23 W 31-24 San Diego 70733
09/30 W 23-16 at Minnesota 63779
10/07 L 20-27 Chicago 70904
10/14 W 17-14 Washington 70761
10/29 W 19-13 OT at Denver 77160
11/04 W 33-22 at Kansas City 78988
11/11 W 34-0 Minnesota 70945
11/18 W 31-17 Carolina 70805
11/22 W 37-26 at Detroit 63257
11/29 L 27-37 at Dallas 64167
12/09 W 38-7 Oakland 70828
12/16 W 33-14 at St. Louis 66008
12/23 L 7-35 at Chicago 62272
12/30 W 34-13 Detroit 70869
GBP Opp.
TOTAL FIRST DOWNS 307 297
Rushing 69 77
Passing 210 176
Penalty 28 44
3rd Down: Made/Att 86/202 69/209
3rd Down Pct. 42.6 33.0
4th Down: Made/Att 5/11 9/24
4th Down Pct. 45.5 37.5
POSSESSION AVG. 30:19 29:41
TOTAL NET YARDS 5931 5013
Avg. Per Game 370.7 313.3
Total Plays 985 994
Avg. Per Play 6.0 5.0
NET YARDS RUSHING 1597 1650
Avg. Per Game 99.8 103.1
Total Rushes 388 425
NET YARDS PASSING 4334 3363
Avg. Per Game 270.9 210.2
Sacked/Yards Lost 19/127 36/218
Gross Yards 4461 3581
Att./Completions 578/383 533/294
Completion Pct. 66.3 55.2
Had Intercepted 15 19
PUNTS/AVERAGE 62/43.0 80/42.5
NET PUNTING AVG. 62/37.6 80/33.8
PENALTIES/YARDS 113/1006 118/908
FUMBLES/BALL LOST 25/9 17/9
TOUCHDOWNS 49 31
Rushing 12 6
Passing 30 23
Returns 7 2
SCORE BY PERIODS Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 OT PTS
TEAM 86 128 112 103 6 435
OPPONENTS 56 102 57 76 0 291
SCORING TD-Ru-Pa-Rt K-PAT FG S PTS
M.Crosby 0 0 0 0 48/48 31/39 0 141
G.Jennings 12 0 12 0 0 72
R.Grant 8 8 0 0 0 48
D.Lee 6 0 6 0 0 36
D.Wynn 4 4 0 0 0 24
R.Martin 4 0 4 0 0 24
B.Franks 3 0 3 0 0 18
J.Jones 2 0 2 0 0 12
C.Woodson 2 0 0 2 0 12
W.Blackmon 2 0 0 2 0 12
D.Driver 2 0 2 0 0 12
T.White 1 0 0 1 0 6
B.Jackson 1 1 0 0 0 6
T.Williams 1 0 0 1 0 6
K.Robinson 1 0 1 0 0 6
TEAM 49 13 30 6 48/48 31/39 0 435
OPPONENTS 31 6 23 2 29/29 24/27 0 291
2-Pt. Conversions: TEAM 0-0, OPPONENTS 2-2
SACKS: A. Kampman 12.0, K. Gbaja-Biamila 9.5, C. Williams 7.0, N. Barnett
3.5, R. Pickett 1.0, C. Jenkins 1.0, A. Hawk 1.0, J. Jolly 1.0
RUSHING No. Yds Avg Long TD
R.Grant 188 956 5.1 66 8
B.Jackson 75 267 3.6 46 1
D.Wynn 50 203 4.1 44 4
V.Morency 29 108 3.7 15 0
A.Rodgers 7 29 4.1 13 0
B.Favre 29 12 0.4 21 0
J.Ryan 2 7 3.5 7 0
C.Nall 5 6 1.2 8 0
K.Robinson 1 5 5.0 0 0
D.Driver 2 4 2.0 5 0
TEAM 388 1597 4.1 66 13
OPPONENTS 425 1650 3.9 55 6
RECEIVING No. Yds Avg Long TD
D.Driver 82 1048 12.8 47 2
G.Jennings 53 920 17.4 82 12
D.Lee 48 575 12.0 60 6
J.Jones 47 676 14.4 79 2
V.Morency 30 199 6.6 18 0
R.Grant 30 145 4.8 21 0
K.Robinson 21 241 11.5 43 1
B.Franks 18 132 7.3 24 3
R.Martin 16 242 15.1 36 4
B.Jackson 16 130 8.1 16 0
D.Wynn 9 73 8.1 18 0
K.Hall 8 49 6.1 10 0
R.Krause 2 11 5.5 6 0
J.Kuhn 2 7 3.5 5 0
S.Bodiford 1 13 13.0 13 0
TEAM 383 4461 11.6 82 30
OPPONENTS 294 3581 12.2 50 23
INTERCEPTIONS No. Yds Avg Long TD
A.Bigby 5 50 10.0 22 0
C.Woodson 4 48 12.0 46 1
N.Barnett 2 40 20.0 38 0
A.Rouse 2 37 18.5 34 0
A.Harris 2 17 8.5 17 0
C.Williams 1 9 9.0 9 0
T.Williams 1 22 22.0 22 0
B.Poppinga 1 0 0.0 0 0
A.Hawk 1 10 10.0 10 0
TEAM 19 233 12.3 46 1
OPPONENTS 15 166 11.1 85 1
PUNTING No. Yds Avg TB In Lg
J.Ryan 60 2664 44.4 11 18 72
.BLOCKED 2 0 0.0 0 0 0
TEAM 62 2664 43.0 11 18 72
OPPONENTS 80 3397 42.5 10 22 61
PUNT RETURNS Ret FC Yds Avg Long TD
C.Woodson 33 5 268 8.1 34 0
W.Blackmon 8 0 106 13.3 57 1
T.Williams 6 0 118 19.7 94 1
J.Bush 1 0 0 0.0 0 0
TEAM 48 5 492 10.3 94 2
OPPONENTS 19 14 113 5.9 26 0
KICKOFF RETURNS No. Yds Avg Long TD
T.Williams 30 684 22.8 65 0
K.Robinson 25 596 23.8 67 0
S.Bodiford 2 41 20.5 22 0
D.Wynn 1 15 15.0 15 0
R.Martin 1 6 6.0 6 0
D.Driver 1 4 4.0 4 0
W.Blackmon 1 3 3.0 3 0
M.Montgomery 1 0 0.0 0 0
TEAM 62 1349 21.8 67 0
OPPONENTS 77 1610 20.9 74 0
FIELD GOALS 1-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50+
M.Crosby 1/ 1 8/ 8 10/11 9/14 3/ 5
TEAM 1/ 1 8/ 8 10/11 9/14 3/ 5
OPPONENT 0/ 0 4/ 4 8/ 9 10/12 2/ 2
PASSING Att Cmp Yds Cmp% Yds/Att Td Td% Int Int% Long Sack/Lost Rating
B.Favre 535 356 4155 66.5 7.8 28 5.2 15 2.8 82 15/ 93 95.7
A.Rodgers 28 20 218 71.4 7.8 1 3.6 0 0.0 43 3/ 24 106.0
C.Nall 15 7 88 46.7 5.9 1 6.7 0 0.0 32 1/ 10 87.6
TEAM 578 383 4461 66.3 7.7 30 5.2 15 2.6 82 19/ 127 95.9
OPPONENTS 533 294 3581 55.2 6.7 23 4.3 19 3.6 50 36/ 218 75.6
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edmatarrese@juno.com / revised
March 6, 2008.
