On Favre, Packers Can't Have It Both Ways (1 Viewer)

[Drunken Cowboy]

I like Wilbon, but he is just plain wrong here. The Packers job is to win games for the Packers. Releasing Farve hurts their chances to win games. They get nothing in return and likely make two of their games tougher.

 

[BigRed]

How did this fall all the way to pg 2? bump

 

[TD5150]

don't agree with this at all really.

I agree with you.Why wouldn't and shouldn't have it both ways. Favre is their "property" and they can do what they want.If I'm the GM of the Packers I don't release Favre no matter what "circus" it creates. The Players on the Packers are professionals and are paid not only to play football but to deal with all that goes along with playing football. Which includes the media, contract disputes etc... Granted this is a larger issue than most but they can deal with it none the less.Favre is under contract and is a valuable commodity to the team. Why would they just give him away for free when they potentially can get something for him?Would Wilbon (or anybody) give away their House for free, their car, their TV, their computer? The answer is no because those all have value....so does Favre so why release him or give him away?If I'm Ted Thompson I try like hell to trade Favre to an AFC team, if this can't get done than I stick to my guns and refuses to release him or trade him to a team he wants to go to but I (the Pack) don't want to send him (ie the Vikings). If Favre isn't traded then he will probably report to GB training camp to try and force the issue and make it as uncomfortable as possible but once it's clear to him he is the back up QB and that isn't going to change he is going to leave again becasue his pride won't allow him to remain a backup. Thompson holds all the cards, Favre will not waste his time and ride the bench all year long ($12m or not) and Thompson is willing to gamble his job on this fact. It will be interesting how this plays out but in the end I feel Favre will either be traded to an AFC team or report to GB training camp then leave a week or two later and stay retired.

Boy, you wouldn't think that a team that holds all the cards would offer a player $20 million to stay home. You know, especially because they hold all the cards.

I don't see how this is relevant? They are trying to keep Favre away any way they can. Ultimately they do hold all the cards because they are the ones who can (and will) decide his fate. This payoff is just an attempt to keep the backlash to a minimum. If he accepts the money they won’t have to trade him or bench him and he will keep his “Packer legacy” intact. If he doesn’t accept they will. I still believe he will either be traded to the AFC or report to camp then quit again in a few weeks when he is still second string. I could be wrong. I have been before and probably will be again.

 

[ScottyFargo]

don't agree with this at all really.

I agree with you.Why wouldn't and shouldn't have it both ways. Favre is their "property" and they can do what they want.

If I'm the GM of the Packers I don't release Favre no matter what "circus" it creates. The Players on the Packers are professionals and are paid not only to play football but to deal with all that goes along with playing football. Which includes the media, contract disputes etc... Granted this is a larger issue than most but they can deal with it none the less.

Favre is under contract and is a valuable commodity to the team. Why would they just give him away for free when they potentially can get something for him?

Would Wilbon (or anybody) give away their House for free, their car, their TV, their computer? The answer is no because those all have value....so does Favre so why release him or give him away?

If I'm Ted Thompson I try like hell to trade Favre to an AFC team, if this can't get done than I stick to my guns and refuses to release him or trade him to a team he wants to go to but I (the Pack) don't want to send him (ie the Vikings). If Favre isn't traded then he will probably report to GB training camp to try and force the issue and make it as uncomfortable as possible but once it's clear to him he is the back up QB and that isn't going to change he is going to leave again becasue his pride won't allow him to remain a backup.

Thompson holds all the cards, Favre will not waste his time and ride the bench all year long ($12m or not) and Thompson is willing to gamble his job on this fact.

It will be interesting how this plays out but in the end I feel Favre will either be traded to an AFC team or report to GB training camp then leave a week or two later and stay retired.

Boy, you wouldn't think that a team that holds all the cards would offer a player $20 million to stay home. You know, especially because they hold all the cards.

I don't see how this is relevant? They are trying to keep Favre away any way they can. Ultimately they do hold all the cards because they are the ones who can (and will) decide his fate. This payoff is just an attempt to keep the backlash to a minimum. If he accepts the money they won’t have to trade him or bench him and he will keep his “Packer legacy” intact. If he doesn’t accept they will. I still believe he will either be traded to the AFC or report to camp then quit again in a few weeks when he is still second string.I could be wrong. I have been before and probably will be again.

First thing: Apparently the LAST CARD the Packers had was the "You pay $20 Million Dollars, Brett Favre Goes Away Card" but they didn't read the fine print. Trying to bribe Brett Favre into going away was a huge mistake, and right now the media, the very people who are going to create an even BIGGER backlash than having Favre in camp would / will do, are EATING THIS UP. So if you're right and they did this to create less of a backlash, they were not even in the same realm of reality where that was the right route to take. They have ensured that now sympathy is with Favre, wasting any leverage they had over his waffling and indecisiveness from the last several seasons of Favre's retirement saga. They can not honestly have thought that this was about money for Favre. Even if they did...Favre makes 12 million dollars this season! 40 Million over the course of his remaining contract! I won't put a price on how much Favre would like to pay to play football this year, but it is probably more than the extra 8 million the Packers were offering him to go home.Second thing: The Jets and Tampa talks have not even begun because Favre (the one who has been holding all the cards the whole time) has refused to talk to them. Any illusions people had of who was in control of this situation should have flown out the window with the reports of the pay off. That act is desperate, insulting, and ultimately an all around failure.

 

[Hawk Fan]

As a huge Green Bay Packer fan and a huge Brett Favre fan, this makes me sick. I agree with Wilbon's basic premise that this is a Catch-22 for the front office. If the Packers have "moved on," whatever that means (from winning games maybe?), view Favre as a trade chip you didn't expect to have. Get the most back you can for him. I don't care if it's the Vikings. Maybe they'll give up a second round draft choice. Before all this nonsense, maybe it could have been a first. If the Packers have really "moved on" and are thinking about the future, that pick will help the future. I don't understand this paranoid thinking that Favre going to the Vikings will be the one thing that makes the Packers not win the Super Bowl next year and guarantee that the Vikings will. If you really believed that, I guess this ploy might make sense. I really hope the Pack doesn't cut Favre right before the season. They get nothing for him, he ends up with the Vikings anyway (starting in Week 4 instead), and they've treated the most iconic member of their franchise terribly. Good luck with the free agents in the future, Ted.

 

[TD5150]

don't agree with this at all really.

I agree with you.Why wouldn't and shouldn't have it both ways. Favre is their "property" and they can do what they want.

If I'm the GM of the Packers I don't release Favre no matter what "circus" it creates. The Players on the Packers are professionals and are paid not only to play football but to deal with all that goes along with playing football. Which includes the media, contract disputes etc... Granted this is a larger issue than most but they can deal with it none the less.

Favre is under contract and is a valuable commodity to the team. Why would they just give him away for free when they potentially can get something for him?

Would Wilbon (or anybody) give away their House for free, their car, their TV, their computer? The answer is no because those all have value....so does Favre so why release him or give him away?

If I'm Ted Thompson I try like hell to trade Favre to an AFC team, if this can't get done than I stick to my guns and refuses to release him or trade him to a team he wants to go to but I (the Pack) don't want to send him (ie the Vikings). If Favre isn't traded then he will probably report to GB training camp to try and force the issue and make it as uncomfortable as possible but once it's clear to him he is the back up QB and that isn't going to change he is going to leave again becasue his pride won't allow him to remain a backup.

Thompson holds all the cards, Favre will not waste his time and ride the bench all year long ($12m or not) and Thompson is willing to gamble his job on this fact.

It will be interesting how this plays out but in the end I feel Favre will either be traded to an AFC team or report to GB training camp then leave a week or two later and stay retired.

Boy, you wouldn't think that a team that holds all the cards would offer a player $20 million to stay home. You know, especially because they hold all the cards.

I don't see how this is relevant? They are trying to keep Favre away any way they can. Ultimately they do hold all the cards because they are the ones who can (and will) decide his fate. This payoff is just an attempt to keep the backlash to a minimum. If he accepts the money they won’t have to trade him or bench him and he will keep his “Packer legacy” intact. If he doesn’t accept they will. I still believe he will either be traded to the AFC or report to camp then quit again in a few weeks when he is still second string.I could be wrong. I have been before and probably will be again.

First thing: Apparently the LAST CARD the Packers had was the "You pay $20 Million Dollars, Brett Favre Goes Away Card" but they didn't read the fine print. Trying to bribe Brett Favre into going away was a huge mistake, and right now the media, the very people who are going to create an even BIGGER backlash than having Favre in camp would / will do, are EATING THIS UP. So if you're right and they did this to create less of a backlash, they were not even in the same realm of reality where that was the right route to take. They have ensured that now sympathy is with Favre, wasting any leverage they had over his waffling and indecisiveness from the last several seasons of Favre's retirement saga. They can not honestly have thought that this was about money for Favre. Even if they did...Favre makes 12 million dollars this season! 40 Million over the course of his remaining contract! I won't put a price on how much Favre would like to pay to play football this year, but it is probably more than the extra 8 million the Packers were offering him to go home.Second thing: The Jets and Tampa talks have not even begun because Favre (the one who has been holding all the cards the whole time) has refused to talk to them. Any illusions people had of who was in control of this situation should have flown out the window with the reports of the pay off. That act is desperate, insulting, and ultimately an all around failure.

Hmmm.....How did this whole Favre thing shake out again?

Did Favre report then leave when he found out he wouldn't be starting? Did he get traded to the AFC?

Who ended up "holding all the cards"?

Who predicted exactly what would happen?

The NFL and the individual NFL teams are bigger than ANYBODY!

 

[ScottyFargo]

First thing: Apparently the LAST CARD the Packers had was the "You pay $20 Million Dollars, Brett Favre Goes Away Card" but they didn't read the fine print. Trying to bribe Brett Favre into going away was a huge mistake, and right now the media, the very people who are going to create an even BIGGER backlash than having Favre in camp would / will do, are EATING THIS UP. So if you're right and they did this to create less of a backlash, they were not even in the same realm of reality where that was the right route to take. They have ensured that now sympathy is with Favre, wasting any leverage they had over his waffling and indecisiveness from the last several seasons of Favre's retirement saga. They can not honestly have thought that this was about money for Favre. Even if they did...Favre makes 12 million dollars this season! 40 Million over the course of his remaining contract! I won't put a price on how much Favre would like to pay to play football this year, but it is probably more than the extra 8 million the Packers were offering him to go home.

Second thing: The Jets and Tampa talks have not even begun because Favre (the one who has been holding all the cards the whole time) has refused to talk to them. Any illusions people had of who was in control of this situation should have flown out the window with the reports of the pay off. That act is desperate, insulting, and ultimately an all around failure.

Hmmm.....How did this whole Favre thing shake out again?

Did Favre report then leave when he found out he wouldn't be starting? Did he get traded to the AFC?

Who ended up "holding all the cards"?

Who predicted exactly what would happen?

The NFL and the individual NFL teams are bigger than ANYBODY!

Favre could have dragged things out and stuck around Packer camp and waited till Rodgers made a mistake or was injured, but for the sake of his former team he relented. He wasn't tough enough or coldhearted enough to do what it would take to get the Packers to cave and get a release and the Packers were obstinate about not starting Favre. Favre obviously wanted to play this year and rather than hurt the Packers anymore he took a trade to a team he didn't really want to play for. He gets to play anyway, and the Packers come off winning quite big despite numerous missteps.

 

[sho nuff]

First thing: Apparently the LAST CARD the Packers had was the "You pay $20 Million Dollars, Brett Favre Goes Away Card" but they didn't read the fine print. Trying to bribe Brett Favre into going away was a huge mistake, and right now the media, the very people who are going to create an even BIGGER backlash than having Favre in camp would / will do, are EATING THIS UP. So if you're right and they did this to create less of a backlash, they were not even in the same realm of reality where that was the right route to take. They have ensured that now sympathy is with Favre, wasting any leverage they had over his waffling and indecisiveness from the last several seasons of Favre's retirement saga. They can not honestly have thought that this was about money for Favre. Even if they did...Favre makes 12 million dollars this season! 40 Million over the course of his remaining contract! I won't put a price on how much Favre would like to pay to play football this year, but it is probably more than the extra 8 million the Packers were offering him to go home.

Second thing: The Jets and Tampa talks have not even begun because Favre (the one who has been holding all the cards the whole time) has refused to talk to them. Any illusions people had of who was in control of this situation should have flown out the window with the reports of the pay off. That act is desperate, insulting, and ultimately an all around failure.

Hmmm.....How did this whole Favre thing shake out again?

Did Favre report then leave when he found out he wouldn't be starting? Did he get traded to the AFC?

Who ended up "holding all the cards"?

Who predicted exactly what would happen?

The NFL and the individual NFL teams are bigger than ANYBODY!

Favre could have dragged things out and stuck around Packer camp and waited till Rodgers made a mistake or was injured, but for the sake of his former team he relented. He wasn't tough enough or coldhearted enough to do what it would take to get the Packers to cave and get a release and the Packers were obstinate about not starting Favre. Favre obviously wanted to play this year and rather than hurt the Packers anymore he took a trade to a team he didn't really want to play for. He gets to play anyway, and the Packers come off winning quite big despite numerous missteps.

He realized he had no leverage anymore. He realized he was not winning that battle.It was only then that he decided "not to be a distraction" and agree to talk to two teams that he could have ended it all 3 weeks prior had he done so.

He simply did not hold all the cards as you claimed...the team always did.

 

[bcr8f]

Wisconsin hater

 

[Jimmy James]

He realized he had no leverage anymore. He realized he was not winning that battle.It was only then that he decided "not to be a distraction" and agree to talk to two teams that he could have ended it all 3 weeks prior had he done so.He simply did not hold all the cards as you claimed...the team always did.

I disagree. Favre held several more cards. He could have gotten the union involved on this lower abdominal strain issue that I'm sure will never again crop up. He could have camped out for two weeks and made things a circus. Each side held some of the cards, and I might agree that the team had the trump card in that they got to decide to trade, release, or keep him. Let's not pretend that Favre took this to even close to as far as he could have taken it if his goal was a release from Green Bay.

 

[ScottyFargo]

He realized he had no leverage anymore. He realized he was not winning that battle.

It was only then that he decided "not to be a distraction" and agree to talk to two teams that he could have ended it all 3 weeks prior had he done so.

He simply did not hold all the cards as you claimed...the team always did.

I disagree. Favre held several more cards. He could have gotten the union involved on this lower abdominal strain issue that I'm sure will never again crop up. He could have camped out for two weeks and made things a circus. Each side held some of the cards, and I might agree that the team had the trump card in that they got to decide to trade, release, or keep him. Let's not pretend that Favre took this to even close to as far as he could have taken it if his goal was a release from Green Bay.

I agree to this. Obviously the Packers won out. They got the trade they wanted to a team they won't have to face this year. Also people seem to overlook the fact that the Packers never thought Favre would take it as far as he did. They really did not expect him to come to camp. They thought he'd be deterred by simply being told Rodgers was the starter, bar none. But Favre did push it, and he could have pushed it more. It was the Packer F.O. inability to look to the possibility that Favre would push it as far as training camp that led them to such a destructive path of egress for Favre. He could have made it a much worse circus than it was, instead he magnified his personal side of things by leaking information to the media, but he wasn't holding press conferences outside of camp and acting the part of the martyr as he could have. Favre loyalists are angry enough now to curse out Rodgers, but had Favre played it up even more they'd be thirsty for blood.

 

[Joe Bryant]

First thing: Apparently the LAST CARD the Packers had was the "You pay $20 Million Dollars, Brett Favre Goes Away Card" but they didn't read the fine print. Trying to bribe Brett Favre into going away was a huge mistake, and right now the media, the very people who are going to create an even BIGGER backlash than having Favre in camp would / will do, are EATING THIS UP. So if you're right and they did this to create less of a backlash, they were not even in the same realm of reality where that was the right route to take. They have ensured that now sympathy is with Favre, wasting any leverage they had over his waffling and indecisiveness from the last several seasons of Favre's retirement saga. They can not honestly have thought that this was about money for Favre. Even if they did...Favre makes 12 million dollars this season! 40 Million over the course of his remaining contract! I won't put a price on how much Favre would like to pay to play football this year, but it is probably more than the extra 8 million the Packers were offering him to go home.

Second thing: The Jets and Tampa talks have not even begun because Favre (the one who has been holding all the cards the whole time) has refused to talk to them. Any illusions people had of who was in control of this situation should have flown out the window with the reports of the pay off. That act is desperate, insulting, and ultimately an all around failure.

Hmmm.....How did this whole Favre thing shake out again?

Did Favre report then leave when he found out he wouldn't be starting? Did he get traded to the AFC?

Who ended up "holding all the cards"?

Who predicted exactly what would happen?

The NFL and the individual NFL teams are bigger than ANYBODY!

Favre could have dragged things out and stuck around Packer camp and waited till Rodgers made a mistake or was injured, but for the sake of his former team he relented. He wasn't tough enough or coldhearted enough to do what it would take to get the Packers to cave and get a release and the Packers were obstinate about not starting Favre. Favre obviously wanted to play this year and rather than hurt the Packers anymore he took a trade to a team he didn't really want to play for. He gets to play anyway, and the Packers come off winning quite big despite numerous missteps.

He realized he had no leverage anymore. He realized he was not winning that battle.It was only then that he decided "not to be a distraction" and agree to talk to two teams that he could have ended it all 3 weeks prior had he done so.

He simply did not hold all the cards as you claimed...the team always did.

Disagree totally. Tatmbell wrote a ton in the other threads about how he could have easily used the "leverage" he had. Ignoring that doesn't make it go away.But in the end, he did the best thing accepting their decision and moved on.

And Wilbon was right. I love the fact they were so afraid of having to face Favre that they had to have the 3 first round pick thing in there before agreeing to a trade. Great comparison to how the Jets handled Pennington.

J

 

[Joe Bryant]

He realized he had no leverage anymore. He realized he was not winning that battle.It was only then that he decided "not to be a distraction" and agree to talk to two teams that he could have ended it all 3 weeks prior had he done so.He simply did not hold all the cards as you claimed...the team always did.

I disagree. Favre held several more cards. He could have gotten the union involved on this lower abdominal strain issue that I'm sure will never again crop up. He could have camped out for two weeks and made things a circus. Each side held some of the cards, and I might agree that the team had the trump card in that they got to decide to trade, release, or keep him. Let's not pretend that Favre took this to even close to as far as he could have taken it if his goal was a release from Green Bay.

Don't waste your time, JJ. I shouldn't either.J

 

[BeaverCleaver]

First thing: Apparently the LAST CARD the Packers had was the "You pay $20 Million Dollars, Brett Favre Goes Away Card" but they didn't read the fine print. Trying to bribe Brett Favre into going away was a huge mistake, and right now the media, the very people who are going to create an even BIGGER backlash than having Favre in camp would / will do, are EATING THIS UP. So if you're right and they did this to create less of a backlash, they were not even in the same realm of reality where that was the right route to take. They have ensured that now sympathy is with Favre, wasting any leverage they had over his waffling and indecisiveness from the last several seasons of Favre's retirement saga. They can not honestly have thought that this was about money for Favre. Even if they did...Favre makes 12 million dollars this season! 40 Million over the course of his remaining contract! I won't put a price on how much Favre would like to pay to play football this year, but it is probably more than the extra 8 million the Packers were offering him to go home.

Second thing: The Jets and Tampa talks have not even begun because Favre (the one who has been holding all the cards the whole time) has refused to talk to them. Any illusions people had of who was in control of this situation should have flown out the window with the reports of the pay off. That act is desperate, insulting, and ultimately an all around failure.

Hmmm.....How did this whole Favre thing shake out again?

Did Favre report then leave when he found out he wouldn't be starting? Did he get traded to the AFC?

Who ended up "holding all the cards"?

Who predicted exactly what would happen?

The NFL and the individual NFL teams are bigger than ANYBODY!

Favre could have dragged things out and stuck around Packer camp and waited till Rodgers made a mistake or was injured, but for the sake of his former team he relented. He wasn't tough enough or coldhearted enough to do what it would take to get the Packers to cave and get a release and the Packers were obstinate about not starting Favre. Favre obviously wanted to play this year and rather than hurt the Packers anymore he took a trade to a team he didn't really want to play for. He gets to play anyway, and the Packers come off winning quite big despite numerous missteps.

He realized he had no leverage anymore.

WRONG! He realized the Packers didn't want him anymore.

 

[BeaverCleaver]

He realized he had no leverage anymore. He realized he was not winning that battle.It was only then that he decided "not to be a distraction" and agree to talk to two teams that he could have ended it all 3 weeks prior had he done so.He simply did not hold all the cards as you claimed...the team always did.

I disagree. Favre held several more cards. He could have gotten the union involved on this lower abdominal strain issue that I'm sure will never again crop up. He could have camped out for two weeks and made things a circus. Each side held some of the cards, and I might agree that the team had the trump card in that they got to decide to trade, release, or keep him. Let's not pretend that Favre took this to even close to as far as he could have taken it if his goal was a release from Green Bay.

Don't waste your time, JJ. I shouldn't either.J

 

[bcr8f]

[Disagree totally. Tatmbell wrote a ton in the other threads about how he could have easily used the "leverage" he had. Ignoring that doesn't make it go away.But in the end, he did the best thing accepting their decision and moved on. And Wilbon was right. I love the fact they were so afraid of having to face Favre that they had to have the 3 first round pick thing in there before agreeing to a trade. Great comparison to how the Jets handled Pennington.J

I don't think they were afraid of facing him. I believe they wanted to avoid a divided team and fanbse that could have divided even further after he left. Geez kids are saying FU to Rodgers now as he leaves the parking lot. I don't agree with a lot of the decisions but don't think they acted out of fear either.

 

[ScottyFargo]

Regarding Green Bay holding all the cards, let's take a look at what they had to do over the course of this fiasco in order to reach the conclusion that they did:

Attempted to discredit Favre when the rumors of his return came out. (Multiple statements made to the media about denying his interest and playing up how sincere he was at the time of his retirement.)
Reintroduced a 20+ million dollar package designed to keep Favre retired. This may have been on the table as early as late march, but even Favre himself has been quoted as saying this was a pay off.
Filed allegations against the Minnesota Vikings for tampering with Favre which were ultimately proven false. The Minnesota Vikings never appeared interested in trading for Favre, despite being Favre's apparent second choice of teams he'd like to play for upon his reinstatement.
Trumped up trade talks with the Tampa Bay Bucs in order to increase interest from the one team that was showing serious interest.

"There was no negotiation. There was never any substantive talk of what they would take," Tampa Bay general manager Bruce Allen said. "All of that was speculation. From the beginning, I think it was clear it was a bad situation in Green Bay and they had to deal with it any way they could."

Locked Favre out from the field of play, told him if he did report he'd be held to individual drills in practice, and ultimately was given rest due to a "lower abdominal strain."If you believe the Packers held all the cards during this troubling time, then you have to admit they were left with none in their hand by the end. Favre was traded away without pulling his trump card, and the Packers used as many of them as they could get their hands on.

 

[TD5150]

Regarding Green Bay holding all the cards, let's take a look at what they had to do over the course of this fiasco in order to reach the conclusion that they did:

Attempted to discredit Favre when the rumors of his return came out. (Multiple statements made to the media about denying his interest and playing up how sincere he was at the time of his retirement.)
Reintroduced a 20+ million dollar package designed to keep Favre retired. This may have been on the table as early as late march, but even Favre himself has been quoted as saying this was a pay off.
Filed allegations against the Minnesota Vikings for tampering with Favre which were ultimately proven false. The Minnesota Vikings never appeared interested in trading for Favre, despite being Favre's apparent second choice of teams he'd like to play for upon his reinstatement.
Trumped up trade talks with the Tampa Bay Bucs in order to increase interest from the one team that was showing serious interest.

"There was no negotiation. There was never any substantive talk of what they would take," Tampa Bay general manager Bruce Allen said. "All of that was speculation. From the beginning, I think it was clear it was a bad situation in Green Bay and they had to deal with it any way they could."

Locked Favre out from the field of play, told him if he did report he'd be held to individual drills in practice, and ultimately was given rest due to a "lower abdominal strain."If you believe the Packers held all the cards during this troubling time, then you have to admit they were left with none in their hand by the end. Favre was traded away without pulling his trump card, and the Packers used as many of them as they could get their hands on.

You won't admit when you are wrong will you? What was Favre's next play? Stay in camp and hold a clipboard, do individual drills and cause a distraction for the rest of the team? If he would have done that he would have gained nothing, in fact I think the only reason the Pack traded him at all is because he agreed to leave town after his face to face with McCarthy. If he refused and stayed in camp I bet he would have been demoted to 3rd string with no hope of ever seeing the field. This would have lasted about 3 days, Favre would have gotten fed up and retired again.....and the Pack knew it that's why they "held all the cards from the beginning".

The NFL and the individual NFL teams are bigger than ANYBODY!

 

[sho nuff]

He realized he had no leverage anymore. He realized he was not winning that battle.It was only then that he decided "not to be a distraction" and agree to talk to two teams that he could have ended it all 3 weeks prior had he done so.He simply did not hold all the cards as you claimed...the team always did.

I disagree. Favre held several more cards. He could have gotten the union involved on this lower abdominal strain issue that I'm sure will never again crop up. He could have camped out for two weeks and made things a circus. Each side held some of the cards, and I might agree that the team had the trump card in that they got to decide to trade, release, or keep him. Let's not pretend that Favre took this to even close to as far as he could have taken it if his goal was a release from Green Bay.

The union?The lower ab strain was probably something they agreed on once the trade thing was being discussed.He was not put on that list to avoid anything...it was done after the sides had decided to part ways.

 

[sho nuff]

He realized he had no leverage anymore. He realized he was not winning that battle.

It was only then that he decided "not to be a distraction" and agree to talk to two teams that he could have ended it all 3 weeks prior had he done so.

He simply did not hold all the cards as you claimed...the team always did.

I disagree. Favre held several more cards. He could have gotten the union involved on this lower abdominal strain issue that I'm sure will never again crop up. He could have camped out for two weeks and made things a circus. Each side held some of the cards, and I might agree that the team had the trump card in that they got to decide to trade, release, or keep him. Let's not pretend that Favre took this to even close to as far as he could have taken it if his goal was a release from Green Bay.

I agree to this. Obviously the Packers won out. They got the trade they wanted to a team they won't have to face this year. Also people seem to overlook the fact that the Packers never thought Favre would take it as far as he did. They really did not expect him to come to camp. They thought he'd be deterred by simply being told Rodgers was the starter, bar none. But Favre did push it, and he could have pushed it more. It was the Packer F.O. inability to look to the possibility that Favre would push it as far as training camp that led them to such a destructive path of egress for Favre. He could have made it a much worse circus than it was, instead he magnified his personal side of things by leaking information to the media, but he wasn't holding press conferences outside of camp and acting the part of the martyr as he could have. Favre loyalists are angry enough now to curse out Rodgers, but had Favre played it up even more they'd be thirsty for blood.

I don't think he thought they would take it that far either.I think both sides were trying to call the other's bluff...only neither side was really bluffing.

There are only few that are angry enough to curse out Rodgers...very few actually.

 

[sho nuff]

First thing: Apparently the LAST CARD the Packers had was the "You pay $20 Million Dollars, Brett Favre Goes Away Card" but they didn't read the fine print. Trying to bribe Brett Favre into going away was a huge mistake, and right now the media, the very people who are going to create an even BIGGER backlash than having Favre in camp would / will do, are EATING THIS UP. So if you're right and they did this to create less of a backlash, they were not even in the same realm of reality where that was the right route to take. They have ensured that now sympathy is with Favre, wasting any leverage they had over his waffling and indecisiveness from the last several seasons of Favre's retirement saga. They can not honestly have thought that this was about money for Favre. Even if they did...Favre makes 12 million dollars this season! 40 Million over the course of his remaining contract! I won't put a price on how much Favre would like to pay to play football this year, but it is probably more than the extra 8 million the Packers were offering him to go home.

Second thing: The Jets and Tampa talks have not even begun because Favre (the one who has been holding all the cards the whole time) has refused to talk to them. Any illusions people had of who was in control of this situation should have flown out the window with the reports of the pay off. That act is desperate, insulting, and ultimately an all around failure.

Hmmm.....How did this whole Favre thing shake out again?

Did Favre report then leave when he found out he wouldn't be starting? Did he get traded to the AFC?

Who ended up "holding all the cards"?

Who predicted exactly what would happen?

The NFL and the individual NFL teams are bigger than ANYBODY!

Favre could have dragged things out and stuck around Packer camp and waited till Rodgers made a mistake or was injured, but for the sake of his former team he relented. He wasn't tough enough or coldhearted enough to do what it would take to get the Packers to cave and get a release and the Packers were obstinate about not starting Favre. Favre obviously wanted to play this year and rather than hurt the Packers anymore he took a trade to a team he didn't really want to play for. He gets to play anyway, and the Packers come off winning quite big despite numerous missteps.

He realized he had no leverage anymore. He realized he was not winning that battle.It was only then that he decided "not to be a distraction" and agree to talk to two teams that he could have ended it all 3 weeks prior had he done so.

He simply did not hold all the cards as you claimed...the team always did.

Disagree totally. Tatmbell wrote a ton in the other threads about how he could have easily used the "leverage" he had. Ignoring that doesn't make it go away.But in the end, he did the best thing accepting their decision and moved on.

And Wilbon was right. I love the fact they were so afraid of having to face Favre that they had to have the 3 first round pick thing in there before agreeing to a trade. Great comparison to how the Jets handled Pennington.

J

He was not right. Sorry Joe...but I cannot see how anyone would think letting him go to Minny would be a good idea.Of course they had the 3 1st round pick thing.

You don't let your division rival get what they really need for nothing. That would just be dumb business by Thompson and the Packers.

As for how the Jets handled Pennington. Maybe if Chad was worth anything they would care where he ended up...but they had already drafted to replace him, and then went out and traded for another QB.

 

[sho nuff]

Regarding Green Bay holding all the cards, let's take a look at what they had to do over the course of this fiasco in order to reach the conclusion that they did:

Attempted to discredit Favre when the rumors of his return came out. (Multiple statements made to the media about denying his interest and playing up how sincere he was at the time of his retirement.)

Attempted to discredit him? Kind of like how he tried to do the same to them?

Reintroduced a 20+ million dollar package designed to keep Favre retired. This may have been on the table as early as late march, but even Favre himself has been quoted as saying this was a pay off.

Actually, if you believe Murphy, it was written even before he got his job in January.

Filed allegations against the Minnesota Vikings for tampering with Favre which were ultimately proven false. The Minnesota Vikings never appeared interested in trading for Favre, despite being Favre's apparent second choice of teams he'd like to play for upon his reinstatement.

You can keep saying they were proven false...it will not make that true. They were proven to not have enough evidence...but were never proven false.

Trumped up trade talks with the Tampa Bay Bucs in order to increase interest from the one team that was showing serious interest.

"There was no negotiation. There was never any substantive talk of what they would take," Tampa Bay general manager Bruce Allen said. "All of that was speculation. From the beginning, I think it was clear it was a bad situation in Green Bay and they had to deal with it any way they could."

Who said they trumped up these talks? Are you just making things up now.Funny...Favre's words and Grudens words pretty much go against what Allen is saying. Allen was doing so to cover his butt and make it sound like he is supporting his team.

Locked Favre out from the field of play, told him if he did report he'd be held to individual drills in practice, and ultimately was given rest due to a "lower abdominal strain."If you believe the Packers held all the cards during this troubling time, then you have to admit they were left with none in their hand by the end. Favre was traded away without pulling his trump card, and the Packers used as many of them as they could get their hands on.

They did not lock him out from anything other than a scrimmage when he was not yet an active member of the team.The ab strain thing came after the sides had decided to go their separate ways.

I believe the Packers held the cards as ultimately they had the rights to the player.

Favre tried playing nearly every card he had in the media and he simply could not get Thompson to fold.

 

[ookook]

I thought that security guards prevented Favre from speaking wiht any players on the team after their practice as well.

 

[IvanKaramazov]

And Wilbon was right. I love the fact they were so afraid of having to face Favre that they had to have the 3 first round pick thing in there before agreeing to a trade.

What's so strange about that? The Packers front office apparently thinks Rodgers > Favre > Jackson/Grossman. Obviously you (and I) disagree with them on the first part, but I don't think any sane person disagrees about the second. So obviously it makes sense for GB to want to prevent one of their divisional rivals from improving their roster.

Great comparison to how the Jets handled Pennington.

I thought the Jets didn't have enough cap room to keep Pennington anyway, so they had to cut him; it's not like he had a bunch of trade value, and it's not like the Jets were really all that worried about seeing him go to a dreadful Miami team. I doubt the Packers would have been too worried about Favre going to Detroit, although I'm sure they wouldn't appreciate the circus atmosphere for two weeks out of the season.I usually like your commentary in the email updates, but I think you've drunk the Favre-fanboy koolaid on this one.