Favre Going Nowhere, May Be Taking Packers With Him

By now you're probably aware of the shockwaves released in Green Bay over the weekend by a FOXSports' report indicating Packers quarterback Brett Favre asked to be traded. Now, via the Packers official website, the future Hall of Fame QB is saying he only acted out of the frustration following the team's failure to land wide receiver Randy Moss, and never really wanted to be traded. As great of a player as he once was, however, it's not his place to dictate to the team how to handle personnel issues and it's certainly not best for the team for him to publicly fly off the cuff when he doesn't get what he wants.

General manager Ted Thompson isn't blameless in this ordeal either. He seems to be sending mixed messages about the direction of the team. On the one hand, the Packers appears to be committed to rebuilding through the draft. But on the other hand, they have a 17-year veteran at quarterback while Aaron Rogers, a guy they invested a first-round draft pick in in 2005, is wasting away on the bench instead of developing with the rest of the youngsters. And let's face it. Favre is no longer an elite NFL quarterback. He's above average at best anymore.

A lot of the problem stems from the enormous popularity of Favre in Green Bay. Thompson doesn't want to go down in history as the guy who ran off a living legend. So he's stuck between a rock and a hard place. He can't get rid of Favre unless Favre initiates the action, and he can't rebuild completely until he sees what he has in Rogers. The worst thing that could happen to the Packers this year would be for Favre to once again put up mediocre numbers. He needs to either play well enough to get this team in the playoffs, or poorly enough to justify making a change (or perhaps move retirement thoughts to the front burner).

On a related note, I can't help thinking that, had it been a guy like Moss or Terrell Owens who made the same comments, they would have been roasted by the media and branded a malcontent by this time. For the second year in a row now, Favre has made a big deal about the Packers lack of activity during free agency, this time reportedly demanding a trade. But it seems he gets the benefit of the doubt most of the time when he speaks out. He is commended for his leadership and excused because of his competitive nature. Meanwhile, Moss is raked over the coals (and to a certain extent, justifiably so) for wanting out of a losing situation in Oakland.

By the way, if I remember correctly, wasn't it Favre himself who was gushing less than a year ago about how this is the most talented Packers team he has been a part of? If there was anything to that statement, why get so upset about not landing a guy who has been on a three-year decline?