by Dave Zirin | February 19, 2011
I believe in athletes having the freedom and space to take political stands without having to worry about media and corporate backlash. I believe in athletes having the freedom and space to NOT take political stands if that’s their choice. But I also believe that there are moments in history when silence itself becomes a political stand, a luxury we cannot afford. For Aaron Rodgers, the Green Bay Packers Super Bowl MVP quarterback, this is one of those moments. I’m just returning from Madison, Wisconsin where tens of thousands of teachers, nurses, unionists, and students, are fighting for their very lives. Day after day, I saw the crowds swell as people arrived on buses from across the state and even across the country. I saw feeder marches of 5,000 high school students chanting with an unguarded, proud fury you’d never know today’s teenagers possessed. I saw people dressed like King Tut with a banner saying they would “protest like Egyptians.” I spoke to nurses choking with rage that they would have to take second jobs or go onto food stamps if business as usual took place in the Capitol Building. I saw thousands sing the Wisconsin Badger football fight song, ending with “Fight Fight Fight and We’ll WIN THE DAY!” and they weren’t talking about football.
They’re trying to stop their Governor Scott Walker, also known as “The Mubarak of the Midwest”, from gutting their pay, benefits, and very right to collectively bargain. Walker has also threatened to bring in the National Guard if he can’t get his way. For those who don’t know, the budget “deficit”, Walker is so concerned about is a result of tax breaks he handed to out-of-state corporate donors, gutting the state’s surplus. Now he wants the workers to pay.
Already, five current and former members of the Super Bowl Champ Green Bay Packers, have spoken out against the bill. As Ed Garvey, the former head of the NFL Players Association, and proud Wisconsinite, said to me, “More Packers have now stood up for Wisconsin workers than DC democrats!” Already, the NFL Players Association has issued their own statement in support of Wisconsin’s working families. We must assume, that Aaron Rodgers, as the leader of the Packers and as the team’s union rep, has his fingerprints on both of these statements. But what we don’t have yet, is Aaron Rodgers’ voice.
Rodgers is a graduate of Cal Berkeley so he’s hardly unfamiliar with the power of protest. He’s, also according to my sources at the NFLPA, a fantastic union rep so he’s hardly unfamiliar with the critical necessity of collective bargaining rights. The crowds in Madison are aware of this as well. I saw dozens of Rodgers jerseys as well as signs that read, “Aaron Rodgers is a union rep!”
Gov. Walker wants a state where anything that’s not nailed down is for sale to multinational corporations. If he had his druthers, Lambeau Field would be renamed Kraft Macaroni and Cheesehead Stadium. Or he would just sell the team to Los Angeles for 50 cents on the dollar. He’s that craven, that unprincipled, that callous about the future for the people of Wisconsin.
Walker also says he has the “quiet majority” of Wisconsinites on his side. Given the unique place the Packers hold in the hearts of cheeseheads and given their status as a non-profit, fan owned team, there are no words for how much it would mean if Rodgers would issue a personal statement of solidarity. Last September, Rodgers said to the Sporting News, “Hopefully the legacy I’ll leave is one of somebody who was of high character, did things the right way, cared about his teammates, was coachable and was good to the community he lived in.” If that’s what Rodgers wants his legacy to be, the time is now. Aaron, your community needs you. Time to get your Berkeley-on and bring it to Badger-Land. One press conference, one quote, hell, one tweet. Anything but silence.
Showing posts with label Green Bay Packers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Green Bay Packers. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Those Non-Profit Packers
Dave Zirin
In a season where N.F.L. owners have steadily threatened to lock out the players next year unless they secure more profits in the next collective bargaining agreement, it’s poetic justice to see the Green Bay Packers, the team without an owner, make the Super Bowl. Actually, it’s not quite accurate to say the Packers are without an owner. They have a hundred and twelve thousand of them. The Packers are owned by the fans, making them the only publicly owned, not-for-profit, major professional team in the United States. The Pack have been a fan-owned operation since the primitive pro football days of the nineteen-twenties, when N.F.L. teams could be won in card games and no one foresaw the awesome power this sport would hold over both the American imagination and the American wallet.
In 1923, the Packers were just another hardscrabble team on the brink of bankruptcy. Rather than fold they decided to sell shares to the community, with fans each throwing down a couple of dollars to keep the team afloat. That humble frozen seed has since blossomed into a situation wherein more than a hundred thousand stockholders own more than four million shares of a perennial playoff contender. Those holding Packers stock are limited to no more than two hundred thousand shares, keeping any individual from gaining control over the club. Shareholders receive no dividend check and no free tickets to Lambeau Field. They don’t even get a foam cheesehead. All they get is a piece of paper that says they are part-owners of the Green Bay Packers. They don’t even get a green and gold frame for display purposes.
The shareholders elect a board of directors and a seven-member executive committee to stand in at N.F.L. owners meetings. But football decisions are made by General Manager Ted Thompson, perhaps the luckiest and happiest G.M. in sports. This structure allows Thompson to execute decisions, even unpopular ones, without an impatient, jittery billionaire breathing down his neck. Since his hire in January 2005, Thompson has made his share of controversial moves. But unlike his G.M. brethren around the league, who carry little or no job security, Thompson has been given the space to see his moves succeed or fail on their own accord. It was Thompson who decided to jettison legendary quarterback Brett Favre in 2008 for the unproven but younger and considerably lower maintenance Aaron Rodgers. Today, Favre is officially (we hope) retired and Rodgers stands at the pinnacle of his sport.
The Packers’ unique setup has created a relationship between team and community unlike any in the N.F.L. Wisconsin fans get to enjoy the team with the confidence that their owner won’t threaten to move to Los Angeles unless the team gets a new mega-dome. Volunteers work concessions, with sixty per cent of the proceeds going to local charities. Even the beer is cheaper than at a typical N.F.L. stadium. Not only has home field been sold out for two decades, but during snowstorms, the team routinely puts out calls for volunteers to help shovel and is never disappointed by the response. It doesn’t matter how beloved the Cowboys are in Dallas; if Jerry Jones ever put out a call for free labor, he’d be laughed out of town.
Here are the Packers: financially solvent, competitive, and deeply connected to the hundred thousand person city of Green Bay. It’s a beautiful story but it’s one that the N.F.L. and Commissioner Roger Goodell take great pains both to hide and make sure no other locality replicates. It’s actually written in the N.F.L. bylaws that no team can be a non-profit, community owned entity. The late N.F.L. commissioner Pete Rozelle had it written into the league’s constitution in 1960. Article V, Section 4—otherwise known as the Green Bay Rule—states that “charitable organizations and/or corporations not organized for profit and not now a member of the league may not hold membership in the National Football League.”
I talked with Rick Chernick, a member of the Packers board of directors, about whether other communities should challenge the N.F.L. constitution and be like Green Bay. Chernick expressed doubt, saying:
"I’m just not sure in today’s day and age a team could follow the Packer way. The cost of ownership is a ton today, thus being almost an impossible task without deep pockets. Green Bay is truly a special, special situation."
Chernick makes a valid point. But there is a strong counterargument as well. It may be exorbitantly expensive to run a team, but people don’t buy N.F.L. teams as a civic service. Being an N.F.L. owner is like having a license to print money. Television contracts alone run in the billions, with the 2006-2011 contracts valued at approximately $3 billion annually, $800 million more than the previous contracts. In addition, N.F.L. teams have received $6 billion in public funds to build the current crop of stadiums. In other words, the public is already shouldering a great deal of the cost and debt for N.F.L. franchises. But these public dollars, through some sort of magic alchemy, morph into private profits that often flow away from the communities that ponied up the dough. In the United States, we socialize the debt of sports and privatize the profits. Green Bay stands as a living, breathing, and, for the owners, frightening example, that pro sports can aid our cities in tough economic times, not drain them of scarce public resources.
Fans in San Diego and Minnesota, in particular, where local N.F.L. owners are threatening to uproot the home teams and move them to Los Angeles, might look toward Green Bay and wonder whether they could do a better job than the men in the owner’s box. And if N.F.L. owners go ahead and lock the players out next season, more than a few long suffering fans might look at their long suffering franchises and ask, “Maybe we don’t need owners at all.” It has worked in Green Bay—all the way to the Super Bowl.
In a season where N.F.L. owners have steadily threatened to lock out the players next year unless they secure more profits in the next collective bargaining agreement, it’s poetic justice to see the Green Bay Packers, the team without an owner, make the Super Bowl. Actually, it’s not quite accurate to say the Packers are without an owner. They have a hundred and twelve thousand of them. The Packers are owned by the fans, making them the only publicly owned, not-for-profit, major professional team in the United States. The Pack have been a fan-owned operation since the primitive pro football days of the nineteen-twenties, when N.F.L. teams could be won in card games and no one foresaw the awesome power this sport would hold over both the American imagination and the American wallet.
In 1923, the Packers were just another hardscrabble team on the brink of bankruptcy. Rather than fold they decided to sell shares to the community, with fans each throwing down a couple of dollars to keep the team afloat. That humble frozen seed has since blossomed into a situation wherein more than a hundred thousand stockholders own more than four million shares of a perennial playoff contender. Those holding Packers stock are limited to no more than two hundred thousand shares, keeping any individual from gaining control over the club. Shareholders receive no dividend check and no free tickets to Lambeau Field. They don’t even get a foam cheesehead. All they get is a piece of paper that says they are part-owners of the Green Bay Packers. They don’t even get a green and gold frame for display purposes.
The shareholders elect a board of directors and a seven-member executive committee to stand in at N.F.L. owners meetings. But football decisions are made by General Manager Ted Thompson, perhaps the luckiest and happiest G.M. in sports. This structure allows Thompson to execute decisions, even unpopular ones, without an impatient, jittery billionaire breathing down his neck. Since his hire in January 2005, Thompson has made his share of controversial moves. But unlike his G.M. brethren around the league, who carry little or no job security, Thompson has been given the space to see his moves succeed or fail on their own accord. It was Thompson who decided to jettison legendary quarterback Brett Favre in 2008 for the unproven but younger and considerably lower maintenance Aaron Rodgers. Today, Favre is officially (we hope) retired and Rodgers stands at the pinnacle of his sport.
The Packers’ unique setup has created a relationship between team and community unlike any in the N.F.L. Wisconsin fans get to enjoy the team with the confidence that their owner won’t threaten to move to Los Angeles unless the team gets a new mega-dome. Volunteers work concessions, with sixty per cent of the proceeds going to local charities. Even the beer is cheaper than at a typical N.F.L. stadium. Not only has home field been sold out for two decades, but during snowstorms, the team routinely puts out calls for volunteers to help shovel and is never disappointed by the response. It doesn’t matter how beloved the Cowboys are in Dallas; if Jerry Jones ever put out a call for free labor, he’d be laughed out of town.
Here are the Packers: financially solvent, competitive, and deeply connected to the hundred thousand person city of Green Bay. It’s a beautiful story but it’s one that the N.F.L. and Commissioner Roger Goodell take great pains both to hide and make sure no other locality replicates. It’s actually written in the N.F.L. bylaws that no team can be a non-profit, community owned entity. The late N.F.L. commissioner Pete Rozelle had it written into the league’s constitution in 1960. Article V, Section 4—otherwise known as the Green Bay Rule—states that “charitable organizations and/or corporations not organized for profit and not now a member of the league may not hold membership in the National Football League.”
I talked with Rick Chernick, a member of the Packers board of directors, about whether other communities should challenge the N.F.L. constitution and be like Green Bay. Chernick expressed doubt, saying:
"I’m just not sure in today’s day and age a team could follow the Packer way. The cost of ownership is a ton today, thus being almost an impossible task without deep pockets. Green Bay is truly a special, special situation."
Chernick makes a valid point. But there is a strong counterargument as well. It may be exorbitantly expensive to run a team, but people don’t buy N.F.L. teams as a civic service. Being an N.F.L. owner is like having a license to print money. Television contracts alone run in the billions, with the 2006-2011 contracts valued at approximately $3 billion annually, $800 million more than the previous contracts. In addition, N.F.L. teams have received $6 billion in public funds to build the current crop of stadiums. In other words, the public is already shouldering a great deal of the cost and debt for N.F.L. franchises. But these public dollars, through some sort of magic alchemy, morph into private profits that often flow away from the communities that ponied up the dough. In the United States, we socialize the debt of sports and privatize the profits. Green Bay stands as a living, breathing, and, for the owners, frightening example, that pro sports can aid our cities in tough economic times, not drain them of scarce public resources.
Fans in San Diego and Minnesota, in particular, where local N.F.L. owners are threatening to uproot the home teams and move them to Los Angeles, might look toward Green Bay and wonder whether they could do a better job than the men in the owner’s box. And if N.F.L. owners go ahead and lock the players out next season, more than a few long suffering fans might look at their long suffering franchises and ask, “Maybe we don’t need owners at all.” It has worked in Green Bay—all the way to the Super Bowl.
Football Season Is Over: 2011 Officially Begins
In the final insult to a completely humiliating season for Brett Favre, the Green Bay Packers won Super Bowl XLV, beating the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-25. It's their fourth SB title, and it took Packers QB Aaron Rodgers three years to win one, as many as Favre had in his entire career. Rodgers, unlike Favre, also won the game's MVP award, passing for 304 yards and 3 touchdowns. The curse of the Lutefisk continues...
The game was watched by a record 111 million in the US, 4.5 million more than last year's game and 5 million more than the final episode of M*A*S*H. Probably the coolest ad: a young boy dressed like Darth Vader trying to use The Force to open a 2012 Volkswagen Passat.
The NFL changed things around this year, presenting all the season best awards during the week. Here's the winners:
MVP: Tom Brady, New England Patriots
Offensive Player of the Year: Tom Brady, New England Patriots
Defensive Player of the Year: Troy Polamalu, Pittsburgh Steelers
Offensive Rookie of the Year: Sam Bradford, St. Louis Rams
Defensive Rookie of the Year: Ndamukong Suh, Detroit Lions
Coach of the Year: Bill Belichick, New England Patriots
Comeback of the Year: Michael Vick, Philadelphia Eagles
And finally, the Hall of Fame picks: modern era players Deion Sanders, Marshall Faulk, Richard Dent and Shannon Sharpe, NFL Films founder Ed Sabol and senior picks Chris Hanburger and Les Richter. A good list, though it contains some snubs: Faulk got in over running backs Jerome Bettis and Curtis Martin, wide receivers Chris Carter and Tim Brown were left out, and five time Super Bowl champ Charles Haley failed to make the cut. And then there's Oakland Raiders quarterback Ken Stabler and punter Ray Guy, the two most offensive long-term snubs from Canton...
The game was watched by a record 111 million in the US, 4.5 million more than last year's game and 5 million more than the final episode of M*A*S*H. Probably the coolest ad: a young boy dressed like Darth Vader trying to use The Force to open a 2012 Volkswagen Passat.
The NFL changed things around this year, presenting all the season best awards during the week. Here's the winners:
MVP: Tom Brady, New England Patriots
Offensive Player of the Year: Tom Brady, New England Patriots
Defensive Player of the Year: Troy Polamalu, Pittsburgh Steelers
Offensive Rookie of the Year: Sam Bradford, St. Louis Rams
Defensive Rookie of the Year: Ndamukong Suh, Detroit Lions
Coach of the Year: Bill Belichick, New England Patriots
Comeback of the Year: Michael Vick, Philadelphia Eagles
And finally, the Hall of Fame picks: modern era players Deion Sanders, Marshall Faulk, Richard Dent and Shannon Sharpe, NFL Films founder Ed Sabol and senior picks Chris Hanburger and Les Richter. A good list, though it contains some snubs: Faulk got in over running backs Jerome Bettis and Curtis Martin, wide receivers Chris Carter and Tim Brown were left out, and five time Super Bowl champ Charles Haley failed to make the cut. And then there's Oakland Raiders quarterback Ken Stabler and punter Ray Guy, the two most offensive long-term snubs from Canton...
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Manning Named MVP
http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/nflnewsfeed/2009/01/manning-named-mvp.html
Manning Named MVP
By Mark Maske
January 2, 2009
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning was named the NFL's most valuable player today by the Associated Press.
Manning also won the award in 2003 and 2004 and joins New York Jets quarterback Brett Favre as the league's only three-time MVPs. Favre won his awards while with the Green Bay Packers.
Each of the quarterbacks shared the award once, Manning with Steve McNair in 2003 and Favre with Barry Sanders in 1997. Favre's other two awards came in 1995 and '96.
Manning received 32 votes in balloting of media members to far outdistance Miami Dolphins quarterback Chad Pennington and Atlanta Falcons tailback Michael Turner, who finished tied for second with four votes each.
Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison and Minnesota Vikings tailback Adrian Peterson got three votes apiece. San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers received two votes, and Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner and Tennessee Titans rookie tailback Chris Johnson each got one.
Manning and the Colts got off to a sluggish start this season after Manning underwent preseason knee surgery. The Colts lost four of their first seven games. But they won their final nine games of the season to secure a playoff spot, and Manning led the way. He threw 27 touchdown passes and 12 interceptions this season while passing for 4,002 yards, and he was the league's fifth-rated passer.
Manning Named MVP
By Mark Maske
January 2, 2009
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning was named the NFL's most valuable player today by the Associated Press.
Manning also won the award in 2003 and 2004 and joins New York Jets quarterback Brett Favre as the league's only three-time MVPs. Favre won his awards while with the Green Bay Packers.
Each of the quarterbacks shared the award once, Manning with Steve McNair in 2003 and Favre with Barry Sanders in 1997. Favre's other two awards came in 1995 and '96.
Manning received 32 votes in balloting of media members to far outdistance Miami Dolphins quarterback Chad Pennington and Atlanta Falcons tailback Michael Turner, who finished tied for second with four votes each.
Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison and Minnesota Vikings tailback Adrian Peterson got three votes apiece. San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers received two votes, and Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner and Tennessee Titans rookie tailback Chris Johnson each got one.
Manning and the Colts got off to a sluggish start this season after Manning underwent preseason knee surgery. The Colts lost four of their first seven games. But they won their final nine games of the season to secure a playoff spot, and Manning led the way. He threw 27 touchdown passes and 12 interceptions this season while passing for 4,002 yards, and he was the league's fifth-rated passer.
Friday, January 2, 2009
Hall of Shame: Detroit sets dubious mark
http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=nfl/news/newstest.aspx?id=4199839
Hall of Shame: Detroit sets dubious mark
12/28/08
Green Bay, WI (Sports Network) - The Detroit Lions finished their 2008 season the way they finished every week of this season, with a loss, and became the first team in NFL history to finish a campaign 0-16.
Just one season after New England became the first NFL team to go 16-0 in the regular season, Sunday's 31-21 loss for the Lions, at the hands of the Green Bay Packers, handed Detroit the first winless non-strike season since the Tampa Bay Buccaneers went 0-14 in 1976, the expansion club's initial season.
It is appropriate that Detroit ended its lost season at the Packers, as its current run of 17 straight losses began in Green Bay on the last week of last season.
The Lions came into Sunday's contest with hope, given that the team had played the Packers tight during a Week 2 loss at Ford Field. In that game, the Lions took a 25-24 lead with 7:41 to play after Jon Kitna and Calvin Johnson connected on a 47-yard score, but Green Bay scored 24 unanswered points and Jon Kitna was picked off three times on the final three drives, with the last two being returned for touchdowns in a 48-25 loss.
The team had a four-week stretch in which it lost by eight points or less, including a 12-10 loss at Minnesota in Week 6, but was beaten by at least 20 points in five games this season and lost by double-digits in 10 games.
The Lions now join the 1962 New York Mets (40-120), the 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers (9-73) and the 1974-75 Washington Capitals (8-67-5) as the owner of the worst season in their respective sports. However, the Mets and Capitals were both expansion teams when they set their marks.
Despite Sunday's history, this was not the first time Detroit went winless in a season. The 1942 Lions finished the 1942 campaign at 0-11 in a season that saw the war-depleted Lions outscored by a total of 263-38.
The Achilles' Heel of this team was its defense. Going into Sunday's action, the Lions were last in the league in the following defensive categories: total defense (399.1 yards per game), scoring defense (32.4 points per game), rushing defense (169.5 yards per game), touchdowns allowed (59), rushing touchdowns allowed (30), yards allowed per rush (4.99), rushes allowed of 20 yards or longer (23), and interceptions recorded (4).
The team gave up a total of 517 points on the season, which is the second-most in the history of the league, and just 16 points fewer than the 1981 Baltimore Colts, who gave up 533 points.
The offense hasn't been much better, but the team did have two outstanding players in wide receiver Calvin Johnson (78 receptions, 1,331 yards and 12 touchdowns) and rookie running back Kevin Smith (238 carries, 976 yards and eight touchdowns). In addition, kicker Jason Hanson was his usual effective self as his only missed field goal attempt of the season was a block, and he went 8-for-8 from 50-plus yards. Hanson, who also had an extra-point attempt blocked, finished the season with 88 points.
That being said, one of the biggest problems of the offense was that it used five different quarterbacks during the campaign: Kitna, Dan Orlovsky, Daunte Culpepper, Drew Stanton and Drew Henson.
Rod Marinelli, who could lose his job in the coming days, and his club have not won a game since a home win over the Kansas City Chiefs last Dec. 23rd, and are 1-23 in their past 24 games overall, in addition to a a 12-game losing streak as the visitor since notching a win at Chicago last Oct. 28.
Hall of Shame: Detroit sets dubious mark
12/28/08
Green Bay, WI (Sports Network) - The Detroit Lions finished their 2008 season the way they finished every week of this season, with a loss, and became the first team in NFL history to finish a campaign 0-16.
Just one season after New England became the first NFL team to go 16-0 in the regular season, Sunday's 31-21 loss for the Lions, at the hands of the Green Bay Packers, handed Detroit the first winless non-strike season since the Tampa Bay Buccaneers went 0-14 in 1976, the expansion club's initial season.
It is appropriate that Detroit ended its lost season at the Packers, as its current run of 17 straight losses began in Green Bay on the last week of last season.
The Lions came into Sunday's contest with hope, given that the team had played the Packers tight during a Week 2 loss at Ford Field. In that game, the Lions took a 25-24 lead with 7:41 to play after Jon Kitna and Calvin Johnson connected on a 47-yard score, but Green Bay scored 24 unanswered points and Jon Kitna was picked off three times on the final three drives, with the last two being returned for touchdowns in a 48-25 loss.
The team had a four-week stretch in which it lost by eight points or less, including a 12-10 loss at Minnesota in Week 6, but was beaten by at least 20 points in five games this season and lost by double-digits in 10 games.
The Lions now join the 1962 New York Mets (40-120), the 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers (9-73) and the 1974-75 Washington Capitals (8-67-5) as the owner of the worst season in their respective sports. However, the Mets and Capitals were both expansion teams when they set their marks.
Despite Sunday's history, this was not the first time Detroit went winless in a season. The 1942 Lions finished the 1942 campaign at 0-11 in a season that saw the war-depleted Lions outscored by a total of 263-38.
The Achilles' Heel of this team was its defense. Going into Sunday's action, the Lions were last in the league in the following defensive categories: total defense (399.1 yards per game), scoring defense (32.4 points per game), rushing defense (169.5 yards per game), touchdowns allowed (59), rushing touchdowns allowed (30), yards allowed per rush (4.99), rushes allowed of 20 yards or longer (23), and interceptions recorded (4).
The team gave up a total of 517 points on the season, which is the second-most in the history of the league, and just 16 points fewer than the 1981 Baltimore Colts, who gave up 533 points.
The offense hasn't been much better, but the team did have two outstanding players in wide receiver Calvin Johnson (78 receptions, 1,331 yards and 12 touchdowns) and rookie running back Kevin Smith (238 carries, 976 yards and eight touchdowns). In addition, kicker Jason Hanson was his usual effective self as his only missed field goal attempt of the season was a block, and he went 8-for-8 from 50-plus yards. Hanson, who also had an extra-point attempt blocked, finished the season with 88 points.
That being said, one of the biggest problems of the offense was that it used five different quarterbacks during the campaign: Kitna, Dan Orlovsky, Daunte Culpepper, Drew Stanton and Drew Henson.
Rod Marinelli, who could lose his job in the coming days, and his club have not won a game since a home win over the Kansas City Chiefs last Dec. 23rd, and are 1-23 in their past 24 games overall, in addition to a a 12-game losing streak as the visitor since notching a win at Chicago last Oct. 28.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Packers trade Brett Favre to N.Y. Jets
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/2008-08-07-favre-traded_N.htm
Headed to Broadway: Packers trade Brett Favre to N.Y. Jets
8-7-8
The Brett Favre era is officially over in Green Bay.
The Green Bay Packers have confirmed they have traded the quarterback to the New York Jets. Favre had started the past 253 consecutive games for the Green Bay Packers.
The Packers did not release the terms of the trade. The Jets are believed to be sending a draft pick to the Packers, according to the Green Bay Press-Gazette, USA TODAY's sister publication.
Favre and the Packers have experienced a bitter divorce in the past two months since the quarterback, who retired in March, decided to unretire. The team was reluctant to take him back after it had embraced Aaron Rodgers as its next quarterback.
Headed to Broadway: Packers trade Brett Favre to N.Y. Jets
8-7-8
The Brett Favre era is officially over in Green Bay.
The Green Bay Packers have confirmed they have traded the quarterback to the New York Jets. Favre had started the past 253 consecutive games for the Green Bay Packers.
The Packers did not release the terms of the trade. The Jets are believed to be sending a draft pick to the Packers, according to the Green Bay Press-Gazette, USA TODAY's sister publication.
Favre and the Packers have experienced a bitter divorce in the past two months since the quarterback, who retired in March, decided to unretire. The team was reluctant to take him back after it had embraced Aaron Rodgers as its next quarterback.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Brett Favre's daring, dangerous brand of football
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/2008-03-04-1901653630_x.htm
Brett Favre's daring, dangerous brand of football
By Dave Goldberg, AP Football Writer
3-4-8
Maybe Brett Favre wasn't the best quarterback in NFL history, although he was pretty close.
There was always a sense of danger - both to his Green Bay Packers and opponents - when Favre dropped back to pass, the ball often held in one hand while dodging defenders. "Gunslinger" was the word many coaches and players used upon hearing of his retirement Tuesday.
"You knew he was having fun when he played, and that made him fun to watch," said Dallas quarterback Tony Romo, who grew up in Wisconsin watching Favre.
Favre would throw across his body or underhanded - left- or right-handed to a receiver. His first completion as a Packer was to himself - deflected off an onrushing lineman.
Even last season, when at age 38 he threw for 4,155 yards and led the Packers to a 13-3 regular season and a berth in the NFC championship game, he could do those things that would make even his most ardent fans cringe.
In a loss to Chicago, Favre threw a game-turning interception that was all too typical: a toss across his body toward the inside of the field instead of out of bounds. It landed in the hands of the Bears' Brian Urlacher.
"I was trying to make something out of nothing," he said at the time, one reason why he retired with the career records both for touchdown passes (442) and interceptions (288).
In fact, his last NFL pass was an interception by the Giants' Corey Webster that set up the winning field goal in the NFC championship game. That sent New York, rather than Favre and the Packers, to the Super Bowl.
Favre played as if he were still a kid. He jumped up and down at a touchdown, hugging teammates. He even honored opponents, as he did in the final minutes of the final game of the 2001 season, taking a dive for Michael Strahan that gave Strahan the single-season sack record.
Most of all, he never forgot that for all the money and the accolades football is just a game.
"I would hope 20, 30 years from now, I'm remembered for something else besides records," Favre told The Associated Press last summer. "Whether I have them or don't have them. If that's the only way I'm remembered, apparently I didn't do something right or leave a good enough impression on the fans. ...
"I've never looked at myself as being a superstar or better than anyone else. Regardless of how much success I've had, it's never - to me, I've always looked at it and I tell some of these guys sometimes, I've always looked at it as such a bonus. I feel like my personality is my personality. Whether it's on the field or off the field, I really feel they're one in the same. To me it's just normal."
Where does Favre fit in history? The records say top 10.
His 253 consecutive starts are a record for quarterbacks - they extend to 275 counting the postseason and his two Super Bowl appearances. Many were played in pain, including a full season with what was probably a broken thumb.
He's also the only player to win three consecutive NFL MVP awards (1995-97). Among his contemporaries in an era of superb QBs, Joe Montana had two straight and so did Peyton Manning. Steve Young and Kurt Warner had two. John Elway won once, Tom Brady won for the first time last season and Troy Aikman had none.
Playing in an era of free agency and a salary cap, Favre never had anything like the crew Montana had with the 49ers team that won four titles between 1981 and 1990. Although he did benefit from the arrival in Green Bay of Reggie White, the first superstar free agent.
But White was defensive end. Favre had a revolving door of receivers: from Sterling Sharpe and Robert Brooks to Antonio Freeman and Mark Chmura through Driver, the best by far of a nondescript crew in the early part of this decade that had him contemplating retirement annually.
The irony of his retirement is that last season's group was the best in a decade: Driver augmented by second-year man Greg Jennings and rookie James Jones.
Back to those rankings: How to compare Favre to a John Unitas, let alone a Sammy Baugh or Sid Luckman from the prehistoric era? How to compare him to Manning or Aikman, straight dropback passers in different offenses? Or to Elway, probably the best athlete to play quarterback?
"You're judged by winning, and (Favre's) won more games than any other quarterback who has ever played," said Denver's Mike Shanahan, Elway's last coach.
The closest to Favre may be Montana and Young. They, like Favre, played in West Coast offenses. Mike Holmgren, Favre's first coach in Green Bay, mentored all three and is a disciple of Bill Walsh, who perfected a system invented by Sid Gillman.
Montana was the purest of the three, accurate to a fraction of an inch on his passes. Young was a scrambler with the skills of a running back. Favre had the strongest arm, but his scrambling was less to run than to escape and find someone to throw to: sidearm, underhand, left-handed, whatever.
But like all of them, he was a competitor most of all.
"Brett's enthusiasm and pure enjoyment of doing what he loved is what we will all remember," Steve Mariucci, one of his first quarterbacks coaches, said Tuesday.
Favre?
"I know when I leave the game, I'm going to miss it. I know that. I'm not going to sit here and say, when I leave, it's over and I felt like I've done everything there is to do," he said last summer. "I feel like I've given every ounce of energy I can give every single time I stepped on the field."
It's the best way to be remembered.
---
AP National Writer Nancy Armour contributed to this report.
Brett Favre's daring, dangerous brand of football
By Dave Goldberg, AP Football Writer
3-4-8
Maybe Brett Favre wasn't the best quarterback in NFL history, although he was pretty close.
There was always a sense of danger - both to his Green Bay Packers and opponents - when Favre dropped back to pass, the ball often held in one hand while dodging defenders. "Gunslinger" was the word many coaches and players used upon hearing of his retirement Tuesday.
"You knew he was having fun when he played, and that made him fun to watch," said Dallas quarterback Tony Romo, who grew up in Wisconsin watching Favre.
Favre would throw across his body or underhanded - left- or right-handed to a receiver. His first completion as a Packer was to himself - deflected off an onrushing lineman.
Even last season, when at age 38 he threw for 4,155 yards and led the Packers to a 13-3 regular season and a berth in the NFC championship game, he could do those things that would make even his most ardent fans cringe.
In a loss to Chicago, Favre threw a game-turning interception that was all too typical: a toss across his body toward the inside of the field instead of out of bounds. It landed in the hands of the Bears' Brian Urlacher.
"I was trying to make something out of nothing," he said at the time, one reason why he retired with the career records both for touchdown passes (442) and interceptions (288).
In fact, his last NFL pass was an interception by the Giants' Corey Webster that set up the winning field goal in the NFC championship game. That sent New York, rather than Favre and the Packers, to the Super Bowl.
Favre played as if he were still a kid. He jumped up and down at a touchdown, hugging teammates. He even honored opponents, as he did in the final minutes of the final game of the 2001 season, taking a dive for Michael Strahan that gave Strahan the single-season sack record.
Most of all, he never forgot that for all the money and the accolades football is just a game.
"I would hope 20, 30 years from now, I'm remembered for something else besides records," Favre told The Associated Press last summer. "Whether I have them or don't have them. If that's the only way I'm remembered, apparently I didn't do something right or leave a good enough impression on the fans. ...
"I've never looked at myself as being a superstar or better than anyone else. Regardless of how much success I've had, it's never - to me, I've always looked at it and I tell some of these guys sometimes, I've always looked at it as such a bonus. I feel like my personality is my personality. Whether it's on the field or off the field, I really feel they're one in the same. To me it's just normal."
Where does Favre fit in history? The records say top 10.
His 253 consecutive starts are a record for quarterbacks - they extend to 275 counting the postseason and his two Super Bowl appearances. Many were played in pain, including a full season with what was probably a broken thumb.
He's also the only player to win three consecutive NFL MVP awards (1995-97). Among his contemporaries in an era of superb QBs, Joe Montana had two straight and so did Peyton Manning. Steve Young and Kurt Warner had two. John Elway won once, Tom Brady won for the first time last season and Troy Aikman had none.
Playing in an era of free agency and a salary cap, Favre never had anything like the crew Montana had with the 49ers team that won four titles between 1981 and 1990. Although he did benefit from the arrival in Green Bay of Reggie White, the first superstar free agent.
But White was defensive end. Favre had a revolving door of receivers: from Sterling Sharpe and Robert Brooks to Antonio Freeman and Mark Chmura through Driver, the best by far of a nondescript crew in the early part of this decade that had him contemplating retirement annually.
The irony of his retirement is that last season's group was the best in a decade: Driver augmented by second-year man Greg Jennings and rookie James Jones.
Back to those rankings: How to compare Favre to a John Unitas, let alone a Sammy Baugh or Sid Luckman from the prehistoric era? How to compare him to Manning or Aikman, straight dropback passers in different offenses? Or to Elway, probably the best athlete to play quarterback?
"You're judged by winning, and (Favre's) won more games than any other quarterback who has ever played," said Denver's Mike Shanahan, Elway's last coach.
The closest to Favre may be Montana and Young. They, like Favre, played in West Coast offenses. Mike Holmgren, Favre's first coach in Green Bay, mentored all three and is a disciple of Bill Walsh, who perfected a system invented by Sid Gillman.
Montana was the purest of the three, accurate to a fraction of an inch on his passes. Young was a scrambler with the skills of a running back. Favre had the strongest arm, but his scrambling was less to run than to escape and find someone to throw to: sidearm, underhand, left-handed, whatever.
But like all of them, he was a competitor most of all.
"Brett's enthusiasm and pure enjoyment of doing what he loved is what we will all remember," Steve Mariucci, one of his first quarterbacks coaches, said Tuesday.
Favre?
"I know when I leave the game, I'm going to miss it. I know that. I'm not going to sit here and say, when I leave, it's over and I felt like I've done everything there is to do," he said last summer. "I feel like I've given every ounce of energy I can give every single time I stepped on the field."
It's the best way to be remembered.
---
AP National Writer Nancy Armour contributed to this report.
Favre decides to call it a career
http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/7870944/Favre-decides-to-call-it-a-career
Favre decides to call it a career
Associated Press
March 4, 2008
After flirting with retirement for years, Brett Favre means it this time. The Green Bay Packers quarterback quit after a 17-season career in which he dazzled fans with his grit, heart and rocket of an arm.
Hanging them up
Brett Favre
Green Bay Packers
Quarterback
G GS Comp Att Yds TD Int
257 253 5,377 8,758 61,655 442 288
The retirement was first reported by FOXSports.com's Jay Glazer.
"I know I can still play, but it's like I told my wife, I'm just tired mentally. I'm just tired," Favre said.
Tuesday's surprise move comes after the 38-year-old three-time MVP set several league records, including most career touchdown passes, in one of his most successful seasons.
Coach Mike McCarthy said Favre informed him of the decision by telephone Monday night.
"He said it was time for him to hang up the cleats," McCarthy said at a news conference Tuesday afternoon. "He's mentally tired, with all the little things that go into everyday preparation."
Favre's agent, Bus Cook, also learned of his decision Monday night.
"Nobody pushed Brett Favre out the door, but then nobody encouraged him not to go out that door, either," Cook told The Associated Press by phone from his Hattiesburg, Miss., office.
Packers general manager Ted Thompson thanked Favre for 16 years of wonderful memories with the team.
"His accomplishments are legendary," Thompson said. "And it's the passion with which he played that made everyone a Brett Favre fan."
The team hasn't said when Favre might address the media.
Favre led the Packers to the NFC championship game in January, but his interception in overtime set up the New York Giants' winning field goal.
"If I felt like coming back — and Deanna (Favre's wife) and I talked about this — the only way for me to be successful would be to win a Super Bowl," Favre said. "To go to the Super Bowl and lose, would almost be worse than anything else. Anything less than a Super Bowl win would be unsuccessful."
Last season, Favre broke Dan Marino's career records for most touchdown passes and most yards passing and John Elway's record for most career victories by a starting quarterback.
He retires with 5,377 career completions in 8,758 attempts for 61,655 yards, 442 touchdowns and 288 interceptions.
"He was the prototypical gun-slinger type," said Marv Levy, Pro Football Hall of Fame coach. "He's the type of guy where, 'Oh, what's he throwing into that crowd for?' But he had intuition, toughness, resilience."
Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman wondered if Favre's decision was final.
"As the season gets closer, I wouldn't be surprised at all if he changes his mind," said Aikman, a Fox analyst who played 12 years with the Dallas Cowboys.
The news stunned many.
"I was surprised when I heard it this morning," former Packers general manager Ron Wolf said. "He played with such a great passion. He must have figured he no longer had that passion, and it was time to get out."
Even Favre's teammates didn't see it coming.
"I just saw it come across the TV," Packers wide receiver Koren Robinson said, when reached on his cell phone by The Associated Press.
In his final season, Favre also extended his quarterback-record streak of consecutive regular-season starts to 253 games - illustrating his trademark toughness. Add the playoffs, and Favre's streak stands at 275.
In the past several offseasons, Favre's indecision about his football future became a winter tradition in Wisconsin, with Cheeseheads hanging on his every word.
Unlike after the 2006 season — when Favre choked up in a television interview as he walked off the field in Chicago, only to return once again — nearly everyone assumed he would be back next season.
It was a remarkable turnaround from 2005, Favre's final season under former head coach Mike Sherman, when he threw a career-worst 29 interceptions as the Packers went 4-12.
Surrounded by an underrated group of wide receivers who proved hard to tackle after the catch, Favre had a career-high completion percentage of 66.5. He threw for 4,155 yards, 28 touchdowns and only 15 interceptions.
Before the Packers' Jan. 12 divisional playoff game against Seattle, Favre told his hometown newspaper that he wasn't approaching the game as if it would be his last and was more optimistic than in years past about returning.
"For the first time in three years, I haven't thought this could be my last game," Favre told the Biloxi (Miss.) Sun Herald. "I would like to continue longer."
But Favre finished the season on a sour note, struggling in subzero temperatures in a 23-20 overtime loss to the New York Giants in the NFC championship game.
Afterward, Favre was noncommittal on his future. McCarthy said he wanted Favre to take a step back from the season before making a decision.
Now he has — to walk away.
"The Packers owe him a tremendous debt of gratitude," Thompson said. "The uniqueness of Brett Favre his personality, charisma and love of the game - undoubtedly will leave him as one of the enduring figures in NFL history."
Favre decides to call it a career
Associated Press
March 4, 2008
After flirting with retirement for years, Brett Favre means it this time. The Green Bay Packers quarterback quit after a 17-season career in which he dazzled fans with his grit, heart and rocket of an arm.
Hanging them up
Brett Favre
Green Bay Packers
Quarterback
G GS Comp Att Yds TD Int
257 253 5,377 8,758 61,655 442 288
The retirement was first reported by FOXSports.com's Jay Glazer.
"I know I can still play, but it's like I told my wife, I'm just tired mentally. I'm just tired," Favre said.
Tuesday's surprise move comes after the 38-year-old three-time MVP set several league records, including most career touchdown passes, in one of his most successful seasons.
Coach Mike McCarthy said Favre informed him of the decision by telephone Monday night.
"He said it was time for him to hang up the cleats," McCarthy said at a news conference Tuesday afternoon. "He's mentally tired, with all the little things that go into everyday preparation."
Favre's agent, Bus Cook, also learned of his decision Monday night.
"Nobody pushed Brett Favre out the door, but then nobody encouraged him not to go out that door, either," Cook told The Associated Press by phone from his Hattiesburg, Miss., office.
Packers general manager Ted Thompson thanked Favre for 16 years of wonderful memories with the team.
"His accomplishments are legendary," Thompson said. "And it's the passion with which he played that made everyone a Brett Favre fan."
The team hasn't said when Favre might address the media.
Favre led the Packers to the NFC championship game in January, but his interception in overtime set up the New York Giants' winning field goal.
"If I felt like coming back — and Deanna (Favre's wife) and I talked about this — the only way for me to be successful would be to win a Super Bowl," Favre said. "To go to the Super Bowl and lose, would almost be worse than anything else. Anything less than a Super Bowl win would be unsuccessful."
Last season, Favre broke Dan Marino's career records for most touchdown passes and most yards passing and John Elway's record for most career victories by a starting quarterback.
He retires with 5,377 career completions in 8,758 attempts for 61,655 yards, 442 touchdowns and 288 interceptions.
"He was the prototypical gun-slinger type," said Marv Levy, Pro Football Hall of Fame coach. "He's the type of guy where, 'Oh, what's he throwing into that crowd for?' But he had intuition, toughness, resilience."
Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman wondered if Favre's decision was final.
"As the season gets closer, I wouldn't be surprised at all if he changes his mind," said Aikman, a Fox analyst who played 12 years with the Dallas Cowboys.
The news stunned many.
"I was surprised when I heard it this morning," former Packers general manager Ron Wolf said. "He played with such a great passion. He must have figured he no longer had that passion, and it was time to get out."
Even Favre's teammates didn't see it coming.
"I just saw it come across the TV," Packers wide receiver Koren Robinson said, when reached on his cell phone by The Associated Press.
In his final season, Favre also extended his quarterback-record streak of consecutive regular-season starts to 253 games - illustrating his trademark toughness. Add the playoffs, and Favre's streak stands at 275.
In the past several offseasons, Favre's indecision about his football future became a winter tradition in Wisconsin, with Cheeseheads hanging on his every word.
Unlike after the 2006 season — when Favre choked up in a television interview as he walked off the field in Chicago, only to return once again — nearly everyone assumed he would be back next season.
It was a remarkable turnaround from 2005, Favre's final season under former head coach Mike Sherman, when he threw a career-worst 29 interceptions as the Packers went 4-12.
Surrounded by an underrated group of wide receivers who proved hard to tackle after the catch, Favre had a career-high completion percentage of 66.5. He threw for 4,155 yards, 28 touchdowns and only 15 interceptions.
Before the Packers' Jan. 12 divisional playoff game against Seattle, Favre told his hometown newspaper that he wasn't approaching the game as if it would be his last and was more optimistic than in years past about returning.
"For the first time in three years, I haven't thought this could be my last game," Favre told the Biloxi (Miss.) Sun Herald. "I would like to continue longer."
But Favre finished the season on a sour note, struggling in subzero temperatures in a 23-20 overtime loss to the New York Giants in the NFC championship game.
Afterward, Favre was noncommittal on his future. McCarthy said he wanted Favre to take a step back from the season before making a decision.
Now he has — to walk away.
"The Packers owe him a tremendous debt of gratitude," Thompson said. "The uniqueness of Brett Favre his personality, charisma and love of the game - undoubtedly will leave him as one of the enduring figures in NFL history."
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