Leave Brett Favre Alone
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
So there was no live-blog last night because our servers (Comcast High-Speed) were down. This was ultimately for the best because I was/am sick as hell and trying to make it through today in one piece. I think I only saw half of the game, and I dreamt the rest......when I woke up today I remembered the score being 35-28 at one point (two doses of Nyquil will do that to you).
Well anywho, I was thinking about Brett Favre this morning (no not like that sicko).....and I remembered a comment that someone sent to me a little bit ago when I agreed with Easterbrook's assessment of Favre.
Spectacular Sam said...Not for nothing, but the people saying Favre is overhyped are becoming just as annoying as the people overhyping him. We get it, even Packer fans know this. (Note: This comment was typed spite-free.)You know what.....he's right. Who the hell cares if Favre is in the twilight of his career or not. I've never watched a quarterback who threw more exciting touchdowns....hell his interceptions are more exciting than most other QBs TDs. And that crazy fake thing he does when he hands the ball off is still awesome (even though it has never worked)!
As an O's fan I'm going to say something sacrilege, but if you don't see this then I don't know what to tell you. Brett Favre's streak is more impressive than Cal Ripken's. Staying active for 200+ games in football is just unheard of with the violence that happens every game. So why does he not get the same respect?
Favre's career is almost perfectly paralleling Cal Ripken's (Cal was never my favorite O because he killed me when hitting in the twilight of his career). The stats almost match up perfectly (as much as they can going from baseball to football)....let's take a look:
Cal Ripken: 21 Seasons, 3184 hits, 431 hrs, 1695 rbis, .276 avg, .340 OBP, .447 slg, 350 GIDP
Brett Favre: 16 Seasons, 4771 comp, 402 tds, 54670 yds, 61.4% comp, 85.8 qb rat, 260 Ints
Very comparable as first ballot HOFers (as comparable as they can be)....most notably in the statistic that hurts your team the most in each sport.....GIDPs and Ints. Cal Ripken is the career leader in GIDPs and Favre is only 18 ints away from George Blanda's all time record of 278. But that's going to happen when you play that many seasons.
And even deeper than that both have had the "He's washed up he'll never....Oh Shit did he just do that game?"
Cal's came in the 1999 season when his streak had already been ended by Ryan Minor(!) the year before. He was facing the Atlanta Braves on June 13th and went 6 for 6, had 2 hrs, and 13 total bases (tying the club record)....and you know what I said, "Who the hell cares if he hits into a double play every other at bat. I'm watching arguably the best shortstop to ever play the game." Cal also had the farewell game in which he homered off of Chan Ho Park in the 2001 All Star Game and won the MVP (only AL player to win it twice). (Not to mention homering on the nights he tied and broke the record)
So why do we complain about Favre and not so much about Cal? I personally think because of the inherent differences in the two sports. Baseball is a long, pace yourself season with almost no break in between seasons. Most fans don't get into the swing of things until after the All-Star break, and if you're an O's fan then you're done 3 months after the opener. In football there is so much time between the SuperBowl and the beginning of the season that the season is amplified that much more. There are only 16 games to get you to the playoffs and if you're not in you need to be rebuilding. Fans are so much more intense about football over any other sport and if someone is holding "Your" team back then they must go. Whether they are Brett Favre or Joe Montana the season and the salary cap demand that you do so.
Well Brett has already had the "HWUHNOSDHJDTGame". The Monday Nighter after his father tragically passed away was amazing. He threw for 399 yards and 4 Tds, and received a standing O from the Raiders and their fans (that alone should stand by itself). I'm just waiting for his 2001 All Star Game like game moment where everyone can finally just say,"I am watching arguably one of the best Quarterbacks to ever play this game. Who cares if he throws 4 ints in a game."
(And then he can run around Lambeau Field giving high fives to everyone in attendance.)
14 Comments:
But Favre does not even have the consecutive games played record. That record now belongs to a punter. Before the punter broke it, Jim Marshall played DE for 282 straight games.
And in my opinion, the most durable athlete of all-time is Wilt Chamberlain, who one season averaged over 48 minutes per game, missed only 7 minutes all season, and still holds all the NBA records for minutes per game.
Nice post.
Favre's record isn't games played, it's starts
Ha, wondered if you saw that AA. Very well put. And quite honestly, I will be sitting in Lambeau again Sunday and I have no fucking idea what to expect. I was sitting there when he came off the bench threw his first TD (a game winner) in 1992 and I'll be there for his last, whenever that is. I've been through all the ups and all the downs and it's been a hell of a roller coaster, a really fun one too. He deserves a good deal of the criticism he gets, and doesn't deserve half the verbal BJ's from the media. I've just gotten to the point where I really couldn't give a shit about any of that, just glad I was along for the ride.
Nicole,
Farve's record is starts for a quarterback. I don't know about the punter that Pacifist Viking mentioned, but Jim Marshall had 282 consecutive starts at Defensive End, which, last time I checked, is a much more physical position. So when Farve gets there, he can be compared to Ripken, but until then, he's more like a Tejada or a Matsui.
Favre gets more heat and attention than Cal just because he's a quarterback.
The QB position is the most important position in teams sports. No one position influences a team's fate more. Not even a pitcher - they only go every 5 days. You could make an argument for goalie, I suppose, but...well, its hockey.
A crappy QB can derail a football team quicker than any other position - and a good one can make a team better than they actually are. Plus, Favre is a QB legend. Combine that with the passion and history of Green Bay and its fans, and its gonna get ridiculously scrutinized.
If Favre was a wide reciever or a safety, we wouldn't be having this conversation. Cal being a short stop allowed him to hang on a little more than was thought smart. Favre being a QB throws him in a unique spotlight.
And the drop off with Favre was staggering. We're talking about the NFL's only 3 time MVP going from invicible to throwing balls up for grabs that looked more like punts than passes.
Favre kinda created the perfect storm. He's the case study of When is Enough Enough? among pro athletes.
That said, the verbal fellatios can't end soon enough.
Actually, it appears that Marshall's record is consecutive games played. So, if you go in for one play, it counts.
Got the stats from NFL.com: http://www.nfl.com/history/randf/records/indiv/service
Also, Robin Yount was MVP twice in the AL, ...at 2 different positions.
Thanks for the site frogurt. Ripken's two MVPs were for the All Star game is that what Yount's were?
The punter is Jeff Feagles.
Mick Tinglehoff started 240 straight games. If Favre lasts the season, he'll pass Tinglehoff, I think. I don't know which other players have started more than Favre, but I believe there are other linemen with 200+ starts.
Favre gets more credit than these guys because he is more recent, and because he plays QB. It's not as fun to wax poetic about defensive ends and centers who started many straight games.
In Favre's prime he kicked the shit out of the other any "pocket-passer" typess that ever played the game.
He means Yount's two MVPS were at shortstop 1982 and centerfield, 1989.
(and that is where Jeter should have been, moved to cf)
Here's why you're wrong about Favre's streak being more impressive than Ripken's: It is harder for a baseball player to start every single game of the MLB season than it is for a football player to start every single game of an NFL season. Don't think that's true? Well, here's a fact that you can't get around that proves it: In this past baseball season, all of 2 players in all of MLB started every single game of the season, both outfielders (Juan Pierre and Jeff Francouer). Jimmy Rollins, Yuniesky Betancourt, and Rafael Furcal lead shortstops with 156 games started. 16, count them, 16 quarterbacks started every single game this NFL season. Those QBs are: Chad Pennington, Steve McNair, Eli Manning, David Carr, Peyton Manning, Jon Kitna, Drew Brees, Alex Smith, Michael Vick, Carson Palmer, Marc Bulger, Philip Rivers, Brett Favre, Rex Grossman, Tom Brady, and J.P. Losman. Go ahead, look it up, count them again, whatever; That is 16 quarterbacks in the NFL this year that started every single game, meaning half the teams had QBs start every game for them this year. Again 2 players and ZERO shortstops started every single game of the MLB season this year. So, what that says is that it is much harder for an MLB player to start every single game in their season than it is for an NFL QB to start every single game in their season, at least in those leagues' most recent seasons. So if it is harder to start every game of an MLB season than it is for a QB to start every game of an NFL season, than it is harder for Cal Ripken to start every game for 16 or 17 seasons than it is for Brett Favre to start every game for 14 to 15 seasons. And those are FACTS. Favre's streak may be equally noteworthy, but Ripken's is more impressive.
Karl, you obviously haven't figured into your statistics that baseball has changed over the years and the managers dislike using players every day. That is a lie to use that statistic to make it appear as if it is "more difficult" in a way that is tougher. It is only "more difficult" because managers don't like doing it and for good reason.
If Cal Ripken never had to run around the diamond running from Warren Sapp.
Thank you. I am "Huge" packer fan, big Favre fan. Yes I know that he has made poor passes. But I am sick of all the anti Favre comments. The most accurate comments about Favre come not from has beens such as Irvin, Golic, or other ESPN wannabes, but it's from current NFL coaches and players who are in the game itself.
I hope he plays another 2 years. Who cares about Aaron Rodgers?
Not everyone has the East Coast mentality (which is what did you do for me today).
By the way, last night...if Driver catches the TD pass in the 1st quarter that Favre hit him in the hands, or if Driver catches the easy pass in the 3rd quarter when the Packers are driving to answer an Eagle score...
but after the game, it's all the same "Favre stinks" or "game has passed him by"
thanks for letting me vent