Decisions, Decisions

I don't know if you are aware of this, but future Hall-of-Fame Quarterback Brett Favre, you know the guy that played for the Packers, is making a come back. It's true, I'm not sure why this isn't getting more attention, but apparently he is going to play for the Minnesota Vikings, a team that he said he has "always really liked." Who woulda thunk it. Brett Favre back in the NFL.

I mean, even Billy Shakespeare had the good taste to end Hamlet after Five Acts. If left up to Favre, this disabled decision making diva will continue to hold ESPN ransom until he gets a back end deal on the X-Games. To Be or Not To Be? Who cares? I don't and neither should you. Favre is no longer an elite Super Bowl winning Quarterback. And why? It's funny you should ask. The reason...wait for it...It's BECAUSE HE CAN'T MAKE A DECISION...ABOUT ANYTHING! Quel Surprise!

Seriously, thanks in large part to number one Favre sycophant John Madden, and perhaps more importantly Frank Caliendo, Brett has always been considered a "gunslinger" not afraid to stick the ball into a tight window regardless of th coverage. Well he certainly had the swagger of a pistol toting Gary Cooper throughout his illustrious career in Fromageville but that's not why he was good. He was good because Craig Stadtler was an offensive genius in Green Bay and created an offense that forced Favre into making quick decisions...Oh, and he had a Howitzer mounted on his right shoulder. The guy was War Machine in Cheesehead yellow.

Think about it, in recent years Favre has shown an inability to decide on anything. He's in, he's out, Jets, retirement, surgery, no surgery, Vikings, retirement, Vikings. The guy can't make up his mind. And it doesn't end with the big picture stuff either. Go back and look at his game day decisions during each of the last four years. You see game after game, series after series Favre struggling to know when to pull the trigger. He taps the ball so much in the pocket you have to wonder if he is sending signals using Morse Code. Other than the first part of his final year in Green Bay he has looked less like a gunslingin' cowboy and more like David Carr.

I know what you're saying, "But the ruggedly handsome quarterback in wrangler jeans had one of his best years during his final season in Green Bay." That's true and it was entirely because Mike McCarthy ran a more basic West Coast offense. The decisions were eliminated. Look deep early, check down late. If you go back and look at the Packers offense through the first 13 games of that season you will see check down after check down. That's not to say that they didn't go deep that year, it was just a simplified offense. Rex Grossman went deep a lot the year before in Chicago and had a great QB Rating leading his team to the Super Bowl that didn't make him a good decision maker and nobody would argue that he is a Super Bowl caliber Quarterback.

In fact you can go back and listen to or read McCarthy saying that he simplified things for his "young receivers". Really or was it for his "Old Quarterback?" At any rate Favre eventually reverted back to his old indecisive ways late in the season and during the playoffs. The same can be said for Broadway Brett's fiveure in New York. Solid conservative Quarterback early, erratic petulant primadonna late.

Face it, Brett Favre should stop being asked whether or not he is going to retire. Remove the decision making from the process. He should just keep playing until he gets cut. No more press conferences, no more appearances on Letterman or the Arte Lange Show with special smug host Joe Buck. Just play until they take the third stringer from Coastal Carolina on the final 53 rather than him. And for the rest of the NFC, yesterday should be considered one of the best days of the year for you. The Vikings officially opted out of the Buccaneers/Ravens/70's blue print for winning a championship, under Sage Rosenfelds, and implemented the Drew Bledsoe/Vinny Testeverde approach. You know the one where you just bring in that older savvy experienced Quarterback that knows the offense and that ol' gunslinger brings you to the promised land. It's practically fool proof, just ask the Bills, Cowboys, Browns, or Jets.

I think that bringing Brett Favre in will set the Vikings back three years and will likely cost Adrian Petersen any chance at a Super Bowl... That, oooor, the Favre throws for 25 TD, the Defense dominates, Petersen shows why he is the most electric offensive weapon in the game and they win that ellusive Super Bowl on their fifth try. I can't decide.