#9 - Brett Favre
What is there to say about the most written about QB this side of Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. New-age young fans who care more about statistics and efficiency and taking care of the ball push Favre down their lists. Those who are older and are used to mythologizing players who ran around and threw off-balanced passes in general directions of receivers who would often be fully covered, looked past those issues in Favre's career and hailed him as a top QB of all time. In reality, he is both, he is everything. Brett Favre, when he was on, had as high a peak as any QB in history. He also had the lowest floor of any of those players who had the high peak. The conundrum of Favre should rest somewhere in between as one of the best QBs of all time, with a penchant that grew increasingly more obvious as his career went on.
Favre's career is a myth in itself. A small-town, small-school boy from Kiln, Mississippi gets plucked out of career obscurity of being a backup in Atlanta to go play in our most nothernly outpost. Lake all great tales, there were ups (three straight MVPs, a Super Bowl title), and downs (public exposure of his painkiller addiction, his pick-happy late Green Bay years with Mike Sherman), but in sum, Favre's Green Bay years were statistically, ethereally and metaphorically the stuff of legend.
After a couple years of growing pains as a starter in a new offense and a new structure, Favre put together one of the best 5-year stretches the league had seen. From 1994-1998 (Mike Holmgren's last year in Green Bay), Favre went 57-23, threw for 20,273 yards with a 61.5 completion percentage, with 176 TDs and 79 INTs. This was still the mid-90's, where apart from the hyper efficiency of Steve Young, no one was putting up numbers like this. Favre truly combined volume and efficiency at a consistent level unlike anything the league had seen before. Marino had it for many years, but rarely such a sustained stretch.
This period combined with some excellent Green Bay teams with loaded talent on both sides of the ball, but Favre was that offense. He lost his best receiver due to freak injury in Sterling Sharpe, and continued to be great throwing to Andre Rison and Mark Chmura and a cast of random characters. The Packers loaded up with stars on defense (Reggie White most notably), but on offense it was a reliance on Holmgren and Favre to make magic together, and they did just that.
In this period of time, peak Favre was basically the 90's version of peak-Rodgers or peak-Manning or any other QB who's statistical exploits in a far more passing-heavy league make people think Favre wasn't their equal. Favre was. Starting mid-way through his 1995 season, where he won his first MVP, through his 1996 season where he won his second, Favre went 20-4, throwing for 5,945 yards, with 60 TDs and just 15 INTs, for a 104.1 rating. Favre, at his best, was a monster on the field, mastering the West Coast Offense to a way that would make Young or Montana proud.
Favre late career did expose Favre's limitations somewhat as a 'gunslinger' type who would throw careless interceptions and try to make crazy plays instead of safe ones. This was at its worst in the Mike Sherman days, when Favre's position in Green Bay became unchecked and his power limitless. There were few players who ran their teams like Favre in those years. What was shown when Mike McCarthy took over is a reigned in, programmed, smart Favre still existed and still could be brilliant.
The ultimate late career Favre also showed his true personality, his true humanity. His multiple tear-filled press conferences announcing his retirement, and his multiple un-retirements did grow tiresome, but they also showed just how much he truly loved playing the game. His consecutive start streak did become a bellweather at some points, but it becomes more amazing that he did it for the last 9 years or so without the help of painkillers. That also lends itself well to why he was so mentally demoralized after seasons, and after a few months of R&R he wanted back in.
The real Favre was also driven to get respect. Whether it was the respect of being a starting QB, or a Champion, the ultimate show of respect for Favre was being able to pick and choose when he retired. Green Bay didn't give him that, and in the most incredible show of drive for respect, if not revenge, he wanted to get back at them in the worst way. We always thought Favre needed a compass, needed a guide like Mike Holmgren. Favre's incredible 2009 performance, including two masterful games against Green Bay, showed he could be as self-driven as any other great QB.
Brett Favre will be entering the Hall of Fame in 2016. Reports from the Hall of Fame deliberation session that occurred before Super Bowl 50 said that the 'debate' on Favre was the quickest ever. While that is not too surprising given both the fact that Favre was a deserved Hall of Famer, and the way the media types who select the Hall of Fame generally loved Favre more than any player past or present. There is probably a cadre of stat-heads that saw his checkered history of high interception totals and would argue against him being such a slam dunk Hall of Famer, but when we peel back the stats, we see a glittering collection of incredible seasons and performances that nothing would befit Favre more than being a first ballot Hall of Famer.
