Fox Sports is reporting that Brett Favre has decided to hang up the jock strap after 17 incredible seasons as quarterback of the Green Bay Packers. You can't argue with Favre's timing, seeing as his retirement follows his best season in years. Fox's Jay Glazer sums up Favre's final campaign this way: "He led the Packers to the NFC Championship Game after passing for a stunning 4,155 yards, looking very much at times like a younger version of himself. In addition he threw 28 TDs — including an overtime Hail Mary pass to beat Denver in front of a national audience — and had a 95.7 quarterback rating. He was also voted into the Pro Bowl following the 2007 season but declined to go." Not bad for an old man.
Favre's exact placement on the list of history's greatest QBs will be the source of endless debate, but there is no doubt that he's an automatic Hall of Famer and a Top-5 All-Time quarterback. My favorite Favre memory is this pass to Antonio Freeman, which I didn't believe at the time and still have trouble grasping:
And really, who can argue with these kids?
This article appears in Feb 27 – Mar 4, 2008.