It looks like the Green Bay Packers need more than Brett Favre, after all. He always knew it.
“I never believed it was a one-man show,” he said before the first 0-3 start of his career.
For years, rivals have looked forward to seeing the Packers without Favre. As long as they have Favre, the saying goes, they have a chance to win.
But what happens when Favre is all they have? The chances get slim. It’s a lesson for any football team that thinks all it needs is a quarterback. This is not the Bulls with Michael Jordan.
The Packers are now staring 0-4 in the face with a Monday night game in Carolina. The poor start has renewed speculation about Favre’s retirement, which everybody believes is inevitable if not imminent. Bears fans can hope only that he doesn’t decide to become the first player to play forever.
When the Packers lost by a point last week to Tampa Bay, Favre said if the team starts talking about rebuilding, “it’s time for Brett Favre to go home.” By Wednesday, he felt more like the kid inside who still jumps for joy with every touchdown pass.
“I’d much rather be 3-0, but it’s still a one-in-a-million job,” Favre said. “At 0-3 I think most people would say, `He’s gone after this year. They may not even want him back.’ Whatever. But I haven’t even thought about it, really. But if I was sitting here and we were 3-0, I don’t think in the back of my mind I would be saying, `I’m definitely coming back because we’re 3-0.'”
What might drive Favre nuts is if people start blaming the 0-3 on him. If outsiders decide he has lost it, he’s liable to decide he certainly doesn’t need it.
He has thrown five touchdown passes and seven interceptions in the three losses. He has been accused of throwing some balls “up for grabs,” as if that were a new accusation.
“I don’t think he threw it up. That’s Brett Favre,” coach Mike Sherman said.
He will turn 36 a week from Monday, but his arm remains 26, still the strongest in the league. He’s Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, except he realizes this isn’t baseball.
When Favre was MVP in 1995-96-97, he threw 38, 39 and 35 touchdown passes and 13, 13 and 16 interceptions. Last season, when the Packers started out 1-4, Favre ended up with 30 touchdown passes and 17 interceptions, not a whole lot different from the glory days.
Here’s the difference: Back then, the interceptions didn’t matter so much because the Packers had Reggie White and LeRoy Butler and Sean Jones and Gilbert Brown and Santana Dotson playing defense. Favre recalls almost all of his interceptions back then coming when the Packers were ahead.
He remembers former coach Mike Holmgren getting in his face because the interceptions were needless. He didn’t have to take chances; it was just his nature.
“I probably could have thrown zero,” Favre said. “I still can see Holmgren right now. He’d say, `You know what your problem is? You just get bored. We’re up and it’s just too boring to take the check-down and dump it off. Oh no, you have to be John Wayne.’
“And he was right. I would look him in the face and say no, but he was right. I would get bored. We were up and even when I threw a pick or made a mistake, as bad as I felt, I’d go to the sideline and say, `Our defense will just get it right back.’ Whereas now, last year I threw 17 and I think 11 or 12 came when we were down by 10 points.
“So having Brett Favre still, I think, gives us an edge, but, you know, I’m human. It’s a different way to play the game for me now.”
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The Packers retired the number of the late Reggie White last week. The offense has lost top receiver Javon Walker for the season and played last week without tight end Bubba Franks. Ahman Green has run for only 170 yards on 47 carries. The Packers’ outstanding guards of years past, Mike Wahle and Marco Rivera, are gone. Wahle will start Monday night for Carolina.
Favre must line up with strangers and said Wednesday, “I can’t hesitate one bit on pulling the trigger.”
To say 0-3 is his fault also would mean the Super Bowl seasons were all his doing.
“Even back when I won MVP, I would leave this building and as I was driving home, I would say, `How in the world did this happen?’ I’m not one of those who thinks, `Doesn’t surprise me,'” Favre said.
“Up until about five years ago, people always felt like, `As long as Brett Favre is in the lineup, we’re going to win or we’ll have a shot.’ And I always felt that way too. But I always knew it was not just me. It was a combination of everyone.”
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