After his unexpected and tearful apparent goodbye on New Year’s Eve, the next Brett Favre question for 2007: Will he unretire?
Favre got choked up and unusually reflective following Sunday night’s 26-7 Packers victory over the Bears at Soldier Field, saying he plans to make a decision “probably in the next two weeks,” which would indicate his mind already is made up to leave.
If he does announce he’s done, speculation will continue about whether he will change his mind. He has said before that when he does retire, he has no doubt he will be sitting at his home in Mississippi watching a game someday and say to himself: “I can still do that.”
Favre, whose scheduled surgery Monday to repair bone spurs in his left ankle was postponed, talked like a man resigned to resigning after starting his 257th straight game at quarterback. Never before had he talked so much about missing “the plane rides, bus rides, locker rooms, practice.”
Last off-season, Favre said he was moved to stay after hearing TV commentator and former quarterback Phil Simms talking about how no athlete should quit before his time.
Sunday night, he talked about watching the Pittsburgh Steelers celebrate their season-ending victory over Cincinnati.
“At some point, guys have to face the end of their career,” he said. “I think every player in professional sports would love to go out winning a championship. I would love to win another one, but it’s hard to do. I realize that now. I thought we’d go back every year.
“I watched the Pittsburgh game on TV. Those guys celebrated at the end of that game. . . . I bet they felt as good as they did during the Super Bowl. I know that sounds crazy, but at that moment, they probably said, `You know, boy, this feels great.’
“For us, [Sunday] was our Super Bowl. If it is the last game, I couldn’t be more pleased with the outcome.”
It was Favre’s way of rationalizing going out with an 8-8 record, short of the playoffs, just the way the defending Super Bowl champion Steelers ended their season.
First-year Packers coach Mike McCarthy said Favre “would like to walk away with gas in the tank. But his gas gauge is well over three-quarters full. He’s not a normal 37-year-old, that’s for sure.”
McCarthy has said he wants Favre to return, but the subject clearly has become a distraction to McCarthy, who advised reporters Sunday night to ask questions about the game, meaningless except for Favre’s future.
Favre was widely criticized for dragging out his decision last off-season, so he appears determined to get it over sooner this time.
But until Sunday night, people in the Packers organization still sensed he didn’t know what he would do. He had indicated he wouldn’t talk at all after the Bears game. After he talked to NBC’s Andrea Kremer on national television and choked back tears, the Packers’ public-relations staffers said he would give a statement to other reporters but would take no questions.
But Favre made no statement, asked if there were questions about the game, said he wasn’t going to comment on retirement, and then drifted into comments that all sounded like this was the end, including this: “As I look back on my career, that’s what I think about the most, the guys I played with. That’s what’s always been important to me is the team. Individual stats are great, but those type of things are what they are. It’s the guys that you play with, and that’s what I remember most.”
Favre would retire six touchdown passes short of Dan Marino’s record 420 and four interceptions short of George Blanda’s record 277.
Favre was carried off the field by receiver Donald Driver and posed with his offensive linemen for pictures.
Momentum tested
How much will momentum and a sense of urgency affect the playoffs? The experiment is about to begin.
If staying sharp is important, the AFC definitely has the edge over the NFC.
On the final weekend of the regular season, the 14-2 Chargers were playing to secure home field throughout, an advantage the Bears wrapped up three games ago. The Chargers beat the Cardinals.
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The 13-3 Ravens were playing to secure a first-round bye, an advantage the Bears wrapped up four games ago and the Saints clinched two games ago. The Ravens beat the Bills.
The 12-4 Colts were playing for a bye had Baltimore lost. The Colts beat the Dolphins.
The 12-4 Patriots were playing for a higher seed, from No. 4 to No. 3, had the Colts lost. The Patriots beat the Titans.
The AFC’s fifth and sixth seeds weren’t determined until the Jets and Chiefs won on Sunday, combined with other losses.
In the NFC, the 13-3 Bears had nothing to gain the last two weeks and have played like it, giving up 21 and 26 points. The Bears gave up 118 points in five December games after giving up 137 points in 11 September, October and November games.
The 10-6 Saints had nothing to gain Sunday and lost to Carolina.
The 10-6 Eagles, despite clinching the NFC East title at kickoff, beat the Falcons and enter the NFC playoffs on a five-game winning streak.
The 9-7 Seahawks had nothing to gain but outlasted the Buccaneers.
The 9-7 Cowboys still had the NFC East title on the line but lost to the 3-13 Lions and enter the playoffs with a three-game home losing streak.
The 8-8 Giants had to beat the Redskins to get into the playoffs and did, but it was only their second victory in their last eight games.
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