The Packer Pundit

Family matters
Favre to base decision on personal issues, not football
By TOM SILVERSTEIN / journalsentinel.com
Posted: Jan. 30, 2007

"There's no question that (he can play). And the most important thing is that he doesn't question that, either. I think everyone is on the same page as to whether he can play." -- Mike McCarthy on Brett Favre

Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre reached out to coach Mike McCarthy, but did not provide an answer as to whether he will come back next season. Favre has been home in Hattiesburg, Miss., since the 2006 season ended, tending to his usual chores and getting his mind off football. Favre was at his daughter Brittany's basketball game last week when he told a local reporter he intended to touch base with McCarthy. After some phone tag, the two finally connected a couple of days ago. "He was power-washing the driveway when I talked to him," McCarthy said Tuesday. There has been a lot of speculation and rumor regarding Favre's future, and some are under the assumption he will make a decision this week or next on whether to return. But McCarthy said nothing Favre said led him to think a decision was imminent and, as far as he's concerned, that's not a problem. He understands that Favre has some things to think through. "It was a very good talk," McCarthy said, choosing not to identify exactly when they spoke. "It always is. I've never felt any of our talks were (not fruitful). Even all through last year. I know from the outside people were frustrated with the waiting, but the man has played a long time and it's a process he has to go through. And he's going through it again. "There's nothing wrong with talking through it." -- More



Favre to return as Bergstrom pitchman
Gannett Wisconsin Newspapers
NEENAH — Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre is coming back — at least as pitchman for Bergstrom Automotive. John Bergstrom, chairman and chief executive officer of Bergstrom Corp., said today that Favre, a three-time NFL most valuable player, agreed on Friday to serve as “our spokesperson for another year.” “We just renewed our contract,” Bergstrom said. “I was a little hesitant wondering what he would say and he said, ‘I’m in there. I’ll be there.’” Asked if the agreement meant Favre, who is contemplating retirement, might return to the playing field, Bergstrom chuckled and said, “I’m not saying that.” The largest automotive dealer in Wisconsin has benefited from its relationship with the quarterback who owns several NFL all-time passing records and is closing in on a few others. “We started this since Brett came to town,” said Bergstrom. “He’s been our spokesman since he signed with the Packers. We got lucky. We didn’t know who he was or what we were going to have and he’s stayed loyal to us all through this thing. “He just does a great job. He’s been incredibly loyal to us and our people love him,” Bergstrom said. “He’s a real guy, drives a pickup truck.”



Dependable long snapper Davis will return
By Pete Dougherty
greenbaypressgazette.com
It looks like Rob Davis will be back for an 11th season as the Green Bay Packers' long snapper. The Packers re-signed Davis to a salary-cap-friendly one-year minimum contract that makes it financially viable to retain him for his 12th season in the NFL. Davis' one-year contract is for $820,000 plus a $40,000 bonus that he'll earn by taking part in 85 percent of the Packers' offseason workouts, agent Kevin Gold said Tuesday. The $820,000 salary is the minimum for NFL veterans of 10 years or more, and because of NFL salary-cap rules regarding one-year contracts for vested veterans, will count only $435,000 against the cap. The NFL's new collective-bargaining agreement also increased the amount of bonus money, from $25,000 to $40,000, that a veteran of four years or more can make on a one-year deal and qualify for the salary-cap discount. The 38-year-old Davis is the Packers' oldest player, has been their long snapper since November 1997 and has not missed a game since taking over those duties. The Packers probably will bring another long snapper to training camp, but unless that young player performs magnificently or Davis gets injured, Davis' proven excellence over the last decade probably will win him the job for at least one more year. "On one hand, they always want to develop younger guys," Gold said. "On the other hand, you look around the league and see Rob's still one of the best." Gold said Davis' goal is to play into his 40s. He turns 39 on Dec. 10. "I told Rob, only a handful of guys have played past 40," Gold said. "and they're mostly kickers and punters. But as long as he's healthy and doing his job in Green Bay …" -- Story



McCarthy: Momentum From '06 Will Matter For '07
Mike Spofford / Packers.com
Posted 01/31/2007
On a couple of national radio programs broadcasting from the Super Bowl in Miami on Tuesday, Packers Head Coach Mike McCarthy expressed that the youth of his team and the momentum it built at the end of 2006 has him looking forward to the start of offseason workouts in 2007. And that optimism has his coaching staff working diligently to complete its comprehensive 2006 evaluation and placing heightened importance on the upcoming offseason program. "I think there's definitely going to be a carry over as we move forward," McCarthy said on the nationally syndicated Jim Rome show, speaking by phone from Austin, Texas. "Right now we have more players under contract than anybody in the National Football League, and that has a lot to do with how young we are as a football team. "Our focus as a coaching staff is we've spent a lot of time moving ahead in our scheme evaluation because when our offseason program comes, it needs to be the best offseason program we've ever had up here as we move forward." That offseason program begins March 19, and the biggest question mark for the Packers is whether or not Brett Favre will be their starting quarterback. McCarthy told Rome that he has spoken to Favre recently but has no prediction on when a decision is forthcoming. He added in a conversation with Sirius NFL radio that but that he feels Favre's decision this year is very different from last year, when the team was coming off a 4-12 season and undergoing a coaching change. The decision is entirely a family matter, McCarthy believes, but no matter which way it goes, McCarthy is charged up to start preparing for 2007. "I'll always be optimistic," McCarthy said, speaking with Sirius' Adam Schein and Jim Miller. "I think every football team when that offseason program starts, you have an opportunity to build something special. When March 19 starts for us, I definitely hope Brett will be there leading our football team, and I like our chances as good as anybody." -- More