The Packer Pundit

Favre says he'll be back with Packers in '07
'I'm excited about playing for a talented young football team'
Journal Sentinel staff
Posted: Feb. 2, 2007
Brett Favre will be back for his 16th season as quarterback of the Green Bay Packers. Favre told his good friend Al Jones, a sportswriter at the Sun Herald in Biloxi, Miss., of his plans this morning, after calling Packers to inform them. "I am so excited about coming back," Favre told the Sun Herald, which first reported the news. "We have a good nucleus of young players. We were 8-8 last year and that's encouraging. "My offensive line looks good, the defense played good down the stretch. I'm excited about playing for a talented young football team." According to the Sun Herald story, Favre told the team about his plans to return this morning and personally called wide receiver Donald Driver. He said he'd made the decision after consulting with his family at home in Hattiesburg, Miss., and that he knew he wanted to come back in the locker room after the season finale against the Chicago Bears. At a news conference in Green Bay today, Packers general manager Ted Thompson said his conversation with Favre this morning was "good ... kind of short." "I think he said something about, "Well, I think I'm going to give it another shot,' something like that," Thompson said. "And I said, that sounds good to me."

Favre also called Steve Mariucci, his friend and quarterbacks coach from 1992-'95, this morning to deliver the news. Mariucci, an analyst with the NFL Network, was on the air for a Super Bowl XLI segment when his cell phone started to vibrate. He saw that the call was from Favre and hooked up with him for a live chat. "He goes, 'I'm catching it on NFL Network in my kitchen,'" Mariucci said about his call with Favre. "I need some gumbo," Favre told Mariucci. Favre told Mariucci he made up his mind after talking to Mariucci on Wednesday. "The advice I gave him was I'd love to see you play again," Mariucci said of that earlier conversation. "The whole country would like to see you play. It's good for the league, not just the Packers. It's good for kids. "I told him, if you do it, go for it. Make it your best year. Train like crazy. If you can't make a commitment, then throw in the towel and go out on top. Deanna said the same thing." "I have goose bumps." Mariucci said. In an interview later with the Journal Sentinel, Mariucci said, "I'm excited for him and I'm excited because I know Packers fans are excited." Lynn Swann, a hall of fame receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1974-'82, said from Miami, site of Super Bowl XLI, "Either you're ready to leave or you think you can still do it and you don't feel your time is done. Someone once told me it's better to play one more year past than it is one year less. You never get it back." His decision no doubt brings a collective sigh of relief to his countless fans across the globe. In a JSOnline forum following the season, hundreds of Favre's fans implored him to keep playing, at least one more year, maybe more. "I appreciate, respect and love Brett Favre," wrote one fan. "No different than how my dad felt for Bart Starr. Obviously, Brett can still play, he is still awesome - great arm strength, gutsy, and plays the game like it was meant to be played." Favre, 37, will be returning to lead a team that gained a burst of optimism by winning its final four games of 2006, including three against its division rivals, to finish with an 8-8 record and just out of the playoffs. Following the Packers' regular-season finale, a 26-7 victory against the Chicago Bears, running back Ahman Green said anything was possible with Favre's return. "You've got to think about next year," Green said. "We've got an offensive line - all the guys are coming back. They're young. Possibly I'll be coming back. We've all been in this offense for one year already. With Brett coming back, the sky is the limit for us basically."

The team might be able to paint an even prettier picture by adding more weapons on offense in the off-season. Thompson has plenty of salary cap money available if he chooses to target a player or two in free agency, and the Packers pick 16th in April's NFL draft. At the end of the season, coach Mike McCarthy praised Favre's veteran leadership and said the future hall of famer still had a lot to offer the team. "If you talk to some of the players that have had the opportunity to walk away from the game on their own, you'd like to walk away with some gas in the tank," McCarthy said. "Like I've told him already, his gas gauge is well over three quarters. He's got a lot left in his tank. That's just where he's at. He's not your normal 37-year-old, that's for sure."

Statistically, Favre did not have one of his better seasons in 2006. He completed just 56% of his passes, the lowest percentage of his career, but attempted a career-high 613 passes. He notched a quarterback rating of 72.7, the third worst of his career. His 18 touchdown passes was his lowest total since his first season in Green Bay. However, his interceptions dropped from 29 in 2005 to 18 last season. And he demonstrated he still was capable of making any throw on the field, still has a blue-chip arm and always will be an all-time competitor and tough guy. By playing another season, Favre has the opportunity to break a few indelible NFL records. He needs seven more touchdown passes to break Dan Marino's NFL mark of 420 career touchdown passes, and 3,862 passing yards to surpass Marino's 61,361 (Favre had 18 touchdown passes and 3,885 passing yards in 2006). He also needs just two more victories to pass John Elway and become the winningest quarterback ever. And, of course, Favre will be able to add to his ironman record of 237 consecutive regular-season starts (257 including playoff games). No other quarterback in NFL history is even close, with Peyton Manning in second with 144 consecutive starts. Favre has not missed a start since coming off the bench on Sept. 20, 1992 for an injured Don Majkowski and rallying his team to a 24-23 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals. -- Story

Ted Thompson's Press Conference Transcript -- Link



Behind the scenes:
How Favre decided to return
By Pete Dougherty / greenbaypressgazette.com
Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre had phone conversations with coach Mike McCarthy early this week that helped him decide to return for another season, sources with knowledge of the situation said today. Favre liked the improvement the team showed as the season went on, particularly the steady growth of the young offensive line and the jump the defense made in the last month of the season, so that had him leaning toward returning since the end of the season. The sources said Favre then had good conversations with McCarthy and exchanged messages with General Manager Ted Thompson, both of whom told him that augmenting the skill positions on offense will be a priority during this offseason. The Packers’ greatest needs on offense are for a receiver who can stretch the field with pure speed; a quality halfback either to share time with Ahman Green or take over the starting role if the Packers are unable to sign him; and a tight end who poses a consistent threat in the passing game. The Packers can address any of those needs in free agency, the draft or a trade. One source said Favre is in favor of trading for disgruntled Oakland receiver Randy Moss. Favre and Moss formerly shared the same agent, Bus Cook, and both know and like each other. However, whether Oakland is willing to deal Moss at a price that’s palatable to Thompson is a major question. It’s also unclear whether Favre will have surgery on his left ankle during the offseason. He originally was going to have it done the week after the season ended, but decided not to. The surgery to remove bone spurs that cause significant discomfort has been a possibility for at least the last five years. It’s unclear whether Favre is putting it off for another year or wanted to wait until he decided whether he was going to play to have the procedure done. -- Story



Favre told 1 reporter, then went hunting
By Jeff Ash / greenbaypressgazette.com
Brett Favre’s to-do list may have looked a little like this as he sat at home in Hattiesburg, Miss., this morning:

1. Call Ted Thompson. Tell him I’m coming back.
2. Call Donald Driver. Tell him I’m coming back.
3. Call Scott and Mom. Tell them I’m coming back.
4. Call Al Jones at the Biloxi paper. Tell him I’m coming back.
5. Go hunting.

After tipping off the Green Bay Packers’ general manager, a teammate and family members, Favre made the much-anticipated announcement of his return for the 2007 season through Jones, a sports reporter at the Biloxi Sun Herald in his native Mississippi. When the Sun Herald posted Jones’ story to its Web site at mid-morning, the biggest sports news of the day broke far and wide. It was a little like throwing a stone into a pond and watching the ripples develop. It also was a day Jones won’t soon forget. In a column posted at mid-afternoon, Jones said he missed 15 phone calls and one text message while working out at a gym in Biloxi. He said Favre’s brother, Scott, finally reached him to let him know Favre’s plans for the big news. It “knocked me off the treadmill,” Jones said. Scott Favre then called his mother, Bonita, who also was working out and hadn’t heard the news. She then called Jones, and left it up to him to handle the rest. It was Jones' scoop, so we’ll let him have the last word: “When the news went national, Brett was in a tree stand and (his wife) Deanna was on her way to Wisconsin for a previous speaking engagement.” -- Story



And now the obligatory Jason Wilde article --

Favre to return in 2007
By Jason Wilde / madison.com
Brett Favre is coming back. The Green Bay Packers quarterback informed the team Friday that he'll return for his 17th NFL season, and the 37-year-old Favre told the Biloxi (Miss.) Sun Herald the team's encouraging 8-8 finish last season one of the main reasons. "I am so excited about coming back," Favre told the newspaper, which posted the story on its Web site Friday morning. "We have a good nucleus of young players. We were 8-8 last year, and that's encouraging. "My offensive line looks good, the defense played good down the stretch. I'm excited about playing for a talented young football team." Packers general manager Ted Thompson confirmed in a statement released by the team that Favre had informed him Friday morning of his plan to return. "The Packers are excited by his decision and look forward to a successful 2007 campaign," said Thompson, who'll address reporters at 3 p.m. today at Lambeau Field. Favre's tearful interview following the Packers' season-ending 26-7 victory at Chicago on Dec. 31 led some to think that he was set to retire, but as he has done in the past several years, Favre returned to his home in Hattiesburg, Miss., after the season to contemplate whether to return or retire. Last year, Favre waited until just before the draft in late April to inform the team he was returning. In 2005, he made his decision in early March. Favre has started an NFL quarterback-record 257 consecutive games including playoffs, and stands to break every meaningful career passing record if he stays healthy next season. He already broke Miami quarterback Dan Marino's record for career completions (4,967) last year, and he's closing in on Marino's marks for career touchdown passes (420) and yards passing (61,361). -- Story




Thompson, Teammates Excited Favre's Coming Back
By Mike Spofford / Packers.com
Posted 02/02/2007
Ted Thompson was in a meeting Friday morning when his cell phone rang, and when he noticed on his caller ID that it was Brett Favre trying to reach him, the Packers General Manager quickly excused himself and then heard what he was hoping to from his future Hall of Fame quarterback. "He said something about, 'I think I'm going to give it another shot,'" Thompson said at his news conference on Friday afternoon. "And I said, 'That sounds good to me.'" So with that, the Packers welcomed Favre back for his 16th season as the team's starting quarterback and his 17th NFL season overall. Within minutes, Thompson relayed the news to Head Coach Mike McCarthy while Favre called a reporter and friend at the Biloxi Sun Herald, and the news spread like wildfire through the media and on the internet. "I am so excited about coming back," Favre told the newspaper. "We have a good nucleus of young players. We were 8-8 last year and that's encouraging. "My offensive line looks good, the defense played good down the stretch. I'm excited about playing for a talented young football team." Favre also contacted some of his teammates, including favorite receiver Donald Driver, who has been in Miami all week for promotional activities leading up to the Super Bowl. "I'm excited," said Driver, who missed Favre's call but got the news in a voice-mail. "I love the guy so much and I'm glad he made the decision to come back and be with the team another year." -- More



Favre's current, former teammates aren't surprised
By Rob Demovsky / greenbaypressgazette.com
Doug Pederson wasn’t surprised to hear Friday that Brett Favre is returning for another season as the Green Bay Packers’ quarterback. Nor was Nick Barnett. Nor was Robert Brooks. OK, maybe Pederson was a little surprised. Like a lot of people, he thought he'd seen the last of Favre on a football field when the quarterback gave a tearful interview after the Packers’ regular-season finale against the Chicago Bears on Dec. 31. “I thought he was done then,” said Pederson, who was Favre's backup from 1996 to 1998 and from 2001 to 2004. “I really did. You don’t see Brett wear that type of emotion.” But when Pederson heard today’s news that Favre was coming back, he figured that could mean only one thing. “To have such an early decision means he was coming back all along,” Pederson said in a telephone interview from Shreveport, La. “There probably was never any doubt, really.” Barnett heard the news about Favre’s decision when a friend sent him a text message. But the Packers’ middle linebacker said he didn’t need that confirmation to know Favre was coming back. “I expected it all along,” Barnett said from California, where he was reached on his cell phone. “I didn’t expect anything different.” Barnett said at one point last season, when the Packers were struggling, he began to doubt whether Favre would come back. He changed his mind after the team won four straight games to finish the season at 8-8. “We were on such a huge run,” Barnett said, “and he had to believe we were on the verge of doing something big. Having Brett back only adds to that idea.” Brooks, who caught 32 touchdown passes from Favre as one of the Packers’ top receivers from 1992 to 1998, called Favre on Thursday – a day before the veteran quarterback announced his decision to return. “I wasn’t surprised,” Brooks said of Favre’s decision. “He told me it was a high, high, high probability.” Brooks said that although he thinks Favre has the physical tools to play five more years, he could see the 2007 season being his last. “I think if he has a good season and if he feels comfortable enough and it’s out of his system, I think he’ll hang it up,” Brooks said from his home in Phoenix. -- Story