Brett Favre Retires, But Do We Believe Him?

No long wait for a decision this time. No big press conference, no cry-fest, no failure to file the papers.But I am sure we will still hear about this the entire week (a reason I tried not to join that fray), and people will rightfully be both sick of it and doubt his sincerity. Count me among them, as I will not believe Brett is retired until a September that he is not on a roster or trying to get on a roster.Let me make something clear: I loved Brett Favre when he was in Green Bay. He also proved he could play, and proved he could not tell when his team would be better served that he not play.Brett is an amazing physical specimen. Make no mistake, playing every game for almost 17 seasons, including several behind a marginal line, is something to celebrate. I do not want to hear about how quarterbacks were getting so much protection they never used to. I remember those changes starting when I was still in High School, and my 20th reunion is coming up. And that did not help the other 31 teams in the league, who needed over 220 quarterbacks to start collectively during that time. For instance, Favre started just a couple years after Troy Aikman and had nowhere near that quality a line in front of him. But he played more frequently and longer than Aikman.Joe Montana was sitting out entire seasons with injury despite being behind a line that featured more than one Pro Bowler when Favre was starting every game behind a Swiss cheese line.Steve Young was behind the same line and did not get most of his starts until after Favre began playing, but he had to retire several years earlier because he couldn't take the hits.Favre also did not shy away from contact. He blocked on reverses and broken plays as well as anyone. He waited until the last second to release the ball. He twisted and exposed himself to big hits outside the pocket just trying to make a big play on every down.And yes, he threw interceptions for the same reason. But his touchdown to interception ratio of 1.5:1 is better than all but three Hall of Fame quarterbacks: Montana, Young, and Dan Marino. And Favre did not have Jerry Rice, who has 150 percent the next best receiver's production in any statistic you want to look at.He made things happen. And he did it at an older age than other quarterbacks. No quarterback ever had as good a season at as old an age as Brett Favre in 2007.But his competitiveness had a downside: Favre did not know when to quit. He did not know to quit on a play and throw the ball away when there was nothing to gain and everything to lose. It's why he had only had fewer than one interception per game in six of his 17 seasons.He did not know when to quit doing the things that were getting him in trouble in games. It's why he once threw six interceptions in a playoff game.He did not know when to quit putting himself in the lineup. It's why he had two touchdowns and nine interceptions in the last five weeks of the season, when he obviously was too old to play through an injury that severe.And he did not know when to quit the game. That's why he tarnished his legacy (and no matter how much you like him, he tarnished his legacy) and divided a fan base against the team he had given so much to.Favre required that the team make constant overtures to display his importance to them, or he would say he was being pushed out. He petulantly wanted to go to a division rival when the team did not want to give him his starting job back, and admitted later it was because he wanted to stick it to his old team. Instead, the Packers got a third-round pick for a guy they had grown tired of and had only one year left in him. The Jets gave that pick up along with almost $13 million and a quarterback who could still play to steal headlines away from the Super Bowl champion Giants they share a city with. It is unlikely Favre did much more than that compared to what Chad Pennington would have with the same team. Through all the un-retirement saga, Favre showed he also had never matured. When he played for Mike Holmgren, he was reigned in by the coach. After Mike left, Favre was bigger than anyone who followed, and they were unable to keep him in line. Had Holmgren stayed and Favre's gunslinger mentality been kept in check, I am convinced there would be no discussion as to who was the best of all-time. Even as a developing quarterback under his mentor, Favre was 2318-3752 (.618) for 26,803 yards, 213TDs, and 116 interceptions in 111 games. Since Holmgren left, Favre was 3502-5524 (.634) for 38,334 yards, 251 touchdowns, and 192 interceptions. Had Favre simply gained the wisdom that normally comes with the grey hair and thrown the ball away when nothing was there, he might be looked at differnetly. Say he shaved four picks a year post-Holmgren, probably along with an equal number of completions off his numbers. That's 40 fewer picks but 40 fewer completions, and based on his career average of just under 11.4 yards per completion, it also gives him 456 fewer yards; his touchdown to interception ratio goes up to 1.72:1.But all of that is hypothetical. Favre took unnecessary chances on the field that cost him, and he will be remembered by his detractors for his picks more than the host of positive records. So I leave you with the ten most important stats Favre is best all-time in to remember him by instead: Consecutive MVPs (3)Pro Bowl seasons at quarterback (10) Consecutive playoff games with a touchdown pass (18) 3000-yard seasons (17)Wins for a quarterback (170, to only 100 losses) 30 touchdown seasons (8) Consecutive starts for a quarterback (269; 291 including playoffs) Completions (5720)Yards (65,127)Touchdowns (464)(I originally wrote this article for Bleacher Report.)