As delightful as this sight was for me, it marked the end of an undoubtedly remarkable era that our generation was lucky enough to witness. I would like to add, without any reservation, that he is an NFL legend who will make it to Canton on the first-ballot. There is, however, a lot more to be said about Brett Favre.
Favre led the Packers to a Super Bowl victory in 1996 against a strong New England team and garnered incredible praise along with an iconic status. But after a NFC Championship game win the following year, Favre won just three of his remaining 10 playoff games.
This next statistic may be my favorite of all time. Eli Manning—yes, Eli Manning—had more postseason wins in a four-week span this year than Favre had in his last decade with the Packers. In the 12 postseason games of his career, Favre had a mediocre passer rating of 77.8 and was the only quarterback in NFL history to throw overtime interceptions in two playoff games.
The frozen tundra of Green Bay is one of the most undesirable places on the planet for visiting teams. However, since 2002, the Favre-led Packers have gone 2-3 in postseason games at Lambeau Field, losing to quarterbacks such as Michael Vick and Daunte Culpepper. Again, nobody is making the argument that Favre belongs in the same category as the aforementioned players, but there is no reason that he should be immune to any sort of criticism.
Had Eli Manning thrown the pass that Favre threw to Corey Webster in this year’s NFC Championship Game, he would have been run out of town by an angry mob. The old southern-boy image Favre built was magnetic; there are very few people who didn’t gravitate to his character after he won three straight MVP awards in the mid-1990s. However, there are several more points of criticism that must be revealed.
Favre’s seasonal statistics don’t rank on the same level as those of Brady, Unitas, Staubach or (Peyton) Manning. His completion percentage was the highest of his career in his final season, at 66.5. During his peak years, which I define as those between 1993 and 1997, he never ranked in the top five in completion percentage.
Moreover, Favre threw more interceptions and was sacked more often than many of the other great quarterbacks in their best years, despite the fact that many of his best seasons came against defenses that ranked below the league average.
Favre’s career, however, is not the only one to be critiqued. Other NFL quarterbacks who are considered to be the best of their time also had their troubles. Montana was injury-prone for the second half of his career, while Unitas struggled once he hit 30. Steve Young and Roger Staubach had tremendous peak years, but careers about half as long as Favre’s.
Taking into account quality and longevity, the only other quarterbacks that compare to Favre are Elway and Marino, but Marino is eliminated from the “best of all time” discussion due to his inability to bring in a single championship.
That leaves Elway and Favre. The records that Favre holds are incredible: 61,655 yards passing and 442 touchdowns. The debate between fans can go on for hours, but it may prove futile to decide before the careers of Tom Brady and Peyton Manning are complete.
In no conceivable way am I arguing that Brett Favre is overrated or that he has received any undeserved credit. He’s great. Fantastic. Wonderful. But he wasn’t perfect, or even near-perfect. Many of the mistakes he made would never have flown in rival cities with lesser-known quarterbacks. Any player is subject to criticism, and Brett Favre is no exception.
Now it’s time to say goodbye to an NFL great and say hello to the Aaron Rodgers era in Green Bay, which definitely will last fewer than 17 seasons. It might not even break 1.7 seasons. That, however, might not be the worst thing in the world.