_2.gif "Time.com 50 Best Websites 2008")
The Green Bay Packers have released a statement on their official web site confirming that Brett Favre is returning for his 17th season with the club, starting with tomorrow’s training camp practice.
But the statement, attributed to President and CEO Mark Murphy, doesn’t exactly embrace Favre, saying he has put the club in “a very difficult spot.”
The full statement says:
Sixteen years after Brett Favre came to the Packers, he is returning for a seventeenth season. He has had a great career with our organization and although we built this year around the assumption that Brett meant what he said about retiring, Brett is coming back. We will welcome him back and turn this situation to our advantage.
Frankly, Brett’s change of mind put us in a very difficult spot. We now will revise many actions and assumptions about our long-term future, all predicated on Brett’s decision last March to retire. As a result of his decision, we invested considerably in a new and different future without Brett and we were obviously moving in that direction. That’s why this wasn’t easy. Having crossed the Rubicon once when Brett decided to retire, it’s very difficult to reorient our plans and cross it again in the opposite direction - but we’ll put this to our advantage.
Brett will be in camp tomorrow. Although there has been uncertainty regarding Brett’s return, Ted Thompson and Coach McCarthy had previously discussed this and have had a plan in place. Coach McCarthy will talk to the team and the quarterbacks about the plan moving forward, and after he has done that we will share it publicly.
No matter what, I look forward to another successful season for the Packers and our fans. This has been a tough situation, but the Packers will make the most of it.
The statement says nothing about the possibility of trading Favre, nothing about the possibility of cutting Favre, and nothing about the possibility of signing Favre to a long-term marketing agreement.
The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports that negotiations about a marketing agreement are over, and Favre will now compete with Aaron Rodgers for the starting quarterback job.
August 3rd, 2008 at 4:55 pm
As a longtime Packer fan this whole circus is rather disturbing to say the least. Now that the “King of the Waffle” (Favre) is back, if this @#$% is not traded or cut we’ll have to put up with Favre’s cr*p all over again next year and for who knows how many more years to come. I dislike the Bears enough to almost wish that the Packers would trade the “King of the Waffle” to them so we don’t have to put up with this ever again.
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: 2.55 / 5 with 7 rating(s)
August 3rd, 2008 at 4:55 pm
Way to go Brett! You just F-ed the future of the Packers so you could stroke your own ego for another season or two! You’re a class guy all around!
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: 3 / 5 with 8 rating(s)
August 3rd, 2008 at 4:56 pm
WOW, all I have to say is WOW so the Organazation went from Rodgers is our guy sorry Favre we are going to the future hes our man. To now where they will let them compete?! BS! come on this has made the Packers look like crap!
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: 2.35 / 5 with 6 rating(s)
August 3rd, 2008 at 4:57 pm
If it’s a fair competition then Favre will win the starting job. Of course when you consider the lengths that the Green Bay Bribers have gone to keep him off the field, there’s no guarantee that he will receive a fair opportunity.
And of course this could just be a ploy to raise Favre’s trade value. If the Packers look desperate to trade him, his trade value obviously goes down.
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: 3.2 / 5 with 5 rating(s)
August 3rd, 2008 at 4:57 pm
?????????????????
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: 1 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
August 3rd, 2008 at 5:02 pm
This cements His status as the best Packer in franchise history.
And my him, I mean Bart Starr.
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: 2.35 / 5 with 6 rating(s)
August 3rd, 2008 at 5:06 pm
Aaron (glass) rodgers will last maybe one game. And then the green bay faithful will come unglued as the great favre enters the game. Female fans will swoon with their emotions. Male cheeseheads will cry in thier beer as their champion enters the field of play.
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: 4.65 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
August 3rd, 2008 at 5:09 pm
Excellent! If the Pack can get past the media craze, they will be back in the group of teams considered favorites to win it all.
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: 1 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
August 3rd, 2008 at 5:12 pm
Wow, the organization has got you Packers fans fooled!! So what if Favre waffled on retirement? Like you guys have never had trouble making a life altering decision? Big freakin deal!! The guy wants to play and the powers that be in Green Bay have made a huge mess over the whole ordeal. Now they put out a statement saying Brett put them in a difficult spot and all the fans that have cheared him on for years are now turning their backs on him? As a Cowboy fan I wish we had a guy that was as good as Brett at that age and wanted to continue playing instead of going through the crap we went through for years. I thats the way you guys want it, then GOOD FREAKIN’ LUCK with Rogers!!!!
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: 5 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
August 3rd, 2008 at 5:13 pm
Yes! Anyone who doesn’t think this the best outcome possible (other than them naming him the starter the second he said he wanted to play) is lying about being a Packer fan imo. Or at least they hate Brett more than they care about the Packers winning. Whine all you want about waffling, but you’d have to be braindead not to realize Favre gives us the best chance to win this season.
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: 5 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
August 3rd, 2008 at 5:14 pm
What a dirt ball. I wanted to use another DB phrase but thought I would keep it clean……
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: 2 / 5 with 4 rating(s)
August 3rd, 2008 at 5:15 pm
If the Packers as a franchise do not listen to their ‘family’ of Packer greats, this will be a clusterF**K of great proportions.
When former Packer player after player say that Favre should be the QB, and why put an unproven chump starting, they are CHANNELING what the current players are really thinking as well. IF enough old football guys says Favre is the one who can make this team go, then it’s time to LISTEN (that means YOU Thompson and McCarthy).
If Favre does not win the ‘open’ competition, then it’s a setup for Thompson or McCarthy to justify their own stupidity. And every former Packer player will know it.
Start Move? Fire Thompson RIGHT now, hire Ron Wolfe (who just moved back to GB) as the interim GM, and put Favre as the starter. If Rodgers whines, then can him. If McCarthy whines, there’s always Mariucci (if McCarthy is smart, he’ll shut up and coach).
You do NOT treat a future HOF player like this without any reason. And if there IS a reason not discussed, then Thompson needs to make it known. If not, resign, and let Wolfe help guide the Pack back.
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: 3.65 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
August 3rd, 2008 at 5:17 pm
There’s no ‘#4′ in ‘TEAM’.
What a selfish, egocentric hotdogger .
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: 2 / 5 with 4 rating(s)
August 3rd, 2008 at 5:20 pm
I agree with Murphy completely. Those Rubicons are extremely difficult. I can usually get one side the same color, but that’s about it. But what do those cubes have to do with running a football team??
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: 3.6 / 5 with 5 rating(s)
August 3rd, 2008 at 5:26 pm
I always thought from the start this was the smartest way to resolve this,let them compete for it,that way there’s no doubt who should be the starter.GO PACK!!!!!:))))))
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: 2.5 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
August 3rd, 2008 at 5:27 pm
From Murphy’s statement:
Frankly, Brett’s change of mind put us in a very difficult spot. We now will revise many actions and assumptions about our long-term future, all predicated on Brett’s decision last March to retire. As a result of his decision, we invested considerably in a new and different future without Brett and we were obviously moving in that direction. That’s why this wasn’t easy. Having crossed the Rubicon once when Brett decided to retire, it’s very difficult to reorient our plans and cross it again in the opposite direction - but we’ll put this to our advantage.
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: 1 / 5 with 4 rating(s)
August 3rd, 2008 at 5:33 pm
All I’ve been hearing is opposing teams fans are kind of worried favre would come back.
Who are the maroons that oppose his coming back. Some dimwit packers fans. Doesn’t make sense.
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: 3 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
August 3rd, 2008 at 5:33 pm
“If it’s a fair competition then Favre will win the starting job.”
Hey TR, who’s ass tastes better? BertFarve’s or Romo’s?
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: 3 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
August 3rd, 2008 at 5:45 pm
Get rid of Thompson and McCarthy and replace them with Wolfe and Mariucci???? That’s one of THE DUMBEST things I think I’ve ever read! Seriously. Thompson and McCarthy are the reason this team is competitive. Canning them now would be one of the dumbest things in football history.
No way Favre is playing a down for the Packers unless Rodgers is injured. He won’t win a head to head competition with Rodgers, no way no how. I was at camp last year and I’m there this year and Rodgers right now looks better than Favre did in camp last year….and that’s when Brett worked his butt off in the offseason. Favre has been tossing balls with high school kids this offseason as his preparation. Wow, that sounds tough….. He’s out of shape and rusty. Rodgers will win a head to head competition. The uninformed think he wouldn’t because it’s Brett Favre and how could he NOT win. Wait and see.
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: 1 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
August 3rd, 2008 at 5:48 pm
it’s all about bf. if they dont trade him, by hook or by crook, his knobgobblers will do all they can to poison the situation. say goodbye to rodgers. next year, just to stick it to t2, bf will quit on the eve of training camp after getting the pack to reinstall his type of offense.
he isnt a team player and hasnt been each spring for like 6 years, and certainly not since he first said he was retiring.
hall of fame jackass!
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: 3 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
August 3rd, 2008 at 5:50 pm
Whine, whine, CEO Mike Murphy. Football players are indiscriminantly cast onto the dung heap when they are too old or too frail to play at a high level any longer. Favre didn’t owe you jack, and his only mistake was thinking he did when he made an effort to share his opinion about retirement too early. How many players, even great ones have been shown the door by management over the years because “it’s a business”? Tons! That crap popsicle doesn’t taste so good when someone decides to share, does it. But hey, “it’s a business.” Eat up!
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: 3 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
August 3rd, 2008 at 5:56 pm
I just want to point out how stupid Mark Murphy is. You can’t re-cross the Rubicon, that’s why it’s “crossing the Rubicon” in the first F-ing place. That’s the whole point of the metaphor. If Julius Caesar re-crossed the Rubicon, he wouldn’t be Julius Caesar, and no one would have ever heard of the Rubicon.
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: 2 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
August 3rd, 2008 at 6:00 pm
This makes me happy. Such spin, it’s a thing of wonder to behold.
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: 5 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
August 3rd, 2008 at 6:25 pm
LOL, as a huge Packer fan, I have to say that the organization has more balls that I had thought. “We will welcome him back and turn this situation to our advantage.” AWESOME!
The King of the Waffle brought this on himself and now, he has little to no leverage at all!!! In your face Favre. We spent draft picks on QB’s and it’s almost like the King of the Waffle waited until it was the most opportune time to screw the team. Now, welcome back King of the Waffle and I hope you enjoy your stay!
Compete for the job… I doubt it! A-Rod is are guy and now all the King of the Waffle can do is sit back and get his popcorn ready! Welcome back water boy!
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: 1 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
August 3rd, 2008 at 8:15 pm
who said he’d do this on h.o.f. weekend. That’s right, this guy. This guy only makes announcements when other people are getting more attention than him. Draft weekend, superbowl week, now h.o.f. inductions.
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: 1 / 5 with 1 rating(s)