Brett Favre

[Billy]

Well, well, what have we here? I am hearing reports that Brett shared some inside knowledege with the Detroit coaches on the Packers offense. Not that it helped Detroit any, but if this is true I'm going to lose some respect for one of my all time favorite Packers. Come on Brett...let it go. You're with the Jets now and better keep focused on getting them into the playoffs instead of worring about the Packers. No secret that he dislikes Thompson and McCarthy,

I'd say this is a big reason for wanting to play for Minnesota.

[Tim From Wisconsin]

Yep - He loses a bit more respect here in Wisconsin as each week goes by.

It's too bad...

Tim

[LC]

Boys,

Come on, now.... I heard this story, too. I also heard the earth is flat, and that Lyndon Johnson was behind JFK's death, and that Elvis was spotted at a convenience store in Alabama.

You can't believe everything you see plastered on the Internet or on TV! The fact is, after the rumor started spreading like wildfire on Saturday or Sunday, Favre reached out to NBC's Peter King and emphatically denied the charges --- and King (who happens to be a real pro) did his follow-up work by contacting a top Lions exec, who also denied there was any kind of communication between Favre and his team.

The guy who started the rumor, or at least spread it, was Jay Glazer, who's much closer to "hack" than "pro." It's like the NY Post vs. NY Times . Here's what Peter King said: "Favre vehemently denied the story. I also spoke to the Lions COO and he said, 'Our coaches are perplexed. There was no coaching of our coaching staff by Brett Favre.' "

Check this out: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/27269699/

[LC]

Now, all that said, if Favre had done such a thing, I'd be the first to extend 40 lashes. But it's absolutely preposterous.

Think about it:

*Within a few weeks of Favre's retirement in March, the Pack said it had "moved on."

*By July, when he un-retired, the Packers said, "Too late; we've already overhauled the offense and playbook around Aaron Rodgers."

It's total folly to think that Favre would waste his time calling in "secrets" to another team! Besides, what in the world could he tell the Lions about the 2008 Packers? That they like to establish a running game with Ryan Grant slashing off tackle, and that they like to hit Donald Driver with slants, and that they like to get the ball in Gregg Jennings' hands? The Lions already know all that! And they still couldn't stop the Pack!

Guys, take what you read with a grain of salt. Question the "facts" thrown out there by "the media." This is the "television entertainment" and Internet age; all kinds of "personalities" with suspect journalistic backgrounds seem to be popping up on TV. Any Joe Blow can post a good-looking blog that has the appearance of being factual but is actually opinion -- or, worse, rumor. Don't encourage gossip-mongers.

[Billy]

Hey LC, I hope you are right. you can imagine my surprise when I tuned into WFAN last night to hear some scores only to have this as a number one story -- and having the host of the show saying what I had said above, hey, Brett start concentrating on the Jets and forget Green Bay. maybe he was just setting up his segment of his show to get calls. I don't know much about Jay Glazer, but if this is un true, he has got some explaining to do. And IF, just by chance, it is the other way around, Brett has some explaining to do to Charles Woodson.

[LC]

Exactly. If I'm wrong, Brett will have betrayed all of his old teammates. And he'll probably have lost all of his old friends on the Packers. Don't forget, his beef was never with the team, and many of the players wanted him back. His beef was with "The Three Stooges" (Prez Mark Murphy, GM Ted Thompson, and Coach Mike McCarthy).

But I just don't think Brett would do such a thing. And if I'm right, well, maybe Charles Woodson will owe Favre an apology for jumping to conclusions!

[raspberrywine]

Look this is completely over blown. Even if Favre did it, what is the likelihood that anyone in the Detroit Lions organization would know what he was talking about from a football standpoint? Very unlikely, the Lions do not understand anything about football unless it involves pass interference or holding so its a moot point. Favre should have called Dallas instead.

[LC]

Look this is completely over blown. Even if Favre did it, what is the likelihood that anyone in the Detroit Lions organization would know what he was talking about from a football standpoint? Very unlikely, the Lions do not understand anything about football unless it involves pass interference or holding so its a moot point. Favre should have called Dallas instead.

Actually, I was thinking: Favre ought to share what he knows about the Packer offense (the 2007 edition) with the Jets' staff! Damn! How about some of those quick slants where the WRs catch-and-run for miles? How about more pump-fakes that freeze and burn the defense? How about some daring calls where you throw deep on 3rd-and-1 plays? Open it up, Mangini! The last time you did so, Favre had 6 TD passes!

[angelina]

LC...I could not agree with you more. Open up the offense!

Unfortunately, I think Favre looked a little hurt against Oakland.

John

[wallytosa]

I just heard Peter King live on the radio here in Wisconsin, and though he couldn't confirm it, he certainly didn't do anything to say it wasn't true either. He said he has great respect for Glazer, and even King said, if Glazer wasn't absolutely sure, he wouldn't have went public with it. It sounded to me like King believes it. Glazer emailed King yesterday after it broke and said he was 100% committed to the story. And the Lions are just saying "No comment".

The truth is probably somewhere in the middle...like it was the Lions (Millen who's a friend of Favres) seeked out Favre, but he was more than willing to talk to the coaches for a nice long time. Yeah, alot good it did them!

Yes Tim, respect for our hero dwindles every week, day, hour, here in Wisconsin. And yes, that's a shame.

[wallytosa]

Here's the podcast of Peter King on our local ESPN radio show this afternoon here in Madison. They talk about the Favre incident at about 30:20 of the podcast, which is the first one listed.

http://www.espn1070.com/cc-common/podcast.html?feed=190107&article=2124071

[LC]

I found this at the NY Times, quoting a Pro Football Talk writer:

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“In an interview on Monday’s Jim Rome Show, Jay Glazer of FOX shared some more details regarding the report that Brett Favre spent 60-to-90 minutes helping the Lions prepare for the Packers.

Glazer says that the situation arose while former Lions CEO Matt Millen and Favre had a phone conversation in connection with Millen’s interest in taking Favre hunting. As Glazer explains it, when the pair finally got on the line together, the dialogue coincidentally occurred in the week before the Packers-Lions game.

Glazer attributes the discussion that ensued between Favre and Lions coaches to Favre’s affinity for holding court. “He just goes,†Glazer said, referring to experiences with Favre during production meetings from Glazer’s days as a sideline reporter.

Most importantly, Glazer said that he stands by the story “1,000 percent.â€

“You can’t be 95 percent on this,†Glazer said. “You can’t be 99 percent on this.â€

A noteworthy distinction here: Glazer is saying that Favre didn’t go out of his way to tip off the Lions. It happened during the course of conversation, with one thing leading to another. So I changed the lead of this post — removing the words “contacted the Lions†to reflect that. It’s also worth mentioning that Glazer has broken a lot of big stories this year, with a good record of accuracy.

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The Matt Millen stuff about hunting --- that's okay. Favre hunts. He has friends in football who hunt.

What bothers me with this information is: Jay Glazer originally said Favre "reached out" (his words) to the Lions to offer them help. He made it sound like Brett was bound and determined to help the Lions beat the Packers, and that's the story that got out, and permeated the Internet and cable TV.

THEN he said he stands by his story 1000 percent.

And THEN he admits that Favre didn't actually go out of his way to reach out to the Lions. So... maybe he only stands by his story 990 percent? I dunno. I still think it's much ado about nothing. Except now it's something. Something big in the minds of the Packers, their fans, Favre's ex-teammates, and Favre himself. It was reckless "reporting" by a hype-master.

And now the damage is done. I would say the Favre/Green Bay relationship, if anything was left of it (or if it were to cool off and rekindle in the years ahead) is officially over and done with, and that you won't see the man back in Wisconsin for anything. What a shame. All those years, and now he's a veritable leper in a place where he once was idolized.

Sad. Very sad.

This I know: Jay Glazer is a perfect fit for FOX.

[LC]

Aha! Aha! Aha! It's being reported that ESPN ordered its outlets not to cover the Favre-reached-out-to-the-Lions gossip because it could not be substantiated. To Tim and Billy and anyone else who "lost respect" for Favre... I hate to be an old told-ya-so, but... I told ya so!

At ProFootballTalk.com, the story's headline is:

"ESPN ISSUED INTERNAL 'DO NOT REPORT' WARNING ON FAVRE/LIONS STORY"

The writer said he received "a version of ESPN’s internal 'Hot List,' which provides a detailed rundown of the current stories that might merit mention on the various ESPN properties.... At the bottom, there’s a description of one specific story that should be avoided. Under the heading 'DO NOT REPORT . . . DO NOT REPORT . . . . DO NOT REPORT . . . DO NOT REPORT (um, we get the point) appears the following: 'Yesterday, FoxSports reported that Brett Favre spent 60 to 90 minutes before the Week 2 game between the Lions and the Packers educating the Detroit coaching staff regarding the Packers’ offensive strategies. WE HAVE BEEN TOLD BY RELIABLE SOURCES THIS REPORT IS NOT TRUE. We did NOT report it yesterday. Today, the NFL responded to the report, saying even if Favre did this he did not break any league rules. We are NOT reporting it today, because that would mean airing the erroneous report. DO NOT REPORT IT.â€

So there! It just shows how gossip can quickly turn into "fact," as every web site around passes it on, and as would-be football experts pick up on a story and start crucifying the subject. I'm happy (but not surprised) that Favre has been vindicated. The sad thing is, there's a certain amount of damage that's been done. If I were Favre, I would file a lawsuit against Jay Glazer and Fox for shoddy reporting, and for how it affected his family. It's just shameful, isn't it? Fox gets away with WAY too much....

The moral: Do not believe everything you read. Just because it's in print (or in pixels) does not mean it's true!

[LC]

The NY Times posted a blog by a regular reader/poster about how the Jets' top priority for 2009 should be to nuke Brett Favre. His argument was pretty vacuous, arrogant, and pretentious. Check it out.

And note on pp. 4 and 5 of the comments how a fella named "Larry from New England" took him to task and got into a bit of a verbal war with him. Hmmm.... He sure makes some great points in defending Favre, don't you think?

http://fifthdown.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/24/priority-no-1-for-jets-let-favre-go/?apage=4#comments