Brett "The Jet" Favre

BRETT FAVRE.

He's the iron man of the National Football League, with more consecutive starts than any quarterback in history (253 in the regular season; 275 including the playoffs). He holds the NFL records for the most career touchdown passes (442), most career passing yards (61,655), and most career pass completions (5,377). His teammates respect him as a strong leader; his opponents admire him as a fierce competitor. He's commanded respect throughout the NFL for almost twenty years, most of them spent as a Green Bay Packer.

Now, he's a New York Jet.

Regardless of the anticlimatic nature of the whole situation, the Jets made out like bandits in this deal. Instead of having to choose between Chad Pennington and Kellen Clemens, they get a three-time NFL MVP and one of the most talented QBs in history. Throw in a couple of quality receivers such as Coles and Cotchery, plus RB Thomas Jones, and you get a fairly decent offense. The Packers, on the other hand, are left to roll the dice with the team's future by giving the starting job to Aaron Rogers, who has yet to prove himself in the NFL. So, high marks to the Jets for making the most out of this situation.

Another aspect of this issue that I'd like to focus on is the Packers' seemingly adversarial stance against Favre following his announcement to come out of retirement. At times, their words and actions have seemed punitive, as though they want to punish Favre for changing his mind about playing in the NFL. Even so, I can understand why they would be upset. At the end of the 2007 season, Favre's coaches tried to talk him into staying in the NFL, but that didn't stop Favre from retiring, despite everyone's attempts to convince him otherwise. Then Favre was outspoken during interviews, talking about being "mentally tired" and not being able to meet expectations during the 2007 season. There were also insinuations from other players and commentators that Favre no longer had the passion to play. So, I can understand why the Green Bay front office would have a sour taste in their mouths following Favre's comments.

When Brett Favre made his retirement announcement in March 2008, he felt that it was the right and honorable thing to do for himself and for his family. Now, after five months of retirement, Favre has had a change of heart. Yes--Favre changed his mind--and I think the change had everything to do with the fact that football is in Brett Favre's blood. Although I can't be 100% certain, I believe that Favre had no intention of causing controversy for the Green Bay Packers or for Aaron Rogers; he just wanted to play football again. So, I think it's quite admirable that the Jets stepped up and gave Favre another chance to play.

When all is said and done, this situation will probably end up being no-harm, no-foul for the players and the organizations. Brett Favre will play football again and earn millions; the Jets will get a quality QB; the Packers will feel satisfied that they stood their ground; Aaron Rogers will be given a valuable opportunity to show his true value to the team; and Chad Pennington will be given more chances down the road. Unfortunately, the real victims of controversies like this are the fans, because after the dust settles--not only in this trade but in others--their favorite players get shuffled like a deck of cards, and the problem is, there's no telling if the new players will end up being Aces or just Deuces in disguise.

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By the way, check out my original blog at the following link: CONTROLLED CHAOS.