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by TOM SILVERSTEIN
Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinal
Apr. 26, 2006
The streak will go on.
Barring any unforeseen circumstances before the start of the regular season, Brett Favre will be the Green Bay Packers' starting quarterback for a 15th consecutive season.
The long wait - 113 days since the end of last season to be exact - apparently ended Tuesday when, according to a source with direct knowledge of the situation, Favre informed Packers general manager Ted Thompson and coach Mike McCarthy that he would return for the 2006 season.
ESPN first reported Tuesday night that Favre made known his intention to play at least one more season to the Packers earlier in the day. Packers public relations director Jeff Blumb said Tuesday night that he could neither confirm nor deny the report, adding that "the only one who could do so is Ted Thompson, who is not available."
However, the source told the Journal Sentinel that Favre did deliver the news to Thompson and had committed to playing the 2006 season. It is unclear whether Favre told Thompson this would be his last season or if he left his future open-ended.
Favre's agent, James "Bus" Cook, who had arranged an interview of Favre with ESPN this spring, did not return phone messages left at his office Tuesday morning and on his cell phone Tuesday night.
If he stays healthy through training camp, Favre will be able to add to his ironman string of 221 consecutive regular-season starts (241 including playoff games). No other quarterback in NFL history is even close, with Peyton Manning holding second place among active quarterbacks with 128 consecutive starts.
It's unclear why Thompson, who according to the ESPN report was informed of the decision in the morning, chose to sit on the news rather than release it to the public. There has been considerable consternation among many Packers fans regarding Favre's possible retirement, and the Packers have been inundated with queries about their quarterback since the end of the season, when it looked as if Favre were leaning toward retirement.
As recently as Monday, Thompson joked that it was probably more frustrating for the reporters covering the Packers than it was for anyone else because of the thirst for information regarding Favre's decision whether to retire. But he said he was trying to let Favre work through the decision-making process and wasn't panicking over not having an idea whether he was coming back.
All along, the Packers have thought Favre would return for another season, but they were continually put off when asking for a final decision. McCarthy, the Packers' new coach, worked with Favre in 1999 as quarterbacks coach under Ray Rhodes and used a low-key approach in urging him to come back.
McCarthy wanted a decision no later than the start of minicamp May 5-7 because that will be the first time the entire team will be together under his command.
Lately, there have been suggestions that Favre was leaning toward coming back this season, the most recent being free-agent linebacker LaVar Arrington's disclosure last weekend that Favre tried hard to recruit him to Green Bay. Arrington ultimately chose the New York Giants over the Packers, but he said Favre nearly persuaded him to sign with Green Bay.
Favre, who turns 37 in October, has said in various interviews this off-season that he still feels he can play at a high level. But his concern all along has been that he would have to play another season on a losing team and he wasn't sure if he could handle that mentally.
At his charity golf tournament this month in Tunica, Miss., Favre called out Thompson for not doing enough to improve the team during the off-season. He said the Packers needed to make "a statement" in free agency much as they did in 1993 when they signed Reggie White to the richest deal of the new free-agent era.
"I love to play the game," Favre said at a news conference for his fund-raiser April 8. “As time has passed, I have forgotten a little bit about the 4-12 season and think more about the good times. If I decide to come back and play, that’s really what I’m deciding to come back to, the fun of (it).”
“Maybe we don’t get back to the Super Bowl, but I’d like to think we can compete for it. I want to feel like we can compete for the Super Bowl and not just say that to say that because people want to hear that.”
Since he made those statements, the Packers have done almost nothing in free agency. They were in the running for Arrington, a three-time Pro Bowl selection, but the former Washington linebacker chose the Giants because he wanted to play in a big market and was unsure how competitive the Packers would be this season.
The Packers are still in the running for free-agent cornerback Charles Woodson, a four-time Pro Bowl selection, but they are battling Woodson’s former Oakland coach, Jon Gruden, now with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, for his services. Woodson would provide a boost to the Packers’ defense, but it wouldn’t do much for Favre on the offensive side.
In returning, Favre stands to make $10 million, including a $3 million roster bonus that will be paid Dec. 1 if he’s on the roster as of July 27. The Packers moved the date of Favre’s roster bonus four times in an attempt to give him more time to decide on his future, the last time moving the deadline for the bonus to the start of training camp.
Now that the Packers know Favre will be back, there is little chance they’ll select a quarterback in the NFL draft this weekend. There’s a chance they’ll have a shot at two of the so-called Big Three — Southern California’s Matt Leinart, Texas’ Vince Young and Vanderbilt’s Jay Cutler — when they select at No. 5, but with 2005 first-round draft choice Aaron Rodgers backing up Favre, they’ll probably go in a different direction.
In a predraft news conference Monday, Thompson did not preclude the Packers from selecting a quarterback this weekend, but there’s less of a chance of it now with Favre on board.
The Packers haven’t done much with their offense to help Favre, who last year had one of his worst seasons statistically, ranking 31st among all NFL quarterbacks with a 70.9 rating. He completed 61.3% of his passes for 3,881 yards and 20 touchdowns, but he threw a league-high 29 interceptions, the most in his 14-year career as a starter.
The only offensive addition was free-agent wide receiver Marc Boerigter from the Kansas City Chiefs.
Favre has never missed a start since coming off the bench on Sept. 20, 1992, for an injured Don Majkowski and rallying his team to a 24-23 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.
By playing another season, Favre has the opportunity to break a few indelible records:
• With 25 touchdown passes, he will pass Dan Marino's mark of 420.
• With 290 pass completions, he will pass Marino's mark of 4,967.
• With nine victories, he will pass John Elway's mark of 148 as a starting quarterback. Favre would need to play at least two more seasons to break Marino’s record for most passing yards. Marino passed for 61,361 yards in his career with the Miami Dolphins; Favre’s total stands at 53,615.
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