Dear Brett

It appears that Brett Favre thinks that his opinion is somehow still relevant in Green Bay. Let's take a look at what he had to say about Aaron Rodgers winning a Super Bowl:


 (From Yahoo! Sports)

"I'm going to be honest, I was not surprised. The biggest surprise to me would be that he didn't do it sooner. My last year in Green Bay prior to the first game, I made the remark that this was probably the most talented team that I've ever played on. And of course everyone looked up and was like, 'This guy's off his rocker.'

"We were very, very young; take me out of the mix and we were by far the youngest team in the league. But I could see the talent pool across the board was outstanding. Now our season kind of ended up being a reflection of that. We came close, and I think we took a lot of people by surprise, but guys emerged rather quickly. Aaron had a chance…even though the last couple years it's seemed like he's almost a rookie, he's been around awhile. And I'd like to think that he watched, he learned, and then when he got a chance to play, he brought in his ability which is obviously very good or they wouldn't have drafted him in the first round. He's got tremendous talent, he's very bright and he got a chance to watch and see successful teams do it right.

"And so, he just kind of fell into a good situation. On top of that, he's a good player. I don't think there's any pressure on him now, the talent around him is even better than when I was there. So I'm really kind of surprised it took him so long. In the early part of last year season, it hadn't quite clicked yet and I didn't know it would. I just kind of figured when they hit their stride, they're going to be hard to beat. And that's what happened."


Well done, Brett, well done. Way to not-so-subtly take shots at Aaron while still keeping the language neutral on the surface so you can pretend like you actually meant what you said as a compliment. Impressive.  But let's review a few things here:

1) Now, are you really "surprised" Aaron didn't win a Super Bowl sooner, Brett? Are you? Because in your 20 years as a starter, you only made it to the Super Bowl twice, so you obviously know it ain't easy. Aaron, in just his third year as a starter, made it to the Super Bowl, and won to boot! So I don't think there were many people sitting around, watching Aaron hoist that trophy and thinking, "Finally!" while rolling their eyes at Aaron's slow path to Champion of the Universe.

Also, he can fly.

You feel compelled to point out that "even though the last couple years it's seemed like [Rodgers's] almost a rookie, he's been around awhile." Sure, I guess. He did sit for three years. But you can't exactly count those years against him failing to reach the Super Bowl sooner because - as you might recall, Brett - he wasn't playing. You were. So if you're counting the years in which it was actually possible for Aaron to lead the team to a Super Bowl, three still sounds pretty efficient to me.

2) As for 'falling into a good sitch'... Sure, Aaron didn't get thrown into a dysfunctional organization like the Raiders, or an eternally rebuilding one like the Browns, but there's a bit more to it that just 'falling in' to a situation that leads to winning the Super Bowl. It's not like Aaron was just strolling along, tripped, landed the starting position of an NFL franchise, won over a locker room, won over an entire fan base, set some records along the way, played such extraordinary postseason football that he led his team to three road victories, then bested the league's best defense in the Super Bowl all by happy accident. There were some growing pains - the whole 2008 season - so it's not like Aaron was copy-and-pasted into a Super Bowl-ready team. The fact is that Aaron has contributed to the development of the entire team through his leadership and has made every one of his offensive teammates better through his play.

Also, let's not pretend that this was some sort of accident. Beginning in 2005, the Green Bay Packers started putting together a team around Aaron Rodgers. They let you stay on for a while, but they had their eyes on the future. (Remember that hissy fit you threw from 2005-2010? Yeah, that's what that was about.)  So he didn't "fall" into this situation as much as it was a situation carefully crafted around a superstar in the making.

3) "My last year in Green Bay prior to the first game, I made the remark that this was probably the most talented team that I've ever played on. And of course everyone looked up and was like, 'This guy's off his rocker.'" Brett. Come now, you can't have it both ways. See, you're trying to say that you are so prophetic and football-sagacious that you saw something in your teammates that no one else did. Okay.  But you also say "the talent around him is even better than when I was there." So you either had the same teammates you describe as the "most talented," or you didn't.  But you don't get to say both.

Perhaps you did recognize the talent on your team your last year in Green Bay. Good for you. And yet, less than half the players on the roster in 2007 were on the roster in 2010 (less than a third are on the roster this year). Soooooo, of all that talent you saw way back then, a lot of it had absolutely nothing to do with Aaron Rodgers winning the Super Bowl.

You are right that the talent around Rodgers improved from when you were there. I bet it did a lot of good for Aaron when most of it was sitting on the IR watching a bunch of unknowns make names for themselves as Packer starters dropped like flies.
(This 16-players-on-the-IR could also fit into the previous point's refutation of the idea of Aaron falling off a log into an easy situation.)

4) What's that you say, Brett? Aaron Rodgers is a "good player"? You don't say! How astute! What gave it away? His championship ring? His completion rate that's currently the best in NFL history? His consistent triple-digit quarterback rating? His stat line from last Sunday? His Super Bowl MVP award?? Cathy's blog post?


No, Brett, for you, the sum total evidence that Aaron's "good" is that otherwise "they wouldn't have drafted him in the first round." Ah, yes. Our most convincing proof yet.

Definitive proof of Aaron Rodgers being "good": The Belt

There is one thing I'm not going to dispute you on, Brett, and that's that Aaron certainly benefited from sitting on the bench and watching. No doubt. I really believe that is one of the keys of Aaron's success. But, let us not forget Brett, that you did everything you could to make those three years as unproductive as possible.  If you had actually spoken to the guy, hey, maybe you could take a little more credit for his development. (I see your ears perk up when I say "take credit," Brett. See? I'll bet you wish you had been nicer to Aaron now. Then everyone would be saying how his success was due to you and what a great mentor you were, blah blah.)

"Don't pout, Brett. There's one record of yours I promise not to break ... the interception one."

5) Just one last point, and it's my absolute favorite point of this whole thing. You say of the 2007 Green Bay team: "We were very, very young; take me out of the mix and we were by far the youngest team in the league. But I could see the talent pool across the board was outstanding. Now our season kind of ended up being a reflection of that. We came close, and I think we took a lot of people by surprise, but guys emerged rather quickly." Oohhhh, that was what happened. It was the youth and inexperience of the team that was the downfall. That's interesting, Brett, because I thought it was for a different reason. See, the way I remember it was that you threw a @$#&^$* INTERCEPTION IN OVERTIME OF THE NFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME THAT COST US A CHANCE AT THE SUPER BOWL.

Oops.

Now I see, though - if not for the team's youth and inexperience, you, Brett Favre, would have a second Super Bowl win to your name.

Hey, maybe you would have even won a Super Bowl MVP.

But you didn't. So shut your piehole.



Respectfully Yours,

                                 Cathy and Marisa



P.S. Here are some pictures to laugh at: