Packers GM, coach say no to Favre’s release

[Steel Life]

Favre has been upset for a long time over the FO's inability to bring in major talent at RB & WR, & he was less than enthused over the hiring of the past few coaches - starting with Ray Rhodes (forgettable), then Mike Sherman (average at best) & now McCarthy.

Rhodes and Sherman may not have been inspired hires, but McCarthy has a 21-11 record as a head coach there (best start in franchise history...Vince Lombardi and Curly Lambeau included). McCarthy also coached the team to overtime in the NFC Championship game in his 2nd year as head coach (gotta love those Pittsburgh roots).

They got him a legit RB weapon in Ryan Grant (nearly rushed for 1000 yards in spite of having a grand total of 6 carries in the first 6 weeks of the season), and he has a wealth of riches at WR (Greg Jennings, Donald Driver, James Jones, Jordy Nelson). They also have built a solid defense as well. What more could he possibly want?

Let's not pretend that last year's success over-writes the past frustration. The jury is still out on McCarthy until he does it without Brett & justifiably so. After all, it's easy too win with a Hall of Famer at QB. As for the players you mentioned, some are definitely good, but lets not anoint them all Pro Bowlers yet as they only recently blossomed. Grant was a blessing after a "running back by committee" approach early on. Everybody knows that Driver practically owes his career to Brett & Jennings was a disappointment season before last. Jones could be special, but last year was his first & Nelson was just drafted - so lets not act as though Brett has had all these tools to work with for years. The defense is solid, but not special as Hawk may eventually become the player most expected him to be.

Don't forget that Favre wanted Moss to be the impact player he knew they needed & the FO turned their noses up just as they had in other seasons. As for what he wants?...That's easy - a ring.

[RuthlessBurgher]

[quote="Steel Life"]Jennings was a disappointment season before last.quote]

When was Jennings ever considered a disappointment? His career so far has essentially mirrored that of Santonio Holmes, who most of us consider has the potential to be the next big thing. They are both 5'11" receivers who were drafted in the same draft. They both had 40-something catches as rookies then 50-something catches in year two (they both missed 3 games to injury this past season as well). They both greatly improved their yards per catch and their TD total in their second season.

Greg Jennings, 2nd round pick
Season Team Receiving Rushing Fumbles
G GS Rec Yds Avg Lng TD Att Yds Avg Lng TD FUM Lost
2007 Green Bay Packers 13 13 53 920 17.4 82T 12 -- -- -- -- -- 1 0
2006 Green Bay Packers 14 11 45 632 14.0 75T 3 -- -- -- -- -- 1 0
TOTAL 98 1,552 15.8 82 15 0 0 0.0 0 0 2 0

Santonio Holmes, 1st round pick
Season Team Receiving Rushing Fumbles
G GS Rec Yds Avg Lng TD Att Yds Avg Lng TD FUM Lost
2007 Pittsburgh Steelers 13 13 52 942 18.1 83 8 5 17 3.4 11 0 2 0
2006 Pittsburgh Steelers 16 4 49 824 16.8 67T 2 1 13 13.0 13 0 5 2
TOTAL 101 1,766 17.5 83 10 6 30 5.0 13 0 7 2

By the way, Jennings was taken in the same area of his draft where we took Limas Sweed this year. I would be absolutely overjoyed if Limas had his first 2 years in the league similar to Jennings' first 2 years.

[stlrz d]

[quote=Steel Life]

It's not insinuation my friend...I live here. This is a very small town.

That may or may not be...but either way, it has no place in this discussion. Let's keep it "between the lines"...everything else is fair game.[/quote:1tbhuwzr]

Fair enough...but I was only piggy backing off of NC's comment about how ashamed his wife must be. Not that it excuses my comments...I was just sayin' is all.

But as for Favre, as much as I dislike him because I live in this town and hate that team, I've always respected him. But not over the last few seasons I haven't. He's selfish and immature...period.

Btw, I thought I'd see if I could make the news by showing up at the protest next Sunday in my #43 jersey "in support" of the cause.

[Steel Life]

Btw, I thought I'd see if I could make the news by showing up at the protest next Sunday in my #43 jersey "in support" of the cause.

Ummm...good luck with that . Make sure to take your LifeAlert with you....

[Steel Life]

Jennings was a disappointment season before last.quote]

When was Jennings ever considered a disappointment? His career so far has essentially mirrored that of Santonio Holmes, who most of us consider has the potential to be the next big thing. They are both 5'11" receivers who were drafted in the same draft. They both had 40-something catches as rookies then 50-something catches in year two (they both missed 3 games to injury this past season as well). They both greatly improved their yards per catch and their TD total in their second season.

Greg Jennings, 2nd round pick
Season Team Receiving Rushing Fumbles
G GS Rec Yds Avg Lng TD Att Yds Avg Lng TD FUM Lost
2007 Green Bay Packers 13 13 53 920 17.4 82T 12 -- -- -- -- -- 1 0
2006 Green Bay Packers 14 11 45 632 14.0 75T 3 -- -- -- -- -- 1 0
TOTAL 98 1,552 15.8 82 15 0 0 0.0 0 0 2 0

Santonio Holmes, 1st round pick
Season Team Receiving Rushing Fumbles
G GS Rec Yds Avg Lng TD Att Yds Avg Lng TD FUM Lost
2007 Pittsburgh Steelers 13 13 52 942 18.1 83 8 5 17 3.4 11 0 2 0
2006 Pittsburgh Steelers 16 4 49 824 16.8 67T 2 1 13 13.0 13 0 5 2
TOTAL 101 1,766 17.5 83 10 6 30 5.0 13 0 7 2

By the way, Jennings was taken in the same area of his draft where we took Limas Sweed this year. I would be absolutely overjoyed if Limas had his first 2 years in the league similar to Jennings' first 2 years.

I saw the same article you're referencing & I think any objective observer of football would say that Santonio has been the more dynamic of the two. What I was referring to was the difficulty Jennings had his first season in missing 5 games with injury & problematic rapport with Farve. I expect Santonio to break out this year while Jennings may slip a bit while sharing catches with Driver, Jones & Nelson.

Either way, the point was that these are only recent additions - it's not like Favre has had these guys for years. Or have you guys forgotten the 2005 season when Thompson's big WR acquisition was Rod Gardner & the RBs were reduced to Samkon Gado? And that was after he got rid of both starting guards & replaced them with guys who would be either cut or benched.

Give credit where credit is due - Favre has made chicken-salad out chicken-**** so long that we've all taken it for granted. Is he drama queen?...Probably so, but who are we to say, we had our own drama-seeking legend in Bradshaw.

[Hardliner]

Getting to this thread late, and having read through all the posts, there's not much I can add that adds to the intrique or, standoff, between Favre and the GB front office. I will say that everyone has a right to change their mind but now what?

It's interesting to note that Aaron Rodgers is in his final year of his contract with the Pack so if Favre is allowed back to the team, what does that do for the future of his (Rodger's) status on the team? In Rodger's case, who could blame him for wanting out as well either this year but surely next?

Then, we have the rook, Brian Brohm waiting in the wings, so there are some compellingly interesting dominos to fall should the Pack elect to bring Favre back and because of this, I don't see them doing it. I think the front office is playing a version of liar's poker VERY similar to what teams do leading up to the draft.

However, there's a wild card in that deck as well in that Favre can veto any trade to a team not of his choosing. Let's face it, Favre would love to go play for divisional rival Minnesota but I think a compromise of sorts will be reached with Favre okaying a trade to a team like Tampa with its warm weather and similar system that he's accustomed to playing.

As they say in the broadcasting business, stay tuned.

[stlrz d]

According to the interview last night, the Packers were contacting Favre every week (after the season ended) to ask where he was with his decision (obviously so they could plan accordingly) and he said, "It would be nice if I could have until training camp to decide."



Btw, good point Hardliner...what kind of position does it put the Packers in if Favre comes back for just one more season then calls it quits for good? Now they're stuck making a decision on what to do about Rodgers, whom they've seen very little of. It seems to me the Packers are simply trying to protect themselves.