Brett Favre: Greatest QB ever?

There is no more appropriate an image to leave Brett Favre’s career than him angrily ripping the chinstrap off his grizzled face following a terrible interception at the worst possible time. We can apologize for his actions by meaninglessly creating the phrase “gun-slinger,” but we all know what this expression means: a quarterback too reckless to hold the discipline required for an offense to run without error. There is no doubt what Favre meant to the game, but to try and laud him to the greatest quarterback ever based on his “playing football like a kid” is an absurd statement at best and a gross misrepresentation of his career and success.

As a quarterback, you must be held accountable for the successes of your team. The touchdown record is a nice add-on, but is not a legitimate basis for his being the best. Karl Malone scored more points than any player in NBA history and would be rightly laughed out of any discussion where I tried to give Malone the title of best player ever based on it. If the touchdowns thrown don’t translate themselves into wins and titles, they lose their importance in any debate about career perspective. The simple fact is this: Favre’s playoff record shows a quarterback who often lost winnable games based on his inability or unwillingness to play under control.

Favre’s playoff stats illustrate the situation. Here are the last ten playoff games of Brett Favre’s career:

1.25.98: 3 TD, 1 Int, Loss

1.3.99: 2 TD, 2 Int, Loss

1.13.02: 2 TD, 2 Int, Win

1.20.02: 2 TD, 6 Int, Loss

1.4.03: 1 TD, 2 Int, Loss

1.4.04: 1 TD, 0 Int, Win

1.11.04: 2 TD, 1 Int, Loss

1.9.05: 1 TD, 4 Int, Loss

1.12.08: 3 TD, 0 Int, Win

1.20.08: 2 TD, 2 Int, Loss

Favre was 3-7 with 19 TDs and 20 Ints in the playoffs through the last 11 years of is career. These games also include three home playoff loses to Mike Vick’s Falcons, Daunte Culpepper’s Vikings, and Eli Manning’s Giants. In those three loses, Favre had 4 TDs and 8 Ints. It is very impressive that Favre was able to play for so many years at such a high level, but the numbers show that he was not successful at playing the under-control mistake free football that the NFL playoffs require.

Favre obviously had an amazing career, with a Super Bowl title and 3 straight MVPs, but this not put him into the place of greatest quarterback ever. The love Favre received from Packers fans and most members of the sports media apparently clouds the judgment of people. He absolutely had the down to earth personality that is so well liked, and this allows him to be placed in people’s minds over quarterbacks he shouldn’t be in the same conversation with, like Joe Montana. Favre’s playoff performances and tendency to make un-wise throws would certainly have been under fire much more had he played in a city with a more severe fan base and media. Eli Manning nearly was run out of NY after two interception heavy playoff games, while Favre’s similar performances are quickly forgotten from his legacy.

Leadership is another characteristic that must be examined in this conversation and Favre fails to live up to others here as well. He was undoubtedly the beloved face of a franchise and city, but had a lot of actions that did not live up to the level a franchise quarter back needs. The much maligned trade from the Falcons is one example. The Falcons had no choice but the trade him following his behavior in that one season. He showed no commitment to the team, would not change his lifestyle (i.e. maybe not party and drink like a college guy every night), and was not willing to put forth the work required to succeed at the next level. Once on the Packers these issues did not leave. He bashed teammates for the way they handled contract situations, most famously Javon Walker. In recent years we have seen Tom Brady stand up for his fellow players in this same situation, but Favre called out Walker for wanting job security. He did not open up with younger players, notably declaring that he would not mentor Aaron Rodgers because he was just paid to play quarterback. To top things off, Favre was willing to hold the entire organization hostage the last few off seasons, refusing to give any indication on whether he planned to return or retire. Finally, I simply find it odd that he would push so hard for GM Ted Thompson to go after Randy Moss, only to retire one day after Moss resigned with the Patriots, his agent listing one of the reasons as “Two years ago, Ted encouraged him to play, but there was nothing this time around from them encouraging him to come back.”

Sal Paolantonio of ESPN made a great point of which to close. Let’s take a quick look at the other great Packers quarterback, Bart Starr. Starr had a 9-1 postseason record and 5 NFL Championships and 2 Super Bowl titles. While Starr’s numbers in 16 years of playing are not as impressive as Favre’s, he achieved much more than Favre in terms of wins and championships. Favre can’t even be considered the best quarterback in Packers history, much less NFL history.