I sat joyfully on my couch this past Sunday and watched with delight as the NFL season kicked into full gear. As always there was plenty of speculation about the upcoming season. But those speculations, and even the dismal outlook for my Chicago Bears' upcoming season, were overshadowed by what I saw in front of me.
As most Minnesota Vikings' fans can attest to, Sunday was a marvelous day in which their Vikings seemed to make Brett Favre look like Ryan Leaf and the new-and-improved Lambeau Field look no more intimidating than a high school football field in rural America. However, as easy (and as much fun) as it would be to sit here and criticize Brett Favre on the passes he overthrew, the routes he misinterpreted and the lack of intensity he showed in the first half, there is a more crucial storyline.
But first let me establish something for all you Packer fans so you do not put down this article because, as usual, you can't take any criticism of your beloved team. Brett Favre has been a great quarterback. He has been the main reason for their success the past 10 plus years. And despite this being one of the hardest things I have had to accept, he is one of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time, if not the greatest.
Nonetheless, Favre has to understand something. He is getting old. Despite what Packer fans want to believe, the 33-year-old's skills are not what they were in his glory days. That considered, Favre has to make a change and he has to make it quickly.
He has to realize that he cannot throw off his back foot with two defenders closing in on him as he once did. He has to realize that he is no longer good enough to fall to a 20-3 deficit and come back in the fourth quarter as he once did. And he has to realize that it will be his leadership, much more than his football skills, that will ensure Green Bay a spot back in the playoffs.
Green Bay fans should not despair. There is plenty of reason to believe that he will figure it out and figure it out soon. In the second half we saw flashes of the old Brett Favre. After Green Bay's first half possessions resulted in a punt, a fumble, three interceptions and a field goal, Favre orchestrated his team in the fourth quarter as he always has. Favre completed nearly two-thirds of his passes and the Packers scored touchdowns on three of their last four possessions. But in the end it was not enough. The Packers fell to Minnesota 30-25, and ... dare I say into LAST place in the NFC North.
Let's just hope the former MVP figures it out and graces us with the magic we have witnessed these past 13 NFL seasons... on second thought, as a Bears fan, maybe not.
