Somewhere around these parts last week was an individual wearing a Brett Favre jersey, which isn't unusual in the least. Except for one thing. On the nameplate, where that Hall-of-Fame name was supposed to be, there were three letters that connote something higher than mere mortals.
Favre played up in elevation like the rest of the Green Bay Packers and Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football and then some. It was one of those performances after which you soberly remind yourself that he won't be around forever, even though it seems like he could be.
These aren't the meteoric days of a decade ago for the organization, mostly because the players surrounding Favre now are not nearly as good as the ones 10 years ago. But they are, in fact, good enough to give him another shot.
In case you didn't see the plays prevailing on all NFL highlights this week, those were two Pro Bowl cornerbacks that two young Green Bay receivers beat, with two precise deep balls.
Ironically, all week Favre was taking a pounding from the media, who dared to wonder whether he had lost that accuracy on the deep ball or whether he even established it in the first place.
If you ever wondered what happens when you defy Favre, the case was in point this past week. He made some ill-thrown deep balls against the Redskins two Sundays ago, resulting in two interceptions, and heard about it all week. After a press conference last week, as he was leaving the dais, he said something to the effect of, It's just one game, guys!""
And the game against Denver was just one game, too. Still, how about the circumstances it presented to the Packers and Favre? How eager was the city of Denver to get a win for the sake of catharsis? The Packers would know; they stayed in the same hotel as the Red Sox, who overmatched the Rockies and gave Colorado sports fans an easy choice of allegiance Monday night.
To win the way that they did, the Packers made a statement. They won't play in a venue more intimidating than they did in week eight, though some will say Green Bay has its hands full heading into Arrowhead. The Packers japed about the mile-high altitude all week - linebacker Nick Barnett told reporters that the thin air meant more would get into his system - but all indications were they were gassed by the end of regulation. Had Denver won the coin toss, putting the Packer defense out there so soon after the game-tying drive, the outcome was primed to go the other way.
As it turns out, Favre needed only that one play to give the Packers their sixth win of the season, continuing to prove each naysayer wrong. This team is just the latest example of why you don't take the so-called ""expert"" opinions too seriously; had most of those opinions played out, the NFC North would not be in its present state.
Even so, teams have played half of their season at most, meaning that there are at least eight games to play. The consensus has Dallas running away with NFC, and while it's a little early to be talking about Super Bowl contenders, something tells me the team in Green Bay does not mind being overlooked.
