Favre-able Odds?

The recent back-flipping of the Caesar’s Palace Fountains by Mike Metzger got me in the Vegas mood. After our Fantasy Football Draft there last summer, the gambling itch (which I always had) has been kept fairly dormant for almost a year now. But like I said I’ve got the itch, so I have to do something.

And so, in memory of the Annual Brett Favre retirement saga coming to a close recently, I’ve put together a list of possible outcomes for the NEXT (notice I’m not going to write last) for Brett in Green Bay, accompanied by the odds. Please feel free to place bets with the comments feature, and only time will tell, but you could be the lucky winner!

But before present my list of possibilities and their accompanying odds, let me sound off on Brett Favre a little bit (think of it as the equivalent of “The Burn” segment on Jim Rome’s show… ouch, I just made a Romey reference, and it wasn’t really negative…).

I still can’t get over the egotism Brett Favre has displayed over the past few months, and even, somewhat, over the past few seasons. Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoy watching Brett Favre play. I even kind of like him, from what I know of him. I love his passion, love his gunslinger mentality, love his toughness. And I’m one of the people in his camp as far as thinking he can still be successful for another couple of seasons. Think about it, the Packers traded or let go (via free agency) over half of their O-line before last season, lost their top three RB’s to injuries by mid season (over-rated as they may be), and lost their best weapon on offense in the first game of the season (don’t underestimate the fact that Javon Walker was THE PERFECT type of receiver for Brett Favre: fast, created separation, big, and one of the best in the league at making adjustments to slightly off-target balls). And they had a completely horrendous defense to boot.

All of that being said, Brett Favre hasn’t been a team player. He’s left his team in a precarious position by delaying his decision time and again. He’s blatantly balked at the idea of tutoring Aaron Rogers while he is around (which, from a veteran and supposed leader of your team, is disrespectful at the least). He recently made the off the cough remark, “What, are they gonna cut me?” when answering questions about when he would make his decision. Of course they aren’t, but what kind of leader says that? That comment alone shows that he puts himself above the team.

The above situations show his poor leadership for the franchise, but there is one more point I’d like to make about his poor leadership as a TEAMMATE. Last season, in the off-season Brett Farve decided that it was his business to comment on Javon Walker’s contract situation. Walker is GROSSLY underpaid (something like $600K, for a guy who had been a Top 5 reciever). And while it’s easy to side with the Packers after seeing what Drew Rosenhaus did to the T.O. situation, his case shouldn’t be disregarded because of the (deserved) stigma associated with Rosenhaus. But even the contract situation is besides the point, to some regard. Did Brett Favre offer to give pack part of his large salary after throwing 29 INT’s last season? Of course not. Has he ever signed a contract extension BEFORE his current contract was over? You bet ya’. So just because Javon, who basically wanted to do the same thing in order to get a large signing bonus, asked the Packers to do the same thing for him (rather than the other way around), Javon’s being selfish and hurting the team? Interesting… But my point is this, would a real team leader call out his teammate on national TV, instead of calling him and trying to influence personally? No. And as a result, Javon eventually caved, in order to help the team. The result? He tore his ACL in the first game of the season and lost MILLIONS of dollars. Thanks Brett.

And without further ado (if Rob ever reads this site, I just used ‘Ado’ in a sentence, proving once and for all that it is a legitimate word for Speed Scrabble), here are my odds on the each possibility for how Favre’s season will play out:

Another 4-12 Season: 3 To 2
Seems like a possibility. They still won’t have Walker (who got traded to Denver at the bargain basement price of a 2nd Round Draft pick), Ahman Green isn’t getting any younger, and the defense is relying on a rookie (AJ Hawk) to lead the defense’ resurgence.

The Flip Flop (Packers go 12-4): 50 To 1
Not looking good for this team. They just didn’t do enough to improve. On the flip side, the RB’s will be healthier, the schedule should be “BEAR-able”, playing in the very weak NFC-North, and, well, this is the NFL.

The Wash (8-8): 10 To 1
This would be a considerable improvement. Considering how many close games the Packers lost last year though, it’s not out of the realm of possibility to go .500 for the season.

The Cinderella Story (win the Super Bowl): 1,000,000,000 To 1
Yeah… well, you have to put odds on it. Anyone who takes the bet is an idiot, but that’s okay.

Favre Saves his Legacy (a Wild Card birth and a win in the playoffs): 100 To 1
I’m probably in the minority, but this is what I think it will take to erase the memories of this off-season for a lot of fans (not actual GB fans, who will love Favre till the day they die, not matter what he does). The misconception of this past year for Favre is that going 4-12 will taint his legacy, when in reality his foolish behavior this off-season is more likely to have tainted it. However, winning heals all wounds, so a playoff win would erase a lot of the negativity.