Reigning In 2008

                Fifteen Months ago, I wrote my first piece for the Kent News (and indeed the first to appear in this space) on the dismal year that filled the past twelve months.  Since that time, quite a bit has changed.  In fact many have editorialized in the past month or so that for all its shortcomings in terms of well, pretty much everything else, 2008 may have been the greatest year in the history of sports.  I hate to burst the collective bubbles of both SI and ESPN, but it hasn’t been nearly as great as they have claimed.  Call me a picky if you want, but in truth 2008 left plenty to be desired.

                Make no mistake, there were plenty of great moments in 2008, but there were drawbacks to each which have been ignored by an overly sentimental media.  Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt personified athletic achievement in Beijing.  While Phelps garnered most of the attention stateside, to me Bolt deserves to be admired in the same light.  Both athletes took their sports to another level in brilliant and memorable displays of greatness in their fields.  Without taking anything away from either man though, truth be told these were more of flash in the pan events in the larger sports world.  While both were achievements that will have a timeless status in their respective sports, the quadrennial interest of the mainstream in swimming and track and field prohibits 8 gold medals or multiple world records from being truly transcendent achievements.  The simple fact that neither athlete will likely compete in their sport for the next year is evidence of this.  The same is true for the Wimbledon final, as tennis was quickly put on the backburner just weeks later (can anyone name the winner of the Australian Open?).

Also in 2008, Tiger Woods reminded us that he is the greatest golfer in history, and that to suggest otherwise is foolish.  The 2008 US Open was truly one of the greatest golf tournaments ever played, with an everyman underdog challenging an infallible, once in a generation force of nature.  Woods, even on one leg was able to gut out a win in a performance that no one who witnessed it will soon forget.  As for the Open itself, there is really nothing negative that I can say about it.  On the other hand, that was just one week in what was otherwise an extremely boring season for Americas fifth most popular sport.  The fact is that in the current climate of the PGA tour, there is only one attraction.  That is Tiger Woods, and with him out of action for July and August, most of the season turned out to be forgettable, save one memorable weekend.  Once again, this was a moment of greatness, but not actually a great golf season.

                All of these were great moments, make no mistake, but all four also happened outside of the realm of the four major sports.  Much was made about the Super Bowl, but really aside from one catch it was an extremely sloppy game.  Aside from one timeless highlight, even if we still aren’t ready to admit it yet as a nation, it would have been much more memorable to see New England complete the 19-0.  As for the 08 regular season, the most enduring story will be one not of greatness, but of failure.  The 0-16 Detroit Lions were definitely the most compelling story in a league that lacked a single memorable team once Tom Brady was replaced in New England.   

Then there was the other story in the NFL…Brett Favre.  My distain for the coverage that this received is well documented, so I will keep this short.  Essentially all other stories were ignored so that ESPN could cover a past his prime quarterback go back on his word and break the hearts of an entire state.  What was the end result?  None of the teams involved in the saga made the playoffs.  Riveting!

                Sure, the NBA saw an old rivalry rekindled and the MLB saw a true worst to first story, neither of those things were unique.  The reason for the interest in the finals was really based on history.  This Lakers-Celtics finals was certainly entertaining, but they have a ways to go to reach Magic-Bird levels of compellingness.  And while the Rays were compelling, they were no more so than the Braves of the early 90s, probably less so, as the Atlanta team didn’t go ignored by its city until mid September.

In the other major sports, the Wings won the cup, but no one really seemed to notice.  A two loss team took the National Championship and the only compelling theme of the 08 season was that no one could agree on anything regarding the BCS except that there won’t be a true, undisputed champ.

Finally, the most compelling thing about sports is the players.  Our peers, as humans (sort of), who accomplish the things that we only dreamed of accomplishing are at the end of the day, the reason that we tune in.  The fact is the two breakout athletes in 2008 were a swimmer and a runner who we won’t hear from again for (at best) four years, and even if we do, they will be past their primes at that point.  This was the main shortcoming of 2008. Even 2007 saw LeBron, Sid, and Ovie take their games to another level.   In the four major sports, Matt Ryan was the only youngster that established himself as a star in 08, but even the most hard core Falcons fans would stop short of calling him a transcendent talent.

So sorry to hate on 08, but someone had to do it.  Before you go off thinking that I am a morbid, impossible to please, hardened skeptic, you should know that I really did enjoy 2008.  There were indeed plenty of memorable moments (getting a gold, silver and bronze in my three fantasy football leagues for instance).  My only point is that we shouldn’t get as carried away as we have.  As many great moments as 2008 saw, the fact is we only had one compelling regular season in the sports we actually care about, and that was due to league wide mediocrity.  2008 was as electrifying as any year, but to call it the best ever is jumping the gun.

Fixing Perfection

It turns out that sometimes, perfect just isn’t enough.  Strange as it may sound, that is the harsh reality for the 12-0 Boise State Broncos.  For the 9^th ranked perennial Cinderella, the gem of the Gem State, simply taking care of everyone on their schedule likely won’t get them where they want to be.  I can stand up along with the 1,499,401 other Idahoans and complain that a 61-10 exclamation point over a decent Fresno State team should have been enough to catapult the blue-turfers to big stages in Glendale, New Orleans or Miami, but thanks to an undefeated Utah team they will likely head to the conciliation prizes in places such as El Paso, Memphis, San Diego, or even stay home in Boise. 

While much about the BCS seems, nay, is frustrating (quick tangent- Longhorn fans need to be quiet, you are at best the third most screwed over team…they are now guaranteed a BCS bowl berth, unlike Texas Tech WHO BEAT THEM, presumably because Vince Young wore the burnt orange there three years ago.  This could even be a blessing for the Longhorns if Oklahoma is knocked off by Missouri, there is no reason that the Longhorns won’t sneak in the back door to the national championship game… Oh yeah, they also lost more games than Ball State, who will probably end up in something like the Motor City Bowl, make that fourth most screwed... and yet I’m treated to a 48 hour candle light vigil for Colt McCoy’s hopes and dreams on ESPN) the thing that bugs me the most is that Utah has been presumed to be better than Boise State.  The most logical, or least illogical rather, explanation for this is that the Mountain West was better than the WAC this year, and therefore Utah had more quality wins.  But is that really the case? 

The main tenant of the strong Mountain West argument was that it had three BCS contenders, and that Utah therefore had wins over 2.  This is a stretch, at best, BS at worst.  The first of those supposed contenders, TCU, has a record that is solid enough.  Their 2 losses came at the hands of Utah and Oklahoma.  They were dismantled by Oklahoma, but so were plenty of other quality teams, so that can be thrown out.  Other than that, their only tough game was their other loss, a last minute loss to Utah.  The Horned Frogs did knock off a Pac-10 team, but it was a Stanford team that went 5-7, including an eeked out victory against hapless Washington.  TCU was a solid squad, that beat everyone they should have, but it is hard to say that they were a legitimate contender, as they lost both of their games that could be considered a test.

The other so called contender in the MWC was BYU.  They vaulted into the national spotlight after a convincing victory over UCLA, who was coming off of a win over a ranked Tennessee team.  Since then, both Tennessee and UCLA have struggled, and while a dominant win over a Pac-10 team is still impressive, that win doesn’t carry the weight it did at the time.  The next game on BYU’s schedule should retrospectively end any debate over whether or not they can be considered a contender.  Washington was the worst team in the nation this season at 0-11.  The closest they came to winning a game this year was against 2-11 Washington State.  The second closest (which should have been the closest), came against against BYU.  Only the worst penalty call of the 2008 season, an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Jake Locker for throwing the ball into the air, leading to a missed extra point, was able to save the Cougars.  While the stripes saved the game for BYU, they managed to get beat on the field by the worst of 119 D-1 college football teams, something no other team managed to do.  This would not have happened to a good team, and is the end of legitimate discussion of BYU as an actual contender.

Having debunked the myths that TCU and BYU were legitimate contenders, the Mountain West, and indeed the rest of Utah’s pedigree look considerably weaker, especially compared to Boise State’s.  The WAC wasn’t a terrible conference, and will have 6 bowl eligible teams, compared to 5 from the Mountain West.  Out of conference, Boise was able to knock off an Oregon team, handing the 19^th ranked Ducks their only loss in Eugene.  Boise also knocked off a bowl bound Bowling Green team that beat Pittsburgh at Heinz Field, and handled bowl bound Southern Miss on the road.  Out of conference, Utah’s marquee win came against Oregon State, who lost to the Oregon team that Boise beat.  The Michigan win looked good at the time, but looks much less impressive on the tail end of a 3-9 season for the maize and blue in a shaky Big 10.  Looking at all of that, Boise’s thorough domination against a good Fresno team should catapult them ahead of Utah, who was only able to dominate like that against the dregs of the MWC and WAC. 

Alas, as painfully obvious as it becomes when examined properly, Utah is presumed to be a better team by an ignorant polling system, and therefore will go into the BCS.  So what is left for Boise State?  Many people are calling for a matchup of the non-BCS undefeateds. Unfortunately, playing Ball State in Boise, as some have suggested, has absolutely no upside for the Broncos. 

Ball State has the weakest schedule of any top 25 team, and has struggled a number of times in an embarrassingly weak MAC.  Even if Ball State was on the same level as Boise, as they most assuredly are not, Boise State would have nothing to gain by playing them in a bowl game.  Boise will be presumed to be the class of the non-BCS, non at large teams.  The Broncos have proved this over the past (half) decade, by continuously finishing with less than 4 losses, and perennially challenging for an at large BCS bid, even if they have only received one.   That leaves nothing to prove against a team that allowed 22 points to the fourth best team in the state of Michigan (the Detroit Lions are just behind Western in 5^th).  So if not Ball State in the H Bowl, then where should Boise go?  I’m glad you asked.

There is one obvious matchup that has been overlooked.  Boise needs to play a BCS conference school in order to prove anything.  Further, beating a four or five loss team won’t turn any heads.  Ordinarily it would be difficult for a mid major to draw a team like this, as there would be little for the big school to prove.  Luckily, they have established themselves as a program against which a point can be made.  They are not like Ball State, for which a BCS team would receive little credit if they knocked off, despite their undefeated record.  Luckily, there is a one loss team with something to prove, from a BCS conference.

Why not pit the two best offensive minds in college football circa 2008?  The answer is that there is no reason.  It would be a crime against football fans everywhere if Boise State didn’t go up against Texas Tech in a bowl this year.  This game would have every appeal.  First of all, it would essentially be a BCS game.  Both teams earned a spot in one of the big games, Tech by losing only one game in one of the toughest conferences in the nation, Boise because, well, they didn’t lose.  The level of play in this game would actually be miles ahead of a potentially unwatchable Florida State-Cincinnati Orange Bowl.  It would be a treat to watch these two offensive juggernauts pound it out in the Screwed by the BCS Championship Game (presented by Wachovia).

The venue for this game is also a no brainer.  The Cotton Bowl, as it is, is the biggest of the non-BCS bowls.  It is actually looking to become a BCS bowl when it moves to the new Texas Stadium.  Texas Tech will likely go anyways, as a non-BCS Big 12 team is represented in the game anyways.  The Cotton Bowl offers a high profile and a decent venue, which would be necessary for what may be the most interesting matchup of bowl season.  Furthermore, the $3 million that is offered, while not BCS money, would be enough to draw the two programs.  The SEC is usually represented on the other side, but hopefully the bigwigs in Dallas would be able to think logically and waive that tradition (especially because it isn’t a real tradition, BYU played in it 10 years ago, UCLA the year after that) in order to facilitate this matchup.

In fact, I will go a step further.  When the BCS Bowls are released Sunday, I don’t want to see Boise go to Glendale or Miami.  There is so much wrong with the BCS, I want to avoid it entirely.  If invited to play Cincy in the Orange Bowl or the loser of the Big 12 or SEC Championship in Glendale, the Broncos should continue to be the most innovative program in college football.  As hard as $17 million may be to pass up, they should give a giant middle finger to the BCS.  Turning down one of those second rate invites the Broncos should put on a show in Dallas, going to the Cotton Bowl, taking on the other team that got jobbed by this ridiculous system in an offensive showdown for the ages.  

The Last Cassel

On the eve of the baseball free agent market opening, an NFL game that virtually no one saw has stolen the headlines.  In essence, Brett Favre has done (for now), what he was brought in to do.  Favre has been far from perfect this season, at times even calling into question whether or not the Jets are better off with him at the helm than they would have been with Chad Pennington.  Right now the point is mute, as Favre has lead the Jets over the Patriots for just the second time in the Mangini-Belichick era. From Bangor to Darien, New Englanders will point out that the Patriots were playing without Adalius Thomas or Ty Warren (obviously the fact that New England was without #12 is irrelevant in the context of this season), completely deflating their pass rush, and still came within a coin flip but for now it is irrelevant as the 7-3 Jets are atop the AFC East heading into Week 11.

While Favre took a large step towards vindicating himself after early flops against the Pats and Raiders, the biggest stories were the two non-American Heroes playing skill positions in this game (because lets be honest, the Patriots running back is not a skill position).  First of all, Thomas Jones had another solid game (104 yards and a score), and has become nothing short of a must start for those of you in fantasyland. 

Much more interestingly, Matt Cassel solidified his spot as (gasp) one of the top free agents in the 2009 offseason.  Granted, Cassel has (at least) 6 more games in which this could drastically change, but I wouldn’t expect it to.  Barring an emergency amputation of Brady’s left leg, Cassel will surely test the waters of unrestricted free agency this coming spring.  Many have chalked this up to overreaction to a number of good games.  That’s not the case though.  While 6-3 with good pieces around him could be chalked up to coincidence, 400 yards cannot.  At the very least, Cassel proved that he has an upside much higher than many other quarterbacks in the league. 

One thing stands out in the argument for signing Cassel.  In my column about Aaron Rodgers, I made the argument that NFL teams are the best judge of what they have in unproven players, and that no where is this more apparent than with backup quarterbacks.  So far it has been true for Mike McCarthy (Rodgers is in the top 10 in touchdowns, QB rating and completions), and I would be confident that it is true about Bill Belichick, like him or not (even if it is “not” for everyone west of, say, Worcester, MA).  Granted, only an injury to Tom Brady and a lack of a viable alternative gave Cassel the starting job.  The fact that Cassel is playing is not actually an endorsement of his ability.  On the other hand, 50 passing attempts in the most important game of the season (to this point) most certainly is.  What we know is this Cassel will get paid this offseason, probably with a long term contract, and it will probably get a lot of scrutiny, but I for one think it will be deserved. 

Note

Sorry for the hiatus.  Starting college and being thrown into the hockey season hasn't left me with much time to update this site.  I did write most of an NHL preview, but never found time to finish it, so I am going to hold off posting it until mid season, when hopefully I will find time to either obnoxiously brag about my nostrodomus-esque prediction ability or complain about how my sleepers are underperforming and making me look like an idiot.  

In the mean time, in order to keep this blog moving, I'm going to be posting shorter, more topical posts a few times a week (or hopefully more).  While it will be a bit of a departure from the less topical colums that usually grace this space, I feel like it is a better use of the half hours that I am able to find where I feel like writing than trying to string columns together over a few days, which usually results in me quitting on them for one reason or another.

A Break From Sports; Find Your Voice

In the last few months we, as Americans have heard a lot of things. We have been barraged by media storms covering conventions, speeches, background checks and nominations. We have followed a race, one that has become a battle. Most of us have anyways. Maybe you aren’t among those who have, and that’s ok, but it is time to speak up.
To the young people of America, I say this; find your voice. Many of the people that will read this will be under the voting age of 18. You may feel as if you don’t have a voice in a society that rightfully restricts the age at which you have the opportunity to cast a vote. Please, don’t believe that. You may not have a vote, but you still have a voice. Find it.
It is easier than you may think. One of the most beautiful things about this country is that you will always have an opportunity and a right to be heard. Sure, not everyone can make time to volunteer to a campaign, or to try to convince your peers to support a candidate or an issue. That’s fine. There are easier, simpler ways that you can be involved in this presidential election. All you have to do is make a point.
Speak up in a class, engage in a debate there. Tell your friends or your parents who you support and why. Find a friend you disagree with and engage in a discussion of what you take issue with in their views. Get your opinion out there. It is one of the most important things you can do, for even though no one else can take your voice away from you, if you don’t express your opinions, you take it away from yourself. Make sure you use it, but just as importantly, make sure you hear someone else’s. See another side of an argument; understand why conservatives think you’re too liberal, or why liberals think that you’re too conservative. We can all be proud of our country, and enlightened disagreement is American as it gets. That is why American men and women have died on the battle fields of France, Germany, Afghanistan and, yes, Iraq, so that you can tell someone why they are wrong, and so that they can tell you why you are.
Our generation will fight a political war. The last generation was white versus black (and enlightened minds heroically inspired a truce). This generation, that of our parents fights a battle, liberals versus conservatives. Eventually we will fight an even more important one; apathy versus involvement. Our generation was blessed with an extraordinary ability to complain. While this may not strike you as a gift, I assure you that it is. After all, this country was founded on dissent. The problem is this; only if we get involved do we earn our right to dissent.
So, finally, I beg of you this. Get involved, care know the issues, know why you are right, but also why you may be wrong, and if you are of age, vote. Politics may seem to be the sport of older men and women, but make no mistake; they affect you as much as anyone. Involvement can begin before even the right to vote, unfortunately, so can apathy. Don’t let it happen to you, find your voice.

It's Not Just You

Sitting around on a Monday night, halfheartedly watching Sportscenter after a phenomenal I saw something crawl across the bottom of my television set  that, to the average viewer would be relatively trivial.

MLB Brewers fire manager Ned Yost and name third base coach Dale Sveum as interim manager.

Sveum, that name seems familiar….

Where do I know that….

Wait a second, is that….

Good God.

Ladies and gentlemen, in the strongest nod to mediocrity since Sarah Palin was nominated to be the vice president of the United States, the worst third base coach in Boston Red Sox (nay, Major League) history, is now in charge of an actual baseball team.  In charge of one in a pennant race for that matter.

Ok, maybe mediocrity is the wrong word.  Sveum did capture the elusive third base coach triple crown in 2005.  He lead the league in RTOAP (Runners Thrown Out At the Plate), RTSBDS (Runners That Should’ve Scored But Didn’t) and HAGESF (Heart Attacks Given to Elderly Sox Fans).  I guess in the Brewers’ defense, they could have given Sveum a position he was worse suited to: Buss Driver (‘I know that the light is red, but I swear I can make it, screw it, I’ m going!’).

What did the people of Wisconsin do to deserve this?  And not just this, this entire year has been a disaster for the Cheese and Beer State (I know Wikipedia could have given me WI’s actual nickname, but that was more appropriate than the ‘Badger State’, although maybe more risqué than ‘America’s Dairyland’ as a nickname for the state that has a population of 5.6 million and is represented in the Senate by Herb Kohl and Russ Feingold.  Alaska is near Russia, nominate me for VP).  Forget the fact that you are in a pennant race.  Forget the fact that no team has fired an above .500 manager through 150 games since the Hoover administration. Forget even that the Brewers got rid of the manager that lead a mediocre pitching staff and a lineup featuring only one hitter over .280 to a tie for the wild card with two weeks left in the season.  The Brewers just hired a guy that any Sully, Mick or Murph could have tell you should be managing in A Ball.  So for Brewers fans, here is some definite proof-ish type stuff that the sports world has, indeed been turned upside down and you aren’t alone.

 _______________________________________________

Victor Zambrano threw a no hitter, at an Astros’ home game.  Despite being in a tight pennant race, the Astros agreed to play this game at Miller Park.  Apperently they don’t know how to use mapquest.

Aaron Rodgers is a better quarterback than Brett Favre, not in 2010, now.  Sure, it has only been two weeks, but you can put this debate to bed.  There are things that you can fake for a couple of weeks (a minor leaguer charging out to a .450 average after a call up etc), but the poise and ability that Rodgers has shown isn’t something that comes and goes.  The shocking part; I was right.  Not to say I told you so, everyone on ESPN and every other media outlet that thought the Packers were out of their minds and are now conveniently not mentioning their favoritism towards Favre, but… I F***ING TOLD YOU SO! (that felt good, moving on)

Matt Cassel is starting in the NFL.  Matt Leinart isn’t.  Two starting QBs went down in week one (Brodie Croyle and Vince Young), and every analyst agreed that their backups (Kerry Collins and Trent Green) were significant upgrades.  The best QB in the NFL went to a 1-AA school and he is one of seven (Romo, Warner, Jackson, Kitna, Flacco, O’Sullivan and Thigpen) that didn’t even play D1-A football.  There are 112 D-1 teams…how does this make sense?  Of the 10 best quarterbacks in the world, beyond the fact that two that theoretically weren’t good enough to start at Temple or Middle Tennessee St.,  one (Brady) is out for the year, one (Manning) is beginning to look like he peaked in 2006,one (Favre) spent 4 months of the offseason retired and one (Vick) is in jail for another 10 months.  Speaking of which, Marcus is going to go down as the well behaved Vick (old I know, but still funny).  This is how the best football league in the world is filling out the 32 highest profile jobs in sports?

I lost 6 fantasy points because DeSean Jackson dropped the ball too early as he celebrated into the end zone.  If I hadn’t won anyways, I may have put a hit out on Jackson.  Speeking of hits on fantasy NFL players, LT has 6 points in two weeks.  People are debating whether you can trade him for someone like Adrian Peterson.  Right now I might trade him for Darren Sproles… Norv Turner appears to agree.

I actually considered that some people from Wisconsin may still be upset given the second point that I made here.

 ____________________________________________________________

So if that doesn’t at least ease the pain Wisconsinites, don’t drink yourself into a Miller-induced stupor, or commit suicide by eating brats and cheese until you clog an artery, instead look on the bright side.  Your Brewers may not make the playoffs, but Rodgers looks miles ahead of Tavarius Jackson, the Badgers are poised to make a run at the Rose Bowl, if not the national championship, and if that doesn’t make you feel better at least Sveum isn’t your third base coach anymore.

Done Four

Brett Favre. Brett Favre. Brett Favre. Mike McCarthy. Brett Favre. Green Bay Packers. Brett Favre. Brett Favre. Brett Favre. Trade or release. Brett Favre. Brett Favre. Brett Favre. Tampa Bay, New York. Brett Favre. Brett Favre.

If you are anything like me, at this point you have walked away from your computer, madly pulling out your hair and screaming “I DON’T F***ING CARE!” Now, hopefully for the sake of this blog’s popularity, you are willing to overlook your frustration and distain for this story and continue to read this particular column, but if you aren’t I kind of understand. The coverage of this non-story has created more distain for sports media in me than any topic in my lifetime.
There are so many reasons to that this story bugs me, it is difficult to know where to start. Essentially there are two elements to why I can’t stand this particular media circus.
The first, and most important, is that it is a non-story. The fact is, there have been countless hours spent discussing and covering the (non)story (much has been made of the 2000+ hours that NBC and it’s networks will spend covering the Beijing Olympics, I would venture a guess that ESPN and its networks have spent much more time covering Favre), and yet there really hasn’t been much of anything to cover. Favre retired, then four months of nothing (which were mercifully devoid of 23 hours a day of FAVRE WATCH! on ESPN). Finally, Brett decided that he wanted to come back. Brett said that he wanted to come back, but the Packers didn’t say anything. Think about it, for two weeks, there was nothing to cover, no events, no solid rumors, no comments from the parties involved. Just a player interested in coming back. No story.
That didn’t stop ESPN. Instead of ignoring it and saying “we will keep you posted and let you know if something happens,” the Worldwide Leader decided to make this the largest story of the year. We were subject to coverage of text messages, secret meetings, private jets, tampering phone calls and trade rumors, all of which really didn’t lead to anything. I’m not sure, but I think at one point Bob Ley hosted a 2 hour special on why Favre was pronounced Farv, instead of fav-rey.
After four or five days of covering a story that didn’t exist, the sports media (ESPN bears the brunt of this criticism, but only because it is the largest outlet. Others are no less guilty) began the tell-tale sign that a story has been overblown. It started covering itself. With no new developments to hyperbolize, radio hosts, talk show hosts and pundits began to discuss themselves, and debate whether or not they were paying too much attention to #4 (they failed to see that the answer was inherent in the debate). It is a pity that Jon Stewart doesn’t cover sports, it was the kind of thing he could have had a proverbial field day with.
The second thing that bothers me about the coverage, is that everyone seems to be wrong. (Warning: this is where I weigh in on the story, I completely understand if you want to stop reading now.) It has become a forgone conclusion for most writers, hosts and pundits. The Packers are better off with Favre and are foolish not to welcome him back (most of the time it is said with considerably less conviction, but that is the general consensus). While my first point that this story is fairly popular, my second point is far less accepted. I doubt that I am the first to say it, but I am certainly one of a few. The Packers are much better off not welcoming Brett Favre back as their starting quarterback. It isn’t even really a debate.
There are plenty of reasons that this is the case, but to me, the most obvious has been completely neglected by the media (I apologize if this has been argued, but I have yet to hear it). Aaron Rodgers may not be a better player than Favre, but he is not significantly worse than Favre. Make no mistake, the Packers were not better last year because Favre reformed himself made less mistakes and lead them to where they ended up. Last year saw the exact same Favre recklessness and mistakes as when the Packers had loosing seasons. 2007 just had better pieces around him.
Still I will concede that Favre has a slight edge over Rodgers, so why not take the upgrade, which doesn’t cost anything, however small?
Because the upgrade actually has a considerable price. Highly regarded throughout college, Rodgers has performed when given the chance (one game, but still…). The Cowboys game last year aside, Packers organization has seen more of Rodgers the last two years than anyone else. They have had an ample opportunity to evaluate Rodgers, they are not blandly handing the reigns to a rookie. Clearly they think highly of him based on what they have seen, given that they were willing to push a legend out of town to give Rodgers his chance. So why not take Favre back for a year, before handing it over to Rodgers when Favre is done?
Hopefully those who have followed the story are beginning to see the answer already. Rodgers is the quarterback of the future for the Cheeseheads. If it is allowed to begin, he just might chose to stick around for that future. Rodgers becomes a free agent in 2009. If he is jerked around and forced to spend another year with a clipboard, make no mistake, there will be another 2 way quarterback race in Green Bay in ’09. Not Rodgers and Favre, Matt Flynne and Brian Brohm will battle it out while Rodgers gets his chance in New York, Tampa Bay or Baltimore. Is it worth it for an upgrade that is marginal at best?
The confluence of over coverage and ignorance has frustrated me beyond belief. It has made me virtually unable to watch SportsCenter, and dismissive of the many talk radio podcasts I subscribe to. The list of things I would rather hear about is long (the MLB deadline which saw a number of big names move may not have been completely overshadowed, but the coverage was certainly diminished because of Packer-gate). Unfortunately, Favre stepped off of his private jet and saw his shadow, meaning that the coverage has no end in sight.