Dave Smith

Remember when Brett Favre signed with the Vikings shortly before the season began and “experts” were claiming the Minnesota locker room was divided? They also said the organization made a mistake signing him and it was “sending the wrong message” to Tavaris Jackson and Sage Rosenfels….

At the time, I said the only message that mattered was winning and asked the following question: Who would you rather have at QB, Favre, Jackson or Rosenfels?….

Since the Vikings were a quarterback away from the Super Bowl, the answer was a no-brainer….

Were there some Vikings players upset that Favre came in at the last minute? Probably. And did some of them want to see a guy like Jackson get a chance? I’m sure there were….

Winning cures everything, however, and I’d love to hear what some of the “experts” are saying now that Brett has led the Vikings to the NFC Championship game….

Favre has played at an MVP level this season, which I doubt would have happened with Jackson or Rosenfels. And he topped off his remarkable season by throwing for four TD’s in Minnesota’s 34-3 drubbing of Dallas….

And if any of his teammates still question his being there, they should be ex-teamates after the season….

This sets up a great NFC title game between the Vikings and Saints; matching the NFL’s best offense against one of the all-time great QB’s in the midst of a Cinderalla story….

New Orleans demolished Arizona on Saturday and looked unstoppable, so this is going to be fun….

The Vikings defense was very impressive in dominating the Cowboys and is going to have to match that in order to slow down this Saints offense….

As for the AFC, it was another bitter, disappointing, early exit for the Chargers, as they managed to lose at home to the Jets, 17-14….

New York’s game plan was textbook in how to defeat a high-powred offense; effectively run the ball, keep the oppoents’s offense off the field and get them out of rythym….

Of course, when your kicker misses three FG’s and you commit 10 penalties, you’re putting yourself in danger….

As for the AFC title game, I don’t give the Jets much of a chance against the Colts….

Sure, they can run the ball and play defense, but they are not going to hold Indy to 14 points on their home field….

Mark Sanchez is going to have to make plays and I don’t believe he’s ready to win an AFC title game on the road against a great team….

Speaking of Sanchez, how happy must he be about his decision to leave USC and enter the draft?….

Despite Pete Carroll throwing a hissy-fit and tellnig the press Mark was not ready, here he is in the AFC Championship game….

He’s living in New York, is a multi-millionaire, is a game away from the Super Bowl and must be enjoying life to its fullest….

By the way, how similar and eerie is the Sanchez-Joe Namath comparison?….

At the same stage, both were young, talented, good looking, personable, likeable and went into a game against the Colts with almost nobody thinking they could win….

Broadway Joe pulled it off and became a legend and now it’s Mark
s turn to make history….

Maybe he’ll guarantee a win….

Now that would be something….

You would think after coming off a 13-3 season, nearly winning the MVP and getting his team a game away from the Super Bowl, the Green Bay Packers would have given then 37-year-old Brett Favre all the time he needed to make a decision about retirement….

After all, Favre was a certain Hall-of-Famer,.won a Super Bowl, hadn’t missed a start in his career and given every ounce of effort and every drop of blood for the franchise….

He’s also arguably the greatest player ever to wear a Packer uniform….

If anyone had earned the right to take his time, assess his situation and make a decision about his future, it was Favre….

Yes, he’d done this before and kept the organization waiting the entire offseason, but in my opinion Favre had earned the right to leave on his own terms….

You can call him a waffler, dishonest, etc, but in my opinion Favre is simply a great competitor who loves the game with all his heart….

When you play as hard as Favre, your body is a mass of bumps, bruises, breaks and tears by the end of the season; especially as you get older. So I’m sure his initial decision is he doesn’t want to do this anymore and it’s time to retire….

But as the weeks pass and his body begins feeling better, his competitive juices begin to flow and he starts thinking maybe he can go another season….

But he’s still not sure and needs more time to finalize his plans, which the organization should understand and support. Then, as training camp approaches, he starts working out, feels great and wants to play again….

To me, it’s as simple as that. I don’t think he’s selfish, greedy or intentionally holding his franchise hostage; he’s just an aging player who loves the game and has an extremely difficult time pulling the trigger on retiring….

So the Packers, after a couple of offseasons waiting for Favre to make a decision, decided to make it for him; announcing Aaron Rodgers was the new starting QB and agreeing to deal Favre anywhere outside of the Packers division….

I would have kept Favre and stood by him until he made a decision, but Green Bay decided to go with Rodgers; whom they felt had great potential. Nothing wrong with that, because it’s their team, but I said at the time they were making a mistake….

Again, Favre had a magnificent 2007 season and nearly took the Pack to the Super Bowl. Obviously he had a lot of football left in him and the team should have done whatever it took to bring him back….

But he wound up with the Jets and was a front runner for MVP after leading an awful team to an 8-3 start. But after injuring his shoulder, the team faded down the stretch and missed the playoffs….

Meanwhile, Rodgers led a 13-3 team to a 6-10 season….

To be fair, the Green Bay defense was horrendous last season the the abysmal record wasn’t totally Rodgers’ fault. There were signs he could be effective and he showed potential. But he also showed a tendency to make mistakes and not make big plays when needed….

And all of this set the stage for the biggest regular season matchup since Joe Montana vs. the 49ers in 1994….

So there was no way I was going to miss the MNF matchup between Favre and his old team….

And Round One goes decisively to Favre, who was magnificent in throwing three TD passes and leading the Vikings to a 30-23 win….

As for Rodgers, I thought he played very well, throwing for over 384 yards and two TD’s. Unfortunately for him, his offensive line is horrible and he was sacked eight times. And he also does not have a running game to match the Vikings and Adrian Peterson….

So in the long run the decision might work out for the Packers. But right now Green Bay is 8-12 since dumping Favre; after a 13-3 season….

I know Rodgers might go on to a good career, but if I owned a franchise I’d have one unbreakable rule: Since QB is the most important position on the field, if you have a good one you’ll be a playoff contender every season. So under no circumstances do you allow him to get away….

And if you have a Hall-of-Famer who wins Super Bowls, you hold onto him as if he were the Hope Diamond….

If he wants to take his time making a career decision, you say, “Yes, sir, Mr. Favre, take all the time you need.”. I don’t care if he does this once, twice or ten times; you bite the bullet and wait….

Oh, and remember the experts who predicted Favre would “divide the Vikings locker room” and “be a distraction?” Funny how they aren’t callnig on Tavarris Jackson or sage Rosenfels now….

Interesting to read the severe penalty the NCAA issued Memphis for allowing Derrick Rose to use a nerd to take his SAT for him. Instead of revoking scholarships or banning them from March Madness, the suits decided to pretend their 2008 run to the championship never happened….

Some of the players on that team have reacted the same way I did: “Who cares?”….

The 43,000 in attendance know what happened, as does every college basketball fan. Memphis blew the game because of some poor free throw shooting and a horrendous coaching blunder by John Calipari; who failed to order a foul with the Tigers up three and less than five seconds remaining….

The NCAA can pretend the game never happened, but we all know better….

But penalizing new Memphis coach Josh Pastner and his players would not be fair, because they had nothing to do with the infractions committed by Calipari. Why should they have scholarships taken away and a ban from the NCAA?….

To me, the answer is simple: Penalize Calipari, even if he did leave for Kentucky. Don’t penalize the current Memphis or Kentucky players, but the slippery Coach Cal….

If he breaks the rules, he shouldn’t be allowed to coach for two years. That would put a stop to all this nonsense….

Speaking of guys in trouble, former Giants WR Plaxico Burress is going to jail for two years for an incident in a NYC nightclub….

If you remember, the idiot was carrying an unregistered gun, which carries an automatic three year prison sentence in the state of New York….

And while trying to balance a glass of wine, the gun went off in his sweatpants, with the bullet hitting his own leg….

What he should have done was plead guilty to one count right away, begin his 20 month sentence and be free to play in 2010….

Instead, because of his ego and a fool for a lawyer, he’s not going to play again until 2011; which might as well be 3011 in football years….

Evidently, Plax and his nitwit lawyer believed the jury would be stacked with Giants fans in awe of their Super Bowl hero….

Instead, he’s going to the big house and his career might be over….

If you were listening to me on the radio a month or so ago, I laughed out loud when Brett Favre announced he was not going to play this season because his body was finished….

I smelled a rat and believed Favre simply wanted to avoid training camp….

And really, why would a guy like Favre even need camp? He’s been in the NFL nearly 20 years, seen every defense imagineable and there really isn’t any point living in a dorm and hazing the rookies….

Last season, he got off to a great strart, looked like an MVP candidate and had the Jets 8-3 and looking like a Super Bowl team. Then he injured his arm, lost some zip on his fastball and struggled down the stretch….

The difference this season is he’s on a really good team….

Yes, the Jets were improved, but not nearly as good as this Minnesota group….

The Vikings have a solid defense, good receivers and the best running back in the NFL in Adrian Peterson. All they were lacking was a QB and now they have a Hall-of-Famer….

For those of you who dislike Favre and wanted him to stay retired, I have two questions for you:

1) Are the Vikings a better team with him?

2) Is it good for the NFL?

Anyone who doesn’t answer yes to both questions is either an idiot or a hater….

The Vikings have gone from fringe playoff team to a serious threat to win the Super Bowl. What, you’d rather have Sage Rosenfels or Tavarris Jackson?….

And how great is this for the NFL to have a legend back? When Minnesota goes to Lambeau Field, the game will get Super Bowl ratings. Hell, every Vikings game is now a must see….

Can you imagine the atmosphere in Green Bay when Favre runs onto the field wearing the uniform of the hated Vikings? It’s going to be a huge event and I can’t wait….

Reminds me of 1994, when Joe Montana wore a Chiefs uniform and faced the 49ers. Remember how huge that game was and the huge ratings? This will be the biggest regular season game since then and arguably the biggest of all time….

And some people are against Favre’s return? Hit the laugh track….