10/12/2010 11:19:06 AM | More
Les Carpenter of YahooNews.com reports that, over the years, regardless of how great or how devastating his performance on the field had been, Brett Favre could always charm. "He stood at lecterns beneath stadiums all around the NFL rambling on, revealing every emotion that bubbled up as he spoke. These were endearing moments, almost as if he was bearing whatever torment broiled inside while still sorting out those thoughts himself. Then he sold them with a wink or a squint of his eyes and it made him impossible not to love."
With the current ugly allegations of sexual harassment when he played for the Jets, Favre no longer seems so endearing. Whatr the Vikings have to decide is whether he can still lead them to the playoffs.
The innocence is gone. "Whatever was left after the vacillations about his future – the training camps missed, the dramas created – disappeared with the accusation that he sent photographs of his genitals to a Jets sideline reporter. Harassment is never endearing. And when it is attached to a man who is a grandfather, one who hobbles through hallways, it is downright embarrassing." On what should have been his team's biggest game of the year, he was in the locker room apologizing for being a distraction to the team.
He is also no longer Brett Favre on the field. His throwing arm hurts, his ankle needs repeated injections, and his play was sloppy Monday night. It could have been just a bad game and he played better in the second half, although his final stats make his performance look better than it really was. Yet he also looked very much like a man who should have left football on that field at the Superdome back in January, back when he was a step from the Super Bowl again. Despite having Randy Moss, a player Favre has yearned for for a decade. another dominant receiver in Percy Harvin, perhaps the best running back in the game in Adrian Peterson, and an excellent defense, this Favre-led team is 1-3.
For now the front office and his teammates support him but how much can they believe in him if he can't deliver the victories anymore? Or what happens if he manages to turn the team's fortunes around and then gets hit with a suspension from Commissioner Goodell for violating the league's personal conduct policy?
Eventually teams lose faith in quarterbacks. Minnesota has not, but that time might not be far away.
On Monday night he tried to be the old Favre. After bumping fists and hugging teammates he tried to charm his way through another press conference but the effort seemed transparent. There is no selling the old Brett Favre anymore.
Les Carpenter of YahooNews.com reports that, over the years, regardless of how great or how devastating his performance on the field had been, Brett Favre could always charm. "He stood at lecterns beneath stadiums all around the NFL rambling on, revealing every emotion that bubbled up as he spoke. These were endearing moments, almost as if he was bearing whatever torment broiled inside while still sorting out those thoughts himself. Then he sold them with a wink or a squint of his eyes and it made him impossible not to love."
With the current ugly allegations of sexual harassment when he played for the Jets, Favre no longer seems so endearing. Whatr the Vikings have to decide is whether he can still lead them to the playoffs.
The innocence is gone. "Whatever was left after the vacillations about his future – the training camps missed, the dramas created – disappeared with the accusation that he sent photographs of his genitals to a Jets sideline reporter. Harassment is never endearing. And when it is attached to a man who is a grandfather, one who hobbles through hallways, it is downright embarrassing." On what should have been his team's biggest game of the year, he was in the locker room apologizing for being a distraction to the team.
He is also no longer Brett Favre on the field. His throwing arm hurts, his ankle needs repeated injections, and his play was sloppy Monday night. It could have been just a bad game and he played better in the second half, although his final stats make his performance look better than it really was. Yet he also looked very much like a man who should have left football on that field at the Superdome back in January, back when he was a step from the Super Bowl again. Despite having Randy Moss, a player Favre has yearned for for a decade. another dominant receiver in Percy Harvin, perhaps the best running back in the game in Adrian Peterson, and an excellent defense, this Favre-led team is 1-3.
For now the front office and his teammates support him but how much can they believe in him if he can't deliver the victories anymore? Or what happens if he manages to turn the team's fortunes around and then gets hit with a suspension from Commissioner Goodell for violating the league's personal conduct policy?
Eventually teams lose faith in quarterbacks. Minnesota has not, but that time might not be far away.
On Monday night he tried to be the old Favre. After bumping fists and hugging teammates he tried to charm his way through another press conference but the effort seemed transparent. There is no selling the old Brett Favre anymore.
