Favre Retiring
...posted by Jared Blank...
Per Jay Glazer at FoxSports, after 17 seasons, Packers QB Brett Favre is retiring.
Among Favre’s QB records are: most career TD passes (442), yards (61,655) and wins as a starting QB (160).
He finishes his career with a games played streak of 253.
Congrats on a great career to Favre. Somewhere Aaron Rodgers smiles. Also, congrats to Corey Webster as having been on the other end of Favre’s last pass attempt.
…Update 2:36 pm…
The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (via profootballtalk.com) reports that Favre’s agent, James (Bus) Cook stated the following:
“I know he wants to play one more year. I do not know much conversation there was and I don’t think anyone forced him to make that decision. But I don’t know that anyone tried to talk him out of it.”
ESPN’s Chris Mortensen spoke to Favre who had the following to say:
“I know I can still play, but it’s like I told my wife, I’m just tired mentally. I’m just tired.”
Packers Persuing Moss?
...posted by Anthony De Rosa...
Sid Hartman of the Minneapolis-St. Paul Tribune writes that free agent WR Randy Moss “is signed, sealed and delivered with a contract to continue to play for the Patriots,” however a deal has yet to be announced.
NFL.com’s Adam Schefter speculates that the Packers might pursue Moss as a way of getting Brett Favre to put off retirement.
Tom Brady has said jokingly that if Moss leaves, he would leave with him.
Moss feels he signed with the Patriots at a discount last season and is unwilling to do the same this year.
Favre openly campaigned for Moss last season, who criticized the Packers when they didn’t pursue him.
Thats quite an interesting scenario. Moss is the perfect receiver for Favre, who loves to sling it downfield. I have to believe this is a long shot but it sure is an interesting story.
Favre still has to let us know if he’s returning or not.
ProFootballTalk.com ponders a scenario that puts Moss in Indianapolis and an even stranger story comes from John Clayton at ESPN who writes that Moss reached out to Daunte Culpepper on Saturday night about the possibility of “finishing what they started” in Minnesota on a new team.
Never a dull moment with Moss. Even his free agency has all sorts of plot twists. Stay tuned.
Brett Favre Retires?
...posted by Anthony De Rosa...
Packers.com is reporting that Brett Favre will retire after 15 years in the NFL.
I’ve always respected and admired Favre as a football fan. He will be missed.
Hat tip to Gary Grund for the news.
UPDATE 1:16PM EST - The link appears to be down now, so perhaps someone at Packers.com jumped the gun. Stay tuned.
UPDATE 10:07 PM EST - ESPN reports that a Packers spokesman said it was a dummy page that was put up accidently, and was to be used in the event Favre decided to retire.
Giants And Packers Prepare For Cold
...posted by Anthony De Rosa...
Eli Manning has been wearing a glove in practice on his left hand preparing for Sunday’s cold Lambeau conditions, reports the Bergan Record.
“I think it’s mostly just to try it out,” he explained, “get some work on it and make a decision whether I want to wear it or not. I think really the main purpose of that is just securing the snap. … Just having that little extra grip on your left hand just so you don’t drop any snaps or drop any balls.”
Manning indicated he is not certain yet he will wear it come game time.
Meanwhile the Packers are looking for an edge in the expected sub-zero conditions by using footballs that have been chilled in a freezer beforehand.
The Giants have played three of the last five regular-season games in cold weather, beating Chicago and Buffalo, where it snowed. Eli Manning had four TDs in a 38-35 home loss to New England. Brett Favre had no TDs and 2 INTs in the wind and cold at Chicago, and three TDs in the snow at Lambeau Field last week to beat Seattle.
Giants Facing Another Turning Point
...posted by Anthony De Rosa...
The loss to the Green Bay Packers back on September 16th, the second game of the season was something of a turning point. Brandon Jacobs and Ryan Grant did not even play. Eli Manning feared he might miss a month with a shoulder injury.
After the loss, the Giants never looked back, and began a run to and through the playoffs, which now has them facing the opportunity to go to the Super Bowl for the first time since 2000.
September 16th was a long time ago, and as David Picker writes in The New York Times, these are two very different teams now.
The Giants have lost Jeremy Shockey to injury and replaced him with Kevin Boss. Michael Strahan, who wavered before deciding to return this season, is relishing his role as the veteran anchor of the Giants 5th ranked defense, playing alongside the best defensive end in the league, Osi Umenyiora.
Amani Toomer and Steve Smith have stepped up and contributed after the early part of the season was dominated by Plaxico Burress. Perhaps most surprisingly, the Giants found that there is life after Tiki Barber, as Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw have combined forces with two very different styles of attack.
Last but certainly not least, Eli Manning threw his best game to date this year, nearly ending the Patriots perfect season. He has yet to throw an interception in the playoffs and proven he has to poise to rise to the occasion in big games. In fact, he seems to thrive under the pressure of playing in a no-huddle offense.
The Packers have seen the renaissance of ageless Brett Favre, and the emergence of Ryan Grant. Their explosive offense is second only to the New England Patriots.
The Giants will face another turning point in their season on Sunday, against the same team they faced when they turned their season around in the first place. Two very different teams than who they were last time they faced each other, with a chance to turn their season into something very special.
