Brett Favre's Record About to Stop?
Unlike the people at SportsCenter, I don't love Brett Favre's daily life story, trying to figure out what he's doing, or jumping on the idea of retirement every chance I get.
Unlike most of my friends, I don't hate Brett Favre because he wanted to retire, decided not to, retired again, came back, etc.
I'm somewhere in between.
I respect Brett for being the heck of a player that he is, has been, and always will be. His competitiveness had a lot to do with getting dropped from the Packers' plans and wanting to move teams so he could play his old squad twice a season. That's awesome, and right up my alley. I like that Brett came in late to camp and had his best season ever - at 40. I like that he toughed out some busted up legs and ankles even though he threw that killer interception in the final seconds of their NFC Championship game against New Orleans. But I don't run to read every Brett Favre story, and I often change ESPN to some other TV crap when a new Brett exclusive comes on.
But I do want to talk about something that nobody seems to be talking about - Brett's consecutive start streak. The NFL is a crazy game where injuries are as common as rain in the Northwest. This guy is 40 going on 55, and he looks every bit as gray and battered as any 50 year-old I know. His offensive line showed breakdown behind the heavy blitzes in New Orleans, and every single team the Vikings play will use Minnesota's hype and success and a personal invite to make a name for themselves during the regular season.
So to recap, we have old guy behind a line that struggles with blitzes. We have a team that everybody is gunning for; a team that plays elite pass rushers just about every week; has Sidney Rice out; and, dealing with Percy Harvin, who is out for having bad migraines.
Old Gray Beard is going down, I'm almost sure of it. He's played an inordinate amount of games in a row at a position where everyone is trying to hit you hard. I know history says no, but odds say yes. Perfectly healthy 20-year-olds play this game and their bodies show the consequences. Brett's done a great job of staying healthy - but his cowboy, gun-slinging style has to get him some time - and I think this is the year.
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