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Mark Bradley

Wrong about Favre? An epic fail enables me to rest my case

1:00 am January 25, 2010, by Mark Bradley

I’d been hearing it lately: “Ready to admit you were wrong about Favre?” And I admit I was almost – almost, I said — wavering. The man I’d described as the most overrated athlete of our time had had a brilliant regular season. I didn’t see that coming. I didn’t think he had anything left. And now he stood one game from a Super Bowl, and the thought of a two-week ESPN Favre-fest was enough to turn my stomach.

But I held out hope. Even when the Vikings had the ball in field-goal range, I keep saying to myself, “He can still mess this up.” Lo and behold, he did. Which is why Brett Favre is …

The most overrated athlete of our time.

The Vikings kicked the Saints all around the  Superdome but neglected to win the game. Favre had much to do with that — a blown handoff on the goal line, a forced interception in the second half, an unbelievable INT inside the final 20 seconds of regulation in a tie game. Even after a splendid season, the Favre I know and loathe blew it at the end.

Naturally, the sycophants on ESPN declared Favre a man’s man for trying to Make A Play, but the first rule of NFL quarterbacking remains: Protect the Doggone Ball. But he couldn’t do it because he’s Brett Favre, the man’s man who never saw a dare he wouldn’t take.

(Oh, and if you’re interested in some intriguing variations on the ESPN Favre phenomenon, check out the roundly irreverant #ESPNFavreRulesforAll on Twitter. One submission: “That’s the thing about NBC executives. They aren’t afraid to yank Conan off the Tonight show. Gotta respect that.”)

So now I can rest easy, at least until Favre retires and unretires again. He’s done for this season. His last pass was a postseason interception, same as in January 2008. Being Brett Favre, he teared up in the postgame interview because he’s a man’s man who isn’t afraid to cry. Or wear Wrangler jeans. Or throw the ball to the other side.

Ready to admit I was wrong about Brett Favre? Look, I’ll admit I’ve been wrong about pretty much everything in my so-called life. But not about Brett Favre. Never about him.

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385 comments Add your comment

crackbaby

January 25th, 2010
10:32 am

Mark – Is this the point at which you have transitioned 100% from a newspaper columnist (i.e. journalist) to purely an internet blogger? Your “I was right and y’all were wrong” column is disappointingly unprofessional in my opinion. This was the NFC Championship game afterall.

More insightful commentary would be greatly appreciated in the wasteland that is the AJC. Rest in peace Jim Murray (THE model sports columnist).

Bradley from Minn?

January 25th, 2010
10:33 am

Bradley after reading your comments you must be from Minn.I will tell you what…why don’t you get your Yankee ass back to Minn and root for T.Jackson next year!

FAVRE FAN!!

January 25th, 2010
10:36 am

FROM THE LOOKS OF MARK, YOU PROBABLY NEVER WORE A JOCK STRAP OR HELD A FOOTBALL. ALL YOU BIG MOUTHS YOU’RE JUST PISSED BECAUSE YOU DIDN’T MAKE IT THIS FAR. GIVE CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE, HEY MARK WHERE’S YOUR RESPECT?

Vikings finish with 4-5 road record

January 25th, 2010
10:36 am

Terry Bradshaw choked up in the pregame show saying Favre was the greatest QB who ever played.

…………..Go Saints…………….

Marty

January 25th, 2010
10:36 am

This is beyond stupid. It takes a lot of never to belittle a guy who’s easily a first-ballot HOFer. You’re an ignorant fool.

Mark H.

January 25th, 2010
10:37 am

Hey Brett

Karma is a bitch.

Regards,

Mark H. Milwaukee, WI

Topp Dogg

January 25th, 2010
10:37 am

I sure would like to work on my stroke with Michelle Wie.

huckleberry

January 25th, 2010
10:37 am

This isn’t a column so much as it is a leftover grudge over not getting picked for the football team in 5th grade

Mark Bradley's Dad

January 25th, 2010
10:39 am

Your mom is overrated!!!

Shawon

January 25th, 2010
10:40 am

Does anyone else see the irony/hilarity in calling Favre overrated by virtue of his performance *in Championship games*? roflmao! I wish the Falcons had such an “overrated” QB who was always blowing championship games…sounds like a nice problem to have!

JacksonvilleDawg

January 25th, 2010
10:40 am

Mark i dont think you watched the game, I dont like Favre but he played very well and I think the Vikings outplayed the Saints in every aspect of the game except the turnovers! They lost not because of him, how about Peterson”fumble on the goal line.

#4

January 25th, 2010
10:41 am

This is the last Mark Bradley article ill ever read. You obviously know nothing about football (I bet you were picked last on the playground, yes after the girls)

85' Bears

January 25th, 2010
10:41 am

I must admit, however, that Farve is a tough SOB. If he’s known as the toughest quarterback ever, than that would be well deserved and accurate.

scott

January 25th, 2010
10:42 am

Mark you are dead on. He is the most overated. I was so giddy when he threw that interception. It proves there is a God. I loved the exagerated limping and arm shaking after he got hit.

Now we will have to go through the will he retire / will he not retire again crap. he will dump on Childress and on and on and on.

Scott

January 25th, 2010
10:43 am

Farve sells a lot of Jersey’s so he must not be overrated, is like says Dale Jr sells the most merchandise and is voted the most popular driver every year so he must be the best driver in Nascar. Give me a break, the Vikings go no where this year without Peterson not necessarily Farve.

david

January 25th, 2010
10:43 am

Wow, what game did you watch ? Farve did more then enough to win that game !

n

January 25th, 2010
10:44 am

This is the best you can do. Come on. A classic game and all you can talk about is your grudge against Favre and how you believe you are right. How about the story of Favre at 40 on the verge of going to the Super Bowl versus NO, site of Katrina, going to their first Super Bowl. What a great game. To say that Favre has not been a great player is naive.

Mike

January 25th, 2010
10:45 am

What a poorly written article. Does this guy know anything about sports???

n

January 25th, 2010
10:45 am

What happened to the days when newspapers actually sent their columnist to theese big games and they actually wrote pieces about the game and the drama.

tlw

January 25th, 2010
10:46 am

I have to ask the question. Who has thrown the most career interceptions in the NFL? The answer: Bret Favre

James

January 25th, 2010
10:47 am

Mark,
I think you really pissed some people off… but not me!

I have to wonder, though: how many people, seeing the Vikes line up for that last play, watching Farve take the snap, roll out right, then pull back to pass, just KNEW that was going to be an interception? I was sitting with five other people, and as soon as I saw him pull back, said “Oh my god–he’s going to throw an interception.” And he did.

Did anybody else think that as soon as the play took off? I can’t be alone with seeing the future there, haha…

steveh

January 25th, 2010
10:49 am

I would say that Favre is the most overrated QB in history. That is not to say he has not been a really good one. Just not as good/great as the media has tended to make him. As some have pointed out he does in fact hold most of the major career passing records. But you also have to consider that he holds the record for throwing the most INTs.

n

January 25th, 2010
10:49 am

“Wrong About Favre? An epic fail enables me to rest my case”

Wow, never seen a columist make the column about themselves like this. Its not an epic failure when your playing for the super bowl. I guess the Falcons were a epic failure of huge proportions. Come one, The Saints are an awesome team in case you missed it.

Benjamin

January 25th, 2010
10:50 am

LOL, Bradley, if I could have dinner with three people, I think it’d be yourself, Smoltz, and Favre at this point. :)

Brett’s a gunslinger. It’s done things for him in the past, and he wouldn’t have hit his successes (or failures) without it. Last night’s game was partly on his shoulders, but to give him credit, he was both really beaten up in the game — got taken off the field twice, as I recall — and the team didn’t exactly help seal the deal, either. They fumbled three times in Saints territory in the second half, no?

It is what it is. The Saints were a slightly better team going in and playing at home. That’s my general take. Favre isn’t perfect, but he’s a first ballot HOF guy, and that’s okay with me.

74Dawg

January 25th, 2010
10:51 am

Sorry, Mark. You are still wrong. Don’t have time right now to count then ways,but I will get back to you…

Mary

January 25th, 2010
10:53 am

The most over-rated athlete of our time? Really? God good, you’re an idiot. Do you follow sports at all or just pull this stuff out of your butt?

mexdawg

January 25th, 2010
10:57 am

Bradley you are a f#####g idiot.You want to blame somebody how about his offense line that let him get hit over and over again.How he continued to play after some of those shots is beyond me.Let’s also not forget about all the fumbles by the running backs.This guy is one of the best quaterbacks to ever play the game and to have the kind of season he had at 40 is remarkable.You need to go back to Kentucky and cover basketball because you don’t know a damn thing about football.

AndyC

January 25th, 2010
10:57 am

I will admit one thing about Farve. His wife is hot so props to him for that.

matt

January 25th, 2010
10:57 am

Sorry Bradley, once again, you have no clue. The guy holds every record relevant to the QB position. Yes INTs too. The Babe not only held the HR record but the K record too. Think he was overrated. Favre has how many MVPs? 3?

How many fumbles did they have last night…in the redzone…hell within the 10 yard line!!! Was it a dumb pass, yeah.

You’ve obviously never played a sport before Bradley. If you did you would know that no single play loses or wins a game but rather a series of either missed opportunities or capitalized ones. Get a clue you arrogant a$$hole!!!

Officiating, once again, was embarassing.

Najeh Davenpoop

January 25th, 2010
10:59 am

Wow. Hell of a lot of support for a guy who was a complete disgrace as an Atlanta Falcon on and off the field, only to straighten out once he left.

I disagree that Favre is the most overrated athlete of our time — love him or hate him, he has accomplished a lot, and I think that title should apply to people like Danica Patrick who get tons of press coverage and airtime but haven’t done sh-t. But he most definitely is overrated, seeing as how the media refuses to blame him for any mistake he makes and acts like he is perfect.

I wonder how many of the people supporting Favre on this blog criticized people like me for cheering for Michael Vick on Dec. 6. At least Vick managed to take the Falcons to the playoffs a couple of times. Only time Favre came close to doing anything good for the Falcons was during his painkiller-induced dreams. Funny how Vick gets hated on for “destroying the Falcons” or whatever and Favre doesn’t.

Sick & Tired Of Being Sick & Tired

January 25th, 2010
10:59 am

Bradley….Why All The Hate???. I don’t think that anyone that really watched the game last night could say that Bret “really” lost that game. Sure the interception at the end of regulation was a key component in the Vikings lost, but what about all the fumbles, missed tackles, missed opportunities to score in the red zone and the dropped passes???? The Saints defense kept hitting Bret all night long and he kept getting up and continuing to play hard. Hell, if he had taken himself out of the game, then you’d be razing him for that too.

Maybe I missed the news conference, but what have you done Bradley at 39-40 years of age that is comparable??? Waiting for a legitimate response!!!!!

To BRENDA – Get your facts straight ….NEWSFLASH: the Falcons have already been to a Superbowl and it wasn’t Michael Vick that got the team there!!! Yes, the lowly Atlanta Falcons (who you continually try to trash) beat the Saints to a Superbowl appearance…..Bet you thought your boy Vick was going to the Superbowl this year riding the coattails of the Eagles and McNabb…..NOT!!!!! LOL!!!!!

RE

January 25th, 2010
11:02 am

Blogging Fool….operative word “fool”.

Agree that Favre is not the greatest QB ever or even currently playing. He is the Cal Ripken/Iron Man of football. He shows up and plays every game and plays through pain (sometimes to his own detriment). Playing through a sprained ankle could very well be why Favre didn’t tuck the ball in and try to get a few yards on the ground vs. throwing across his body for INT on his last play….we’ll never know. Even if he would have just thrown the ball away, i highly doubt Longwell hits a 57 yard FG. To equate this INT to the NYG/GB one is idiotic.

To say he is most overrated is absolutely ridiculous. There is only one QB each year that is able to hold the Lombardi trophy over his head. I am not sure how someone who has QB’d teams to 23 playoff games and a superbowl win in his career becomes overrated. To put so many teams in the position and on his back to be in the playoffs and be able to compete for a superbowl is the mark of a great player.

Also, consider he is doing this at 40!!! Find another 40 year old QB in the history of the NFL that actually made his team and teammates better…you won’t…Montana and Marino (who btw never won super bowl, wouldn’t he be most overrated????), two of the arguably greatest QBs of all-time were mere shells of themselves in their late 30’s and never made it to 40.

sharon

January 25th, 2010
11:04 am

the most overrated athelete is Maria Sharapova

Get Real

January 25th, 2010
11:04 am

Favre got Minnesota a heck of a lot closer to the Superbowl than how many other Quarterbacks? And, Favre is how old? I don’t think many other QB’s would have kept coming back and getting the hell beat out of him, taped up an ankle and kept playing the way he did! My hat is off to him for his ability and guts to stay in the game! You may not like him but his records will be among the greatest to ever play the game! There are a lot of others on the Vikings team that are way more to blame for their loss!

Bo

January 25th, 2010
11:05 am

Amen, I can’t stand that guy…never could. Although, he did have a much better year that I thought he would.

Smarter than you

January 25th, 2010
11:05 am

Bradley, how many superbowls and championships have you been in? He makes how many dollars and you make how many? The offense other than favre was horrible. They couldn’t hold on to the ball. You are stupid

Mike

January 25th, 2010
11:06 am

I wasnt pulling for either team but it sure looked like some home cooking in OT with the review booth.
4th down- ball knocked back behind the first down yardage marker but give the first down anyway
Reception given to Meachem when it was clear the ground helped him make the “catch”

with super slow mo and HD replays, we get to see just how corrupt the reply booth is.

Sick & Tired Of Being Sick & Tired

January 25th, 2010
11:06 am

Bradley….Why all the hate??? What have you accomplished at 39-40 years of age that is comparable?????

Chris

January 25th, 2010
11:11 am

I will agree that Brett Favre may be a bit overrated but he wasn’t even the most overrated guy on the field last night. Reggie Bush was the number 2 pick in the draft with comparisons to Gale Sayers and has had 4 good games in his entire career. Last week he was quoted as saying Big Time players make big plays in games like these, and this week went out and accounted for 41 total yards of offense which isn’t that bad by his own standards- it’s just about what he averages for his career.

ken hendrix

January 25th, 2010
11:13 am

look at the last pass brett threw for green bay against giants . the last pass as a jet now this one. the interference call was not even close but i think thats the advantage at home they need to change the way interference is called if the vikings had been at home this game would not have been close .,

SOUTHERN ATL

January 25th, 2010
11:14 am

It looks like they still know how to party in Orleans!

http://www.nola.com/saints/index.ssf/2010/01/who_dat_nation_erupts_with_joy.html

Mark Bradley

January 25th, 2010
11:14 am

Benjamin, if I could have dinner with three people, I’d pick a different guest list than yours.

UA Alum92

January 25th, 2010
11:15 am

I think the bottom line is that with the game on the line he threw yet another ill-advised pass that ended up as a pick. I also think it’s interesting that the Jets made it further this year than last without him and with a rookie QB.

Bama12

January 25th, 2010
11:16 am

How can you put that loss on Brett and say he cost them the game, lets look at the game as a whole, Brett was not the one supposed to put pressure on Brees and fail to do so. Brett was not on the field in overtime when the defense did not stop the Saints. (add some help by the stripes) Brett had two interceptions and a fumble that was more on AP than Brett, AP put the ball on the ground three times, the super rookie from Florida put the ball on the ground twice, the reciever put the ball on the ground inside the red zone. If brett is so overrated then why does he hold most of the passing records? Why has he lasted 19 seasons in the NFL? Over rated is McNabb but you probly think he’s the greatest. Your an idiot. The VIKING’s lost that game not just Brett.

Tman

January 25th, 2010
11:18 am

WOW Mark, spoken like a man who has not played past High School or not played real football at all. For those who have played the game past high school know it is not won or lost by one individual. Football is a team sport if you didn’t know. To try and portray you know the game please don’t waste our time, this article or column proves you are just another stupid fan that has little insight on how the game is played. Monday morning arm chair QB’s come a dime a dozen. Very few make it as far as Brett has in his career. Very few will make it that far in the future. His long tenure as a starter in the NFL says it all. Keep dreaming and you will still fall short of Brett Farve. Spoken from a person who is not a Farve fan.

Steve Smith

January 25th, 2010
11:18 am

Mark,
Are you still having traders remorse (from the Falcons)? I counted 5 turnovers by the Vikings. Brett had 2 interceptions. The last one caused the game to end regulation in a tie. The Vikings never got the ball in overtime (still wish the NFL would change that rule).

Tebow is #1 Overated

January 25th, 2010
11:19 am

Not even close. Tebow couldn’t even throw for more TD’s than Joe Cox.

Tebow couldn’t beat a top 10 team in 2009 with 22 starters back.

Tebow never beat a top 10 team without Percy Harvin.

Tebow, won the Heisman when he was #58 ranked in rushing, and $25 in passing.

Leak, not Tebow, won the Natl Champ fr Florida Tebow’s 1st year.

Anybody see the Bama beatdown?

Elmore Spencer

January 25th, 2010
11:19 am

I agree Favre is overrated. Only reasone he got that one title is Holmgren was able to control him. Without that you can count on him choking

Wrangler Man

January 25th, 2010
11:19 am

Don’t worry: brett will be making millions more from wrangler jeans ads and start months of debate about whether he’s retiring again or coming back! He loves the attention in the media!!!

Polly

January 25th, 2010
11:19 am

Sorry to say but you are still WRONG!!! Brett is more of man than you will ever be. Took how many hits at 40 and kept on going. How long would you last? It’s easy to sit and write stories. What a job to be prove of.

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