Every year the clock strikes twelve for Brett Favre and every time the same thing happens–he turns into a pumpkin. Well technically twelve is fine for Favre, it’s actually Week 13 that seems to be the problem. And now it’s the Vikings’ problem.
Minnesota coach Brad Childress tried to pull his quarterback on Sunday but Favre refused to take a seat; rather than escalate it into a full-scale sideline war, the coach backed down. Credit Childress for being self-aware enough to understand what’s going on–he’s stuck in the middle of the sixth-straight end-of-season collapse for Favre–and the only solution is the one thing Brett Favre is incapable of: taking some time off. But he’s too selfish and too childish to acknowledge that. Yes, Brett Favre, the NFL’s Methuselah, still needs to grow up.
The Minnesota Vikings, and Brad Childress in particular, thought they had figured it out. They thought it was training camp–and cold weather–that was the problem, and that their dome, like some Freudian womb, would make things different this time. What they didn’t count on was the fact that domes can’t stop the passage of time and that Brett Favre’s consecutive game streak means more to him than team success.
Every season a quarterback gets beaten up. Bruised ribs, hurt wrists, sore shoulders, you name it–by the end of the season it hurts. And it’s even worse if you’ve had these same aches and ailments for 20 years without ever letting them heal. And clearly Favre refuses to let his body heal. Despite the wear and tear, he is unwilling to take the time to recover, and so every year at the same time–Week 13, set your watch to it–the injuries begin to cause problems.
It started all the way back in ’04. (Well maybe it started back in ’02 with that playoff loss at Lambeau to Mike Vick and the Falcons, but it became an epidemic in 2004.) That season shows us a lot. Favre’s first 12 weeks he threw 22 TDs to only 11 INTs, but from Week 13 on he threw 8 TDs to 6 INTs. One other theme that begins here: Favre’s 2nd best game of the season came in Week 10 (4 TDs, 0 INTs, 383 yards, a rating of 133.) What’s interesting about that game–besides that it was against the playoff-bound Vikings–is that it came right after the Bye Week. Like sending Michael to Corleone, Italy, Favre just needs to lay low and suddenly he can come back guns-blazing.
But just a few weeks later–lucky number Week 13–Favre had his worst game of the season (0 TDs, 2 INTs, a rating of 32.4.) He did have strong Weeks 16 and 17 but then came the playoffs. Wild-card round (in other words, no bye week), against those same Vikings (whom he also had a strong game against in Week 16). In that wild-card game Favre had 1 TD, 4 INT, a rating of 55. The Packers had clinched the Division after Week 16, I wonder if that Wild-Card game would have gone differently if Favre had sat during Week 17.
But while ‘04 was the beginning, 2005 was just a mess. Sure enough Favre played well after the Bye (his second best game that season), but overall the first 12 weeks weren’t that great–19 TDs, 19 INTs. But Week 13 and after was even worse–1 TD and 10 INTs. You read that right–29 interceptions in one season. Favre gave it away more than Snooki from Jersey Shore. Not surprisingly, they didn’t make the playoffs.
2006 continued all these trends. After the Bye? Favre of course played great. Week 13? Favre of course played terribly. First 12 weeks? 14 TDs, 10 INTs. Week 13 and after? 4 TDs and 8 INTs. The Packers did not make the playoffs.
2007, his last year with the Pack, he did find his old form. For about 12 weeks. I’m not making this up, you really can mark it on your calendars–Oh, Brett Favre just threw 2 picks in one game, it must be December. Why did this fly under everyone’s radar while you can’t turn around without hearing about Romo’s 12th month problem? Because Favre was having fun out there! By the way, this really seals the deal for me that Romo is Favre’s protégé. But back to Favre’s 2007 season–second best game of the season? The week after the Bye of course. Favre’s first 12 weeks were quite good- 22 TDs, only 8 picks, 8 games with ratings over 100–including weeks 8 through 12.
Favre’s Week 13 game that year? The worst game in his career (0 TDs, 2 picks, a rating of 8.9. That’s not a typo, his rating was so bad it could have been Vince Young’s Wonderlic score.) After a TD-to-INT ratio of nearly 4 to 1 in the first 12 weeks, Favre’s final five weeks he would throw 6 TDs to 7 INTs. But the first part of the season was so good that the Packers clinched a first-round playoff bye. And you know what that means–Favre’s first game after the Bye (in the Divisional Playoff round) was good–3 TDs, 0 INTs, a rating of 138. But he had to play the following week so it had to come to an end–2 TDs, 2 INTs, a rating of 70, a Packers loss. It is too bad they lost that NFC Championship, because he would have had another Bye week before the Super Bowl.
2008 saw a change of scenery–although unfortunately for Brett (and Jets fans), December remained on the calendar. His first game after the Bye week wasn’t spectacular but his first 12 weeks had 20 TDs, 13 INTs, 5 games with ratings over 100 including weeks 10 through 12. In fact that Week 12 game he led the underdog Jets over the powerhouse Titans in Tennessee, it was a season-defining win if he could have just kept the good times rolling. Instead like an addict falling off the wagon…oops, should I not use that example when Favre’s involved? Anyway it became December and Week 13, and in those final 5 games he would throw 2 TDs and 9 INTs and the Jets (led by Favre’s ratings of 45 and 49 in the final two games) would fall short of the Playoffs.
Which brings us to 2009. The dome was supposed to help. The run game and Defense were supposed to help. He wasn’t going to have to do it all. But just in case you’re wondering, not having to “do-it-all” doesn’t mean you don’t hurt when you get hit, it doesn’t mean you heal faster than a normal 40-year-old, it doesn’t mean Favre doesn’t fall apart at the end. He had a great game after the Bye week but then again he had a lot of great games the first 12 weeks. He had his best 12 weeks ever–throwing 24 TDs, only 3 INTs, had 8 games of QB rating over 100. Then Week 13, at Arizona. 2 TDs, but 2 picks. Then Week 14, 1 TD 1 pick. Then this past week, Week 15, 0 TDs, 1 pick and 1 pissing contest with his coach. Look familiar? Remember: in the last six years, 83 TDs and 51 INTs in the first 12 games, 17 TDs and 32 INTs in the last four.
The Vikings now only have a one-game lead for the 2-seed (and the all-important first-round bye.) Should Childress try to get Brett Favre to take a game off? Assuming, you know, that Favre lets him. Or should Childress gut it out and hope that they earn the Bye week so that Favre’s first playoff game with the Vikings will be a good one? Either way it should be Childress’ decision, not Favre’s. Because Brett has shown that he has no clue how to listen, he has no clue that he plays better when he takes some time off and he has no clue that his consecutive-games streak is ultimately hurting. There can be no doubt that Brett Favre–the NFL’s Peter Pan–really does need to stop flying from time to time.