As sure as the Earth revolves around the sun, if it is game day, then there must be 5 arbitrary things for you to watch.

I don’t know who we have to thank for the game day tradition of publications listing ‘5 Things To Watch’ (Why five? Why not ten? And why the hell should I watch what YOU tell me to watch? What if I have my own things I’d like to watch?) Anyway, I would never presume to tell you what to watch, but I leave it to your discretion to be instructed here, here or here.

Enjoy.

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• Reggie Bush Won’t Play

I’ve been pretty vocal about my admiration of McCarthy throughout the entire Favre saga. I think he’s been the only honest, straightforward adult throughout the whole thing.

Which makes this back and forth from today’s press conference all the more depressing:

why isn’t he back?
McCarthy: That’s a question that keeps being asked, just like Pete’s question earlier. It never got to that point, and that needs to be clarified here. It was never a matter of if Brett Favre can play. He finished No. 2 in the league in MVP voting I think someone said. He’s still in all of our cut-ups. I’m very in tune with what his level of play is. That was never the factor. In my opinion, and based on our communication, and all the communication throughout all this process, I was never truly convinced that he was going to play. Now, he wants to play. He should play. We got to a tough spot, and this is why it ended up why we’re here today. But it was never about he’s one of your 53 why isn’t he playing. We never got to that point, and that’s something that needs to be clarified here.

(If you were more open to him playing, would he be here?)
McCarthy: See, you didn’t listen to what I just said. You keep asking the same question over and over. We never got to that point.

(But why?)
McCarthy: The commitment to play this year.

(If you had told him he would be the starter, he would have been here, right?)
McCarthy: Totally disagree with you Bob. I hear your opinion, it’s not accurate. It’s not accurate to the facts that I’ve presented to you. I need to protect the football team. It is about the football team. I understand how large Brett is. And he totally agrees with my focus. We talked about it openly, we talked about moving forward to try to get to that spot, but we did not get there. That’s the truth. You can keep asking me the same question. My answer is not going to change.

Of course, McGinn is trying to get McCarthy to admit what he already knows: That the Packers football people made the decision that Favre was never going to win another championship and that they needed to find out what they had in Aaron Rodgers. It’s just unfortunate that McCarthy has to toe the company line here. I mean:

We never got to that point, and that’s something that needs to be clarified here.

Yes, Mike, yes it is.

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• Packers Pushing Out Favre?

Watch it live here.

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• What I Don’t Get…

While waiting for word on Thompson’s press conference, obviously word will leak about where Favre is going/what he is doing. Who will be the first to report it? Vote on our newest poll, up now on the right.

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• McCarthy Presser At 5:35 EDT/4:35 CST

That’s what the ushering out of Favre was, according to Bob McGinn. (sub required)

From a purely football perspective, the organizational shift against Favre began that November night in Dallas, gained steam in the arctic cold of Soldier Field and became a blaze during Favre’s pathetic second-half showing against the New York Giants with a Super Bowl there for the taking.

Just about everyone who counted in the football department reached the conclusion that Favre could never win another championship. His dismal playoff record in the past decade couldn’t be overlooked. And the Packers concluded that it would be the mother of all mistakes if Aaron Rodgers got away without being properly evaluated as a starter.

This is as I suspected. It’s hard as fans to divorce emotion from the equation. But as I’ve stated time and time again, it’s better for the Packers to get out of their relationship with Favre one year early rather than one year too late. It would seem the men charged with making football related decisons for the Green Bay Packers agree.

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• Packers Pushing Out Favre?

That is according to Rob Demovsky’s 11 AM CST post over at the Green Bay Press Gazette’s Insider’s Blog. In the post, Demovsky rounds up all the overnight internet reports, basically sumizing that Favre won’t be competing for the starting job and will most likey avoid practice so as not to upset the locker room.

Which leaves us, dear readers, with a trade of Favre or his heading back into retirement.

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• Rob Demovsky - Just A Little Substandard

… I wouldn’t be surprised if the Packers put him through untold ridiculousness in regards to his physical condition. It’s no secret that Favre did not employ the personal trainer this summer that he’s used the past three off seasons. That alone might give McCarthty all the ammo he needs to say “We’re concerned about Brett’s conditioning” etc and use it as a stalling tactic, thereby keeping him off the practice field, in the training room and away from the public and the press, all while giving Thompson and his staff three or four extra days to strike a deal. You can see the groundwork for this being laid in Bob McGinn’s latest:

The first order of business for Favre, 38, will be a physical examination. He has chronic problems with a hip and an ankle.

“We haven’t seen Brett since the last game,” McCarthy said. “He looks like he’s in good shape. We have one or two options: put him through the individual part of it, put him in the rehab or pre-rehab program.”

It was McCarthy’s understanding that Favre didn’t work this off-season with the performance specialist who lived with the Favre family for eight weeks in 2007. Favre is known to have been working out with a high school team in Hattiesburg, Miss.

The Packers could require Favre to work with their training staff for as many days as they deem necessary if they decide his conditioning is deficient.

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• Who’s Lying Now?

Great back and forth between Ted Thompson and doofus concerened shareholder Don Ellsworth as reported by Tom Silverstein:

“What do you think is going to happen on that Monday night game against the Vikings,” Ellsworth countered. “They’re going to go after the weakest link on the chain.”

“OK,” Thompson said.

“That’s going to be No. 12.”

“Remember it’s team. You like our team, don’t you?”

And there you have it. Thomspon’s entire philosophy distilled into one sentence. What the Don Ellsworth’s of the world will never understand is that, in Thompson’s eyes, no one, not even a legendary quarterback, is bigger than the team. I have no doubt when he came on board, Thompson took one look at the pampered super star and made it pretty clear from the get-go that the leeway Favre enjoyed under Sherman would be coming to an abrupt end.

Thompson spent his entire NFL career looking over his shoulder, trying to fight off the next rookie that was trying to take his job. For all the lip service Favre has paid to “team” over the years, Thompson has lived it. Another great post from Silverstein lays this point out perfectly. To quote:

Thompson has had a very hard time dealing with Favre’s indecision over the past three years, in part because of his NFL background and in part because he doesn’t think any one player should be held above the team. He has acknowledged that Favre deserves special consideration because of his status, but he refuses to bend too far for fear that the atmosphere will start to slide back to what it was under Mike Sherman when Favre basically had his way on everything.

This is obviously the root of Favre’s frustration that boiled over in the FOX interview, when he accused Thompson of lying. Thompson didn’t lie. He simply listened to what Favre said and then either dismissed it or completely ignored it because, and I’m not sure Don Ellsworth and his ilk realize this, he’s paid to run the football operations for the Green Bay Packers. Brett Favre was paid to play quarterback. What would Favre have done had Thompson come down on the sidelines during games and told him how to play quarterback? Exactly.

So, here’s hoping that the Vikings do go after “the weakest link” (Thanks Don!) on the evening of September 8th so that Rodgers can make them pay.

Like the man said Don: Get on board or shut up.

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