A couple of years ago photos circulated of our beloved QB and this girl on the beach. I remember them. The majority of guys cheered him on and the girls noted a tattoo or two, but mostly the story died down.

Recently there’s been internet speculation that Mr. Rodgers and this woman are now engaged. Apparently this is all the rage.

A fluff 60 minutes piece that I thought was a joke of journalism, “outed” the relationship. And after photos from a recent trip to see his younger brother play college ball surfaced of Rodgers and his gal pal, it’s the story that some fans cannot get enough of.

After speaking with some on twitter today and listening to talk radio, people have attempted to boil down the discussion to the point that fans, and in my opinion, Packer fans especially, care so much for the players and teams they follow that these fans want to feel as if they know the players. They know them for three hours on a Sunday (or Thursday or Monday or sometimes Saturdays). They know them on twitter. They know them via the many radio/tv shows. They know them through the 24 hour news that we all, myself very much so included, gobble up like it’s our last meal.

I’m skeptical. I don’t believe any fan has a right to know personal information about a player or person if that person does not want to share. And the idea that fans have that expectation somehow justifies it, doesn’t compute for me.

Its an argument though, that I have made in my past. Especially when referring to Brett Favre. He was, by many standards, an open book. We knew of his partying days, the bars he’d frequent. We knew of his addiction battles. We knew of his girl friend and child and when they moved to Green Bay. And I think we all cheered when they finally married. His battles, his failings, his victories and his family were all very public. They are all put out there for us to digest.

I read Deanna’s book, and when she spoke of their second daughter’s birth, I thought to myself, I remembered when Deanna was preggers and I remember when Breleigh was born. I remember when Favre’s father Irv died. I sobbed. I hated, honestly hated, the Eagles not just for 4th and 26 which happened in the playoffs after Irv’s passing, but because they said, their papers said, their fans said, the miracle ends here. How dare they not take the loss of my quarterback’s father as seriously as I did.

And when Brett finally left, I was at a loss for words to explain why it hurt so much. A part of my life was over. That’s what it felt like. But a part of my life wasn’t really over. It just felt that way. It felt that way because Favre cultivated that relationship with fans. He was with us and we were with him.

In so many ways, and most to his benifit, Rodgers is so different from Favre. He is guarded and private. To those who know him, his teammates, his friends, they get jokes and the details of his life. As fans we get photobombs and a charming and vocal brother.

I can’t imagine replacing Favre was easy or is easy even now, and I’ve had the discussion that it feels like Rodgers does almost all he can to distance himself from the Favre persona.

So when news broke years ago that Rodgers might in fact like a girl, Rodgers became the anti-Favre. To the outside, they weren’t dating. Us fans, we never saw her in a luxury box at Lambeau, we don’t see her on twitter publicly supporting her man. But, and I think it’s safe to say this now, they didn’t stop dating.

In the past year, I’ve been told by many different people in many different settings, that yes, they were dating, but everyone kept it private. It wasn’t talked about. I wasn’t surprised to learn this. I didn’t go back and pull up her picture and curl my face saying “this girl?!”. No. It made sense.

I don’t fault Rodgers for wanting his privacy, or for possibly wanting to be the anti-Favre. We don’t know of the Rodgers property and the large extended family and their 4 x 4 adventures there. And for a couple of years (I didn’t go back and check when the beach pictures hit the web, because I didn’t want to be one of the many searching this info, so I’m guessing its been like two years now), most fans didn’t know who he was dating.

I get wanting to have that connection with a player. At the “snow globe” Seattle play off game in 2008, I was newly single in Cincinnati and watched the game by myself at a local bar. I kept an open seat next to me. It was for Irv.

So I get it. I get seeing a player as so much more than just the position he plays on the field. I get thinking that their family is somehow part of you. And when a player, like Favre welcomes it, relish it, bask in it, we set a seat at the table for Irv, cause he looked like an eater. But when a player seems to go to great pains to keep certain things private and closely guarded. Why press?

If fans really wanted to imagine the player as part of their actual friend and daily life, then wouldn’t that also mean accepting that person’s limits? And this apparently is Rodgers limit. Is he engaged? I don’t know. He’ll tell us if he ever wants to. And until that moment happens, fans should accept it.

Rodgers failure to discuss it isn’t a distraction, fans clamouring for it are. But they are only a distraction to themselves and to twitter feeds.

Instead fans, if you want that connection, go with the many players who do want to share that info with you. Tonight, Tom Crabtree is attending a fundraiser for diabetes, a cause close to him since his wife suffers from type 1 diabetes. He wants to share that with you. Josh Sitton recently got engaged, and he shared those pictures with fans. He also likes to talk about his white truck.

Accept a players limits, and accept what they want to share. Just like with a family member or friend, if they say it’s none of your business, it’s none of your business.

Everyone alright still? Anyone get their panties in a bunch because I said his name? OK, now that that’s out of the way, I’ll proceed.

In a recent post at Cheesehead TV, CD Angeli discusses his own personal “Last Day at Lambeau”, a reference to the soon to be released film of the same name which discusses the divorce of Brett Favre and the Packers. While the film focuses on the actions of Favre from 2008-2010, Angeli’s post instead focuses on fan’s perspective of seeing Favre play his final game at Lambeau Field. This personal story spans the entire range of his career, starting in 1992 and concluding in his final game at Lambeau as a member of the Vikings in 2010. It is a great read, giving incredible insight into the impact Favre had on the author.

As with any post, there is a place for comments. And Favre’s name is a guarantee to generate comments from the Packer faithful. The unfortunate thing is that some of the comments that are left are so incredibly short minded and naive that they actually cause me (and others) to shake our heads and ask ourselves, “Are people really this dumb?”

Case in point:

Can we Get over this Favre thing, do you realize the PACKERS are almost 100 yrs old?
He was a great player, not a great PACKER!!!!!!
Just sayin!
I’d really like to see articals about great PACKERS!!!!

Really?

Or how about this nugget of wisdom:

You’d better plan on a pretty big mountain if you expect to get the cell phone man a very good seat. As only the third best modern era QB, at present, for this storied franchise I don’t figure Favre is a lock even for the HOF either the one in Canton or the one that counts!

Now I may not know much about anything, but I do know a few things about football. Let’s run through them, for S’s and G’s:

• 61,000+ passing yards for Favre as a Packer. I’d say that’s pretty good
• 400+ TD’s for Favre as a Packer. Yep, still pretty good.
• Won a Super Bowl. OK, I’ll add that to the list of pretty good things about Favre.
• Won 3 MVPs. Ok, now I’m just pushing it I guess.

Based on stats alone, this humble blogger thinks that Favre will probably make the Packer Hall of Fame. Hell, if he plays his cards right, he could even be inducted into Canton. But what do I know, I’m just a blogger.

Just to prove that I have an open mind, I’ll try to balance out what seems to be a complete love fest for Favre:

• Did Favre act like a complete douche waffle in the Summer of 2008? Most assuredly. And for the record, the Packers could have done things a hell of a lot better as well that Summer.
• Did Favre going to the Vikings sting? Absolutely
• Did I cheer when the Vikings lost the NFC Championship Game with Favre as QB? Damn right I did (although in light of BountyGate, I’m not sure I would have wanted either team to win)

The point I am attempting to make is although CD mentions Favre in his article, the post is not about Favre. It is about his impact on a fan, and the desire of a fan to get one final look at an all time great player. One of the regrets I have is that I never got to see Favre play in person, much less as a member of the Packers, and would have loved to see his “last day at Lambeau” once, let alone five seperate times. But because the post mentions Favre, the haters have to come out, complete with their ridiculous comments questioning whether he is an all time great. I can sum it up in one sentence:

Brett Favre was one of the greatest players in the history of the Green Bay Packers and National Football League, who had the messiest divorce in the history of pro sports, which unfortunately led to his ending his career with another team.

There you have it. Clear, concise, and to the point. I said it, and I will say that until the day I leave this planet. But questioning whether he was a great player is beyond dumb. Saying he is not hall of fame worthy is even dumber. It smacks of bitterness, and I’m done with it.

It has been four years since Favre left Green Bay. Four years. It’s time to get over it already and move on. You cannot hold on to bitterness forever, no matter what the topic is. Bitterness will leave you lonely and miserable. At some point, you have to accept the past, and try to find a silver lining. In the case of Favre, my silver lining is the pure joy (and occasional streaming profanity he caused me to hurl his way) he brought me for 16 years. Did the last few years of his career suck? Of course they did. But did he bring a Super Bowl title to Minnesota? He did not. Did the Packers win one the very next year? Yes they did-and that is why I have moved on. He cannot hurt us anymore.

So to the haters out there, go ahead, keep hating. If nothing else, you make for good topics to write about. And heaven knows us bloggers need topics to write about.

Stay classy Bert.

Seriously though, stop it already. Enough with the songs.

Today’s Subject: Genealogy

I have always been interested in the subject of family history, so I took some time to dig through the national archives to see what I could find on the origins of some of our past and present Packers and their mothers.

Although hospital records are hard to come by, I was able to obtain some documentation, including the reactions of several mothers as their future Packers met face-to-face with the world for the first time. Enjoy this Packers Lounge exclusive.

Mrs. Hawk

“What the hell?”

Mrs. Jolly

“Where’s that damn codeine button? I said, WHERE THE HELL’S THE CODEINE.”

Mrs. Bush

“Dammit, wrong angle again.”

Mrs. Thompson

“I’ll let you go first Sally. Just give me two Jell-O’s and your turkey loaf, and we can talk about an orange juice next year.”

Mrs. Rodgers

“Oh honey, he’s going to have dark hair just like you. Look at that little brown mustache.”

Mrs. Favre

“Irv, should I have this baby now? Never mind, I’m not having a baby. Well… maybe I should have it. Is there any way to skip this whole labor part?”

Mrs. Pickett

“Ouch”

Mrs. Barnett

“I think I just sharted. LOL LOL”

Mrs. Butler

“Ten bucks and you can hold him.”

Mrs. Chmura

“Let’s put him right here next this adorable little preemie.”

Mrs. Grant

“That would have been a lot easier if the kid could have found the hole.”

Mrs. Jennings

“If one more frickin’ person brings me Frankincense…”

Happy Mother’s Day

Got any more?

Tomorrow can simply not come fast enough. In the meantime, here is something I ran across to make the day go slightly quicker.

Pants On The Ground

Packer Remix

Go Saints is right.

Throughout the 48-year history of the Packers – Vikings rivalry, there have been some special moments, but probably none that will live up to this weekend’s events. An aging Viking leader returns with a new band of men, looking to plunder the very homeland he once loved.

The word Viking is Scandinavian for “pirate”, an appropriate description of our former hero gone astray. Like the Vikings of the eigth and ninth centuries, Brett The Grey and his band of marauders will be trying to claim a foreign land for their own – in this case, Lambeau Field.

Residents of Minnesota and Wisconsin certainly have a deep-rooted interest in this battle. Packers fans and Vikings fans have always had a special dislike for each other. As bordering states, there was a natural competitiveness between people of the two states. When close-to-Wisconsin Minneapolis-St. Paul suddenly became host to a professional football team, many fans, including those in Western Wisconsin, had a difficult choice to make. As fans made their choices, resentment built and friends became enemies. The Green Bay loyalists sneered at the Vikings converts and the new Vikings fans became jealous of the Packers as their dominance of the 1960s became a sore point.

The Minnesota Vikings entered the NFL in 1961 as the 14th franchise in League history, but not without a few interesting twists. The Minnesota team was originally slated to be one of the 8 charter members of the new American Football League, and had even completed the college draft. But the NFL saw great potential for a team in Minneapolis, and the prospective owners were lured away from the AFL by the promise of an NFL franchise.  The Oakland Raiders took Minnesota’s place in the AFL, and automatically inherited all of their draft choices.

Bert Rose, the first GM of the Minnesota franchise, chose the Vikings nickname to embrace the area’s heavy Scandanavian population and then set about looking for a head coach. Ara Parsegian was his first choice, but when that didn’t work out, he hired Norm Van Brocklin, who had just beaten the Packers in the NFL Championship the year before and had retired as a player.

The irony of that choice was not lost on Vince Lombardi, and beating Van Brocklin and the Vikings became another obsession for Vince. They were fierce rivals as coaches, engaging in many shouting matches, as both teams occupied the same side of the field in those stadiums.

Van Brocklin delighted in giving Lombardi a hard time and played up the David vs Goliath role to his players. Lombardi was convinced that Van Brocklin was instructing Viking players to try to injure the Packers players whenever possible. When Jerry Kramer broke his leg in a  game vs. the Minnesota Vikings, Lombardi had one of his most famous tirades. Both Packers and Vikings players have stated throughout the years that the Vikings never purposely tried to injure the Packers players, but they did play hard and tough against those elite Packers teams.

But in the late 60′s, as Vince Lombardi exited and Bud Grant entered, the rivalry would begin to turn on it’s head. During the 70′s, the Packers would win only four out of 20 games against the Vikings. Suddenly the Packers fans were jealous and Vikings fans were sneering. That decade was when the rivalry grew some nasty teeth among Packers fans.

In the 48-year history of this rivalry, the Packers hold a slight winning edge at 49-46-1. There have been many special moments, but lets take a look at just a few:

1961, The First Season

In the first year of the Vikings existence, a scheduling quirk matches up the Packers and Vikings for two consecutive weeks. The first-ever meeting between these two teams was played before a sellout crowd at Metropolitan Stadium, with the Packers entering the game as 17 point favorites. Norm Van Brocklin joked that he would petition the league to reschedule the game in a few weeks, so that Paul Hornung and Ray Nitschke would miss it due to military commitments. The game was played on schedule and the score at halftime was a surprisingly close 13-7. Vince Lombardi must of had a few choice words for the Packers at halftime, because they came out a different team and rolled over the Vikings 33-7. The very next week, playing at City Stadium in Green Bay, the Packers would beat the Vikings 28-10 in a driving rainstorm. After that second game, the Vikings record stood at 1-6 while the Packers were 6-1 and on their way to winning their first NFL championship under Vince Lombardi.

1972, Packers Clinch Division Title

When the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings met on a frigid December Sunday in Minnesota, the Packers success of the 60s and their domination of the Vikings were nothing more than fond memories. Coming into this game, the Vikings had won seven of their  last eight meetings. With a game time temperature of zero degrees and a wind-chill of minus 18, this would be a game where the running game would dominate. Fortunately for the Packers, they had the bruising tandem of John Brockington and MacArthur Lane on their side. While neither team could mount much offense in the first half, the Packers running game and some key turnovers helped the Packers take control of the game in the second half. Brockington and Lane finished with 114 and 99 yards, respectively. Willie Buchanon had two interceptions and his fellow cornerback, Ken Ellis, also had one. With this win, Brockington would reach the 1000 yard mark for the second straight season and the Packers clinched the division title for 2nd-year coach Dan Devine.

1998, Green Bay, Meet Randy Moss

On a rainy October Monday night at Lambeau, Randall Cunningham introduced the Packers and a National TV audience to their newest heart-breaker, Randy Moss. Although only catching 5 passes on the night, Moss gained 190 yards, including two long TDs against undersized and over-matched Packer CB Tyrone Williams. Randal Cunningham threw for 4 TDs and 442 yards on only 20 completions. “This was the greatest night in my football career,” Cunningham would say after the game. It was one of the worse nights for the Packers, as they lost 37-24 and their secondary was thoroughly embarrassed on National TV.

1995, T.J. F’ing Rubley

The Minneapolis Metrodome had been developing the reputation of being a house of horrors for the Wolf-Holmgren Era in green Bay. The Packers game on Nov 5th solidified the feeling and sparked talk of a Metrodome “curse.” In a crazy game that included four turnovers in the last 5 minutes, the Packers went down to defeat, 27-24 to the foot of Fuad Reveiz In this game, Bret Favre was injured and missed the last third of the game. Hi replacement, Ty Detmer, and defensive ends Reggie White and Sean Jones were all injured in the 4th quarter. Despite everything, the Packers had an opportunity to win this game. With under a minute left and the game tied 24-24, the Packers found themselves at the Viking 38 yard line with third down and a foot to go. Third string quarterback T.J. Rubley, who had fumbled the snap on his first play from scrimmage, called the play in the huddle from Coach Holmgren – a quarterback sneak. Holmgren wanted to get a first down, run the clock down, setup a field goal and escape with a road win. Unfortunately, Mr. Rubley had other ideas. As he got to the line of scrimmage, he saw the Vikings stacking the box and decided to audible to a pass. He found nobody open, but threw the ball anyway and it was intercepted. The Vikings then took the ball down the field and won the game as time ran out on a Reveiz field goal. After the game, Rubley would say he had no problem with the decision to audible and would do it again, since he thought he was doing what he had been coached to do. His coach, however, seemed to disagree, as Rubley was quickly cut from the team. After the game, Ron Wolf was uncharacteristically angry at the loss and the team’s troubles at the Metrodome. “We’re sick and tired of Fuad Reveiz deciding the outcome of the game,” Wolf said. “All this B.S., ‘Wait until next year,’ is meaningless. The bottom line is, when you’re playing a division opponent, you have to beat that division opponent. I don’t care where it is.” The ugly loss seemed to spark the Packers, as they would go on to win six of their last seven games to finish 11-5 and win the division title for the first time since 1972.

For those of you who still feel the need to vent your anger, there is a facebook page  for those who despise T.J. Rubley

2000. The Immaculate Deflection

On a cold, windy, rainy, November Monday Night at Lambeau Field, one of the most amazing and improbable catches in NFL history sent the Packers home a winner. The Packers came into the game under rookie head coach Mike Sherman with a 3-5 record, while the Vikings were 7-1. Despite being heavy underdogs and being thoroughly outplayed statistically by the Vikings, the Packers somehow found themselves tied with the Vikings at the end of regulation. It was mostly the Vikings doing, as they committed five turnovers in the game, including 3 interceptions by Dante Culpepper. The Vikes were also flagged for 11 penalties, one of which would earn Vikings WR Chris Carter a $5000 fine for kicking Packers CB Mike McKenzie. With 8 seconds left in the game, the Vikings Gary Anderson lined up for a 33-yard field goal to win the game. But the Vikings holder couldn’t handle the wet ball, bobbling it before recovering and trying to throw a pass. His throwing wasn’t any better, as it was intercepted by Tyrone WIlliams to force the game into overtime. The Packers won the toss and marched down to the Vikings 43-yard line, where they had a 3rd and four. The play call was a quick slant, but as the teams lined up, with the Vikings Chris Dishman showing blitz, Freeman yelled to Favre and made a motion indicating he was going to run a slant and go. Despite the driving rain and strong winds, Favre went along with the plan and threw the ball deep to Freeman. But Dishman did not blitz and was there to deflect the floating pass that was being knocked around by the wind. Everyone thought the play was over as Freeman fell to the ground. Of course the ball miraculously hits his leg, rolls up his body into his hands. Amid widespread confusion, Freeman gets up off the ground and starts running to the end zone. he put a move on the only Viking player that seems to know what was happening and scores the touchdown to give the Packers the overtime win. The Vikings stood in stunned silence while the Packers celebrated wildly in the end zone. The touchdown inspired Al Michaels’ famous “he did WHAT?” In 2005, ESPN named this play the greatest catch in the history of Monday Night football.

Watch it again… along with comments by Brett Favre and Mike Sherman.

2009, Brett the Grey returns to his former homeland

The storyline on this Sunday’s game hasn’t been written yet. So why don’t YOU write it? I think it would be fun if the readers would leave a comment describing how you all think the story will play out. Go for it, readers…

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You can find more of Jersey Al Bracco’s articles on several sports websites: Jersey Al’s Blog, Packers Lounge, NFL Touchdown and Bleacher Report.

You can also follow Jersey Al on twitter.

If you ask a Vikings fan, the Favre led purple is destined to claim the Lombardi trophy this season. If you ask me, the wise money bets against Favre this weekend. Why? I’ll let history speak for itself.

We can argue all day about Favre’s late game heroics. Many say he has led comebacks over 43 times in his career. I personally only count 22 real comebacks, but what I don’t see in that stat line are the monumental collapses in all the big games in-between. If history remains consistent there is no reason to believe Favre can get it done in a game with the magnitude he will face this weekend at Lambeau.

Former NFL great Fran Tarkenton said it best stating, “Favre has made more stupid plays than any great quarterback I have ever seen.”  Is Frank right? Let’s take a look back at the track record.

The Choke List

2008 Miami Dolphins and the New York Jets

Brett Favre kills the Jets hopes of making the playoffs by tossing three interceptions and being outplayed by the guy he replaced Chad Pennington.

1999 Regular Season vs. Minnesota

Both teams enter the game at 7-6 with the loser likely out of the playoffs. Down by four with 9:00 minutes left on the clock, Brett throws two interceptions in the final drives of the game sending the Packers to defeat and eventually not making the playoffs.

1995 NFC Championship game vs. Dallas

Packers are down 31-27 with a chance to win it in the fourth quarter. After previously throwing a pick to Leon Lett, Favre goes gunslinger in the fourth quarter, scrambles out of the pocket, and throws an interception to seal the game for the Cowboys.

Super Bowl XXXII vs. Denver

Packers have a chance late to drive eighties yards and take home to trophy. Favre manages to drive into Bronco territory only to go four and out and leaving John Elway with one final ring.

2002 Wild Card vs. Atlanta

Not much to say about this one. The Packers go down early and Favre cannot bring them back. He throws multiple interceptions and doesn’t do a thing to get the Packers back in the game.

2004 NFC Wildcard vs. Minnesota

I’ll keep this one simple. Daunte Culpepper four touchdowns, Brett Favre four interceptions.

2001 NFC Divisonal Playoffs vs. Rams

Perhaps the single worst performance by Favre in his career. Favre gives the Rams a gift by throwing 6 interceptions. Three of those picks are returned for touchdowns.

2003 NFC Divionsal Playoffs vs. Philadelphia

Another overtime meltdown for Favre. It only took one play as Brett threw away the game with an interception to Brian Dawkins. I could swear that Favre was throwing right at him.

2007 NFC Championship vs. New York

This one still gets me and probably cost Favre his job in Green Bay. No need to re-live this one folks. With about three guys wide open, on the second play in overtime Favre tosses the ball to Corey Webster setting up the winning Giants field goal.

Now I realize that the NFL betting odds seem to think history is not going to repeat itself again. However, if you are a Packer fan you know the smart money rides on a monumental collapse for the Vikings. This may be a regular season game, but it has all the hoopla that any of Favre’s big games ever had.

You can lay your money on Favre this weekend if you wish, but remember it’s all just history repeating. Where is my money going? It’s going to be used for sports betting at BetUS.com.  I say bet the house on the Packers, the past rarely lies.

This one hurt. Big time. But life goes on.

First, my apologies for being so scarce in the Lounge lately. I’ve been away from home and away from the Internet for most of the past two weeks. In fact, I was not able to watch the Packer-Viking game until Wednesday night, as I spent the first half of the week on a deserted island in Lake Superior–a mini-vacation that had been arranged over a year ago.

I had mixed feelings about not being able to see the game live. On the one hand, I wished I could’ve shared in that collective experience of watching a major sporting event at the same time as millions of other people. But on the other hand, I absolutely hated this game. I never wanted it to be played. And I’m going to hate the game in November even more.

Now I’ll admit that if the Packers had won on Monday night, I would’ve been very, very happy. But I didn’t expect them to win. When the Vikings are good, the Packers almost never beat them in Minnesota. But the stakes were higher than ever for this one, so I knew a loss would be especially painful.

Watching Brett Favre saunter out onto the field in a purple uniform to play against his old team was every bit as surreal as I expected it to be. And I felt one overriding emotion: absolute loathing for the man. It was a little scary, because I’m not a guy who hates people. But I’d been getting sick of Favre for years, even when he was still playing for the Packers, and when he pulled the prima donna act last year, sitting out the off-season activities and then demanding to be reinstated, he lost me for good. I rooted against the Jets all last season and was delighted when they missed the playoffs and Brett got dissed by a couple of his teammates. But then he maneuvered his way onto the Vikings, which is where he’d wanted to play all along, keeping them on a string as he sat out most of training camp before making his grand entrance.

As I watched the game on videotape Wednesday night, my hatred for Favre did subside a bit, but it was replaced by sheer horror, as he played one of the better games of his career. So many times we’ve been on the good side of those games where Favre just gets into a groove and cannot be stopped. To have it happen to us, as Packer fans, was galling beyond belief—just as Brett intended it to be. But if nothing else, the guy deserves some props for his performance. Sure, he benefits from playing alongside the best running back in football. And Dom Capers’ game plan, which was heavy on the three-man rushes, provided the perfect scenario for Favre’s rejuvenation. But Favre made all the throws, including some very difficult ones. On that level, at least, we have to give the man his due.

There are other images that stand out from Monday night’s game. On the plus side, there were great plays by Jermichael Finley, Clay Matthews, and Jordy Nelson. On the minus side, there was the offensive line, which is in a shambles. There were some poor decisions by Aaron Rodgers. There was B.J. Raji, our 340-pound would-be stud, getting drilled into the ground by Steve Hutchinson on one play. Jason Spitz totally whiffing on a block, leading to a sack and an injury to his teammate Darryn Colledge. Our DB’s barking at each other because of blown assignments. And so on.

But I’m not writing the Packers off just yet. The best-case scenario is that they are like the ’95 Packers, who had a lot of talent but were not yet solid at the line of scrimmage. The more likely scenario is that the offensive line is a mess, plain and simple–but messes like this can sometimes get cleaned up during the course of a season.

Until or unless that happens, Aaron Rodgers needs to be our Ben Roethlisberger. Remember, the Steelers managed to win a Super Bowl last year with a dodgy offensive line, because their QB was a great improviser who was willing to take a lot of hits. It’s a low percentage approach to winning a championship, and it will require our defense to play a lot better than it has so far, but for now, it’s all we have.

And here’s the irony: Brett Favre has always been known as a great improviser, while Aaron Rodgers has been criticized for being an overly conservative “system” QB. But now their roles are reversed. Favre has the luxury of being able to play completely within himself—and at least so far, he appears very willing to do just that—while Aaron Rodgers is on the sandlot, dodging the pass rush as best he can and heaving the ball downfield. If our offensive line ever settles down, this will be valuable experience for Aaron, provided he lives to tell about it.

I’m so glad it’s our bye week. Even better, we get to play the Lions at Green Bay the following week. And Mark Tauscher is coming back. We need a fresh start in a big way, and this is just what the doctor ordered. As for Favre, we’ll have to wait and see if he can keep this up into December and January. I still think the odds are against him, but I’m not feeling as good about it as I did a week ago. Hurry, cold weather! 

Hi, Lounge, it’s me, Asshalo. In the past few months there has been a lot of politically incorrect talk about the possibility of retiring Brett Favre’s jersey.

I’m not going to debate whether it’s going to happen or not. We will eventually see a “4″ next to the likes of Reggie White (92), Bart Starr (15) and Don Hudson (14), Tony Canadeo (3) , and Ray Nitschke (66).

I’ll guarantee an organization as classy as the Green Bay Packers will not retire the number of a man who gave 16 seasons and a mound of wins and records to its fans. Doing so would alienate the many former Packer fans who have taken a little break from the green and gold to cheer for the Vikings. As Favre loves to point out, no one or nothing will be able to take away those memories. The experiences Favre shared with Packer fans will live on forever.

But, let’s really think about this. Realistically, the same could be said for ANY experience. If you watch the “All the single babies!” video on YouTube, it is one minute of your life you will never be able to get back.  Even when the video reaches its end, even though you are not watching it, it will exist on the internet and in the minds of far too many people.

See where I am going with this? I bet Favre doesn’t (but I’ll get to that later). Much like the memories of Super Bowl victories and dancing babies floating through time and space… are the lies, the reneged promises, the donning of the Purple, and the ultimate betrayal of playing and beating the green and gold.  Oh, and don’t forget the “I will never forget you, Brent” t-shirts.

Ah yes, Favre only wanted revenge on Murphy, Thompson, and McCarthy. The problem is you can’t isolate three individuals from the players and fans, who got their fare share of revenge last night too. Packer fans will remember Monay night as vividly as any other Brett Favre moment.

But who are we to forget the bad (or perhaps ugly) and remember the good? Normally that applies. After all, we’ve seen Reggie White and Vince Lombardi go to other teams. Yet, there’s something that doesn’t sit right with this one. The problem with Favre going to the Vikings is we’re being told by the man himself, and other fans, to forgive the betrayal. Of course that’s not too much to ask-this is Brett Favre we’re talking about. He can stab you in the back and make amends simultaneously. It’s not magic. It’s Favre.

Favre can give all the politically answers he wants, but that doesn’t take away his shit eating grin at the end of Monday night’s game. There will come a day when I will not care Favre played for the Vikings, but don’t tell me now that he’s innocent. The betrayal is an inseparable part of his career. If he is man enough to go through with it, he is man enough to live with the consequences.

It has started already. The rumblings out of Minnesota. A team divided. A “schism” it’s being called. In the words of one NFL source, Favre has “little support” in the locker room.

Ah, it’s music to my ears.

Like Napoleon Bonaparte, the self-proclaimed emperor of France that didn’t know when to stop, has Brett Favre gone too far and agitated his own Minnesota minions?

There are many players in the Viking locker room that don’t want Brett Favre there. Some resent his riding in on his white horse to seemingly “rescue” the Vikings. “We didn’t need rescuing” is the sentiment.

Some resent the special treatment he has received from the Vikings organization and Brad Childress. What self-respecting NFL coach drives to the airport to pick up a player? None. Except for Brad Childress.

Some are just buddies of Tarvaris Jackson and are incensed at the raw deal he has received. All T-Jack wanted was a fair fight between him and Sage Rosenfels. That scenario is officially dead.

And some are in Sage Rosenfels’ corner. They felt he could bring the consistency that T-Jack lacks. After all, the Vikings did pretty well when unspectacular, but steady Gus Frerotte was at the helm last year. Why not give Sage a chance? That possibility is also dead.

As Abe Lincoln said (borrowed from the new testament, I believe), “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”

Will Brett Favre turn the Minnesota Vikings into “Team Turmoil?” It really only depends on one thing—how well he plays. If he is able to play at a high level and lead the Vikings to some wins, most likely all will be forgotten.

I happen to be one Packer fan that still believes he can play and if healthy, he will help the Vikings. But I  don’t regret the Packers‘ decision to go with Aaron Rodgers. That decision is looking better every day.

But if Favre playing well doesn’t come to pass, resentment will linger, the “schism” will get larger and the Vikings divided “house” and season will come tumbling down.

Like the egomaniacal emperor Napoleon, Brett Favre has recorded many victories and conquered many hardships. But will going to Minnesota be his Waterloo and mark the end of his reign as emperor of the NFL?

If so, then perhaps the Packers will conquer the NFC North. As a Packer fan, it’s what I have to hope for.

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You can find more of Jersey Al Bracco’s articles on several sports websites: Jersey Al’s Blog, Packers Lounge, NFL Touchdown and Bleacher Report.

You can also follow Jersey Al on twitter.