An Open Letter To Ted Thompson

Dear Mr. Thompson,

I realize you don't read this blog. But on the off chance you happen to be surfing the net late tonight and stumble upon this here post, I'd like to express something to you that you may hear quite a little bit over the next few days.

Let him go.

That's right. Give him the release he and his bumpkin agent have been trying to get since last season. It's obvious now that the league is on Brett's side, what with the Commissioner stepping in and all. And I realize you worry, as is understandable, about the nightmare that will ensue PR-wise if and when Favre signs with the Vikings.

But here's the thing.

You'll beat him. And not just on opening night, but again on November 9th. You have the better team, and you know it. The Vikings went and got Jared Allen. How did he do against Chad Clifton last year? Oh that's right. Cliffy stoned him. The Vikings were picked to go to the Super Bowl by Paul Zimmerman over at SI.com? Let you in on a little secret. Last year he picked the Saints. Yeah, the ones that didn't make the playoffs.

Let him go Ted. And no, I'm not one of those people who's been bashing your handling of this thing. Just read the last month or so of this blog. I'm in your corner. Favre had a great year last year - right up until it mattered. And the success he did have? More to do with your coach than with Favre himself. And that's another thing. Have you watched what Favre looked like when Darrell Bevel was his quarterbacks coach? That's right. Just slightly better than Kyle Orton. (Who finally got his revenge by outplaying Favre last year, by the way) And who would be calling the plays? Brad Childress. That right there is worth 14 points. For the Packers.

So please Ted, let him go. Yes, the media will say you blinked. Your team will have to deal with a circus for a few weeks. Until opening night when you whoop Favre's ass.

 

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Comments (13)

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lostinutah's picture

July 28, 2008 at 01:00 am

Yeah Ted, please let that LOSER QB go...

(sarcasm intended).

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kapblp's picture

July 28, 2008 at 01:07 am

Not sure if you intended it this way, but it was funny. Especially the line about Bevell and Childress as Favre's coach. Still can't say I agree, but the sentiment might be right.

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nerdmann's picture

July 28, 2008 at 03:38 am

The reason Goodell is involved is to negotiate a trade with the Queens so that instead of losing draft picks because of tampering, they will give up something extra for Favre. That's my take anyway.

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astyak's picture

July 28, 2008 at 04:55 am

I say let it ride. I don't realy think Brett is coming back. Hold on to the rights and wait for the value to go up or Brett to change his mind again. That seems to happen every 10-15 minutes.

Brett is the one that looks like a whiny little girl. The Packers are being business smart.

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Keith's picture

July 28, 2008 at 06:04 am

As I alluded to in a post below, I think the mistake everyone is making is allowing emotions to get involved in the decision making.

I do not want to see Favre on the Vikings, and it has nothing to do with sentimentality. It has to do with the enormous upgrade Favre would be over Tarvaris Jackson (or Rex Grossman/Kyle Orton for that matter.)

So no, please do not release him. Please trade him somewhere in the AFC, even if it's just for a 5th rounder. Do it quickly, and let him become someone else's headache.

And here's the thing. I love Brett Favre. He's my favorite athlete of all time, hands-down (and as I've mentioned, I am a baseball guy all the way.) If I were Thompson, I would take Favre back in a heartbeat. However, I am not the GM of the Packers and Thompson has done a good job... so I'm not going to be critical of his choice of Rodgers over Favre. What I am critical of is his dragging this out. If Favre wants to play, just trade him for a conditional pick (if he plays we get it, if he doesn't we don't.)

Personally, I would love to see him in a Jets uniform. This way, I get my cake and I can eat it too. Since I trust my GM, I get to see my team move forward and hopefully contend for the Super Bowl. And since I live in NYC, I could catch every Favre game as well. Of course I wish he would stay with the Pack, but I think the dude can still sling it, and I'd rather be able to watch him play somewhere than nowhere.

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manolito's picture

July 28, 2008 at 09:56 am

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Keith's picture

July 28, 2008 at 11:19 am

Also, I slept on this, and I want to completely disagree with this statement: "And the success he did have? More to do with your coach than with Favre himself."

I call shenanigans on that comment. What Mike McCarthy did was what Brett's coaches should have been doing all along (since Holmgren left.) When Brett made a terrible decision, instead of patting him on the back, chuckling and saying, "Hehe, it's ok gunslinger, just shake it off and keep slinging it," McCarthy actually held Brett accountable and reined him in. This is what good coaches do. Do you think Brady would ever play cowboy with Belichek roaming the sidelines? Of course not. But would he do it if he knew he could get away with it (like if Mike Sherman was his coach?) Can't say yes for sure, but I'd say it's possible.

Look at the annals of NFL history. All great QB's had great coaches, and vice-versa. Only Mike Holmgren was stupid enough to leave a 3-time MVP, Super Bowl winning QB, and a place where he would have been canonized. Most coaches, once they get a franchise QB, hang onto said QB for dear life.

Simply put, I think McCarthy did a great job of getting two things through to Brett: 1) You don't have to do it on your own and 2) You're not Superman. Once Brett bought into this, the passing yards and TDs were all him.

So yeah, McCarthy is a great coach and I am extremely happy we have him as our head coach, but even a great coach can't turn chicken sh*t into chicken salad.

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PackerAaron's picture

July 28, 2008 at 12:10 pm

Shenanigans? That's some mighty harsh language... ;)

I'm confused as to your McCarthy comments. I never said he was going to make Rodgers great. I simply stated that Favre's great year had more to do with MCarthy than Favre, a stance you seem to agree with...shenanigans? Not sure about all that.

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PackerAaron's picture

July 28, 2008 at 12:20 pm

One other thing Keith - you keep saying the Packers should just trade him to an AFC team. As PackerBelle pointed out in the last post - it's not that simple. Favre can simply refuse. He has cornered the Packers into three choices - trade him to a team he agrees to, let him play for the Packers, or release him.

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PackerBelle's picture

July 28, 2008 at 01:23 pm

I'm against granting him his release because it sets a bad precedent. It basically sends the message that if you make enough of a mess for us we'll let you do whatever you want just to get rid of you. And I don't think that is something that is good for the team. To me that is the difference between what happened with Reggie White and William Henderson. They didn't try to go to a division rival, they didn't bash the coaches and GM and they didn't use the press to make things nasty. Favre has and he has shown a complete unwillingness to work with the team. And I don't think you should reward that because then any malcontent can try to do it.

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Keith's picture

July 28, 2008 at 02:04 pm

Well, I don't necessarily agree with it to the extent you phrase it. McCarthy essentially did a better job of channelling Brett's talent than his predecessors. However, Brett still had to make the plays, and he did. My bringing up Rodgers was just to crystalize that point. I don't think Rodgers has the ability to capitalize on McCarthy's offensive genius like Brett did. I will concede he will likely prove to be more efficient/consistent.

And why should Brett do what's good for the team? The team is obviously just looking out for themselves, so Brett should do the same. This is a business and it's all about who blinks first. Thompson should flat out tell him that there is absolutely no shot of him playing within the division and only a slightly greater chance of him staying in the NFC. So have him pick a team like TB or an AFC team, or he rides the pine. As I have mentioned, I don't think Thompson wants to do this because he knows he will take a lot of heat for it. While Brett has the power to kill any deal, he is still under contract to the Packers. He needs to play hardball and call Brett's bluff. There are plenty of teams who would be interested in Brett's services who he should want to play for.

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Pack66's picture

March 22, 2009 at 02:02 pm

Ted Thompson is an ASSCLOWN...this year proves it.

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PackerAaron's picture

March 22, 2009 at 03:24 pm

You mean the one where Rodgers outplayed Favre?

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