The Thought Alone Is A Debate
By Brian Miller
Look at the picture to the right. What is the first thought, the very first thought that comes to your mind? WOW!? Love it? Cringe? What is it? Every picture can evoke an emotional response almost instantly. Perhaps no picture these days can do that more than this one. The thought of Brett Favre playing another year for the Miami Dolphins is enough to bring on a huge debate.
The reality is that Favre, despite being old, is not Trent Green. He is not concussed, he is not recovering from a knee injury, and despite the fact that he has lost quite a bit on his long ball, he can still sling farther than any of the QB’s Miami has employed since Dan Marino left.
Most of the NFL world wants Brett to quietly shut up and go away into retirement, the Green Bay Packers are awfully quiet and probably want him to as well. Yet much in the same way that the Jason Taylor rumors won’t die, Brett Favre’s retirement plans will be on again and off again until he shows up 5 years from now in Canton. Maybe 6 years from now.
The fact is that while on the surface after your initial reaction subsides, you begin to put together the pieces and in reality, Favre makes the Dolphins more of an immediate contender than this team without him. In fact, a contender without giving up the rebuild. A contender…now that’s just a unrealistic thought…right?
Not really. As noted several hundred times since last season, Miami lost 6 games by 3 points. Now sure, that would only give Miami 7 wins. Ask yourself how many games we could have won with a real QB? Tony Sparano is an unknown, but I don’t believe there is anyone that doubts he is not Cam Cameron. So would Favre make the Dolphins a contender?
In reality, no. But he would give them leadership and with leadership comes production, and that can translate to wins. The Dolphins will not “contend” for the AFC East for a couple more years, but with a new attitude and the right leadership, they might, just might, be in contention for the final wild card spot. Maybe, just maybe, the Dolphins will not be mathematically eliminated in October.
With the Dolphins sitting on 3 QB’s the logical question is who gets cut? My guess would be Josh McCown. He has the least of the 3 to offer. Personally, I’m not sure Favre is the right choice, but he is healthy and never misses a game. One thing is for certain, I would love for my two young QB’s, Beck and Henne, learning from Favre, than learning on the fly. In that regards, getting Favre makes all the sense in the world. Even if the whole concept of Brett Favre coming out of retirement makes absolutely no sense at all.
For more on the Brett Favre issue visit the Miami Herald and read Gret Cote’s article “Getting Favre Makes Sense for Dolphins”