
KING: “HELL IS COMING” FOR FAVRE, PACKERS
In his Monday Morning Quarterback column, Peter King of SI.com breaks down the information he has developed of late regarding the Brett Favre situation, which has included a trip by King to Mississippi to meet with Favre.
King’s bottom-line assessment? “[W]e all know that hell is coming.”
Ten things that King knows about the situation are then set forth. A quick summary of what struck as as the key points appears below.
First, King believes that the Packers won’t release Favre, for fear that he’ll land with the Vikings.
Second, Favre has twice refused to give G.M. Ted Thompson a list of teams to which Favre would accept a trade.
Third, the Packers don’t want a first-round pick, but might want a conditional deal that could result in a first-rounder if Favre and his new team have a big year.
Fourth, King believes (apparently based on information he has gathered) that the Vikings won’t be nailed for tampering with Favre. We think that the ultimate outcome will hinge on the information obtained directly from the Vikings, including any internal e-mails and/or interviews of coach Brad Childress and offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell. If King knows what the league office knows on these matters, then look for no penalty to be imposed.
Fifth, if Favre reports for Packers camp, there will be no competition for the starting job; Aaron Rodgers truly is their guy now. Writes King: “The Packers are going to go with Rodgers, and go down in flames with him if need be.”
Sixth, Favre is characterized as “lukewarm at best” to the concept of playing for the Jets or the Buccaneers.
Seventh, King raises the possibility of the Packers paying Favre his full $12 million salary to stay away and to play for no one. Favre doesn’t want that — and under the CBA, teams no longer can pay a guy to stay home.
King also proposes a solution to the mess. It’s creative and insightful, but we think it won’t happen. In the end, the Packers options are going to be to welcome him back or release him. Favre knows it, and that’s why he’s prepared to apply a set of pliers to Thompson’s most sensitive region.
And squeeze hard.
So, yeah, hell is coming. But the end result will be freedom for Favre. The Packers are trying their damnedest to avoid it, but in the end they can’t. All they can do is drag this out, in the hopes of delaying the amount of time that Favre will have with his new team to prepare for Week One.
Especially if the new team is the Vikings, who’ll spend Week One at Lambeau Field.