Seems like just yesterday I was at lambeau field and for a few precious moments... was planning my trip to Phoenix as the packers seemed to get chance after chance to score even a FG to win NFC Title game... that fairy tale ending of brett grabbing the Lombardi trophy seemed a certainty...  In about 20 minutes my fortunes changed that fateful frozen night. Seated in row 7 behind packer bench I had a great view of favre the entire game. he looked cold, miserable, unsure, and like lambeau was the last place he wanted to be. Just a FG brett!!!! ( I kept yelling)... trying to will myself into believeing that if brett can just squeeze out a darn FG we will head to Arizona and the old brett will be there in the warm sun of the desert.  Bart Starr was positioned with favre's family inside lambeau to be part of the george halas trophy presentation. As we all know... Bart never took the field. Brett lost his 3rd playoff game at lambeau and the final memory would be the lame duck underthrown INT that more or less ended the season... and possibly his career.

March 4 was only 5 weeks after the Giants debacle. I knew immediately Brett was making a decision he would question and possibly regret. My gut was still aching from the Giants loss and now to deal with brett's retirement? A rough couple months for us pack fans. But I got over it, embraced the start of the Rodgers era, applauded the drafting of Brohm, and am excited and optimistic about Packers chances to get another crack at the Super Bowl... and now Brett sends his army of family and friends out to promote his comeback? To quote John McEnroe..."You cannot be serious". To hear his own family wining that Ted Thompson didn't get on his knees and beg brett to stay and that "hurt" Brett's feelings? Give me a break.  The packers even released a statement saying favre's family is "tugging at him to play" What? I thought his whole point was to spend time with his family?

My personal opinion is that brett has realized that those meetings and practices that he said were so draining were actually his sanctuary... his escape. As long as I live I will never forget his game vs raiders after Big Irv died. He had his sanctuary and dealt with it in a courageous way. Now? he misses his sanctuary. Like a boy becoming a man, Brett now has to decide what he wants to do now that he has "grown up"... and he sees nothing as exciting or as fulfilling as his old job. Like Rocky telling Adrian in Rocky II (I'm a fighter, It's what i do) let me be a man.... brett realizes he is a QB and that is what he does.

This creates an awful mess for the packers. To bring Brett back now would force packers to change a good bit of their offseason offensive work that had been designed to fit Rodgers strengths, a mere 3 weeks before training camp. It could really hurt team chemistry behind the scenes. Technically... if Brett wanted to play a couple more years... packers now have brohm in place as a legit prospect...Rogers could bring a nice draft pick... and move on. But I am not in favor of this. To put it into perspective here are a couple factors...

All Brett has to do is write the packers a letter asking to be re-instated and packers must either activate him, release him, or trade him in a short time frame

Packers have plenty of salary cap room to sign all rookies, put favre's $12 mil back on the books, and have $$ to spare...  so there is no pressure for the team to release him over $$

So then what?

Brett has faltered late in the season for the last 4 years. His days of dominating when temps are below freezing are history. Brett is still a top 5 QB... but would be most effective playing where it is warm all season. How about...

Miami? I say Packers trade favre and a #3 pick to Miami for jason Taylor and the Dolphins #1 pick next season. Parcells has always loved vet QB's ( Simms, Hostetler, Bledsoe, Testaverde) favre could give him a couple seasons to develop a QB and build a contender. Taylor could play his season, combine with kampman and KGB for 30 sacks... put on his dancing shoes and head west. Packers could use the draft pick to draft a stud DE to replace both taylor and KGB.

ok...maybe that is a trade the Tuna would not make... but my point is that right now I think if brett came back to packers it would be a detriment to the team. And while he still has value ( an MVP like 2007 season) let's move him if that is what he wants.  Packers hold all the cards and they should not let "sentimentality" cloud their judgement.

We have 2 guys in line at QB that many teams would love to have. Brett is the past... not the future. Packers have ayoung roster in which many young players will be hitting their prime in the next 3 years and I'd much prefer to have a young QB right there with them... as opposed  to the same old favre soap opera again for the next 2 winters! Moreso... if Rogers has a good season and packers remain contenders it will bode well for re-signing our own guys and will give Free Agents a better feeling about the packers post-favre future.

No matter what crying we hear coming out of Mississippi... Packers need to hold firm with brett... you want to play? then we will try to trade you. Otherwise you can report to camp and compete with Rodgers for starting spot... while we try to trade you. If nobody offers up anything enticing... the we get one of the greatest QB controversies of all time...and best QB depth in NFL! But I don't want that... so just say it ain't so Brett!