First off, let me emphasize how much of a conspiracy theorist I am not.  I am the furthest thing from the wacked-out burned-out psycho-hippie that is convinced that the Lincoln assassination and the Hindenberg were connected.

But conspiracy theories sure are fun, aren't they?  I mean, nothing beats giving endless amounts of time and effort in order to come up with some bizzare idea that's just crazy enough to be true.  After all, the whole "9/11 was an inside job" thing is still popular across the internets.

But I'm here to talk about something much more serious: the Brett Favre Saga (I feel this has gone on long enough to deserve capitalization when talking to other sports followers).  The BFS has gone on since March, but one could argue that its conception was years ago, when Favre retirement talk first began.  I won't recap the whole thing; the other message threads on this site alone handle that task admirably.

But (there's always a but!), what if this is all according to some sort of master plan?  What if this Saga was premeditaded to reach some overarching goal?  What if Brett Favre, Ted Thompson, and the Packers organization is putting on a big show to gain an advantage?  What if Brett's whole unretirement is a ploy?

First, let's get a few things straightened out.  Brett Favre is loved by Packer Nation.  No matter how far this thing goes, the vast majority of us will still revere him, and rightly so.  Brett Favre also loves the Packer Nation.  Face it, despite his 'down-to-earth-ness', the man has a sizeable ego, and there's nothing like throngs of adoring fans to massage said ego.  Not to mention the fact that the franchise gave him his first shot at a starting job and essentially made it possible for him to be the Brett Favre we know and love.

Now that we've gone over the love, let's go across the spectrum: who does Packer Nation hate?  The automatic answer is the Chicago Bears.  While they are the longest-standing rival, the last fifteen or so years have been so favorable to the Pack and so unfavorable to the Bears that the rivalry has lost a little something.  Having one HOF QB while the other team goes through 27,841 possible starters can do that.

 But the real answer to the question?  The Minnesota Vikings.  Even with Brett, the Vikings were one of the few teams to give the Packers a run for their money.  The Metrodome is one of the most reviled stadiums in all of sports, Randy Moss put on an extra-special show for the GB fans, the overall douchebaggery of Vikings fans, all of these things accumulate to an overall hatred of everything Minnesota.

And Favre, as a member of that rivalry, feels some of that hatred.  Not as much as us fans, for sure.  But he gets a little extra pleasure out of beating the Vikings.  It might not even be conscious.  But when you're a part of something for so long, you're inevitably going to be affected by it.

Another important factor is Minnesota's general non-suckitude as a team except at quarterback.  Only a handful of teams would trade their QB situation for that of the Purple and...whatever else the Vikings call their other color.  Even Chicago would rather let Rex Grossman and Kyle Orton duke it out for the starting spot than hand the keys to Tavaris Jackson.

So let's explore this for a little bit.  Favre is God in Cheeseland.  The hated rivals from the north would love to have a QB like Favre.  But they know there's no way for them to get him.

Or is there?

Let's say that Favre's retirement in March was final.  The guy was done; he didn't want to go through the grind of a season even though he could still play.  No comeback talk, no release so he could go somewhere else, no nothing: he was finished.  Later, someone in the Packers organization notices the looming threat that is the Minnesota Vikings and wonders "How could we find a way to weaken this team?"  Then, a craaaaazy idea is born.

What if we stage a Brett Favre comeback drama to try to lure the Vikings into a trap that will cost them draft picks?

Yes, it's crazy, but it fits.  Favre retires, but then he wants to come back.  Green Bay has already moved on, so Brett has nowhere to go.  But he still wants to play, going so far as to request his release from the team.  Naturally, a team with QB issues like Minnesota will be interested.  Especially when the offensive coordinator of the team happens to be a personal friend of Favre.  Some conversations are made, some phone calls are placed, and all of a sudden, the Packers find out that the Vikings could be *gasp* illegally pursuing the services of one Brett Favre!

Why else would Favre still be using a phone provided to him by the Green Bay Packers?  He's a smart guy, he knows the rules and he knows how he could get caught breaking them.  Plus, he can act, as I'm sure everyone has seen his breathtaking performance in "There's Something About Mary".  Maybe...just maybe...

But what's the payoff of all this?  Only Ted Thompson's favorite currency: draft picks.  If the league finds Minnesota guilty of tampering, they are forced to forfeit a draft pick or two.  And correct me if I'm wrong, but don't those picks go to the team that filed the grievance, in this case the Packers?  Even if they don't, Minnesota still loses them, and therefore loses a chance to establish depth on their team, which therefore weakens the team as a whole and could give Green Bay just a bit of an edge.

Obviously this is a bit far-fetched, as it would take an enormous amount of cooperation between Favre and the organization, not to mention an incredible act of douchebaggery on Favre's part by both betraying a close friend and using his status to decieve the public.  Also throw in the enormous amount of incompetence required by the Vikings for this to work.

But, hey, crazier things have happened...right?

Did anybody else read about the four linebacker look with Nick Barnett, AJ Hawk, Brady Poppinga and Brandon Chillar they were experimenting with in mini camp. I'm pretty excited to see if this goes anywhere. With a four linebacker look the potential is greater for tough to pick up zone blitz schemes, as well as being harder for the offense to identify which linebacker might blitz if any of them. This seems to be a good way to salvage Brady Poppinga's stay with us as he and Nick Barnett are both exceptional blitzers. What about seeing KGB stay up and play a hybrid position to disguise where his rush will come from.

I also have to believe that Bob Sanders is also trying to compensate for some of the lost interior pass rush that went with Corey Williams' trade to Cleveland. Everyone must admit that while our defense was pretty highly ranked last year in a lot of categories, it underachieved just a tad, so I'd like to see Bob Sanders tinkering with some things this training camp.

Oh and topic number two concerning the defense: Who will Aaron Rouse subplant first at one of the starting safety positions: Nick Collins or Atari Bigby?

I haven't posted much here, and I've posted mostly on Camden Chat, the SB Nation blog for the Baltimore Orioles. You can probably expect more stuff from me, that will usually center on the Packers defensive side of the ball. I'm kind of obsessed with Football defense.

ProFootballTalk is reporting that Favre is done after the Packers presented him 3 teams that they could trade him to and he rejected all 3 teams and is now gonna stay retired.  All of this is unconfirmed, of course, and I don't always believe Florio but he has been right on a more than a few of these Favre stories as well as some other stuff too.  I'm sure the Thompson haters will accuse him of suggesting teams like the Raiders, Chiefs, and Falcons that Favre would understandably reject but we shall see.  Unfortunately, until the 6th week of the season passes I think that this comeback story will always have legs, at least whenever ESPN is having a slow news day.  Regardless of how this ends its just sad that one of the greatest and most storied careers in NFL history is (potenially) ending in this type of fashion.

I posted a response over on the "GB FANS.....??" thread that got longer than I intended.  I didn't plan for it to get so in depth, so I'll repost it here.  Enjoy.

I have no problem sticking to my decision to support the team over Favre. If Favre stays retired or goes elsewhere and A-Rodg struggles next season, I will not join the chorus of cheeseheads wailing to the heavens for the return of Brett Favre, Lord of Wisconsin.

However, I want to know what you mean when you mention the “conditions” that amounted to Brett’s emotional exhaustion. If it’s the fact that the team did not acquire the players he wanted, i.e. Randy Moss, then I refer to the earlier post about Thompson being the GM and therefore rightfully making the judgements on what makes the team better in BOTH the present and the future.

Brett was given multiple chances to say what he wanted to say, and in the end the team went a different direction. The fact that Brett was (and still is, even in quasi-retirement) that important to not just be allowed, but encouraged by fans and media to speak on the matter is almost unheard of. So it’s not like he didn’t have enough influence over the team.

If the conditions then refer to Thompson’s creation of an environment of “untruth”, I respond with this: the guy is a GM in the NFL. Lying is part of the job description, but there’s a fine line between this and the lying that Brett accuses the team of.

Rumors abound from everywhere, both within the league and outside it, and they’re just one of the many tools that GMs use to manipulate their teams and their counterparts. One of the abilities required of GMs nowadays is the ability to mask your true intentions, and Thompson is very skilled at that. If Favre misinterpreted that and consequently felt almost betrayed by the team, then it’s a mistake on his part. An honest mistake, but a mistake nonetheless.

If Favre actually was looking over his shoulder because he felt the organization was trying to push him out, then he was being oversensitive. In 2005, the heir to Brett Favre was selected 24th overall in the NFL Draft. It was widely regarded as a move for the future after Brett Favre. Rodgers was the next quarterback of the team.

Maybe he felt that Aaron Rodgers was a threat to his spot on the team, and that was why he didn’t mentor Rodgers as much as we wanted him to. You could argue that currently Rodgers IS a threat to Favre’s spot on the team, but that’s a shaky argument at best considering the fact that Favre got on TV and retired in March.

And besides, would Brett Favre really be afraid of Aaron Rodgers? Unless there was some sort of deal made that nobody has mentioned yet (a highly unlikely scenario, given how ugly this situation has gotten, because somebody would have used it as ammo by now), the setup was this: Brett Favre is the starter, Rodgers is the backup, and this changes ONLY if Brett gets hurt or when he retires. Since Favre has a titanium alloy skeleton, the second outcome is the only valid one.

The point is, Favre was guaranteed to start for as long as he played. How many players, past and present, have that kind of comfort? But, once he retired, that guarantee was void. Why fault the team for doing what it had agreed to when Aaron came on board?

Finally, I also thought it was crazy of him to retire, especially after the year he had. The man was fantastic. But one thing sticks out in my mind about his retirement, and I actually can make a personal analogy that might help explain my position.

I am a recently retired figure skater. I wasn’t a hack , either. I’ve won national titles four times in my nine-year career. I was aiming for the Olympics in 2012. I won’t bore you with the rest of the details, but all in all, I had a successful career. However, last January, I reached a point where all the time and effort I was putting in didn’t seem worth it. To paraphrase, “I can still play, but I’m not sure I want to.”

Favre manifests the notion that players get paid for practice during the week and they play the games for free. He played the game that way his entire career; nobody worked harder than him Monday through Saturday, and nobody had more fun on Sundays. But it inevitably comes to a point where Monday through Saturday gets to be too much, and Sunday isn’t worth it anymore.

I know what it feels like to retire when you’ve still got it. It’s a bittersweet mixture of relief and regret. You’re happy that you don’t have to put up with practice anymore, but you know that the next time a season rolls around, you want to be out there and you want to win it.

The point is, once you reach that point where you want to play but you don’t want to practice, there’s no coming back. I could be the greatest skater in the world, but if I didn’t practice, I wouldn’t be at the same level. Same goes for Favre. I’m not saying that he wouldn’t put the work in, but it wouldn’t be the same. It wouldn’t be Brett Favre.

And that’s why I want him to stay retired.

I can't believe what I am reading.  I am surprised and somewhat appalled by what some of you are saying about Brett & his possible return from retirement.

I live in NC and can honestly say that I never followed football until I met a man from Green Bay.  Since 1988, I have listened to my husband rave about the Packers, the Lombardi trophy, & all the Packer trivia.  During football season, we are the house with the huge blowup Packer in the front yard . We have Brett Farve pictures in the "man room" and a dog named "Lambeau".  Thanks to my in-law's which still live in GB, our 1st born son was given Packer onesies to wear at birth.  I can go on & on but hopefully you get the idea......my husband (& sons) are diehard Packer fans.  Although, I get tired of it sometimes, I have grown to appreciate the spirit of the Packer fans and over the years, I have enjoyed watching Brett Farve. 

Brett Farve is no doubt a LEGEND and deserves more respect for all that he has accomplished.  Some people say "Packer Fan" not "Farve Fan".  However, from what I've seen over the years, the GB Packer history book would probably read very differently if it wasn't for Brett and his last 16 years as QB.  T.T. wants the glory that "Farve" has given the Packers over the years.  He wants the opportunity to rebuild the Packers which is fine but his methods over the years are questionable.  I can understand Brett's wishy washy attitude since T.T. took control.  All the blue collar workers in GB know what politics is like when facing layoffs, etc.  They should understand how Brett must have felt after all that he had accomplished for the Packer organization when his dedication was not only unnoticed but unappreciated .  Brett doesn't need the money now nor did he need it 3 years ago; he didn't have to stay when the fans were begging him to stay; it's my belief he stayed for the fans & the love of the game and kept quite about the Packer organization  & the backstabbing tactics of T.T.  It's no doubt in my mind that Brett gave his heart & soul to GB.  Now I ask......where are his fans now? At this point, I'm truely disappointed in the Packer fans; they aren't what I thought they were.  Ruthless comes to mind.  Teddy boy has something to prove and he's cut throat.....I don't know the man personally but he's a GM and most (not all) people in those type of positions get there by throwing associates to the dogs.  Wake up people & support Brett whether he returns or not.  As for A.R., many QB's wait longer than 3 years.  I would happily sit behind Brett another year or possibly 2.  I just think too much cheese has clogged the brains in GB.  Brett should have been welcomed back with open arms, possibly win a SB and  then quietly retire once & for all.  It could have happened that way but POLITICS and POWER took center stage. Now....who knows?

New guy here, and sorry if this has already been discussed although I didn't see a FanPost on it.

I would think Rodgers has pretty good trade value right now, and he has that trade value based on a portion of one football game.  So there's still a chance he's a dud or inury prone.  You picked up Brohm in the draft.  Why not bring Favre back and ask him to play out the final two years (?) of his contract while grooming Brohm?

The Pack gets a decent player back for Rodgers, Rodgers is happy in a new situation where he (hopefully) gets to start, Favre gets to play, and the fans get to watch their beloved hero for two more years.  Sounds like a win-win-win to me.

Certainly not an expert on the NFL, but I'm gonna say what I think about the whole situation surrounding Brett Favre. Personally, if he had done this comeback at the end of March like he almost did, I would have embraced his return. But now it's mid-July, and the Packers have made the changes necessary for the young Aaron Rodgers to finally assume the role as Packers' quarterback.

It is now that Favre decides that he wants to come back. The Packers basically say that they've committed to Rodgers, but he could come back as a backup. Favre wants a release, and when the Packers don't grant it, Favre gets pissed. The Packers are saying they are trying to look out for Favre's legacy, which Favre says is "a bunch of bull."

Personally I think this comeback in the middle of July by you is a bunch of bull. You expect everyone in the Packers management to bend over and let you have your way. Personally, I think you are tarnishing your legacy with this move to even come back after that show you gave us in March, and the hissy-fit you're throwing now. And if you go to another team, that will only make it worse.

I really don't see why any team would want Favre anyway. The guy is going to turn 39 this October, why would you want to get basically one year from the guy when you could get a younger QB and have a chance to win the Super Bowl a few times the next few years, not just this year. With that said I'm not sure if Favre is capable of winning the Super Bowl on another team.

Favre had a fantastic season last year, yes, but that was with recievers such as Donald Driver whose strengths and weaknesses he knew better than anyone, and he was able to use them to drive down the field. Now you take Favre and put him on a completely different team with players who have never played with him. What if the chemistry isn't there and your team goes 5-11 for the year? Then does taking the 39 year old QB who just couldn't stop playing look like a good decision?

Whatever, as far as I'm concerned Brett can come back, just not on the Packers. As a cheesehead I'm ready for a new era, one that doesn't circle around one player's possible retirement for three months. I belive in Aaron Rodgers, I think he can lead this team to a win in the Super Bowl in the coming seasons. This kid was great in college play, leading the California Golden Bears to an upset win over a then #3 ranked USC in just his second career start.

The next year he broke several school records, and his team suffered only one loss to #1 ranked USC, 23-17, before making it to the Holiday Bowl, losing to Texas University. It was 2005 and he enrolled in the NFL Draft, being picked up by the Packers in the first round. He spent the next three seasons watching Favre lead the Packers. His only playing time was when Favre was injured or the Packers were dominating.

Last year he came in and played most of the game against the Dallas Cowboys after Favre left the game with a shoulder injury. He completed 18 of 26 passes for 201 yards and a touchdown, losing the game 37-27. These numbers are pretty good, especially considering he was playing against the Cowboys, which was thought to be the best team in the NFC. I think this year he will have even better numbers than this against some of the weaker teams of the NFC, but will still be able to pick his way down the field against tough opponents like Dallas.

And if we struggle this season I'm not going to question whether or not Favre should have come back, because in the long haul Rodgers is the right decision. I wouldn't put it past him to lead the Packers to the playoffs again this year. Once your there, heck, who knows maybe they could win the whole thing.

The two most annoying things in the NFL, ESPN and Brett Favre, have teamed up to spawn the third most annoying thing in the NFL, the story entirely substantiated by an undisclosed source. Given the juicy details and Fav-RAY petting that concludes the story--

Ooohh!

He appeared to be in excellent physical condition and threw the ball with ease, even throwing a football 50 yards "on a rope" with high school receivers. He has been throwing and running with the team for more than a month.

I'd guess the source to be Favre or Favre's agent, Snaky McCashRegister.

All due respect Packers fans, this makes a lot of sense. We've all known for some time the fact, the destiny, written in God's library that Bret Favre must die on the field, throwing a pick.

Anyway, here's hoping that wherever he lands he sucks. I've never been a Favre-hater, but one can stand only so much this circus sideshow--and I can't standz no mo!

Hi Packer fans. BBS here from Stampede Blue. I just spent much of last week in Wisconsin, the UP (Michigan), and Canada on a long camping trip. While there, I heard a lot about Brett Favre. I've never seen an area of the country so attached to an athlete. Coming from New York, which is where I divide my time with Indianapolis, I hear a lot of cynical, anti-Favre backlash. And if you ever hear me do SB Nation's podcast with TheSportsGuru, you know i'm in the pro-Favre camp while Guru is not lovin' the Brett Man.

Regarding this breaking story that Brett has an itch to play again, I guess we can all agree that Brett's timing, per usual, is bad. However, unlike most athletes, Brett has earned the right to change his mind, and this whole "public relations" problem is not any big deal. PR has a way of working itself out when you win.

It's real simple: If the Packers want to win right now, they'll allow Favre to return. Be honest with yourselves Pack fans: You're not winning a championship with Aaron Rodgers in 2008. It just isn't happening. Rodgers might be a good player, but to win titles in the modern NFL, you must have an elite QB. Not good. Not OK.

Elite.

Take a look at the teams that have won the Super Bowl the last few years: NY Giants (Eli Manning), Indianapolis Colts (Peyton Manning), Pittsburgh Steelers (Ben Roethlisberger), and New England Patriots (Tom Brady). All teams with elite QBs with reps for late-games heroics. Favre, obviously, is in the same category with all these guys. Rodgers isn't, and likely won't.

Brett Favre also has the kind of elite status that grants him the right to change his mind. If John Elway wanted to return in 1999 after retiring, Bronco fans would have welcomed him back. It's no different with Favre. This is not about "upsetting" Aaron Rodgers, who is likely already pissed becuase the Packers drafted Brian Brohm. In reality, it really doesn't matter how Aaron Rodgers "feels." This is about winning. Now.

So, for you Packers fans that are on the fenace about Brett coming back or not, it's ok to have him play again. If you want another title, Brett Favre must play. He's one of the greatest QBs of all time. If he wants to come back, he can.

This entire PR debacle seems to boil down to one thing and one thing only--Favre doesn't seem to jive with the Ted Thompson long-term plan. This seems to be the only instance in the history of Favre's GB career where he has felt that the Packers owed him something (ie more respect or the club's willingness to pick up more big name free agents on his behalf--ala Randy Moss or Jason Taylor). Thompson probably thought that Favre was done 2 years ago and basically, well, he thought wrong and it threw a wrench into the whole operation. Thompson is in the right here because you can't let the inmates run the asylum as they say--even if that inmate is a 3-time mvp quarterback and possibly the greatest QB ever. It sets a bad, bad precedent--it's as simple as that. The Packers owe Favre ZERO--anybody who thinks otherwise is being disingenuous, ignorant or both.

Now, would I welcome Favre back? Hell YES--this is a win now league and you can't tell me that Rodgers gives GB a better chance to win right now. However, If we (the packers) take back Favre unconditionally that will create a ripple effect all the way from the top of the organization on down to the janitor at Lambeau field. But How can one player dictate terms to an organization? Also: these people who think that Favre will be released are delusional--as stingy as Ted Thompson is, he would be the dumbest man alive to let Favre go to another team within our division, let alone the NFC--that would be an unforgivable sin AND a bad business move. The most likely scenario would be a trade to an AFC team. The prospect of getting equal value at this point is very tricky because of his age though...even though he had a stellar season last year I would be shocked if they got anything more than a 2nd or 3rd round pick. This, in my opinion, is not fair market value.