He played at a very high level last year, leading the Pack to the NFC Championship game, while breaking the TD record in between. Truth is, I could never really look at him the same after his teary-eyed press conference described how he didn’t want to play anymore, then have him suit up a year later. And by the way, I know he’s a living legend, but what he’s doing to Aaron Rodgers’ credibility (not to mention his confidence/mental health) in the Packer locker room has to be devastating to the kid. This is the second third fourth time Rodgers has mentally prepared himself and his teammates for him to be the leader, only to have Favre step in and say, “oh one more year.” Only Favre could get away with something like that, and I think he knows that.

On a lighter note, Football Outsiders’ piece on Day 2 draftees highlights our very own Justin King as a potential diamond in the rough.

How may players have we seen do this? Just a couple come to mind (and I’m sure they barely skim the surface). Basketball had Hakeem/Akeem, Moses Malone, and nowadays my favorite player growing up, Michael Finley. Baseball has had thousands, and I won’t even begin to mention them here, except to say it’s time for Ivan Rodriguez to hang em up and get ready for the HOF. Honeslty, I’m not a big enough hockey fan to suggest what I think would fit here, and I won’t bore anybody with any soccer names. Football? I don’t want to start any TST fights, but let’s all admit, we have players we think left too late.
The truth is, great players who play the game they love and love the game they play can’t leave. Sure, it’s the only thing they know; but, it’s the only thing they know because it’s the only thing they’ve ever wanted to know. It’s tough to criticize the greats as the sun sets on their career. I could get overly allegorical and suggest that the god-athlete ending his career is akin to the mortal accepting mortality, but shit, this is TST, not a graduate class….