Packers To Retire Favre's No. 4

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Thu May 12, 2011 8:01 am

Packers' CEO Mark Murphy admitted today that the Packers would retire Brett Favre's No. 4 jersey in a few years, once they are convinced that he won't play again. I think it's a great call.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/stor ... LHeadlines

It might be uncomfortable now to see Favre, Ted Thompson, Mike McCarthy and Aaron Rodgers all in the same setting, but in a few years all will be forgiven. It's a no-brainer to retire his No. 4 as he's quite possibly the greatest Packer in franchise history. He certainly saved the franchise after 2+ decades of mediocrity.

Heck, I'll go one step further. I think down the road he deserves a bronze statue in front of Lambeau Field, right next to Vince Lombardi and Curly Lambeau. In my mind, he's as important to this franchise as those two leaders. Let's see it happen some day.

And if Rodgers keeps playing like he did last year, we can retire No. 12 in 15 years, too. And there's even room for a fourth bronze statue in front of Lambeau Field, right next to Brett.

Diesel · Post by **Diesel** » Thu May 12, 2011 8:44 am

Greg, I've always respected the Packers. I always liked Favre too. But as good as he was, didn't he only win one superbowl? And correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought Reggie White was the reason the Pack got over the hump that year and won it all?

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Thu May 12, 2011 9:24 am

Originally posted by Diesel:
Greg, I've always respected the Packers. I always liked Favre too. But as good as he was, didn't he only win one superbowl? And correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought Reggie White was the reason the Pack got over the hump that year and won it all? White was the first big-name free agent of the new free agency period and he surprised everyone by signing with the Packers. He said God told him to go to Green Bay, but in reality he played against Favre the year before and saw Favre separate his shoulder against Philadelphia and come back to beat White's Eagles. He knew that was the QB who could lead him to the Super Bowl.

Favre was the first three-time MVP, winning MVP honors in 1995, 1996 and 1997. He brought the Packers to the playoffs in 1992 for the first time since the 1981 strike season and was the leader of that 1996 Super Bowl team. The Packers had the No. 1 offense in the NFL and the No. 1 defense in the NFL, so Favre and White were equally important, but White was on the downside of his career and Favre was still the best player in football.

There are only 4 or 5 retired numbers in Packers' history, which is amazing considering they have over 20 NFL Hall of Famers. So retiring Favre's No. 4 is quite an honor and shows you his importance to the franchise.

Diesel · Post by **Diesel** » Thu May 12, 2011 10:17 am

Greg, the boards are boring lately. I just wanted to get your blood flowing. Favre had a great career. He deserves the respect he'll get from the Packers organization. I still say I wish Sterling Sharpe had a full career with Favre. If it weren't for injuries, Sharpe would have been a special wideout to be remembered.

mikeybok · Post by **mikeybok** » Fri May 13, 2011 1:34 am

Anyone else find it ironic that the year Favre retires ... nobody in the league will show up for training camp on time?

Diesel · Post by **Diesel** » Fri May 13, 2011 2:02 am

Originally posted by Very Ugly Yellow Tomatoes:
Anyone else find it ironic that the year Favre retires ... nobody in the league will show up for training camp on time?

hahahaha.

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Fri May 13, 2011 2:27 am

Originally posted by Very Ugly Yellow Tomatoes:
Anyone else find it ironic that the year Favre retires ... nobody in the league will show up for training camp on time? Good one Mike!!

The NFL should take note, however, of Favre's spotty play last year when he missed most of training camp. Let's hope that's not the type of football we see from all of the players if a late settlement is reached and the 16-game regular season remains.

Diesel · Post by **Diesel** » Fri May 13, 2011 3:15 am

Originally posted by Greg Ambrosius:
quote:Originally posted by Very Ugly Yellow Tomatoes:
Anyone else find it ironic that the year Favre retires ... nobody in the league will show up for training camp on time? Good one Mike!!

The NFL should take note, however, of Favre's spotty play last year when he missed most of training camp. Let's hope that's not the type of football we see from all of the players if a late settlement is reached and the 16-game regular season remains. [/QUOTE]Good point Greg. I read an article about how this delay is going to hurt rookies and any new player to a team this year. Every week lost is a valuable learning week that is lost. Rookies don't usually make an immediate impact as it is. Now imagine a few weeks of training camp instead of a few months. I won't be drafting any rookies this year if this delay lasts later than mid-June.

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Fri May 13, 2011 4:05 am

Originally posted by Diesel:
quote:Originally posted by Greg Ambrosius:
quote:Originally posted by Very Ugly Yellow Tomatoes:
Anyone else find it ironic that the year Favre retires ... nobody in the league will show up for training camp on time? Good one Mike!!

The NFL should take note, however, of Favre's spotty play last year when he missed most of training camp. Let's hope that's not the type of football we see from all of the players if a late settlement is reached and the 16-game regular season remains. [/QUOTE]Good point Greg. I read an article about how this delay is going to hurt rookies and any new player to a team this year. Every week lost is a valuable learning week that is lost. Rookies don't usually make an immediate impact as it is. Now imagine a few weeks of training camp instead of a few months. I won't be drafting any rookies this year if this delay lasts later than mid-June. [/QUOTE]Agreed. Heck, only the first-rounders even have a playbook right now. How in the hell can the other rookies learn the offense and get acclimated to their teams if they get handed a playbook in August without any mini-camps or a full training camp. The owners certainly aren't thinking about this, but you know the coaches and real fans are. This product won't look anything like past years if most of training camp is lost to labor negotiations.

My hope is that the court decisions push the two sides together to negotiate seriously. If the TV punishment is high enough, maybe that will give the players leverage to forge a deal with the owners. It's all about money anyway, so maybe a hefty financial penalty will be the reason to finally form a deal. I hope so.