Brett Farve Retires; Aaron Rodgers to Take Over

Today, Brett Favre, Packer fan favorite and holder of nearly ever passing record known to man, put an end to his 17 year career by announcing his retirement, Aaron Rodgers, who was a great quarterback in college and drafted in 2005 to learn from Favre and eventually take over his position, will likely be the packers new quarterback next season. That is, if Favre is actually retired.

Brett Favre is one of the most competitive men in all of sports history. He hasn't missed a game in 14 years, playing through physical, mental, and emotional pain. I have a suspicion that someone that competitive can't stay out of the game for long while he knows he can still play and if last season, where he led the Packers to the NFC title game, is any indication, he can still play. Also, one thing you have to wonder is why now. Last season was one of his best of career stats wise despite the fact that he was 39.

He nearly led a young team to the Super Bowl and this young team is only going to get better with age. If he were to come back, they'd be a Super Bowl contender. So, why did he leave now? Why leave now when he is this close to another Super Bowl? Why not leave a few years ago when his team went 4-12 and he was clearly frustrated with the lack of veteran talent on the roster? It just doesn't make sense. This is why I think Favre is not actually retired for good. A competitive man like Favre doesn't just retire when he has a good team around him and plenty left in the tank. I expect him to either unretire before training camp, or unretire sometime in the future, or at least come back and coach.

If Favre is retired for good, the team is still in good hands. It wouldn't be as good as if Favre were playing quarterback himself next season, but Aaron Rodgers showed talent in college and Favre probably taught him everything he knows about the game. I expect a slight drop off in team production next season, but over the long run, I think Rodgers can be a good quarterback. He can grow and mature with the rest of this young team and eventually become one of the best in the league. As for next season, I think they go down from where they were this season. I say 10-6 with one playoff series win. The Packers will be fine long term without Favre, but Lambeau will seem like such a lonely place with Favre there playing quarterback every Sunday. In fact, the whole NFL will seem lonely for a while.

More information: http://www.packers.com/news/releases/2008/03/04/1/