Favre reprises annual Hamlet role

By Fred Guzman
MauiNow.com

He’s Hamlet in shoulder pads.  We are alluding, of course, to the Shakesperean indecisiveness of Brett Farve.  Even his long-time worshippers – both fans and in the media – have wearied with Favre’s annual “to play, or not to play” soliloquy.

Sharing the stage with Favre this time in this all-too-familiar annual scene are the Minnesota Vikings, who figure they are just a quarterback away from making a strong run to the Super Bowl.

The problem is that the Brett Favre that lives in our imaginations is not the same guy who was quarterbacking the Jets last season.  This not the same quarterback that led Green Bay to a title.  But that was a decade ago.   Instead, the Vikings are lusting for a 40-year-old with an ailing wing and a diva-like disposition.

After a nasty split with the Packers, Favre was traded to the Jets.  He started well, but he and the team nosedived down the stretch.  New York lost four of its final five, finishing out of the playoffs.  During that span, Favre threw nine picks, two touchdowns and had a passer rating of 54.4.  He finished with a rating of 81.0.  By comparison, the much-maligned Tarvaris Jackson’s rating was 95.4.

In three of the last four years, Favre has failed to throw more TD’s than picks. He threw 22 of each last season while playing for a pretty good team.

Bottom line:  Brett Favre is a gunslinger who doesn’t draw as quickly as he once did.