brett favre is in mid-season form

Brett Favre threw five interceptions in training camp. It's good to see that he's picking up right where he left off last year, with his league-leading 29 interceptions. Even in the pre-season, Brett Favre is a gunslinger! I'm pretty sure that John Madden and Peter King were still impressed by his performance.

In Week 4 of the 2005 season, Favre battled back against the Panthers, only to fall short on the final desperation drive. The AP game summary discussed the "vintage" Favre effort at length, how he battled back, how he cavred up the Carolina defense, and how impressed the Panther players were afterward. The writer only mentioned his two first-half turnovers around the twentieth paragraph.

After the game, Favre said, "You ask yourself: 'What more could I have done?' That eats at you." My dad suggested, "How about not fumbling deep in your own territory on your opening possession?" Favre also sevred up an interception that led to a Carolina touchdown. When you give the other team 14 free points, you don't desevre to win.

I have a theory that Favre's "gunslinger" nature makes him more likely to make comebacks - not necessarily because it's a great style, but because it's so variable. There have been many games where Favre leads a comeback in the fourth quarter, but I think there have also been a significant number of games where the Packers are down seven to ten points, and Favre throws killer interceptions to put the game completely out of reach.

When Favre throws up wild, 50-yard bombs and they get caught, he's a hero. When those passes get intercepted, it gets forgotten, since the team was already losing at the time, and Favre's still a hero. I mean, did you hear what happened to his house after Hurricane Katrina?

The best example of the free pass Favre gets from the media came in a 2005 playoff game against Minnesota. The Packers were behind, but driving for a touchdown. Favre threw a pass from something like five yards across the line of scrimmage. After that play, which would have been gotten Favre benched in a Pop Warner game, and may well have ended Green Bay's season, the announcers were actually laughing about it. That's just Favre, that's just what a gunslinger does, forgetting where the line of scrimmage is. He's all heart, that Brett Favre! What a line-of-scrimmage-ignoring competitor!

I like Brett Favre, I really do. I like that he shows so much enthusiasm on the field. I like that he starts every game. I like that he shaved his head out of solidarity when his wife went through chemotherapy. I like that he successfully petitioned the league to let him drink beer while he was rehabbing from Vicodin addiction. I liked him in There's Something About Mary. But broadcasters and sportswriters are making me hate him.

If just once, Joe Theisman would call out Favre for a bad pass, or if Peter King would skip a press conference where Favre announces he's still making up his mind about retirement, it would go a long way to redeeming Favre for me. Failing that, he could promise to keep gunslinging through the Week 14 game against the 49ers. Come on, Brett. Niner fans are stavring for some cheap wins. Don't let us down, buddy.