Regardless of where one sits on the relevance of the Brett Favre career calculations, his long overdue departure set in motion a series of noteworthy discussions. Among them:

1. Is Favre the best QB ever?

2. Is Favre one of the best QB's ever?

3. Is Favre the best Packer QB ever?

4. Was this year the "right" year for #4 to retire?

They're all great questions, but it merits mention that one must first define "greatness" before even entering the discussion.

1&2.

If you love stats, there's no question Favre is one of the best ever. He stands atop a class including Moon, Marino, Fouts, Kelly and a handful of others who piled up great regular season records/stats in a game more defensively hamstrung with every passing year.

It's kind of ironic for me though, that Favre reminds me of my favorite and the original GOB, Gunslinger QB, Terry Bradshaw though. Actually, it just makes me wonder how Bradshaw would have performed under the same rule set.

But if one cares about winning, the real winning, Brett Favre has more in common with Trent Dilfer than Joe Montana. That's why it's hard for me to even consider him an elite, top ten performer. The rush by the media to anoint Favre as the King of QB's is about as undeserved as as awarding the Nobel Prize in Physics for the Clapper.

Favre Won a SB. He lost a SB.

Terry Bradshaw won four, didn't lose one.

Joe Montana won four, didn't lose one.

Troy Aikman won 3 didn't lose one.

Bart Starr won two, didn't lose one. (and 3 NFL Championships).

Bradshaw even went on record as saying his greatest accomplishment was that her never lost a SB.

But doubtlessly, there are some greats that have lost a championship. The one that most comes to mind is the phenomenal Otto Graham. 10 Championship game appearances in ten years, and seven championships.

No one even mentions Otto Graham. Even though he played in a era where defenders abused receivers and QB's like they were inmates at Alcatraz, and Graham was the poster boy for developing the face mask after a blow to the jaw left him with 15 stitches.

Ten years, 7 Championships, 86.6 passer rating, 105-17-4 record and 88 TD's.

Now tell me that Favre compares to that? Or even try to extrapolate what Graham would have done under the NFL-lite PI, IC and Roughing rules in place today.

When you consider what Graham did, it's hard to imagine that any of the talking heads have even as much of a clue about NFL history. Or even recent history.

Don't even get me started about Johnny U.

Bradshaw is on TV every Sunday. He won 4 SB's in six years. Montana is hardly an afterthought, with the highest QB rating ever in the post season, over 100. Aikman, yeah he shows up every so often.

And what About 3-1 Tom Brady?

So until we have a stats bowl to decide the best of the best every season, Favre is a very good, but not elite QB.

The sad fact is though, we'll never be able to compare these guys side by side. So the question borders on moot.

3. Bart Starr won 5 Championships. Favre won one. So this question is a joke too.

4. No. He didn't pick the right year, he should have retired four or five years ago after that six-pick with a pick-six, meltdown in the post season. The sad fact is, ever since Favre lost his babysitters, Mariucci, Gruden and Holmgren, he's been a pressure point disaster. He's the guy you can count on to make the worst possible play when it's all on the line. Once Holmgren left, and he had left before the Packers even blew that SB to the Ponies, Favre was cursed by his own hoopla. I honestly think he started buying into the hype.

Heck, Bradshaw had Noll, Montana had Walsh, Starr had Lombardi and Graham had Brown, who did Favre end up with? Yes, the Legendary Mike Sherman. What did we expect?

Don't get me wrong kids, I had to love Favre, if only for the literally challenged mis-pronunciation of Farvruh. But include him in the elite, much less anoint him the best? Come on.

All the hoopla tells me is how sorry the state of QB'ing has become since coaches took the game from the QB's hands and the NFL rule softeners made even the Kordell Stewart experience an option.

Favre was clearly an exceptional and durable athlete, and definitely an exceptional talent. But his career numbers, however inflated, do the talking. 17 years, one trophy.

Steve Young is looking awfully good right now.

It's true, if I (instead of Jason Whitlock) had cited black on black crime as evidence of the new KKK, I'd be labeled a racist and probably locked out of the site (again).

It's true, if I had reached down deep and called out blacks for being the primary perpretrators of crimes against blacks, I'd be labeled a racist and probably locked out of the site (again).

It's true (even though Whitlock is black) that the instant he chose to stand on an issue and call out blacks for being the most likely to kill other blacks, he invited a firestorm of controversy.

Yes, double standards are alive and well in America. And there not just for white folks either.

Here's what I have to say about what Whitlock had to say:

Thank God.

I didn't like his choice of metaphors, but I understand the use of a literary device as well as anyone. Whitlock pushed your buttons skillfully.

I despise the subject matter, and the ugly reality of Sean Taylor's short life. I knew about Taylor's not so perfect past and regardless of his poor choices, had to root for him. The guy was a phenom. He didn't always behave the way I wish he would have behaved, but Taylor could have played in any era, under any rule set, and been a superstar. He was that good. He played the game the way it's supposed to be played. Somehow, I felt that understanding and respect for the game would keep him safe.

I prayed for his life. I cried at his passing. I thought about the unfairness of how I cried for him and not all the other 24 year-old black men that perish in senseless violence. I'm ashamed of that.

I lost my best friend when he was 22, after he was killed in a head-on collision. I carried him to his grave.

These deaths are a death of hope.

And Jason Whitlock dared to speak about the senselessness, the ugliness, the sickness, and the tragedy. He dared to blame the guilty and call the truth by its right name.

Thank God.

He chose to stand for something, to care enough to tell people what they need to hear instead of what they want to hear.

He chose to be a writer, instead of a journalist.

Here's the news, kids. You don't have to agree with him (I rarely do), you don't have to like his style or the content about which he chooses to opine.

But you should give him your respect. He displayed the character and courage that so many "journalists' have chosen to forgo in favor of a regular paycheck.

He stood on a wall. He called for positive change and he knows that you have be fearless in order to shepherd that change. He put the truth ahead of his popularity.

In essence, Whitlock went on record as being against people killing people, black on black crime is part of that problem. I have no issue with his position.

I choose to praise him. I give him my highest praise. I call him a writer.

You may choose not to praise him. But I think you should respect him. The list of folks who tell us what we need to hear is getting shorter every day.

In what might be one of the most idiotic presentations in sports "journalism" ever, ESPN presented a "town meeting" to discuss the race issue related to Ron Mexico's guilty plea.

Despite the unbelievable cheers and catcalls from the overwhelmingly black audience, I listened in. You're going to have to pardon me for asking these questions.

But did Vick plead gulity because he was black? Did he bankroll the gambling ring because he was black? Did he electrocute and drown dogs because he was black?

Terence Mathis talked about what Vick had done for the city. Mike Vick was their guy. He spoke of how much pride that Vick had brought to their city, but then forgot to mention how Vick had shamed and disgraced his city and the NFL by murdering defenselelss animals. He mentioned how Mike Vick put Atlanta football back on the map, but forgot to mention Vick flipping off those fans twice in his home satdium.

I heard questions about why other NFL players had done much worse and avoided punishment? Who for instance? Rae Carruth? Nate Newton? Bam Morris? Jamal Lewis?

I heard compliants about media overkill, and how Mike Vick has been put through so much. Yet the crowd jeered when an animal rights activist remided them that the victims were dead and buried, killed in fights, electrocuted &/or drowned,not making plea deals.

I saw ESPN cut short Joy Behar's retort to Whoopi Goldberg when Goldberg pulled the "cultural/southern" excuse on "The View". Behar asked her in what part of the country drowning or electrocuting dogs was part of the culture. Whoopi had no answer, but ESPN didn't bother to show that.

All in all I saw, the most racially biased and polarizing events on TV since the civil rights marches/riots on 50 years ago. ESPN worked hard to enrage an overwhelmingly white viewing audience. What a disgrace.

Meanwhile, Deuce McAllister's blocking back, a white guy, breaks down and cries over McAllister's injury, telling a reporter what a great man Deuce is and how "he plays the game for guys like him".

That statement got a few lines in a small article. Why, because it proves that race isn't an issue in an 80% black league. But it doesn;t draw ratings.

Just for the record. Mike Vick ran a dogfighting operation and murdered animals. He plead guilty because he was guilty. It's time to stop buying into the excuses and call a felon a felon. Not black felon, not a white felon, just a felon.

With no Rush Limbaugh lurking in the literary shadows, Dumbavan McChoke has taken the racist burden upon himself and decried that some people don't want blacks to be NFL QB's. So they have to do "a little extra".

Aside from the fact that I'm eagerly awaiting the NAAWP to come out demanding that the Eagles cut McNabb for his racist remarks, these remarks are disturbing for many reasons.

I suppose that Fathead 5 is under the impression that the viewing public is as stupid as he says they think black QB's are. Otherwise he'd know that the savvy fan sees McChoke's rhetoric as the typical blame laying and excuse making we would expect any bitter, overpaid, underproducing veteran QB whose head is on the block.

Anyone who saw McNabb burn down the franchise in 3 NFCC losses, and then physically gag his team out of  SB XXXIX, knows that the McNabb problem is not a skin color issue. It's a cardio-intestinal issue. McNabb simply doesn't have the heart or the guts to finish when it matters most.

So he senses that Eagles fans are gonna start screaming for whitey QB. He's perfectly entitled to lie to himself and say that it's not because he can't win the big one, nor can he even stay healthy anymore. But having lived in Philadelphia for many years of the McNabb era,  I know that had McChoke delivered even one Lombardi they'd rename cheese steaks "McNabb's" and nominate him for Sainthood.

And while we're on the topic, what exactly is the "Little Extra" black QB's have to do to achieve recognition? Is it choking in 3 NFCC games, or puking away a SB? Is it being a barely above average QB who is really an above average RB, like the ex-Falcon turned felon? Because there's no absence of media celebration for those two. Is it being a playoff and SB failure like Steve McNair? Because you can't hear McNair's name mentioned without the obligitory "warrior" reference in the same breath.

The sad truth is, McNabb's salvo is ugly in two hideous ways. One, because it showcases the bitterness of a fading star on the downside. Two, because it's the kind of rhetoric that not only incites racism, but propogates the very venom of which McNabb claims that QB's are victims.

The scorching irony is that McNabb has taken the very tack for which he and the NAACP unjustly accused Limbaugh. A few years back, it was Limbaugh who dared to say that the media "over-celebrates" black QB's, and used McNabb as an example of a black QB who gets a lot of press and simply isn't as good as he's made out to be. It cost Rush the job. So McNabb, as he fades into the NFL dust, decides to champion the poor, beleagured, multi-millionaire, overpaid, under-producing black QB's, who aren't getting the press they deserve. Well, the comments won't cost McNabb his job. His performance will.

Irony can be very irony-y, huh folks? Maybe McNabb thinks we don't know better, but we do. He's a loser, and just like a loser would do, he's chosen racism (or whatever other excuse is handy) over  truth.

NE-SD

 

I certainly took a lot of heat last week for my statements about the Moss acquisition in NE. The temperature seemed to cool tremendously, though with the revelation that the Pats might have had a hint about what the Jersey/B planned to do defensively last week.

 

Don't start writing the Chargers down for the W just yet, though. Sure, it'll get a might bit harder for Tom and Randy to make it into a pitch and catch-a-thon now that they don't have a heads up on what D the opponent will run. But let's not underestimate th NT factor, that Norv Turner for those who haven'[t been singing along.

 

Sure the Chargers pulled a tough one out against a formidable opponent. But that formidable opponent handed them more than the 14 pts SD put on the board. This Chargers team is already looking like the underperforming, undisciplined crews Norv is known to produce.

 

This week's game is too close to call. But neither of these teams will be the juggernauts the anlaysts predicted, going forward. Look for the wheels to start coming off in SD (week 6) before NE though.

 

IND-TN

 

The Colts looked phenomenal against the Aints. Had they played on Sunday, the NE Perps big "win" wouldn't have looked so big. Look for a slight Indy letdown this week, though. Indy doesn't have 15 more opponents waking up from a bad hangover this year, either.

 

TN punches everybody in the mouth defensively, and even though VY is going to continue to look subpar statistically, I get nervous about betting against him. He's still the guy who singlehandedly destroyed a BCS Championship for a vastly more talented USC team. The guy just wins football games. Whether or not he'll be a real NFL QB is still open for discussion. Even though I see the Tacks and VY taking a step back this year, I just love his talent level.

 

CIN-CLE

 

Here's what we know. The Ravens got 8 chances to score last week and couldn't recover from one bad call. The Bengals got one good call and still defended their end 7 times. Are the Bengals overrated? No. They made the plays they had to, even after Ed Reed tried to break their backs with a scintillating TD return.

 

In CLE, the Brady Quinn watch is at two quarters and counting. If we don't see him by the second half of next week's game. I'll personally drive to Foxboro and kiss Moss' butt. Who are we kidding, no I won't. But Romeo knows what he has in Anderson, and he knew what he had in Frye. So the only hope to keep his salary and avoid becoming a "special assistant to the vidoegrapher" in NE, rides on #10.

 

SF-STL

 

The Niners are bringing sexy back. Is there a sexier pick as a not so dark horse as a Division Champ? Two years ago, I called Alex Smith a total bust. That makes me about as wrong with that call as Erma4USC was in calling Doug Williams a "scab". Smith was phenomenal last week, and the Niners will be the real deal under Nolan.

 

STL, on the other hand is the fake deal. The rumors of the "Greatest Show on Turf" v. 2.0 were as Mark Twain would say, 'greatly exaggerated".  Here are the facts. Holt and Bruce are old and brittle. Mark Bulger is very accurate, but not the alien Kurt Warner. And The STL defense is about 25% as talented as the one that kept giving Kurt and Co. the ball back. The Rams are an 8-9 win team.

 

GB-JERSEY/A

 

Watch that Pack Defense round into the dominant squad everyone says the Ravens still have. Watch Brett Favre fade into the sunset. Watch the Packers contend.

 

I will say this for Favre. He was hilarious, but not mean, in his remarks about the hefty lefty.

 

JERSEY/A

 

I know I'm not the only dying to see an onrushing safety slam into and bounce off of the Hefty Lefty, wondering what kind of truck he ran into. Remember when they used to call Jim Kelly a LB wearing a QB number? What does that make Lorenzen? A  NT under center? Something makes me want to see Lorenzen succeed and create the obvious controversy in NY.

 

BUF-PIT

 

This is the real season opener for Pittsburgh. I love my Steelers, but when a team commits four penalties during a 15 yard punt, they should just call the game right there. Pittsburgh still has some issues on the OL to solve, witnessed by a complete inability to run the ball before the score got out of hand. And B-Ro still forces the issue and needs to learn how to throw to RB's.

 

I still love the dignity and intelligence that Tomlin has restored to the sideline in Pitt. How it took the Rooney's 15 seasons to figure out that grown men tune out temper tantrums is beyond me.

 

As for the Bills, they're going to suffer from the dreaded Jauron curse and the Loseman factor until both are dispatched elsewhere. Jauron turns 13-3 teams into 3-13 teams like hotcakes, and if it wasn't for the deep ball, JP would have no ball at all.

 

What's worse than bringing back a career choker as your HC? Bringing him back as your GM. I have nothing but Pity for Bills fans these days.

 

NO-TB

 

Look for the Saints to pull a complete 180 and show us that they're the slightly above average team we always knew they were. Unless Sean Payton gets it out of his mind that Mr. Bojangles is not feature back, that is.

 

Look for poor, 37 y/o undersized, pop-gun armed Jeff Garcia to finally shatter into pieces in the coming weeks. Jon Gruden, wtf? You won Tony Dungy's SB, and went about dissembling a SB team into a perennial cellar dweller. Sure you're fun to watch, but so was Nick Saban. Hell, Jim Mora Sr. was a press conference circus, before Denny Green even contemplated a meltdown. But you all have something in common. You suck.

 

HOU-CAR

 

I expect the Texans to continue to surprise. I expect the Panthers to continue to be over-rated. I expect Mario Williams to continue to outscore Reggie Bush.

 

ATL-JAX

 

Joseph Harrington has about one more game before the Falcons sign Byron "Club" Sandwich, or maybe even Tommy "Gun" Maddox for that matter. True, ATL and Minnesota set offense back 50 years last week. And Granted, the whole Falcons team pooped their drawers last week. But how long will Petrino settle for a timid, confused QB who can''t handle game speed defenses? Answer; not long.

 

Does that mean I'm changing course and saying the Falcons were better off with Vick? No. The only difference between Harrington and Vick at QB is that Vick was too stupid to admit he was a RB, and Harrington knows in his heart, that's he's a backup on his best days.

 

David Garrard? Cut that out. No really, get a cardboard cutout, put it behind the center and you'll get the same performance. JAX is dead if Garrard is their guy. They'd probably go 12-4 with Beverly D'Angelo at QB. But I don;t think she'll play for them, and Del Rio doesn't even have her number. (Thanks, Seth).

 

MIN-DET

 

Next Question.

 

DAL-MIA

 

Look for Miami to go six-wide and not even use a QB. Watching the Cowboys get carved up by Eli and company had to be downright frightening to Jerry.  But this is another case of what happens when you hire loser coaches to take over wining teams.

 

As for the Fish, I'm not sold on the "Cam Cameron Experience". That whole, "you guys coach, I gotta look at the players", gig in the last preseason game was bizarre. Don't HC's evaluate players during games anyway?

 

And is his first name Cameron, too? No, it's actually Malcolm. But is that any better? And shouldn't he be "Colm" Cameron, then? I don't know, I smell 6-8 wins wafting in from the sea.

 

SEA-ARI

 

Mike Holmgren went on record as saying it's tough enough to win a game, without an opponent videotaping your calls. At least now he's criticizing other HC's instead of the Zebra's.

 

 

DEN-OAK

 

Jay Cutler is a man. Two fourth and two's, one stick-throw and one run; both drive savers to win the game at BUF. People say he reminds them of John Elway. I say he reminds me of Jay Cutler. Wishing does not make it so, nor do I wish for Cutler to become better than Big Ben, but there's something about this guy, and it smells like money.

 

For some reason I think the Raiders have trumped the Akili Smith signing this week. While he has the physical tools a coaches drool over, I just don't see this guy ever being a franchise QB. I see a more muscular Aaron Brooks coming down the pike. Not a guy who will make a bad team better, but a guy who will make average teams terrible. I don't know what it is. There's no good reason to believe Russell won't be at least very good. Yet I'm not buying. Besides, paying a rookie $60mm is just insane.

 

JERSEY/B-BAL

 

Kellen Clemens to start? Who would have thought the Jets would be looking at a Chad Pennington injury this season. We all did, that's who. I don't think JETS fans even bet the games any more, they just bet the over under for when Pennington goes on IR. This is my sleeper pick to sign Byron "The Earl of" Sandwich. I know signing Leftwich  would be a news-making event, but I think Mangina likes QB's who can throw the long out, or at least the short out, which means Chad is left out.

 

And finally, has Steve McNair (the Warrior) finally lost the tools to go to battle? There have been enough people asking that question recently to at least mention it. But noooooooooo. Here's what we know about the Alcorn State Ares.

 

One, he will get injured at least six to 8 times this season.

 

Two:  at least one of those injuries will see McNair limp back onto the field with one of limbs duct taped to his body.

 

Three: He will start slowly in the first few games, as he always does.

 

Four: Until January, McNair will find some way, somehow, to rip the hearts out of 10-12 opponents every season. The guy's just a winner, a regular season winner, that is.