Has Brett Favre lost it?

[Pakuni]

Favre actually had a worse TD:INT ratio then Grossman last year if you can believe it.


ESPN weighs in with some heady stuff.


http://insider.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=2869628&name=wickersham_seth&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab2pos2

And a worse QB rating:
Grossman = 73.9
Favre = 72.7

And now, for fairness sake, we should also compare:

1. Quality of offensive lines
2. Quality of running games
3. Quality of receivers
4. Quality of defense/special teams (life gets easier for a quarterback when he's not playing from behind and/or with poor field position)

It's safe to say the Bears win out in at least three of these four categories and are a draw in the other.
Favre may very well be a has been, but Grossman is well on his way to being a never was.
Arguing who was better in 2006 is like debating over the relative merits of Milwaukee's Best vs. Old Milwaukee. Each can do the job when you're really hard up, but neither would be anyone's first choice.

[muarmy81]

That's been my point from the get-go...Grossman may very well become a never was but he's YOUNG and just completed his first full season because he's had some unfortunate injuries but he did show instances of brilliance (1st 1/2 of the season) and he also showed his youth (much of the 2nd 1/2 of the season)   Was Favre's first full season a pro-bowl effort? NO and neither was Rex's so please understand that I'm not comparing Rex to the MVP seasons Favre had, rather I'm just trying to say that you can't pass judgement on a guy after 1 year where, by the way, he didn't play all that terrible.

Favre First full year as the Starter:
Games:  16
Started:  16
Comp %:  60.9 (318/522)
Yards:  3303
TD:  19
INT:  24
Rating 72.2

Grossman's First full year as starter:
Games:  16
Started:  16
Comp %:  54.6 (262/480)
Yards:  3193
TD:  23
INT:  20
Rating 73.9


You mention his line, his running game, receivers, etc.... Well, last year they had nearly the exact same team and didn't get to the super bowl with Orton, with REx they did.  Obviously it wasn't all Rex's doing but he did add something that the team missed from last year.

[Pakuni]

You mention his line, his running game, receivers, etc.... Well, last year they had nearly the exact same team and didn't get to the super bowl with Orton, with REx they did.  Obviously it wasn't all Rex's doing but he did add something that the team missed from last year.

I mention line, running game, etc. to illustrate the advantages Grossman held over Favre in 2006 and why a straight comparison of their numbers without taking those factors into account might be a little misleading.

I don't think anyone is saying Grossman should be compared to the MVP version of Favre, but it's worth noting that when Favre had a great team around him he put up great numbers. When Grossman has had a great team around him, he's put up, on average, mediocre numbers.

Lastly, as I'm sure you're aware, Rex was the Bears starter at the end of the 2005 season and in the playoffs, where he laid a gigantic turd against the Panthers. So to claim that he was the difference, or even a partial difference, between their playoff results of 2005 and 2006 isn't completely accurate.

[Murffieus]

At age 38----Favre could have a "great" team around him----and he's still underachieve expectations----he still has his arm strength----but his accuracy has waned!

Only a 56% completion percentage last year in the WCO----among the lowest i have seen for a starting QB out of the WCO !

[muarmy81]

Right,
I didn't say he WAS the difference but I thought he added another dimension to the team.  And as far as laying a turd against the Panthers, well I don't agree with that.  His completion % wasn't great (17/41) but he did throw for 192 yds and a touchdown,(1 INT as well) which isn't terrible.  If the bears defense had shown up for that game and not allowed Steve Smith to walk all over them that game would have turned out differently.  Every time the Panthers scored in the second half Rex took the bears right down the field to answer but the biggest issue in that game was that the bears defense, the secondary in particular, just couldn't get a stop.