http://www.twincities.com/ci_16750574
The Vikings' five remaining regular-season games are quarterback Brett Favre's swan song.
Really.
He means it this time.
"I'm done. I'm done," Favre repeatedly told reporters Wednesday during his weekly news conference.
His latest retirement pledge rings true despite Favre's custom the past three years of walking away from the NFL only to claw back into the spotlight.
The certainty can be heard in the weariness of Favre's voice, the evidence seen through his poor play this season, the disappointment of Minnesota's 4-7 record and Super Bowl aspirations that went bust.
"I remember the same question the first part of the year and everyone said, 'Well ...' and I said, 'Time will tell.' But I'm done," Favre said.
"As I said when I came back, we're here to win a Super Bowl. We had big expectations. It hasn't gone the way we'd hoped up to this point. But, again, my career speaks for itself. I've had a great career. I don't know how the remaining games will unfold, but that's it."
Favre, 41, has started 296 consecutive regular-season games since 1992 and holds every major passing record in NFL history. But he is on pace to finish his 20th season with 25 interceptions and 15 touchdowns — a minus-10 ratio that would be the worst of his career.
Moreover, Favre is playing with two fractures in his left foot, a sore elbow and shoulder in his throwing arm, plus other aches, pains and maladies he randomly discloses around game days.
After the Nov. 14 loss at Chicago, he groaned to ESPN's Ed Werder about an undisclosed shoulder injury. Before Sunday's victory at Washington, he speculated to Werder that he had pneumonia.
"Now it's malaria. Got bit by a mosquito last week," Favre quipped.
Asked why he feels compelled to routinely divulge ailments that might or might not affect his play, Favre hovered over the question without directly answering it, and then invoked guard Steve Hutchinson's broken thumb.
"I'm sure people probably wonder why I sound so congested and stuff like that. Regardless of what you may think, I'm not going out every week and saying this is bothering me or that's bothering me," Favre said, in contrast to comments he has made to Werder, a national reporter for the country's largest sports network.
"So if you want, we can go through a long list of stuff. And I don't have malaria, by the way. I'm like Hutch. I'm trying to get a little sympathy I guess. That's a joke, by the way. He's got a broken thumb."
Favre announced his retirement from the Green Bay Packers in March 2008 before sending signals later that spring that he wanted to return. The Packers, having moved on with Aaron Rodgers at quarterback, traded Favre's rights to the New York Jets.
The Jets finished 9-7 in 2008 and failed to make the playoffs, which ultimately cost coach Eric Mangini his job. Favre said again he was finished before the Vikings persuaded him to come out of retirement in 2009, when he led them to a 12-4 record and within one victory of the Super Bowl.
That was the nadir of Favre's tenure in Minnesota.
After veterans Jared Allen, Ryan Longwell and Hutchinson persuaded him to return in August after an overnight recruiting trip to his Hattiesburg, Miss., home, Favre has struggled along with the rest of the team.
His quarterback rating of 71.0 ranks 30th in the league, ahead of only Arizona's Derek Anderson, Bruce Gradkowski of Oakland and Carolina rookie Jimmy Clausen.
Brad Childress was fired as Vikings head coach last week, and the NFL is still investigating whether Favre sent lewd text messages and photos to a former Jets sideline reporter.
Last month, when the Vikings were still in playoff contention, Favre told Steve Mariucci of the NFL Network he was finished after this season. He elaborated Wednesday.
"Everything that I could possibly accomplish, I've accomplished, which is amazing. We all set goals. There were some I never set that were reached," he said. "I was fortunate enough to be on a team that won a Super Bowl. That was a long time ago (1997). So there's nothing left to prove or from a goal standpoint to accomplish.
"I don't feel like I did when I was 25. I don't feel a whole lot different from last year, but every year, as you could imagine, gets tougher and tougher. Recovery time is a lot longer. At some point you've got to give your body a break."
Favre said he has no interest in coaching in the NFL and did not sound excited about pursuing work as a television analyst, preferring instead to work with high school players as he has the past several summers in Hattiesburg.
"If I coached, I wouldn't want to be on a set schedule. I enjoy helping high school kids and being able to come and go as I please. These guys, college and pros, they're here until midnight. I have no idea what they're doing," Favre said.
"Players leave at 3:30, 4 o'clock. You could draw up the greatest plays in the world, but if the knucklehead doesn't know how to run them ... I think I would probably go home and help out with those kids and be able to go and come as I please."
