-- The Real Story Behind the Brett Favre Incident from Last Week --
Mon Aug 9, 2010 --from FFMastermind.com
Fox Sports' Jay Glazer reports Minnesota Vikings
QB Brett Favre indeed sent text messages to teammates telling them he was forgoing his 20th season, citing his health as the reason. According to sources, while the texts seemed pretty convincing that he had made up his mind, the team wasn't letting their gunslinger slip off into the sunset without a fight. In a two-pronged attack, the Vikings organization immediately jumped into action, offering him a much more lucrative package for this season and pleading with him to reconsider his decision. Simultaneously, veteran players immediately implored teammates to bombard Favre with texts or calls, asking him to give them one last shot at the Super Bowl. As one source explained to me, Favre probably wasn't prepared for such an outpouring. When he left the Packers there wasn't much love, if any, from teammates asking him to reconsider. And there certainly wasn't any from Jets' players. But with this team, Favre was completely beloved, and for the first time, had an entire locker room figuratively pounding down his door like a husband begging his wife not to file for divorce. "He's torn," said another member of the Vikings. "I think in his mind he was done, but loves the guys in this locker room and doesn't want to let them down. He didn't want to (come back), but I don't think he can say no to these guys. He's tortured." Not one source on the Vikings believed this was a play for money or a play for more time. Would he take the money they decided to throw his way to come back? Of course, but it's not the driving force behind why he initially chose to shut it down, only to halt his decision and buy himself more time.
-- Longwell: Favre Still Undecided --
Mon Aug 9, 2010 --from FFMastermind.com
The
Star Tribune reports Vikings
PK Ryan Longwell had a long conversation with
QB Brett Favre on Saturday. Favre told Longwell he was working out in the heat in Hattiesburg, Miss., trying to get in shape. But at the same time, he was testing his surgically repaired left ankle and said it is giving him some trouble. But Longwell said Favre still hasn't made a decision one way or the other on playing football this season. Everything hinges on the condition of the ankle. Did Favre give Longwell any hint about what the quarterback is thinking about playing this season? "I guess the thing is, from talking to him, the big issue is everybody knows he had the surgery on his shoulder last year and that was kind of three weeks out and he was zinging the ball around with little or no pain," Longwell said. "So he's had bad ankles over the years, and everybody knows that. He thought that the ankle would recover, kind of like the arm did last year, and unfortunately it just hasn't." Longwell said he's learned, in talking to other football players who have had ankle problems similar to Favre's, that the ankle might be extremely painful at Week 7, and all of a sudden he might wake up in Week 8 and it feels great. "It could go longer than that, it can be shorter than that, but it's one of those things where one week it's bad, the next week it's good," Longwell said. "So that's why he's trying to get himself in shape without doing any damage to it."
