Where would the Packers be if Favre hadn't been?

[El Duderino]

His typical diva self in 2008? Would Rodgers still be a Packer?

I know there already is another Favre thread and thus Mickey may choose to lock this, but after reading numerous stories this week crediting Ted rightfully so for making the decision to move on from Brett, it made me think about what could be the state of the Packers right now if Favre wasn't such a diva?

If you look back to that 2008 offseason, the team was coming off a 13-3 season and an NFC title game which went to OT. Even though Favre struggled in that game, pretty much everyone initially expected him to want to come back after being so close to a Super Bowl berth. Yet, even after getting so close and Brett proving in retrospect that he obviously wanted to keep playing, he did the typical Favre waffle game and wanted to be begged to keep playing. Ted/MM chose not to beg and Brett was still fuming about Ted not perusing Moss, so Favre pouted instead of just saying right away that he'd come back. Ted and MM deep down wanted to move on to Rodgers though, so they made no effort to beg Brett to come back.

Image though if Favre hadn't pulled a Favre that offseason. Instead of pulling his please beg me to come back routine again, Brett just said fairly quickly that he'd return for the 2008-09 season. Would have Ted/McCarthy really had the nerve to say don't bother returning Brett even if they wanted to? I say very likely no. Favre then would have been our starting QB in 2008-09. Aaron Rodgers wouldn't have been happy at all to be a backup QB for a 4th straight season along with there being continued uncertainty about when Rodgers would ever get his shot. Odds are he'd be fed up big time and would have strongly asked for/demanded a trade. Ted may have been forced then to trade Aaron given the circumstances.

Besides that, Ted needed the 3rd rounder from the Favre trade to move up and get Matthews. In the 2008-09 season we finished 6-10 with Rodgers as a first year QB, so many close losses being a huge reason why. If instead with Favre the starting QB the Packers had won 7 to 9 games, odds are high Ted wouldn't have been able to pick Raji because he'd have been gone already.

So while Brett did behave like a big time douchebag in that offseason after the 13-3 year in 2007-08, caused all kinds of turmoil for Ted/McCarthy, caused a split in Packer nation among many fans, and joined our bitter rival in Minnesota out of spite to try and get back at Thompson, that diva behavior is what Ted/McCarthy badly needed to give them the opening to give Rodgers his shot. Without it, i question if Rodgers would still be a Packer, Ted wouldn't have had the extra 3rd round pick to acquire Matthews, we may not have been in position to draft Raji, and odds are good that we wouldn't be a few days from the Packers in the Super Bowl.

[braindazer]

I think TT would've still traded Farve , only he would've gotten more back in trade for #4.We would've lost A-ROD if we didn't trade Farve, cause he wanted to start and he knew he was ready.Ted and Mike knew what they had in Aaron and Ted takes in the big picture [ long term health of the franchise ] just as the niners did with Steve Young . They knew they weren't going to have another #1 pick talent such as Aaron fall to them again anytime soon.

[bucks59]

Its an interesting point. I think the Packers would have been just as bad as they were that following year. If I remember correctly, that 08 team was ravaged by injuries and didn't have the depth of the current team. I also remember the offense playing well and Rodgers even leading some come back drives but the defense seemed to fall short. I don't think Favre would have played as well as Rodgers did either. He was not that amazing with the Jets that year and he would still have the same issues with the cold weather. So I think the Packers still get Raji as they have a top ten pick (assuming they still switch to a 3-4).

The Rodgers point is interesting. I really can't see TT trading Favre if he doesn't attempt to retire. He just came off a ridiculous season and TT couldn't use the same arguments with Murphy and the Board in this scenario. Though I have read elsewhere that MM didn't even want to Favre in the second half of that Giants game, so maybe there is more to the story than we know. Its possible I guess that MM and TT were fed up with Favre independent of the whole retirement issue and still would have wanted him gone. In the end, I think the Packers leave Favre as the starter for a 2-3 year window.

In terms of Rodgers, I can see that going a couple different ways: (1) the Packers just offer Rodgers a contract above market value and he continues to sit behind Favre or (2) the Packers trade him and use those assets to draft Matthews. I think the first scenario is unlikely because I'm assuming at some point Rodgers would want to play, and its impossible to know when Favre would retire, at least in 2007. In the end, I think Rodgers would have left and the Packers currently would be a rebuilding team

The other factor is if the Packers have a successful 2008 campaign, they probably don't go after Dom Capers and this defense wouldn't be nearly as good.

If Favre stays, I think the Packers defense is just as good. Its possible that TT would have invested a high pick in a new predecessor, but he did use a second on Brohm and a seventh on Flynn. The offense I think would be in a rebuilding stage going forward. If Favre officially retires next season, I could see the Packers using Flynn as a starting QB for next few years.

I don't think the Packers would have made the superbowl either of the last two years. Last year, the defense was the main issue. I guess its possible that if Favre isn't with the Vikings, the Packers win the division and host the playoffs but I think thats almost worse because then Favre has to play another January game at Lambeau. This year, Favre just didn't seem to have it; he looked a lot slower and took more chances. Though I guess if he isn't a diva, he shows up to training camp on time and that changes some of the dynamics. I also think he would have been injured last year playing behind that line early in the season, especially with his limited mobility.

The other thing thats possible is maybe the Packers go after Vick as a guy MM could develop. He would come in as cheap and still fairly athletic. I also thought I read somewhere that the Packers had some interest in him, but I'm not positive.

[bucks59]

I also can't see TT using the franchise tag on Rodgers, but thats also a possibility.