Tag: Brett Favre

Derek Carr could get closer to a rare feat by beating his former team

Only four quarterbacks have beaten all 32 teams. Derek Carr is closer than you’d think, and could get even closer by getting revenge against the Raiders:

Don’t be surprised if the New Orleans Saints play the Las Vegas Raiders in the season opener. Neither team’s cachet is particularly high, so the NFL likely won’t push them as a marquee matchup. Derek Carr playing his former team is enough to schedule it as a season opener, even if it’s a 12 p.m. game. Carr certainly has that game circled.

Toppling his former team would get Carr closer to a rare feat. In his decade-long career, Carr has defeated 27 of the 32 teams in the NFL. He’s played against 31 of them, and this year he will face the Raiders for the first time.

Only four quarterbacks have ever defeated all 32 teams: Drew Brees, Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Brett Favre. Carr is also winless against the Washington Commanders, Green Bay Packers, Los Angeles Rams and Minnesota Vikings. Out of that group, New Orleans plays every team other than the Vikings this season. Carr isn’t a future Hall of Famer, but he’s surprisingly sneaking up on a rare feat.

[lawrence-auto-related count=4]

Brett Favre told to repay remaining $730K of improperly spent welfare money

A state auditor in Mississippi is demanding Brett Favre repay nearly three-quarters of a million dollars

Brett Favre needs to come up with the rest of the money — nearly $730,000 — to repay the state of Mississippi for welfare money the auditor says was improperly spent.

“Mississippi’s Constitution and laws require that the State Auditor act to protect the taxpayers and fully collect all public funds which Mr. Favre received from Nancy New and John Davis. Mr. Favre’s meritless defamation suit provides the opportunity for the recovery of the principal and interest which Mr. Favre failed to repay,” Auditor Shad White said Monday in a press release.

[gambcom-standard rankid=”3011″ ]

“It boggles the mind that Mr. Favre could imagine he is entitled to the equivalent of an interest-free loan of $1.1 million in taxpayer money, especially money intended for the benefit of the poor.”

Per The AP:

White said in 2020 that Favre had improperly received $1.1 million in speaking fees from a nonprofit organization that spent welfare with approval from the Mississippi Department of Human Services. The money from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program was to go toward a volleyball arena at the University of Southern Mississippi. Favre agreed to lead fundraising efforts for the facility at his alma mater, where his daughter started playing on the volleyball team in 2017.

Jordan Love gave NFL fans Brett Favre flashbacks after he threw a baffling interception to end Packers’ season

Jordan Love paid tribute to Brett Favre by throwing one of the worst interceptions ever.

Saturday night was a rough start to Jordan Love’s postseason career. And after an awful final sequence, he’s going to be compared a lot more to the wrong Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame quarterback.

After a late San Francisco comeback, an uneven Love (who had already thrown a pick earlier) was tasked with rescuing the Packers’ season. With just under a minute left, he responded by running right and throwing across his body deep back to the middle of the field, where a swarm of 49ers defenders was waiting to make a play on the ball.

Dre Greenlaw did, intercepting Love (again) on a horrific decision that may haunt him and the Packers for their entire offseason:

What was notable about this Love interception was how similar it was to when an erratic Brett Favre — the NFL’s all-time leader in thrown interceptions — threw a season-ending pick to the New Orleans Saints during the 2009 NFC title game. In fact, it almost literally looks like the same play in mostly the same situation:

It’s still way too early to make any definitive conclusion about Love and his career prospects in Green Bay. Sometimes, when he makes sparkling off-platform throws in the pocket, he resembles Aaron Rodgers. And sometimes, when he trusts his playmaking a little too much and goes for it all at the worst possible time, he looks just like Favre. Though, to be fair to Love, Rodgers never beat the 49ers in the playoffs, either. So maybe he is still more similar to his predecessor. For now.

But for the most part, Saturday night was an excellent example of Love living up to a Favre-like reputation, especially on the Packers’ season-ending play.

Chiefs HC Andy Reid sees qualities similar to Brett Favre in Patrick Mahomes

Kansas City #Chiefs head coach Andy Reid sees similar Brett Favre qualities in Patrick Mahomes.

The divisional round gets underway this weekend as the remaining eight teams battle for an opportunity at the conference championship game. The Kansas City Chiefs will travel to Orchard Park, New York, to face the Buffalo Bills in what is expected to be another classic matchup.

Chiefs head coach Andy Reid has seen everything in his Hall of Fame-bound football career, including exceptional play at quarterback. He rarely makes glaring comparisons between the signal callers he’s coached over the years but made an exception on Wednesday when posed with questions from reporters during his press conference.

“I tell you all the way around, his preparation was phenomenal,” Reid explained. “His attitude is phenomenal. His [drive to] compete is phenomenal. So you love all of that. We’re lucky to have him here; that’s for the city and the organization here. He’s a heck of a football player. He’s such a well-rounded, good person that he’s great in the locker room; very hard for a guy like that.

“Have the respect of the team and the organization and is able to fall into both areas and be comfortable with both areas without getting labeled whatever, you know, schmooze, but he handles both so well. That’s a great characteristic for him to have for him.”

Reid started his career as an assistant coach with the Green Bay Packers in the early 1990s, working with a then-unknown quarterback named Brett Favre.

“I’ve been around two guys like that. He and Brett Farve, neither one time great on the clock,” Reid continued. “But people do have a hard time getting to them into catching them and all that, so I guess he’s got field speed. I’m not sure there is such (a thing), but he runs well on the field.”

Favre is already in the Hall of Fame, and it’s highly expected that Mahomes will one day join him, so getting that comparison regarding running speed is welcomed.

Jordan Love might lead the Packers to the promised land sooner than you think

Packers quarterback Jordan Love has been as good as any QB in the second half of the season. Here’s one play that proves it.

If the Green Bay Packers beat the Chicago Bears on Sunday, quarterback Jordan Love will have done something that Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers, his predecessors at his position, were unable to do — lead his team to the postseason in his first full year as a starter. The 1992 Packers just missed the boat at 9-7, and the 2008 Packers were 6-10. The 2023 Packers, who currently stand at 8-8, are on the precipice, and they’re on the precipice with a young group of receivers who are still figuring it out for the most part.

One thing we know — in the second half of the 2023 season, Love has been as good as any quarterback in the league. Since Week 9, Love has completed 210 of 313 passes (67.1%) for 2,350 yards (7.5 YPA), 19 touchdowns, three interceptions, and a passer rating of 105.5. Love has also completed 22 of 44 passes of 20 or more air yards for 665 yards, seven touchdowns, one interceptions, and a passer rating of 125.9. So, he’s not only one of the league’s best passers overall; he’s also one of the best aggressive passers, and that can take you a long way if you get into the tournament. 

Let’s get into one play in the Packers’ 33-10 win over the Minnesota Vikings last Sunday night. Love completed 24 of 33 passes for 256 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions, and a passer rating of 125.3, and he did that against a Vikings defense under Brian Flores who will throw the entire kitchen at you schematically — they just start with the sink, and move on from there. Love’s first touchdown pass, a 33-yarder to rookie receiver Jayden Reed, showed how well Love can deal in the face of just about anything right now.

With 5:15 left in the first quarter, the Packers went four verts on second-and-10 from the Minnesota 33-yard line. Minnesota showed a single-high safety look pre-snap,  but as the Vikings have played the NFL’s highest rates of Cover-0 (11.5%) and Cover-2 (27.5%), Love probably had a pretty good feeling that the middle of the field would be open eventually. It was, but as is often the case with Flores’ defenses, it was in ways you might not expect. The Vikings went with inverted Cover-2 to the boundary with cornerback Mekhi Blackmon dropping to two-deep, and linebacker Jordan Hicks as the middle hole defender.

Love also had to deal with pressure here, as defensive tackle Harrison Phillips pushed center Josh Myers into the pocket. Love made a little hop out of the pressure, righted his body, and made the throw with ideal accuracy and velocity.

“Yeah, they kind of disguised it, went to a cover-two-ish coverage and we had four verts on, and I knew I was going to have J-Reed right there,” Love said after the game. “Kind of didn’t see him at first where he was at, and then he came into my vision, so just let it out there, let him go get it. It was an awesome play.”

Postgame, head coach Matt LaFleur couldn’t wait to talk about his quarterback.

“I can’t say enough great things about him. Just his ability to hang in there versus some tough looks, drifting away from pressure, putting the ball in play, allowing his guys to go make plays. I think he is playing at an incredibly high level. I’m super happy for him because he’s put in a ton of work to get to this point, and I really think the sky’s the limit for him. I think he’s just showing a glimpse of what he can ultimately be, and he’s been more consistent as the season has progressed with a young group around him.”

In this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” the guys get into how much Love has progressed as a passer this season.

You can watch this week’s “Xs and Os” right here:

[anyclip-media thumbnail=”https://cdn5.anyclip.com/byBI1YwBYdwULzK8WvPD/1704387376688_248x140_thumbnail.jpg” playlistId=”undefined” content=”PHNjcmlwdCBzcmM9Imh0dHBzOi8vcGxheWVyLnBvcHRvay5jb20vYW55Y2xpcC13aWRnZXQvbHJlLXdpZGdldC9wcm9kL3YxL3NyYy9scmUuanMiIGRhdGEtYXI9IjE2OjkiIGRhdGEtcGxpZD0ibWo0dWVzanJsZjN1ZXdsZW81a3V5NnNsaGJseG11Y2UiIHB1Ym5hbWU9IjE5OTgiIHdpZGdldG5hbWU9IjAwMTZNMDAwMDJVMEIxa1FBRl9NODMyNSI+Cjwvc2NyaXB0Pg==”][/anyclip-media]

You can also listen and subscribe to the “Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…

…and on Apple Podcasts.

25 SKOL’s of Christmas: Tuesday night legend Joe Webb

The legend of Tuesday night Joe Webb will forever live in Vikings’ lore

Welcome to the 25 SKOL’s of Christmas!

In a similar vein to how Freeform has done the 25 days of Christmas, we will look back at different moments in Vikings history to bring a little extra joy to you this holiday season.

It’s that simple. The holidays can be a trying time for some people and we want to put a smile on people’s faces by reminiscing about some truly joyous times in Vikings’ history.

On the twelfth SKOL of Christmas, the Vikings gave to me: Joe Webb dominating the Philadelphia Eagles on a Tuesday night.

The Vikings had quite the 2010 season. After waiting until the preseason was nearly over to get their starting quarterback on the team in Brett Favre, things did not go according to plan. The team had dealt with some interesting circumstances throughout the season. They had traded for and then released Hall of Fame wide receiver Randy Moss, fired their head coach Brad Childress for the move and the Metrodome roof collapsed.

This doesn’t even include that Brett Favre sustained an injury the week prior to this game against the Chicago Bears and it forced Favre to miss his second-consecutive start, which broke his streak of 297 consecutive starts dating all the way back to 1992.

With the Metrodome’s roof collapsing, the Vikings already saw one of their games get moved to Detroit where they played the New York Giants on a Monday night two weeks prior to this game.

For the week 16 clash with the Philadelphia Eagles, they moved it back from Sunday night to Tuesday night due to the Philadelphia area getting bombarded with more than a foot of snow and blizzard-like conditions. Because of that, the Eagles won the NFC East sitting at home, as the New York Giants beat the Green Bay Packers to secure the crown for Andy Reid’s team.

When the game happened, it was a much-better game than you would have thought that the 5-9 Vikings would give the Eagles their fifth loss of the season, dropping their record to 10-5

There were two major factors in the game: the Vikings forced three turnovers including scoring their first touchdown on an Antoine Winfield 45-yard scoop-and-score.

The biggest performance of the night was from backup quarterback Joe Webb. The Vikings initially drafted the former UAB quarterback as a wide receiver, but they kept him at quarterback after he performed so well in minicamp.

The Vikings crafted a really good game plan to stop the Eagles’ highly potent passing attack and maximize a dual-threat Webb. He finished throwing 17-26 for 195 yards along with six carries for 31 yards. His presence was excellent on many levels and much-needed for the Vikings after such a tumultuous season. The dual-threat ability of the rookie quarterback proved to be too much for the Eagles on that fateful Tuesday night and we can all celebrate Webb for his beyond-impressive performance.

Previous SKOL’s of Christmas:

Drafting Randy Moss
Vikings 1997 Wild Card Comeback
Jarius Wright Walks Off the Jets
Jared Allen traded to Vikings
Adrian Peterson Sets Rushing Record
Brett Favre Revenge Tour
Bud Grant Rocks a Polo in Freezing Temperatures
Adrian Peterson Stiff Arms Defender to Oblivion
Anthony Carter Dominates the 1987 Playoffs
Kirk Cousins’ First Major Comeback
Randy Moss Dominates Monday Night Football

25 SKOL’s of Christmas: Brett Favre conducts revenge tour as a member of the Vikings

From @jzulgad: The Vikings got the ultimate coup in signing Brett Favre

Welcome to the 25 SKOL’s of Christmas!

In a similar vein to how Freeform has done the 25 days of Christmas, we will look back at different moments in Vikings history to bring a little extra joy to you this holiday season.

It’s that simple. The holidays can be a trying time for some people and we want to put a smile on people’s faces by reminiscing about some truly joyous times in Vikings’ history.

On the sixth SKOL of Christmas, the Vikings gave to me: the signing of Brett Favre.

The once unthinkable possibility of Packers legend Brett Favre wearing purple began to gain steam in the summer of 2008, when the quarterback decided he wanted to abandon his plans to retire only to have Green Bay’s brass make it clear they were moving on to Aaron Rodgers.

Favre, who had announced his retirement in March 2008 after Green Bay lost to the Giants in the NFC title game, saw Minnesota as the ideal landing spot. The 38-year-old was familiar with Vikings coach Brad Childress and offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell, who had been his position coach in Green Bay, and the Vikings’ ran the same West Coast system Favre had used for so many years.

It didn’t hurt that the Vikings played their games in the Metrodome and Favre was at the point of his career where playing in a climate-controlled environment seemed appealing. There was only one problem: There was no way Packers general manager Ted Thompson was going to allow Favre to join the Vikings. A trade was eventually worked out that sent Favre to the Jets.

But Favre, who wanted to stick it to the Packers and could do so by playing for one of their biggest rivals, was willing to be patient. After playing one season for the Jets, Favre again announced his retirement and New York gave up its rights to him. Soon thereafter the buzz about Favre playing for the Vikings started again. As one of the great vacillators in sports history, Favre spent the offseason leaving the Vikings and their fans guessing about his intentions.

He called Childress as training camp approached and said he didn’t healthy enough to play. That changed in mid-August when Favre again flip-flopped  — the Vikings had returned to their Eden Prairie, Minn., facility at that point after conducting training camp practices in Mankato — and what could be best described as the Favre Circus came to town.

Childress picked him up from a small airport in St. Paul and a local television station had its helicopter follow Childress’ SUV as it made the 19-minute drive to the Vikings’ facility. A crowd that featured a guy wearing a chicken suit gathered to welcome Favre, despite the limited room that existed along the street in front of Winter Park.

Vikings fans were ecstatic — Childress had the best team of his rocky four-plus-year tenure in Minnesota — and Packers fans were irate. If there was concern about Favre’s ability to throw after he dealt with a biceps injury in 2008, it quickly became clear he hadn’t lost his fastball.

Favre’s 32-yard laser pass to Greg Lewis in the back of the end zone with 2 seconds left in the fourth quarter in Week 3, gave the Vikings an improbable 27-24 victory against San Francisco and was an indication of just how good Favre would be in a 12-4 season that featured a run to the NFC title game in New Orleans.

Favre threw for 4,202 yards with 33 touchdowns and only seven interceptions. That was his fewest picks thrown in any season in which he was a full-time starter. He also beat the Packers twice, including in a memorable return to Lambeau Field on Nov. 1, 2009. Favre threw seven touchdowns and no interceptions in those two games and finished fourth in MVP voting.

A player who was reviled in Minnesota for 16 seasons was now the Vikings’ hope for a Super Bowl championship. That, of course, didn’t happen as the Vikings lost to the Saints in overtime in the NFC title game and Favre took a beating from a defense that was later found to have a bounty system in place.

The Vikings appeared to be driving for the winning points late in the game when Favre threw across his body on a pass intended for Sidney Rice with 19 seconds left in regulation. The Saints’ Tracy Porter picked it off. Packers fans had seen Favre win a Super Bowl but so often crush their dreams. Now, Vikings fans had experienced the same.

Favre, though, had proven his point. He could still play at a high level, he could beat the Packers and without him the Vikings wouldn’t have been close to winning the NFC title.

Favre returned for the 2010 season after being coaxed by teammates to end his latest attempt at retirement but that turned out to be a big mistake. The Vikings started the season 0-2, Childress was fired after a 31-3 loss to Green Bay in November and Favre, the ultimate ironman, played in only 13 games because of injury. The Vikings finished 6-10 and Favre was gone.

This time for good.

The Packers and Favre have long since mended fences. He had his No. 4 retired by Green Bay and was inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame. The majority of football fans will remember Favre as a Packers legend. In Minnesota, it’s a little bit different.

Vikings fans will remember Favre as the guy who came so close to getting their team back to the Super Bowl while conducting one of the greatest revenge tours of all time.

Judd Zulgad is co-host of the Purple Daily Podcast and Mackey & Judd podcast at www.skornorth.com

Previous SKOL’s of Christmas:

Drafting Randy Moss
Vikings 1997 Wild Card Comeback
Jarius Wright Walks Off the Jets
Jared Allen traded to Vikings
Adrian Peterson Sets Rushing Record

Chiefs HC Andy Reid shares secret for success with multiple Pro Bowl quarterbacks

#Chiefs HC Andy Reid shares his secret for success with multiple Pro Bowl quarterbacks

The legendary coaching career of Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid is most likely destined for a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame with his countless accolades. The former longtime head coach for the Philadelphia Eagles also served as a coordinator early in his career with the Green Bay Packers, working with some of the best quarterbacks in the league’s history.

Reid appeared on the “All NFL” podcast hosted by Brian Baldinger and Anthony Gargano to discuss his fortune of coaching several Pro Bowl quarterbacks in his career.

“Yeah, well, all those guys [were] really good players before I ever had anything to do with them,” Reid explained. “I would tell you this is no different than anything else. It’s a people business, and how you treat these guys, I think, is important. Listening, I think, is important.

“Not everybody’s [a] good [listener]. We get in a coaching position, and sometimes, we feel like we have to tell the storyteller and not not the listener. So there’s a time and a place for that. And then all we’ve tried to do is utilize their strengths and better their weaknesses.”

Brett Favre, Donovan McNabb, Michael Vick, Alex Smith, and Patrick Mahomes earned Pro Bowl honors while working with Reid throughout his career.

“I don’t think there’s any secret sauce. I’ve been lucky enough to get them when they were young,” Reid said. “I think that’s important; other than Alex (Smith) and Michael (Vick), these guys were fairly fresh in the league, and they didn’t have all that NFL scar tissue that you can get, they wanted to be great and (I was) very fortunate. Michael, too, was coming back from his jail stint. Then Alex was benched, so both of those guys wanted to show that we’re still pretty good players. And that, you know, that helped.”

The revitalization part of Reid’s work with the veterans looking for a new opportunity to prove themselves has added to his prestige. He will always have nostalgia against his former team, the Eagles, as the Chiefs will host them on Monday night football.

Broncos vs. Packers series history: Denver aims to take all-time lead

The all-time series between the Broncos and Packers is tied 7-7-1. Who will pull ahead on Sunday?

The 1-5 Denver Broncos are set to take on the 2-3 Green Bay Packers at Empower Field at Mile High in Week 7.

The Broncos and Packers series goes back to 1971, when the Packers won the first meeting 34-13. Since then, the teams have played 14 additional times. The most meaningful and memorable matchup for the Broncos was in Super Bowl XXXII.

That year, Denver came in as 11-point underdogs to the reigning Super Bowl champs. Super Bowl XXXII featured eight future Pro Football Hall of Famers (John Elway, Brett Favre, Steve Atwater, Gary Zimmerman, Terrell Davis, Shannon Sharpe, Reggie White and Ron Wolf).

The highlight of the game was Elway’s famous “Helicopter” play, where he dove for a first down and was hit by multiple Packers defenders in midair. Denver came away with their first-ever championship, 31-24. Interestingly enough, the Broncos also beat Green Bay en route to their second and third championships, 31-10 and 29-10 victories, respectively, in 1998 and 2015.

The last time these two squads met was in 2019. The Broncos went into the game with quarterback Joe Flacco, and Green Bay by Aaron Rodgers. The Packers were the better team in a game where the running backs dominated. Aaron Jones rushed for two touchdowns for the Packers, while former Broncos running back Phillip Lindsay also ran for two touchdowns.

The all-time series between Denver and Green Bay is tied 7-7-1. The Broncos will aim to pull ahead on Sunday.

Denver looks to right a sinking ship of a declining defense and an inconsistent offense in this game against a perennially NFC North powerhouse.

Follow the Broncos Wire Podcast:
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts

[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=482983128]

Commanders season opener in 55 days: Washington’s best No. 55

55 Pro Football Hall of Famer Chris Hanburger days until Week 1 for the Commanders.

[anyclip pubname=”2123″ widgetname=”0016M00002U0B1kQAF_M8169″]

Commanders Wire continues a countdown to the Commanders season opener for 2023 in 55 days. Who was Washington’s best player wearing number 55?

Andre Collins (1990-94) was a Penn State linebacker drafted 46th overall by Washington in 1990. An instant starter, Collins started all 75 games he was able to play for Washington in his five seasons. Collins had the distinction of intercepting Brett Favre’s first NFL pass and returning it for a touchdown. In fact, Collins intercepted eight passes, returning three for touchdowns. He forced three fumbles, recovered two and registered 18.5 quarterback sacks with Washington.

Chris Hanburger (1965-78) was a Hall of Fame inductee in the 2011 class. Many more had been enshrined, having accomplished less, but Hanburger was finally given his due. Out of North Carolina, the former Tar Heel was drafted 245th overall by Washington in 1965. By his second season, he was the full-time starter at right linebacker in a 4-3 scheme. In that 1966 season, he was a Pro Bowler. It would be his first of nine seasons being a Pro Bowler. Hanburger was AP All-Pro second team in 1969 and 1974. The AP voted Hanburger All-Pro first team in 1972, 1973 and 1975. In the 1972 season when Washington won the NFC before losing to Miami in Super Bowl VII, he was voted third place in AP Defensive Player of the Year. Hanburger finished his career with 19 interceptions, returning two for touchdowns. He recovered 17 fumbles, returning three for touchdowns, while recording 45.5 quarterback sacks.