Farve- Legend or Myth

Who exactly is Brett Farve? Greatest QB ever? Top 10? A better than average QB with a great 4 year span with great longevity (the Cal Ripken of QB's)? One of the great regular season QB's who just happens to be an incredible choke artist come playoff time? All the above?


If you asked John Madden, pretty much any of the yahoo's at ESPN and Frank Caliendo (one of the great living comics of this generation), Farve not only is the greatest QB that ever lived, but he probably could cure cancer if he put his mind to it, climbs Mt. Everest to warm up before laying the smackdown on Lebron and Kobe on a game of 1 on 2, and beats Bobby Flay regularly at Iron Chef before he eats his lunch.


If you asked some of the knuckleheads who call in to NY Sports Radio i.e. "Bruce from Flushing" or "Vinny from Bayside" that are NOT J-E-T-S fans, he's the most overrated QB to ever play, needs to shave a lot more, and if he's lucky, he can carry Eli's clipboard.


The truth? As always, The People's Champ will guide you. Farve is unequivocally a great QB. He won 3 straight MVP's in the 90's. Won a Super Bowl. Broke every longevity record there is (you dont break records that require longevity unless your very good for very long. Doesn't mean you're the best, just that you were very good for very long). He is without a doubt a fun guy to watch. He makes plays that no one else can make and makes his teammates and teams better just because of his presence. If you dont believe me, name 3 very good to great offensive players that have played with Farve throughout his career. To give you a clue, in his 1996 SB season (and MVP winning season) his leading rusher was Bennet with 899 yards and 2 TD's and his leading receiver was Freeman with 56 catches and 9 TD's (in comparison to Manning who had Harrison, James and Reggie Wayne). In the 5 years preceeding Farve, the Pack went 5-9-1, 4-12, 10-6, 6-10 and 4-12. When Farve took over in '92, the team went 9-7 and didnt have a losing season for 13 straight years.


On the flip side, he has been awful in many postseason games, including the NFC Championship last year vs. The Giants. He throws t0o many interceptions, many at bad times (see above-last seasons NFC Championship). Because he can make plays no one else can make, many times he makes plays no one should make. Does he do it because he has to? In all fairness, look at the players he has played with. If Farve didnt make the play who would have? Doesn't mean his mistakes should go unnoticed, but I would rather have a guy laying it all on the line to win than a guy laying up on the figurative Par 5 down a stroke on the 18th of a major championship (unless of course your David Toms going against Philly Mic at the PGA Championship).


With that being said, I have been watching The National Football League since 1976. I have seen 4 QB's that I would take in a draft before Farve. That's it. Brady (The Greatest Ever. Period). Joe "Cool" Montana. John Elway and Peyton Manning (and I'm not totally sold on that either.). I didnt get to see enough of Bradshaw or Staubach to judge. I think Steve Young, Troy Aikman and Dan Marino are a notch below Farve (in their primes). Farve is a presence. He makes his teammates better. He takes all the pressure and delivers.



What will he do for the J-E-T-S JETS JETS JETS? He immediately brings them credibility. He brings leadership and presence to a franchise that hasnt had that presence since Joe Willie Namath was leading the charge. They will instantly be better and will compete for a Wild Card spot this season. Farve will finish in the top 5 of the MVP voting and John Madden might have a heart attack fawning over the greatness of Brett Farve.