quote:Favre feels he owes teammates; ankle hasn’t improved
Posted: July 28th, 2010 | Frank Tadych | Tags: Brett Favre, Minnesota Vikings
It just wouldn’t feel like a complete news cycle here at NFL.com without a Brett Favre update. So, here’s to giving in to habit.
We have some fresh quotes from Favre, who told USA Today one of the factors that’s making his decision to play or not play so difficult is the aspect of letting down his teammates.
“I mean, there were tears flyin’,” Favre said of the trip home following the NFC Championship Game loss to the Saints last January. “By the time we landed, I am like, ‘I don’t think I can let these guys down.’ I know football is a business, but more than anything I felt like there was unfinished business. All of a sudden, ‘Oh, man, as much as I don’t want to go through that again, I almost feel as if I owe these guys something.’
“And that is something, I admit, I have not felt in a long time. It has made it so hard to make a rational decision.”
At this point, we’d take any decision. It doesn’t even have to be rational.
Favre’s decision also hinges on the status of his surgically repaired ankle. He said Tuesday that not only has it not improved, it still feels like it did BEFORE surgery in May.
Favre compares it to "doin' patchwork on a your truck or lawn mower.
"If you do enough patchwork, eventually you've got to a get a new one," he laughs. "Hell, you gotta quit sometime. Then again, maybe I will be doing this when I'm 50 years old, who knows?"
In reality, it is not so funny.
“I wake up in the morning, your feet hurt and the rest of you feels like (expletive deleted), you know?” Favre says. “The ankle still feels like it did before surgery. As the day goes by, it loosens up a bit. But I keep telling myself, ‘Hey, you’re 40. You have had three (ankle) surgeries, so you ought to pretty thankful it’s not worse than it is.’ “
Part of Favre's conundrum is this: Unless his surgically repaired ankle gives him enough mobility and is less painful, can he continue to be as effective?
Favre has started 285 consecutive regular-season games — 309 counting the playoffs. He believes, in some ways, that he is a victim of his success.
"Everyone expects me to play (a whole season)," he says. "If you look at other guys (who played the position), it is a bit harder than it seems. Then, to play at that high of a level, well, that's hard to do at 25. Thinking about the upcoming season, that enters my mind. It's like, 'Hey, even you can't live up to those expectations.' "
http://blogs.nfl.com/2010/07/2...?module=HP_headlines
Does anyone need a tissue?
