FAVRE ADMITS TO STRATEGY SESSION WITH MILLEN

As it turns out, Brett Favre’s position that the report he talked to the Lions before their Week Two game against the Packers is “total B.S.” is, well, total B.S. OK, maybe not total B.S. But B.S. nonetheless. In press conference remarks that likely sounded a lot more innocuous to Brett as he was saying the words than they’ll appear when reduced to writing, Favre admits to talking with Lions CEO Matt Millen prior to the game. And Favre admits that Millen asked him about the things the Packers have done in the past when playing the Lions. And Favre admits that he responded to Millen’s question. And Favre admits that he assumed others were in the room listening while he spoke to Millen. That said, Favre took strong positions on some of the key points. He emphasized, for example, that he didn’t have a “game plan” in his lap when talking to Millen. Well, no one ever said that he did. The report from FOX’s Jay Glazer was/is that Favre spent time talking to the Lions in an effort to help the Lions prepare to play Favre’s former team. Favre also stressed that this happens all the time, pointing to communications with former Arizona defensive end Calvin Pace as his new team, the Jets, prepared to play his old team, the Cardinals. But Favre overlooked the main point here. He doesn’t play for the Lions. And so while it’s fair game for former coaches and players to help their new teams get ready to play their old teams, the notion that Favre said anything other than “Matt, I’m really not comfortable with this, since the Packers paid me damn good money for 16 years and they’re eventually gonna retire my jersey and they still have a $30 million marketing deal on the table” is troubling to us, and it should be very troubling to every Packers fan. Favre confirmed that the conversation was the result of efforts by Millen to get in touch with the Jets quarterback to invite him to go hunting on Matt’s property, which is roughly an hour from Favre’s new place of employment. (Favre also said that Millen pointed out that he has bulldozers and tractors, in the event Favre needs to relieve some tension. Maybe we need to drive a bulldozer or a tractor to appreciate the medicinal value of such endeavors, but we’ve yet to see a construction worker who seems mellow.) Coincidentally, the duo finally got connected in the days preceding the game between the Packers and the Lions. Favre tried to downplay the import of his comments to Millen by suggesting that Favre didn’t remember much about what the Packers did when playing the Lions last year (but, naturally, Favre remembers vividly that he completed 22 straight passes), and by noting that he hasn’t been in the Packers’ offense for more than a year. But here’s the truth. Favre was a member of the organization for more than a decade and a half. Though Mike McCarthy had been the head coach for only the last two years of Favre’s career there, the offense is the same. And Brett hasn’t been out of the offense for more than a year; he last played as a Packer less than nine months ago. Have tweaks been made since Aaron Rodgers became the quarterback? Sure. Are the Packers still doing a lot of the stuff that they did when Favre was the quarterback? Absolutely. The question from Millen surely wasn’t confined, as Brett claims, to what the Packers have done in the past against the Lions. The question undoubtedly was aimed at finding out what the Packers do generally. As Brett observed out, the Lions can watch film in an effort to decipher strategies and tendencies. But why spend all that time searching for something you might never find when the guy who was the quarterback of the team every single game for 16 straight seasons is willing to spill his guts? Favre also claims that the conversation was shorter than reported. He says that he talked with Millen (and whoever was in the room listening) for 15-to-20 minutes. Favre also claims that half the time was spent talking about hunting and other non-football things (perhaps like throwing a dead turkey in a teammate’s locker), and that the rest of the time was spent talking football. But if Favre is telling the truth about the duration of the call, Favre could have passed along plenty of useful nuggets in only 7-to-10 minutes of time. Bottom line? Favre’s initial comments to Peter King indicate strongly that no communications of any kind occurred. It’s “total B.S.,” he said, “not true and pretty ridiculous. I’m telling you it’s not true. What the hell is [FOX’s] problem?’' Now, Favre is singing a far different tune as he tries to strike a balance between conceding portions of the story without (as King suggested) “irrevocably tarnish[ing]” his reputation in Wisconsin. If anything, Favre’s words prove to us that Glazer was right. And given that Favre initially tried to call the entire story “B.S.”, we choose to conclude that any portion of his dramatically revised version that conflicts with Glazer’s story is B.S., too.