Brett Favre Takes an NFL Generation With Him

It's over, or is it?

If Brett Favre really has chucked his last off-balance, ill-advised pass down field into three defenders and an opening the size of a kicking tee while being draped by two hoggies thrice his size, somewhere there's a fat lady singing.

You can bet it's not Sonny & Cher's "I got you babe." No, the Groundhog Day that was Favre's career, is according to No. 4, over. Green Bay no longer has it's beloved, brash signal-caller. For my money, the large lady is probably busting out the Who's "I'm Free."

Wisonsinites, the NFL and football fans everywhere won't be singing along.

He gets to go home. He can go play touch football in his jeans on a farm somewhere. But we get left behind without a maverick. Football and the NFL have transformed into an American game of Roman proportions since the Atlanta Falcons decided it would be a smart idea to shop Favre. His retirement officially signifies the end of a forgotten football era.

For us left behind, we might just hear an overweight female singing a sad rendition of The Doors "The End."

But the end of what exactly?

The late 1980s through the mid 1990s were the glory days of football. It was before Spygate, before these annoying two- and three-back systems, before coaches tried to freeze kickers mid-snap and before unnecessary quarterback controversies overplayed by the vulturous media.

Remember when Joe Montana, then Steve Young passed the 49ers and Bill Walsh into the national spotlight? Jerry Rice was a superstar. He was no Randy Moss, then again he also was no Randy Moss! John Taylor, Roger Craig and Tom Rathman were studs.

How about Bo Jackson? What a player. There won't be another like him.

Barry Sanders, ditto. How many backs get the chance to carry the load anymore? The day of dizzying spin moves isn't over, but the day of devotion to one runner is.

How 'bout them Cowboys? For my money, as much as you can hate Troy and the 'boys, they weren't half the boring team Tom Brady and the Patriots are. Sure they score a lot of points, but Asante Samuel was no Deion. Laurence Maroney is surely no Emmitt Smith, and who is the Pats' Leon Lett?

Even the hapless Buffalo Bills, perennial playoff letdowns, are a type of team that won't be seen again.

Favre is not and never was an enigma. He was an above-average athlete that got to play through his personal shortcomings on the football field. It will never happen again. Never.

His records wouldn't be if he were starting today. He'd be killed by the media. Rex Grossman anybody? Give a guy a chance, he just might turn into a legend, but chances cost too much money nowadays.

How long till Tony Romo loses his starting gig? No, this is not the NFL's glory days. This is the end of them. This is when the NFL, like every other sport, over-markets its superstars (and unproven draft picks), over-hypes its games and forgets what made them great.

Favre was the underdog that always stood a chance. It was 17 years of you never knew what was coming.

This chapter of NFL history is now closed. It was glorious, and it flew by all to quickly. Adieu Brett, thanks for the memories.

Joey Harrington Released by Atlanta Falcons

His future was limitless. Sure, he was a bit undersized, but Oregon's Joey Harrington could throw the football. Joey Heisman had a billboard in Times Square for goodness sake.

And now, here he stands a free agent.

One has to wonder how this all came to be. He's a great guy. His background is flawless. You would never find him in a strip club smacking dancers around with the butt-end of his handgun. He never got suspended for drugs. He never, ever, got out of hand with the media ala Ryan Leaf. Nice guys really do finish last I suppose.

But is he finished?

The better question is what the hell happened? First of all, Detroit and Matt Millen and their inefficient running game and offensive line killed him (not too mention high-profile receivers that never amounted to anything). His confidence couldn't have fallen further if it was up on that Times Square billboard. Next thing you know, Harrington can't make the simple passes and every Detroit fan boos the kid incessantly.

While the former Duck never lost faith in his religion, he may just have lost faith in himself.

When he finally got out of Detroit, he didn't get into a system of support. Detroit fans could blame Harrington for their mediocrity all they like, but they still haven't figured out how to integrate balance into their offense.

The same could be said of Miami. He never had an overly strong supporting cast there, and while he shined initially (most notably taking it to the Lions at Ford Field), it wasn't long before interceptions pulled down his star and put him on the bench in favor of Cleo Lemon.

Atlanta came calling. Harrington earned the backup spot and next thing you know, Mike Vick gave him the starting gig. Harrington said it was the most confident he'd felt his entire career. He showed it at first, leading Atlanta before those dang ill-advised throws came creeping back into his psyche.

Benched again, and now released, will he ever realize that billboard? Will he even get the chance? To say he's not deserving would be untrue, but it also might be right. He's had his chances, and each time, he's thrown his way to the bench.

He and we can blame the turbulent environments he played in, but the fact is Harrington is a head case. Head cases don't make good quarterbacks. I say he should just get to work on producing the third generation Harrington Oregon quarterback before his confidence starts to effect other areas of his 'playing ability.'