Trail of Destruction

I’m not a Guns N’ Roses fan, but I would say that Brett Favre has an appetite for destruction.  The appetite for destruction of what, you ask?  The destruction of young quarterbacks confidence, that is.  Favre’s appetite has touched at least three young quarterbacks so far, and God knows how many more could have been affected or will be affected.  Let’s look at the three cases:

Aaron Rodgers.  Rodgers was drafted by Ted Thompson to be Favre’s eventual successor.  Rodgers was strung out along with the Packers organization during Favre’s waffling years, where Favre played a game of Should I Stay or Should I Go?  The offense would start to be built around Rodgers before it was quickly pushed back to Favre when he returned.  This offseason was probably the most tumultuous for A-Rod, as it was his, then Favre wanted to come back, aka a disaster.  But now it’s his and he can go his own way.

Tarvaris Jackson.  The Minnesota Vikings quarterback of the future.  Or at least that’s what the organization told him.  But then the tampering reports came out and many were left to wonder how committed the Vikings were to him as their quarterback of the future.  The Favre-saga definitely affected him, as he basically waited for Favre to come in and take his job at a few points.  However, that never happened and the starting job for him is safe, but I wouldn’t believe that he is 100% comfortable with the organization right now.

Kellen Clemens.  I honestly thought that Clemens would be the starter for the New York Jets this year.  He showed flashes of brilliance last year and would have won more games had it not been for the cases of the dropsies that affected Jets wide receivers.  Clemens felt he was in an open battle with Chad Pennington, one he ultimately could have won, but had the competition stripped from him with the acquisition of Favre, showing a lack of commitment towards him.  Favre’s decision that he was Moving to New York also affected Pennington who was released before being reunited with Bill Parcells with the Miami Dolphins.  Clemens will now have to wait a few more years before getting his shot.  Just like Aaron Rodgers.