Favre still must-see TV

GREEN BAY, Wisconsin - If this was indeed Brett Favre's final game at Lambeau Field, and we suspect this because the NFL Network's hype machine kept telling us it was true, then the Green Bay Packers' quarterback didn't disappoint.

True to form, he was both exhilarating and exasperating all in the same game.

Too bad no one saw it.

Then again, you've seen it before.

Just not this time. Thanks to the NFL Network's decision to use you, Madison-area Packers fans, as leverage in its ongoing battle with cable television providers, the Packers' 9-7 victory over the Minnesota Vikings Thursday night went largely unseen.

Fortunately, you know the drill. With the outcome resting solely on his shoulder pads thanks to coach Mike McCarthy's pass-first game plan, Favre was on his best behavior - except for one wayward stretch in the third quarter. With the exception of two passes, he played under control all night. He managed the game, patiently took checkdowns and finally led a winning drive to give the Packers' their third straight victory and - I can't believe I'm writing this - keep them in the NFC playoff hunt with a 7-8 record.

The NFL Network may have been playing the Favre retirement angle for all it was worth, but instead of showing people that he should retire, Favre showed them why he should keep playing. Packers' fans are lining up on both sides of that argument, though most lean toward wanting Favre back for a 16th season. Still, Favre isn't making it easy on them with his more-erratic-than-usual performances lately.

It has long been my belief that Favre should return if he can make the transition from playmaker to caretaker and if the Packers can put a better team around him. That belief didn't change Thursday. Nor did it change for McCarthy, who said he didn't view this as a farewell game for Favre.

"We talked about some things before the game," McCarthy said. "That's really a decision he's fully going to make after the season. Just to share our conversation, he's under contract and we'd like to have him back. We're going to take the time and talk about it after the season."

His physical skills may be fading a bit, but the way Favre played for much of the game against the Vikings is exactly the way McCarthy wants him to play should he return. The Packers were lucky the fading Vikings started a rookie quarterback and seemingly committed a penalty every time they did something positive, but the game further proved that Favre can still be a winning quarterback if the Packers give him more help. Like, say, a tight end who can hold onto the ball.

McCarthy made it obvious from the start that this was Favre's game to win or lose. The Vikings have the NFL's best run defense and McCarthy, despite his preseason promises to make the running game the staple of the Packers' attack, never made a serious attempt to run the ball.

The flashbulbs that were popping from every corner of the stadium when Favre was introduced had barely stopped when the Packers declared their hand. They shifted into an empty backfield on their first two plays, a sign that they intended to pass, pass and pass some more.

In the first half, Favre threw 33 passes - two more than he had ever thrown in the first 30 minutes of a game. He completed 18 of them and would have connected on several more had his receivers not continued with their season-long case of the dropsies.

But just when you thought Favre was going to play the kind of controlled game McCarthy has been trying to coax out of him, he reverted to the risk-taking Favre that has surfaced far too often the last two years. On consecutive plays in the third quarter, Favre threw two of his patented what-were-you-thinking interceptions, the first of which cornerback Fred Smoot turned into Minnesota's only touchdown and a 7-6 Vikings lead.

Favre recovered quickly, though, and led the Packers to a winning field goal with less than 2 minutes to play. Amazingly, it was the first fourth- quarter comeback he authored in more than a year. The last time he did it was Dec. 11, 2005, in a 16-13 victory over Detroit.

No one, not even the NFL Network, knows if Favre is going to retire, but he showed Thursday that he can still do it on occasion.

Of course, given the lack of TV coverage, you'll have to trust me on this.

Click here to read Tom Oates' original column in the Wisconsin State Journal