From the "Highly Unlikely Department"
This Miami Herald columnist
GREG COTE
gcote@MiamiHerald.com
has a feeling the Dolphins could court Favre if the Packers said "no" if he asked to return after all... HAHAHAHA------------------------------------
Brett Favre seems like he wants to parachute back into the NFL. They ought to be drawing a big ''X'' in the middle of the Dolphins' huddle and coaxing him to a soft landing right here in Miami.
(Dear Brett: You may have heard. Our weather is somewhat kinder to old bones than Green Bay's. We average about one inch of light snow every 35 or 40 years down here. And don't worry about that pay cut you'd probably have to take. We lead the nation in retiree-pleasing Early Bird specials.)
I know that some of you out there are saying of Favre becoming a Dolphin, ''It could never happen.'' But it could, and I'll tell you why.
I know some others are saying, ''It should never happen.'' But you're wrong. And I'll tell you why on that, too.
Remember that need + need = possibility.
Favre by most indications is a quarterback who needs to play again. Seems he has had a change of heart and wishes to recant his March 4 retirement, but Green Bay appears to have yanked away the welcome mat, like Lucy used to yank away the football just as Charlie Brown was about to kick it.
But Miami is a team that needs a QB it can trust and rely on in 2008. Favre last missed a game in 1992. Seriously. Tomorrow's sunrise cannot be trusted and relied on like this dude.
Granted, plenty could prevent this brief-but-blissful marriage from happening, such as Favre staying retired (unlikely) or (more likely) the Dolphins' hierarchy misguidedly thinking that rebuilding means you don't try to be as good as you possibly can now.
If you're Miami of course you don't pursue Favre if you believe that veteran journeyman Josh McCown is better. But not even people in McCown's family could possibly believe that.
You don't pursue Favre if you think John Beck will be ready, in two months, to make your team as good as Favre would. But you know that isn't the case, either.
And you don't pursue Favre if you are committed to handing the future, right now, to Chad Henne. But that also isn't the situation, as Henne prepares for the NFL equivalent of a redshirt season.
So here's what you do, Dolphins: You do what Green Bay isn't doing. You welcome Favre back to football. You trade lame-duck Jason Taylor (whom the Packers have coveted) to get him. You put McCown up for sale. And then you let Beck and Henne develop for a year under the unhurried tutelage of a master -- thereby being as good a team as you can be right now while also letting the roots take on future success at that position.
From Miami's perspective, having a quality QB now, even for one year, makes sense because the team ought not forsake 2008 in the name of rebuilding. This is a team that lost six games by only three points last year despite itself. A team much improved. And a team with what seems a ridiculously soft schedule. Add Favre and you're thinking .500. Maybe even wild-card hunt.
Dolfans have suffered too much for too long to see their club dismiss this coming season as hopeless. If you can shoot for a dramatic turnaround now while also shaping your future, you do both at once.
IT MAKES SENSE
From Favre's perspective, there also is some logic. This is a team that spent its past two No. 1 picks on a receiver and a blocker. A team with two solid running backs. A team with the imprimatur of Bill Parcells in charge. And a team whose fans will regard you as a civic hero if you win six games and a saint if you win eight.
It makes sense in so many ways.
The old ''he-should-stay-retired'' argument does not apply here. Favre looked closer to tank-full than on-fumes last season. He made the Pro Bowl, completed a career-high 66.5 percent of his passes, threw for 4,155 yards and 28 touchdowns, took his second-fewest sacks ever as a starter and had his lowest interception rate since 2000. Favre went out with his best QB rating (95.7) in more than a decade. He was just plain great, in other words.
The old ''he's-broken-down-physically'' notion certainly doesn't apply.
The ''he-should-go-out-a-Packer'' sentiment hardly fits, either. He surely would, if there were indications the Pack wanted him back. But there aren't. Besides, Favre would hardly be setting precedent. Johnny Unitas went out a Charger, Joe Namath a Ram and Joe Montana a Chief. Did Michael Jordan finish as a Bull? Oh, and Dan Marino came very, very close to signing with the Vikings in 2000, by the way.
Favre saying of the comeback, ''it's all rumor,'' hardly qualifies as him snuffing out the speculation. Packers cornerback Al Harris said, ''I know he has the itch to come back and play.'' Favre's brother told a Milwaukee TV station Favre has been working out and that he ''wouldn't be surprised'' if his brother un-retired. Their mother told a different station that Favre thinks Packers general manager Ted Thompson -- who has invested three years in first-round pick Aaron Rodgers and just drafted two other QBs -- doesn't want him.
DANCING NO. 99
Meantime, Favre has yet to file formal retirement papers with the league, meaning he is technically an active player with three years left on his contract.
So if he chose to come back but the Packers weren't interested, they'd have to trade him or release him. In that scenario The Dancing Defensive End, No. 99, might be enough to make a deal work.
Is it all far-fetched? Maybe. But the best ideas often seem that way -- until somebody has the foresight or nerve to make them real.
