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Favre Just Doesn't Fit What This Team Needs

Tribune photo by CLIFF McBRIDE

Bucs fan Julia Barreda, of Sarasota, lets her feelings known at the practice Saturday morning.

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By ROY CUMMINGS | The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 27, 2008

LAKE BUENA VISTA - By the time you read this, Brett Favre might already be a Buccaneer. Even if he's not, the speculation that he soon will be should still be gaining strength.

There might not be an NFL insider alive who doesn't believe Favre will end up in a Bucs uniform this season. For several reasons, though, the whole idea still seems rather fa(v)r(e)-fetched.

Sure, the Bucs would benefit greatly from a public relations standpoint by adding Favre. But when was the last time General Manager Bruce Allen made a player move for the P.R. value.

That's just not their style, so the question the Bucs must answer is obvious: Can Favre, at his age and with no experience in Coach Jon Gruden's offense, make the Bucs a better football team in 2008?

The answer seems to be a resounding no. No knock on Favre, but it is near foolhardy to expect him to adequately execute Gruden's ultra-complex offense while learning it on the fly.

The better option, it seems, would be to stick with the quarterback already in place, the guy who said during the offseason that he was just getting a real feel for the offense.

Jeff Garcia might not be as sturdy or as strong-armed as Favre, but he is less prone to taking chances and making critical mistakes, and he is one of the most respected players in the Bucs' locker room.

So, what's the real benefit that Favre brings? Is he a guy who is sure to get the Bucs another two or three regular-season victories and a round deeper into the playoffs?

If he is, then why don't the Packers want him back? If he is, then why are the Packers so set on turning their offense and playoff hopes over to an untested Aaron Rodgers?

It seems the Packers know something the rest of us don't or won't acknowledge publicly, that they are actually much better off with Rodgers than they are with Favre.

That seems to be the obvious answer to all of this. After all, the Packers have said repeatedly that they have moved on, and with no regrets. The problem is that Favre has yet to move on.

He still wants to play, or he at least thinks he still wants to play. He has yet to really decide, because he has yet to ask the league to be reinstated as an active player.

Once he asks for reinstatement - if he does - then talk of Favre coming to Tampa will really heat up, because Tampa Bay is one of the few teams that can afford to take on Favre's contract.

But all that salary cap space doesn't mean Favre will soon be a Buc. After all, the Bucs had approximately $45 million in cap space heading into free agency and they didn't exactly go on a shopping spree.

What they did instead was say they were earmarking most of that excess cash to lock up core players with lengthy contracts. Favre, who will turn 39 in October, doesn't exactly fit the description of a core player.

Garcia doesn't, either, and that may be the reason the Bucs have been hesitant to bump his 2008 salary from the $2 million it's slated to be to the roughly $7 million Garcia wants it to be. Which brings up another point.

If the Bucs are hesitant to give the 38-year-old quarterback who took them to the playoffs $7 million, why would they give a soon-to-be 39-year-old quarterback who has never seen their playbook $12 million?

And what about the compensation to the Packers? Green Bay is expected to ask for a second-round draft pick and maybe a player for Favre. Even if they only ask for a third-rounder, it seems prohibitive.

The Bucs, remember, are a team that is old at quarterback, old at receiver, old at cornerback and old at weakside linebacker. The feeling here is they need that draft pick more than they need Favre.

It would be different if the Bucs were a team that is just an experienced quarterback from making a run at the Super Bowl - a team like Minnesota or Chicago, perhaps.

In that case, a deal for Favre might make some real sense. But the Bucs are not that kind of team. They're a playoff contender, sure. But they have a lot of needs, and quarterback is not necessarily one of them.

Now, if Favre were a receiver or if this was Randy Moss we were talking about, this might make sense. But Favre? It seems like an unnecessary luxury, one that might even prove in the end to be an unneeded extravagance.

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