Brett Favre #4
Position: Quarterback
College: So. Mississippi
NFL Exp: 11th Season
Packers Exp: 10th Season
Ht: 6' 2"
Wt: 225 lbs
Born: 10/10/69
Acquired: Trade 1992 (Atl)
Status: Active Roster
Pro Summary
One of pro football's most enduring figures, quarterback Brett Favre embarks upon his second decade in the National Football League in 2001 and his 10th campaign in Titletown
The Packers' veteran field general is among the game's most respected players - at any position - in part due to his unparalleled record of leadership, durability, productivity and big-game performance
Now the outright dean of NFL quarterbacks following the retirements in recent years of such greats as Dan Marino, Warren Moon, Steve Young and Troy Aikman, the swashbuckling Mississippian - at the relatively young "quarterback age" of 31 - is poised to lead his professional colleagues for several seasons to come and, following the offseason signing of a new "lifetime" contract (Feb. 28, 2001), eventually will finish his spectacular career in the Packers' Green and Gold
Packers General Manager and Head Coach Mike Sherman, calling the signing day "historic," commented on the uniqueness of Favre's relationship with the Packers' organization and fans, saying, "No player in the NFL identifies or is more closely linked to a specific team like Brett Favre is to the Green Bay Packers. He embodies the spirit and character of Packer fans everywhere. I do not think there is a player in the NFL that experiences a relationship with the fans like Brett Favre does. That is very, very special."
Favre echoed the sentiment, saying, "I enjoy it here. I don't want to move. I enjoy the fans and I just want to stay. I couldn't envision myself playing for another team."
Is the NFL's leading active passer with a career rating of 86.0, based on 2,997 completions in 4,932 attempts for 34,706 yards and 255 touchdowns with 157 interceptions; his rating is the NFL's fourth-best all-time, behind only Young (96.8), Joe Montana (92.3) and Marino (86.4), and his career completion percentage (60.77) is fifth-best in league annals
A testament to his consistently-high production level, his completions, attempts, yards and touchdown totals are tops in the league over the past decade (1991-2000)
Along the way he has underscored his position among the game's all-time elite by earning the NFL's 'Most Valuable Player' honor a record three times, capturing the Associated Press award over the 1995, 1996 and 1997 seasons
Honored in "co-status" with the Detroit Lions' Barry Sanders in 1997, he became the first player in league history to win the award three times, let alone in three consecutive years
Primacy of the prodigiously-armed Southerner is further evidenced by his selection last season to the 1990s NFL All-Decade second team as voted by the Pro Football Hall of Fame Selection Committee
Also ranked as the ninth-best player in 'NFL Player of the Century' voting, which was conducted on nfl.com during the 1999 season
This season will attempt to become the first player in the history of the National Football League to throw for 3,000 yards in 10 straight seasons, he presently shares the all-time league mark of 9 with Marino (1984-92)
Continues his streak as the most durable quarterback in pro football history, entering the 2001 season having started an NFL-record 141 consecutive regular-season games, 25 games more than the second-longest skein ever by a quarterback, 116 by ex-Eagle Ron Jaworski, and 93 games (nearly six full seasons) ahead of the current No. 2 streak, 48 by the Colts' Peyton Manning
His mark also is the sixth-longest active streak in the NFL among all positions entering 2001
Saw his streak in jeopardy last season after suffering mid-foot sprain in November contest at Tampa, but, as he has done many times before, suited up the following week and authored a fine performance in win over Indianapolis
During his remarkable run, 12 different quarterbacks have served as his backup in Green Bay; chronologically, they are Don Majkowski (1992), Ty Detmer (1992-95), Mark Brunell (1993-94), T.J. Rubley (1995), Bob Gagliano (1995), Doug Pederson (1995-98), Jim McMahon (1995-96), Steve Bono (1997), Rick Mirer (1998), Matt Hasselbeck (1999-2000), Aaron Brooks (1999) and Danny Wuerffel (2000); only three times over the course of his 141-game streak (155 including playoffs) has a backup had to complete a game due to injury - Oct. 20, 1994, at Minnesota (hip), when Brunell wrapped up the contest; Nov. 5, 1995, at Minnesota (ankle), when Detmer subbed in before injuring his thumb and giving way to Rubley; and Nov. 12, 2000, at Tampa Bay (ankle), when Hasselbeck was called upon to finish the game
Acknowledged team leader and unyielding competitor, he holds the fourth-best record - 91-50 (.645) - among active NFL field generals with 20-or-more starts; at home he is virtually unbeatable, boasting the second-highest winning percentage (.843) among quarterbacks who have begun their careers since 1967 (minimum 25), his 59-11 mark (which includes nine games played in Milwaukee) is behind only that of No. 1 Terry Bradshaw (.848, 67-12)
In the process he led the Packers to eight winning seasons (1992-98, 2000), including a team-record seven straight, plus six consecutive playoff berths (1993-98, also a club record), three straight NFC Central Division crowns (1995-97), three consecutive NFC Championship Games (1995, 1996, 1997) and back-to-back Super Bowl appearances, including a 35-21 victory over New England in Super Bowl XXXI, returning the Lombardi Trophy to Green Bay for the first time in 29 years
Last year led his team to a 9-7 record, marking his ninth straight non-losing season at the helm; he has started every one of the club's games since Week 4 of the 1992 campaign, having been presented his opportunity the previous week when Majkowski suffered strained ligaments in his left ankle midway through the first quarter of Cincinnati contest
Recovered from early-season tendinitis problems in 2000 to finish with 3,812 passing yards and 20 touchdowns with 16 interceptions, on 338 completions of 580 passing attempts, enjoying his lowest interception percentage (2.76) in four seasons and not being intercepted in nearly half (7 of 16) of the club's games
Packers offensive coordinator Tom Rossley is excited about Favre's performance down the stretch last season and looks forward to picking up in 2001 where he left off
"He did a good job last year in making decisions and not turning the ball over in the Red Zone and probably played much better in the second half of the season due to the problems he had with his tendinitis," says Rossley. "He's still got the gun. He's very smart. He makes good decisions. He's a leader, a playmaker, he's got it all. He has a different charisma about him than even Warren Moon and some of the other guys I've been around. Brett has an air about him that you know he's going to get it done. And we know we have a chance to win it all with him."
His 20 touchdown passes in 2000 marked the seventh straight season he has posted 20-or-more scoring throws, the second-longest such streak in NFL history and surpassed only by Marino's 10 consecutive years (1983-92)
Now has 255 career touchdown passes, tying him with Sonny Jurgensen for eighth place in NFL history; he passed George Blanda (236), Jim Kelly (237), Len Dawson (239), John Hadl (244), Boomer Esiason (247) and Dan Fouts (254) during the course of the 2000 season
Within his sights for 2001 are #7 Dave Krieg (261) and #6 Montana (273); if he maintains the 28.3 touchdown passes per season average he has established in his nine Green Bay campaigns, he would climb all the way to third on the NFL's all-time list during the 2002 season
The former Southern Mississippi field leader last season became the second-fastest player in NFL history to reach 250 career touchdown passes, doing so in the 141st game of his pro career; only Marino, who did so in 128 games, reached that plateau quicker
Also possesses the most 30-touchdown seasons in NFL history (5), one ahead of Marino's 4; his 35 scoring throws in 1997 made him just the fourth player in NFL annals to lead the league in TD throws as many as three consecutive seasons (1995-96-97) and matched him with Hall of Famer Arnie Herber as the only Green Bay quarterbacks to lead the NFL in scoring throws in three different seasons (Herber did it in 1932, '34 and '36)
Has authored two of the five top seasons, in terms of TD passes, in league history - 38 in 1995, followed by 39 in 1996
Owner of 14 career 4-touchdown games - the third-highest total in NFL history behind only the 21 of Marino and the 17 of Johnny Unitas
Consistent in his production of TDs, has thrown for at least one touchdown in 121 of his last 141 career starts with Green Bay, failing to do so in only 12 games since the start of the 1995 season
His 3,812 passing yards in 2000 marked the ninth consecutive season he has surpassed the 3,000-yard mark, tying Marino for the league record
Now in the league's all-time Top Twenty in passing yards, his 34,706 place him 13th, having gone by the likes of John Brodie (31,548), Jurgensen (32,224), Ken Anderson (32,838), Young (33,124), Phil Simms (33,462), Hadl (33,503), Steve DeBerg (34,241) and Jim Hart (34,665) during the 2000 campaign
Added two more 300-yard passing games to his cache in 2000, bringing his career total to a club-record 28, the highest total among active NFL players
Earlier, in 1999 with 4,091 passing yards, had become only the fourth quarterback in league history to post as many as three 4,000-yard seasons (also doing so in 1995 and '98), joining Marino (6), Moon (4) and Fouts (3)
In addition to scaling the all-time rankings in touchdowns and yards, has cracked the Top Ten in completions, his 2,997 place him eighth
With teammate Antonio Freeman, holds the team record and forms the most prolific active QB-to-WR duo in the NFL, the pair having collaborated for 51 touchdown passes to tie (the Bengals' Anderson and Isaac Curtis) for ninth place in league history; within the sights of the Packers' prolific duo are the Redskins' Jurgensen-Charley Taylor (53) at No. 8, the 49ers' Montana-Jerry Rice and Dolphins' Marino-Mark Duper (55) tied at No. 6 and the Chargers' Hadl-Lance Alworth (56) at No. 5
Selected to the Pro Bowl five times in his nine Green Bay seasons, he was voted as the NFC starter from 1995-97 after two earlier appearances (1992-93) as a reserve; did not play in 1997 because of a lingering knee injury
He now holds 17 Packers records, among them career touchdowns (255), pass attempts (4,927), completions (2,997) and yards passing (34,706); he is tied for one other club mark
Has led Green Bay in passing for nine consecutive years, one shy of Bart Starr's team-record 10 straight seasons (1959-68)
Dauntless in his approach to the game, his previously-mentioned durability run includes 143 consecutive regular-season game appearances, the fifth-longest streak in club history; he is positioned to surpass #4 Boyd Dowler (150) during the 2001 season
Remarkably successful in the cold, is the owner of a perfect 27-0 record at home (22-0 regular season, 5-0 playoffs) when the game-time temperature is 34 degrees or below (23 games at Lambeau Field, four games at Milwaukee County Stadium); in those contests, he has completed 531 of 843 passes (63.0%) for 6,426 yards and 57 touchdowns with only 17 interceptions for a passer rating of 100.5
Directed the Packers to a game-winning comeback in half of their home games during the 2000 campaign - the most during any regular season in his nine years in Green Bay - to up his career total to 20
Is the possessor of 11 club playoff records, while sharing two others
In league playoff annals he stands fifth in touchdown passes (25), sixth in passer rating (91.1) and seventh in passing yards (3,390)
With it being impossible for someone to better it, will be the permanent possessor of at least one all-time NFL record - that for longest pass completion - as he collaborated with wideout Robert Brooks for a 99-yard scoring hookup in a 1995 game at Chicago |
