Brett Favre
Brett Favre is yet another quarterback whose name is all over the NFL record book, but it didn't start out looking like it would lead there. He was a second-round pick of Atlanta in 1991, but only threw 4 passes in his rookie season with the Falcons, 2 of them resulting in interceptions. He was traded to Green Bay after the season for a first-round pick.
In the fourth game of his Packers career, Favre took over the starting job from Don Majkowski, and he would not give it up for the rest of his time with the team. His first two years in Green Bay were decent, but nothing special, but he started to show his greatness in 1994, when he threw 3882 yards, 33 touchdowns, and only 14 interceptions while leading Green Bay to the playoffs for the second straight year, where they lost to Dallas in the second round.
1995 was even better, with the highest passing total of his career (4413), which led the league, along with 38 touchdowns, also #1 in the league. Green Bay won the division with an 11-5 record, and Favre won his first MVP award. In the first two round of the playoffs, he threw 5 touchdowns without a pick, but he tossed 2 in the NFC title game, which led to them losing to Dallas for the third straight season to end their run.
In 1996 he dropped his yardage total back below 4000, but threw one more touchdown while getting the Packers to the best record in the league at 13-3, earning him his second straight MVP. He didn't have amazing numbers in the playoffs, but was able to finally break through and reach the Super Bowl, where he was good. He passed for 246 yards and 2 touchdowns and ran for another, but became the only QB in history to score 3 touchdowns in a Super Bowl win without being awarded the MVP.
Three-peats of any kind are a very difficult feat in sports, but Favre accomplished one in 1997, when he led the league in touchdowns for the third straight season and was awarded his 3rd consecutive MVP, becoming the first and only player ever so honored. That amazing season was followed up with another run to the Super Bowl, where they met John Elway and the Broncos, and though Favre outplayed Elway significantly, Terrell Davis led the Broncos to victory with his 3rd touchdown late in the game.
In 1998 he led the league in passing yards for the second time, reaching 4212, but threw 23 interceptions, and his down season led to the Packers falling in the wild card round to the 49ers, marking the first time in 4 years that they failed to reach the NFC title game.
He and the Packers had a couple of down years after that, with Favre throwing a lot of interceptions and Green Bay missing the playoffs, but he made a bit of a comeback in 2001, raising his TD's back up to 32 while dropping his picks down to 15. He also led them to their first playoff victory since the Super Bowl loss, but it was just a single game, and Favre ended up throwing 6 interceptions in their second round loss to Kurt Warner and the Rams.
He remained a solid quarterback on a decent team for several more seasons, with nearly every season ending with speculation of retirement, followed by a decision to play one more season to chase another Super Bowl. His final season in Green Bay came in 2007, when he threw 4155 yards and 28 touchdowns at age 38 and led the Packers to the NFC Championship Game for the 4th time in his career.
The Packers were desperate to move on and allow Aaron Rodgers to take over the starting job, and Favre felt that they forced him into retirement, but he quickly decided to unretire, which forced the Packers to trade him away to avoid a quarterback controversy. He was sent to the Jets for a year, where he had a pretty mediocre year, followed by another retirement, and another decision to come back.
When he came back in 2009, he joined the Minnesota Vikings, and had his best season since his 3 MVP years early in his career. He finished with 4202 yards, 33 touchdowns, and a career-low 7 picks. He led the Vikings to the playoffs, and even won a playoff game, which earned them a spot in the NFC title game, the fifth of Favre's career. The playoff win earned Favre the distinction of being the oldest quarterback ever to win a playoff game, at age 40, which has since been surpassed by Tom Brady.
He played one more season with Minnesota, but was terrible, with only 11 touchdown passes and 2509 yards, the lowest total since his rookie season, which ended with 0 yards. He finally retired for good at the end of the 2010 season after a career that spanned 20 years.
Favre had three excellent MVP seasons, and 6 other seasons as one of the best in the league. He led his teams to 5 conference title games and 2 Super Bowls, coming away victorious once, but what really sets him apart is the volume of his career. He was #1 all time in passing yards, completions, attempts, interceptions, wins, games started, consecutive starts, and touchdowns when he retired, though most of those have now been eclipsed. He is also the only player in history to win 3 straight MVP's, which is pretty remarkable, so there is no doubt that he deserves to be remembered as one of the best of all time.
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