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The cheese is about to hit the fan in Wisconsin.  The Packers have spent all off-season telling everyone within shouting distance that Aaron Rodgers is their new starting QB.  They are officially beginning the Aaron Rodgers era in Green Bay.  The made the point of emphasizing that by announcing that they will retire Brett Favre's number at the first home game on Sept 8th.  In doing so they are making two statements:  First and foremost, they are making the necessary bow of respect to an NFL legend.  Secondly they are announcing that Brett Favre is offically "gone, but not forgotten... but definitely gone..... so go ahead and embrace Aaron Rodgers, because he is the QB of the future...... Because Brett is gone..... Look.... His number is up on the wall there with Starr and Lombardi....  Did we mention that Brett is gone?"

But then a funny thing happened on the way to the jersey raising.  Brett got itchy.  A little time away from football can do that to a man who knows how great he is at what he does.  Brett just had one of the best seasons of his life, and his team has only gotten better in the offseason.  He made it to the NFC title game last year... maybe this year they can go all the way.

Little thoughts about leading his team to glory one more time started creeping into his mind.  Or maybe the thoughts were purely selfish.  Maybe he just started to realize that if he walks away now, he will never again get the chance to lace up and compete with the best of the best, and there is nothing wrong with that either.  He is 38 years old, and still one of the Top 5 in the league at his position, but will he even be a starter next year?

As far as Green Bay is concerned, he will not.  Brett has been in contact with the Packers since late June expressing his desire to return.  The Packers have spent that time giving the media the run around about what was happening behind the scenes, only continuing to state: Aaron Rodgers is our starter.  When all parties concerned (Favre, his agent Bus Cook, Packers GM Thompson, and Head Coach McCarthy) finally all got together to clear the air, the Packers let Brett know that they were moving forward with Rodgers.

Favre responded by saying, "...give me my helmet, or give me my release."

He then had Cook draft a letter to Packers management asking for Favre to be released unconditionally, so that Favre could choose his next landing spot.  The Pack declined the offer, and the staredown began.

So here we sit at the beginning of what could be a very messy divorce, and there is no solution where everyone wins.

Let's start with what Packers fans want: the Packers hand the reigns back over to Favre.  Seems easy enough.  Everyone (fans, coaches, teammates) knows that Brett is a better QB right now than Rodgers, and gives the Packers the best chance to win right now.  Give the old guy one more season to chase glory, and then hand the ball back to Rodgers.  The problem is that they have already promised the job to Rodgers, and adjusted their offense accordingly.  In taking Brett back, they would essentially be telling Rodgers that they lack confidence in him leading the team.

Also, maybe Brett plays one year... maybe 2 or 3.  Rodgers' contract is up after 2009.  Do you really think he will re-sign with the Packers is they renege on this?  That will leave them with Brian Brohm and Matt (Damon) Flynn, who have never taken an NFL snap as their QBs of the future... possibly only one of them.  Most teams only carry 3 QBs on a roster (except, of course the Bucs), so either one of the young guns has to go, or another valuable roster slot is taken up for 1-3 years.

If the Packers give in to Favre and release him, he will go to a team that is ready to win now; a virtual lock for the playoffs.  Even if that team isn't the Vikings or Bears, there is the possibility that the Pack could see them in the playoffs (Bucs, Redskins, Panthers).  You think Thompson wants to see Favre come into Lambeau (the house that he re-built), and out-duel Rodgers?  He would be crucifed.  Even moreso if Rodgers struggles this season, while Brett lights it up elsewhere.

If the Packers trade him, the same scenario as above still applies.  They can control where he goes (preferrably an AFC team), but there is still the Rodgers/Favre comparison.  Plus, they will likely get little to nothing in trade, because Favre still holds all of the cards.  What is an acceptable trade for a Top 5 QB?  A mid-round pick?  Will teams even offer that much for someone that they might only get one year out of?

Thompson is playing hardball now, but Farve can greatly affect his trade value by making the statement that he will only play for teams X or Y.  If the Pack trades him anyway, he can re-retire, ala Jake Plummer.  Is that blackmail?  Yes, but it is essentially the same thing Packers are doing to Favre right now.

The route that Thompson has decided to go is to continue their hardline statement that Aaron Rodgers is their starting QB.  If Brett were to un-retire (which he has not yet officially done), they would welcome him back... as a backup.  Thompson is trying to force Brett into staying retired.  He has even sent officials from the Packers to Mississippi to try and talk Brett into staying retired.  Do you think he wants to pay a backup QB $12 million?

Now the ball is in Favre's court.  If he reports to the Packers' training camp as a backup, the real drama begins.  Maybe Rodgers starts to feel the giant shadow standing over his shoulder, and has a few bad days in practice.  Even a few displays of mediocrity would be enough to make a couple of veterans question him.

Imagine being Donald Driver, or Al Harris, or Charles Woodson.  You only have a few trips left around the block.  Do you want to concede a year or two of what little bit of career you have left waiting on Rodgers to be as good as the guy who is holding the clipboard?  Also, if they are treating the legendary Brett Favre this way, how swift will they be to show you the door?

Three veteran starters are more than enough to tear a locker room apart.  This is the type of stuff 5-11 seasons are made of.  It would start with some whispers.  "Brett would have made that throw.... Brett KNOWS I always run this route when we see this coverage...... Brett would have read that coverage... that is a rookie mistake."  Rodgers is in his 4th year.  Even though he hasn't started a single game, he is now expected to live up one of the greatest players of all time.  That in itself will be a crushing weight to bear, but it will be exponentially so if that guy is on the sideline if and when you make a mistake.

Is that kind of criticism fair to Rodgers?  No and yes.  He is in the unfortunate situation of having to follow Brett, and that was before all of this happened.  But he is trying to be the starting QB of an NFL team.  Millions of little boys dream about that every day of their lives, and less than one in ten million ever get that chance.  He hit the lottery, just not in the ideal situation.  It is the most difficult position in all of sports.  Only the strong survive.  He knew what he was getting into when he chose his profession.  If he shines, he will be remembered all the more fondly because of it.  Look at Steve Young.

Imagine the boos that will rain down upon both Rodgers and McCarthy if he starts to have a bad game. "There's good ole Number 4 sitting on the sideline, holding a clipboard.  He could bail us out, like he has countless times before... but this dumb SOB won't put him in."

Forcing Favre to be a backup could cost Thompson, McCarthy, and Rodgers all their jobs, and possibly their careers.

So, why is Brett doing this all now?

In short: Because he can... now.

He will turn 39 this season, and is still in great shape.  A year from now, he will be approaching 40, and that carries a certain stigma to it when concerning a professional athlete.  If he decided to wait a year, he would be a full year removed from competiton, and that also carries a pretty negative stigma.  People (possibly even himself) would wonder if he still had it.  Right now, they KNOW he still has it.

And he has every right to prove it to them.

Yes, Brett is being selfish and putting the Packers in a tough situation, but he has earned that right.  He has played through pain and grief that would have crippled lesser men.  He played the day after his father died, and had the game of a lifetime.  He played when his wife had cancer.  He has played through unbearable pain- without the aid of painkillers, and never missed a start.  Yeah, the Packers paid him for playing, but can you put a price on what he has meant to that city and organization?

The best thing for the Pack to do would to aquiesce and give Brett his release.  The worst case scenario would be him going to the Vikings or Bears, because they would have to face him twice a year for the next year or two.  Maybe he wins a game or so in Lambeau.  Would that be so bad?  Yeah, Thompson would catch flack about it, but the team would move on.  Who knows, maybe Rodgers would even out-duel the legend, and get that moneky off of his back early? Personally, I would rather slug it out with bully man to man then worry about him jumping me from behind all the time.  Either way, the Aaron Rodgers era would begin in earnest, and he would have the fighting chance to carve out his own legend that wouldn't be afforded to him if Brett were standing over his shoulder.

And Brett Favre would get to play football, which is all he really wants to do.