Favre saga trundes on

Chris Jenkins of the AP has handily compiled a timeline of the entire Brett Favre issue. Most of it has been well documented, but some interesting snippets of information have been gleaned.

Certianly, in McCarthy's version of events, Favre would not have been under the impression that GM Ted Thompson and McCarthy did not want him back. If anything, they seem to have gone out of their way to placate their Quarterback, and give him as much time as was needed. McCarthy also mentions that he offered Favre the option of practising less, but as Favre said during his retirement press conference: If he was not 100% commited to football, he wasn't coming back.

Another interesting point is that Thompson - who has been vilified by the media for his part in recent events - actually had dinner with Favre as recently as May. This certainly seems to dispel some of the myth that this is a personal battle between the two, a conclusion readily assumed by the media.

But perhaps the most critical part of the timeline is Favre's assertion towards the end of June. Remember that this was just 3-4 weeks ago:

June 16-20: Acting on Campen's advice, McCarthy calls Favre. They play phone tag for a few days but eventually connect. "You and Ted need to have a plan if I do come back," Favre says, according to McCarthy. "Either give me my helmet or give me my release."

At that point, McCarthy asks Favre if he was 100 percent committed to a return. "He said, 'No, no, I'm not saying I'm there yet.'"

-Associated Press

Those who question the Packers' handling of this situation would do well to read that last sentence again. How could the organisation be sure of Favre's intentions when he was not himself? It seems that all the way up to the draft, the team was open to Favre's return, and actively pursued him to come back. It seems however, that when the team selected QB's Brian Brohm and Matt Flynn, Favre suddenly realised that the team was ready to move on.

This revelation seems to have prompted a stubborn streak in Favre, something that served him well during his NFL career. His desire to prove the Packers wrong seems to be an overriding factor here. He certainly does not seeme to have given the team a fair indication of his mental state before the draft, instead spurning multiple opportunities to respond to their overtures. The fact that Favre first said he was 100% committed to football on July 8th seems to back that up, as the more entrenched Aaron Rodgers became at QB, the less likely the team were to accept him back.

We'll have more on Rodgers soon.