“Randy was serious about wanting to stay,” said DiPiero in an e-mail. “Because of Randy’s record-breaking year, the interest in him was very high. Randy took less than he could have to rejoin his teammates.”
DiPiero said he wouldn’t comment on which other teams were interested in Moss, but according to a league source, the Philadelphia Eagles, who swooped in and signed Patriots cornerback Asante Samuel to a six-year, $57 million deal last Friday, made a serious play.
Randy took less than he could have because he gave less to the Oakland Raiders for two seasons. If he’s not on a contender or highly involved in the offense, his effort is putrid. The only team that should have signed Moss to a multi-year deal did.
Chadiha’s point that Favre had a lot of fun this past season while guiding the Packers to the NFC Championship game is well taken. I think most people are shocked that Favre elected to retire on the heels of such a successful season in Green Bay and with another promising season on the horizon. But to call his decision a mistake is arrogant, pretentious and unfair, and comes across as headline hunting more than anything else.
Brett Favre will regret his decision to retire at some point this fall.
He’ll be sitting at his home in Mississippi on a Sunday afternoon, relaxing with his family and he’ll realize what he’s missing, how precious an opportunity he passed on. It might be a simple pang of heartache. It could be a sudden jolt that sparks him to reminisce. But he will surely feel something that will remind him of how big a mistake he made when he finally ended his career as the Green Bay Packers quarterback.
Says who? Some guy sitting behind his computer who apparently has absolutely no idea just how agonizing this decision had to be for Favre? Granted, you don’t play for as long as Favre has and with as much passion as he did to not feel any sadness when you finally walk away, so it’s safe to say that he’s going to miss the game and his teammates and the fans and, perhaps, maybe even the spotlight. But Favre clearly thought the time was right to call it a career.
But apparently Favre should’ve consulted Jeffri Chadiha before making his decision.
The seniors at Kansas put on a display last night as they beat Texas Tech by 59. This is the same Tech team that beat Texas a couple of days ago. Senior Russell Robinson made all five of his shots as the Jayhawks seemed to have righted a ship that was listless.
After running off 21 straight victories the Jayhawks lost focus for a couple of weeks and dropped three games. It seems after the last two wins (Kansas State by double digits) Bill Self has his team refocused and ready to make a run at the national championship. I am still sticking by my preseason prediction of the Jayhawks cutting down the nets in San Antonio.
I only wish Bob Knight had been in studio for ESPN to comment on the game. Looks like he won’t have to critique his son in the tournament afterall.
Coaching News: Nolan Richarson is in discussions with the officials at Arkansas State about the thier opening. At 66, the question is does he have enough juice left in the tank to take on such a rebuilding job. Also, rumors are flying out of Berkeley about Ben Braun’s future with the Bears.
Everyone loves a good deal and the NBA is no different. In my latest column, I identify the league’s best bargains, including Jamario Moon and Monta Ellis. But good deals can be had on higher-priced players as well, which means GMs need to spend wisely at all salary levels to produce a winner.
“I know I can still play, but it’s like I told my wife, I’m just tired mentally. I’m just tired,” Favre, the three-time NFL MVP, told ESPN’s Chris Mortensen in a voice mail message.
“If I felt like coming back — and Deanna [Favre, his wife] and I talked about this — the only way for me to be successful would be to win a Super Bowl. To go to the Super Bowl and lose, would almost be worse than anything else. Anything less than a Super Bowl win would be unsuccessful,” Favre said in the message.
“I know it shouldn’t feel unsuccessful, but the only way to come back and make that be the right decision would be to come back and win a Super Bowl and honestly the odds of that, they’re tough. Those are big shoes for me to fill, and I guess it was a challenge I wasn’t up for. “
As a longtime Packer fan, I’m bummed. And I’m shocked. He played some of the best ball of his career last season and the Packers looked like legitimate Super Bowl contenders with him under center.
But I understand his reasoning. If he can’t accept a Super Bowl loss (or another playoff loss) next season, and a Super Bowl win is the only way he’ll feel justified in coming back, then he’s right on about the long odds. If you’re mentally drained, why put yourself through that?
On the other hand, he’s a fierce competitor, so I’m surprised that he’s hanging ’em up when the Packers are knocking on the door.
Mortensen reported that Favre, who wanted the Packers to obtain Randy Moss when he was a free agent last season, had once again pushed for Moss to join the Packers.
Favre had spoken to Moss late last week and was willing to commit to more than just this season if Moss and the Packers could come to an agreement. But the Packers did not pursue Moss, who re-signed with the Patriots on Monday.
In his voice mail message to Mortensen on Tuesday, Favre said the Packers’ lack of pursuit of Moss was not the driving reason why he retired.
Maybe it wasn’t the driving reason, but it seems clear that if the Packers had landed Moss, Favre would have committed to play another season or two. (I’m a firm believer that karma won’t allow Randy Moss to win a Super Bowl, and until I’m proven wrong, I’m not going to fret about what could have been.)
The good news for the Packers is that they have plenty of time to prepare for the season. Aaron Rodgers figures to finally get his shot, but the team may bring in a veteran as insurance. From a fantasy perspective, this is a big hit for Donald Driver, Greg Jennings and Ryan Grant. They went from sure things to question marks for the 2008-09 season.
Here’s a look back at his Packer debut, a dramatic win against the Bengals:
