The question around the NFL has always been whether or not Joe Flacco is elite. Brett Favre just broke down the key to success in the league, it all apparently is about breaking your finger.
Favre broke his finger back in 2003 against St. Louis so he has been through a similar situation to Derek Carr, who dislocated his finger this past weekend. He also has a theory that it will somehow give you magical powers that makes you one of the leagues best.
Here he is appearing on Sirius XM NFL Radio explaining his rational:
“The thing about Derek Carr. I saw the play. I saw how he played after that. What that does, you build over your career. There are players like Tom Brady, there’s players like Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, those type of guys, over their journey, they put notches in their belt. Or other people put notches in their belt, that’s what makes this guy so special. This is just one of the first few notches in the belt for Derek Carr.
What he did is admirable, but it’s what a player who wants to be in the caliber of a Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, those types of guys. That’s what you have to do, that’s what you have to overcome and then you have to win those games. And he has done that.
Yeah, he’s early in his career, but he has to start somewhere. And what he did is not easy. What he did is a decision. Had he decided to come out of that game, who would have said ‘What a wimp?’ No one. It’s like playing with a broken thumb, if I would have decided not to play, everyone would have said ‘Well, that’s a no brainer. He’s got a broken thumb on his throwing hand.’ But when you decide to stay out there, to compete and not let that bother you, even though it does, the guys around, it’s just a tremendous amount of respect that they have for you, the fans have for you, and quite frankly, opponents will have for you. You are just building the blocks to solidify yourself as a top-notch quarterback in this league for a long time.”
The logic there isn’t flawless, playing through an injury is the common denominator for almost all of the quarterbacks he has mentioned. What he doesn’t realize is that most of these teams in short notice instances would have been just fine with their backup. No need to injure yourself further and risk even more damage. The comment comes off as a little unhinged, Favre has that quality to him, that is why he was considered such a wild card on the field.
It evidently extends to off the field as well.
