Devotion to Favre by coaches, fans harmful to Packers

	For all of the gaudy numbers Brett Favre has produced, his assault on the all-time interceptions mark isn't one he'll cherish. John Biever/SI
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So there I was, plodding my way through the thickets and forests of the AFC East, trying to compile enough sensible information for my scouting reports for Sports Illustrated, the AFC East being the Four B's division (three Belichicks and the Bills), and a coach came over to me and said, sotto voce, "Hey, you see what they wrote about you in Green Bay?"

Now this is very big in One Voice country because since two of the teams run by former Belichick acolytes -- the Jets under Mangini, the Dolphins under Saban -- follow their ex-boss' lead and forbid you to speak to assistant coaches, I would assume the forbidding goes both ways. To have one seek me out for comment is indeed stunning, even if it happens to be someone I've known half my life.

"Ripped you a new"... uh, "Ripped you pretty severely, he did," deep throat said, and he went on to tell me about this guy who hinted very strongly at creeping senility for the Old Doc because of my comments about Brett Favre and the Hall of Fame. And naturally the ripper got it wrong, the whole thrust of what I was saying.

I wrote that I would vote for Favre when his name came up for enshrinement. I said that if he had another 29-interception season, he might run the risk of not being a first-ballot choice. I said that his game had tanked badly in the last few years.

This was interpreted to mean that I had no respect for the QB or his career. Lifetime stats were provided by this writer, including interceptions. I guess this guy was so dense that he didn't understand that the fact that Favre is only 22 picks behind George Blanda's all-time career record is a negative stat. The reason why I mention all this now is that some of my loyal e-mailers, who are certainly blessed with more IQ points than this Green Bay creep, seem to be in his corner. Oh, the shame of it!

Kenn of Madison, Wisc. (where else?) defends Favre against what he considers Steve Young's bogus championship ("the Packers didn't have to 'buy' Favre's championship by circumventing the salary cap rules like the 49ers did"). Not a bad topic, but he failed to address the point I made about the decline in his hero's game.

Cris of Toronto is a friendly chap but he feels that too much of the Packers' woes last year were laid off on the QB. Jack K. of Vernon Hills, Ill., rips me for calling Tom Brady the ultimate warrior and neglecting Favre's amazing run of consecutive games, and he's right. I should have reserved that title for Brett. Sorry. It was an oversight.

Finally Richard, a Packers fan from Huntsville, Ala., agrees with me -- surprise! "His ruptured duck pass in overtime in the infamous 4th and 23 playoff game against the Eagles cost them a Super Bowl trip, yet everyone goes, 'Well, Brett's having fun out there.'"

Andrew has selected three negative verdicts on my piece, and only one positive, which is his way of telling me that sentiment is running three-to-one against me. In other words, I am facing a Revolt of the Cheeseheads. OK Cheeseheads, before you get too revolting, let me explain to you what you fail to understand.