Interesting Farve story

[quiksand_tumbleweed]

Being a Falcons fan since the Bartkowski days. I always wondered why we didn't keep him on the team longer than we did.

m O j i


Jerry Glanville: I Traded Favre to Help Sober Him Up

One of the best "What If?" questions of the last 20-odd years in sports centers on the Falcons' decision to trade Brett Favre after his rookie season. How different might football history look if Favre had worn the black and red of Atlanta instead of the green and gold of Green Bay?

We all know that G.M. Ron Wolf was the driving force behind bringing him to Green Bay. He'd been with the Jets in 1991 and wanted to take Favre with the 34th overall pick, but the Falcons swooped in and took Favre. That left the Jets with Browning Nagle (speaking of fun what ifs) and Wolf had to switch teams to get his man.

Still, there's always been a bit of a question about why the Falcons were so eager to get rid of their second round pick. In a radio interview with WNSR in Nashville, Jerry Glanville, coach of the Falcons at the time, gave his side of the story.

"I had to get him out of Atlanta. . . . I could not sober him up," Glanville said. "I sent him to a city where at 9:00 at night the only thing that's open is Chili Joes. You can get it two ways, with or without onions. And that's what made Brett Favre make a comeback was going to a town that closed down. If I would have traded him to New York, nobody to this day would have known who Brett Favre ever was."

As Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk points out, this isn't the first time that Glanville has brought up this reasoning for Favre's departure from Atlanta. It seems reasonable enough, except for the part where Favre would have never developed as an NFL star because of his taste for the nightlife.

After all, Favre hasn't been shy about discussing his battles with alcohol and painkillers during his NFL career. Maybe they would have been worse in a livelier town than Green Bay, but people with a taste for the drink seem to have a way of finding it whether they are in New York or South Dakota.

Glanville's concerns may have been well founded, but, in general, this feels very similar to the story of Cris Carter's career evolution. He struggled in Philly, for whatever reason, and then blossomed once he was in a different setting. Maybe getting away from Buddy Ryan was the impetus for that change. It seems just as possible that Mike Holmgren would have worked his magic if he'd been in Atlanta when Favre arrived in the league.

[jahlive 420]

i'm from a town 30 miles from GB. Favre partied at the taverns here HARD in his first few years. Mark Chumura and Favre had a rep for being assholes with the ladies. They were young, rich, famous, and having fun in nowheresville.

[Crazy Levi]

If I never hear another Farve story I can die happy.

[Tymaster]

If I never hear another Farve story I can die happy.

At the very least we're in for another summer of it.
At the most another football season.

[Kamikaze_Russo]

I used to work at a popular bar in Atlanta back in '91, and used to see Favre & Billy Joe Tolliver in there drinking all the time. Back then, Tolliver was the more famous one of the two. Of course, most people just thought they were too overgrown rednecks.

[Redman77]

Good thinking Jerry. Beer is tough to come by in Wisconsin.

[ac/dc sucks]

If I never hear another Farve story I can die happy.

Die now then! I'd be happy too!

[UtahRatt]

Being a Falcons fan since the Bartkowski days.

Don't you dare leave out William Andrews!

[Tymaster]

Smug, spoiled, arrogant, rich white jocks!? Imagine that!! The press only wants to cover them if they're black. Because then they are thugs. If they are white, they are "battling with balancing celebrity and their personal lives." LOL. I'm not trying to sound like Al Sharpton, but it's true and you know it. I remember when Scott Mitchell was a Bungle. Seeing him out barhopping, drunker than a fratboy on bender blended with a seaman on shoreleave: ON A WORK NIGHT. No one need ask why he wasn't on the field those two seasons, he was all over Clifton spreading his seed being a drunken asshole.

[quiksand_tumbleweed]

Being a Falcons fan since the Bartkowski days.

Don't you dare leave out William Andrews!

I'm not bro. Just mentioning who the QB was at the time I first dug'em since it's a QB story.

[Garbageman]

Glanville didn't like Favre to begin with and hated that they used such a high draft pick on him. He was quoted as saying it would take a plane crash to get him into their starting line-up.

They didn't trade him to Green Bay thinking a quieter town would allow him to achieve greatness. Back then, Green Bay was more where people were banished to. But as salary caps and parity kicked in over the next few years, the Packers were able to get competitive as far as signing players (Reggie White being the tipping point) and on the field.

What Glanville is saying is akin to if Bret Michaels saying they didn't want Slash in Poison because they knew if he joined a band with lots of drug use, he'd earn a diamond award!

[Tymaster]

Glanville didn't like Favre to begin with and hated that they used such a high draft pick on him. He was quoted as saying it would take a plane crash to get him into their starting line-up.

They didn't trade him to Green Bay thinking a quieter town would allow him to achieve greatness. Back then, Green Bay was more where people were banished to. But as salary caps and parity kicked in over the next few years, the Packers were able to get competitive as far as signing players (Reggie White being the tipping point) and on the field.

What Glanville is saying is akin to if Bret Michaels saying they didn't want Slash in Poison because they knew if he joined a band with lots of drug use, he'd earn a diamond award!

Glanville did have a Pro-Bowl QB that year in Atlanta. Hind sight is always 20/20. Not a Glanville fan (on Browns fan is), but I'm just sayin.........

[UtahRatt]

I'm not bro. Just mentioning who the QB was at the time I first dug'em since it's a QB story.

I should have the 1981 team photo in a box somewhere, I sent out two fan letters and Atlanta was the only one to send back goodies. Of course my favorite team the Raiders didn't send shit.........