Who Won Favre Circus?

This offseason for the NFL was a wild one, all because of one man. First he retired. Then he was thinking about coming back. Then he wasn't wanted back. Then he was, but not as a starter. Then he wasn't going to come back. And then he did. And then Brett Favre, an NFL icon and Green Bay hero, got traded to the New York Jets.

This started a string of things around the league.

First, the trade of Favre put Aaron Rodgers into the driver seat for the first time in his career. Rodgers, who slid all the way from a projected number 2 selection to the Packers at number 24, was drafted 3 years ago to eventually take over for Favre. Despite webpages and marches held in Green Bay to keep Brett Favre, the Packers decided it was time to pass the tourch to Rodgers.

The question then was, who to trade Favre to? The Buccaneers and Jets were interested, and Farve eventually ended up being a New York Jet. Now all of the sudden the Jets, who had Chad Pennington and Kelly Clemens on their roster, had a first ballot hall of famer under center for them.

This led to the release of Chad Pennington, who had spent his whole career as a quarterback in New York. On the free marker for the first time, Pennington decided to sign with the Miami Dolphins, who promised him an open competion with second year quarterback John Beck, who general manager Bill Parcells was not pleased with.

So after all was said and done, this left three teams with new quarterbacks. The Packers with Aaron Rodgers, the Jets with Brett Favre and the Dolphins with Chad Pennington. So the question is, after 10 weeks, who got the best deal of the quarterback swaping?

Aaron Rodgers has played well for the Packers in his first year on the job. He has thrown for 2,124 yards, 13 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. Despite a shoulder injury that led to a slump for a couple of weeks, Rodgers has come back strong in his last 3 games. He has led the Packers to a 4-5 marks, which is dissapointing after their success last season.

Brett Favre, in his first season ever with a team other then the Packers, has been typical Favre, with alot of good and alot of bad. He has thrown 18 touchdowns and led the Jets to the top of the AFC East. But those numbers, and the teams standings, are a bit jaded. He also has thrown 12 interceptions. 1/4 of those touchdowns game in one game. And the only reason the Jets are winning the AFC East is because Tom Brady is out for the year. But still, Favre has led them to the top in his first season there.

Chad Pennington, considered the worst of the 3 at the beginning of the season, has been the surprise of the bunch. He has helped the Miami Dolphins to a surprising 5-4 record. He has season stats of 2,200 yards, 8 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. But unlike Rodgers and Farve, he is not asked to win the game for the Dolphins. In fact, you could argue that the Dolphins have had their most sucess with running back Ronnie Brown under center.

So who got the best of the deal? You could make a case for all three. The Jets have the best record of the three, and look like the most likely to make the playoffs. The Packers sucessfully transitioned to the post Favre era, which has been looming over their franchise for the last few years. The Dolphins, who no one expected anything out of , are a surprising 5-4 and will compete for a playoff berth.

Now the cases agaisnt them. The Packers could have been the top team in the NFC this year with Favre under the helm. They were close last year, and their only competion would have been the New York Giants this year. But with Rodgers, they are below .500 and will struggle to even get in the playoffs. The Jets morgaged there future for one, maybe two years of Brett Favre. Their is really no case agaisnt the Dolphins, other then that at his age, Pennington is probaly not the answer at quaterback for the future.

So the winner? I have to go with the Jets. The Packers took a major PR hit by the way they handled the situation. The Jets on the other hand, commited to winning now, and got lucky that Brady went down, leaving the door wide open for them. Without Favre, they would be last in their division. Now they are first. And in the NFL, the Not For Long league, you need to win when you can. The Jets made that commitment, while the Packers took last seasons success and delayed it, instead of build upon it. The Dolphins would come in second place, because they gave up nothing and had Pennington dropped in their lap.

But the Jets get the edge because they went out and made the move, showing their dedication to winning.