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Is Favre the best in history?

Is Favre the best in history?

By Dan Ralph

Let the debate begin!

On Sunday, Brett Favre threw three touchdown passes to rally the unbeaten Green Bay Packers to a 31-24 win over San Diego. Favre’s final TD toss, a 57-yard pass to Greg Jennings, was the 420th of Favre’s illustrious career, tying him with Dan Marino for the most touchdown passes in NFL history.

It also marked the 38th time Favre has rallied the Packers to a fourth-quarter comeback and was just further evidence that once Favre retires, his next football stop will ultimately be at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

All of which begs the question: Is Favre among the top-five best quarterbacks in NFL history? Let’s take a look at some of his career highlights:

@ A 17-year NFL veteran, Favre has started every game (240 and counting) since assuming the starting job with Green bay in 1992.

@ Favre was named the NFL’s most valuable player three straight years (1995-’97).

@ He has been selected to the Pro Bowl eight times in his career and sixth times been named to the All-Pro team

@ In 1990, Favre was named to the NFL 1990s All-Decade Team.

@ He led Green bay to a pair of Super Bowl appearances, a win over New England in Super Bowl XXXI and a loss to Denver in Super Bowl XXXII.

@ He’s the NFL’s career leader in completions (5,101), tied with Marino in touchdown passes and second to the former Dolphins star in career attempts (8,348). Favre is also the winningest quarterback in NFL history with 150 career victories.

But for all of his records and impressive statistics, the defining moment of Favre’s career came in a Monday night game against Oakland on Dec. 22, 2003. A day earlier, Favre's father died, yet despite having the heaviest of heart, the Packers quarterback elected to take the field against the Raiders.

Favre delivered the most memorable performance of his career, throwing four first-half touchdown passes and 399 total passing yards in a 41-7 victory.

``I knew that my dad would have wanted me to play,’’ Favre said after the game. ``I love him so much and I love this game.

``It's meant a great deal to me, to my dad, to my family, and I didn't expect this kind of performance. But I know he was watching tonight.’’

Favre‘s performance didn‘t go unnoticed. He earned an ESPY Award for his inspirational outing against Oakland.

At age 37, Favre is the NFL's oldest quarterback, and although he seems rejuvenated this season, his longevity alone is always going prompt questions about just how much longer he's destined to play. The Packers began planning for Favre's exit in 2005 by selecting Aaron Rodgers in the first round of the NFL draft.

And let's not forget Favre is coming off two sub-par seasons in which the Packers went 12-20. Last year, Favre threw a career-tying low of 18 TD strikes and his 47 interceptions the last two years combined were the most in the NFL.

But this season, Favre is showing he can still get the job done. Two weeks ago against the New York Giants he opened the second half by completing 14 straight passes in a 35-13 victory. And Favre does have the distinction of being the NFL's second-ranked career passing leader, just over 3,000 yards behind Marino's mark of 61,361.

Favre doesn't have as many Super Bowl rings as Joe Montana (four), Terry Bradshaw (four) or even John Elway (two), but he does have one and has amassed more passing yards, completions and TDs than all three. And no other NFL player has ever been named the league's MVP three times.

All of the NFL's great quarterbacks have their defining moments. No one will forget the mastery John Unitas showed in leading the Baltimore Colts to the 1958 NFL championship with a 23-17 sudden death overtime win over the New York Giants. Ditto for Montana and his Super Bowl magic, most notably in rallying the San Francisco 49ers to their 20-16 victory over Cincinnati with a clutch TD pass to John Taylor.

And who will ever forget Elway laying himself out for a crucial first down as he led Denver to a 31-24 win over Favre and the Packers in Super Bowl XXXII.

But Favre's gutty performance against Oakland following his father's death ranks up there among the most inspirational in NFL history. And it came from a man who had already established himself as one of the NFL's best at his position and had little else to prove.

Favre's NFL legacy will forever be that of a gunslinger, a player who often aimed high and willingly accepted the risks associated with trying to win. The fact that Favre is just two interceptions short of George Blanda's career mark of 277 attests that he wasn't always successful, but his consecutive games streak suggests he was always there for his team and could always be counted upon, regardless of his physical condition.

And it says here that Favre deserves to always be mentioned in the same breath with Unitas, Montana and Marino when the talk turns to the top-five quarterbacks ever to play in the NFL.