I'm beginning to think Brett Favre isn't human.
It appears not even a badly bruised right elbow, nor a partially separated left shoulder, will prevent the 38-year-old quarterback from extending his record streak of consecutive starts to 250 games next Sunday.
However, this comes as a mild surprise considering how Favre has been the Engergizer Bunny of the National Football League since 1992. Football is all this man knows and the NFL is better for it.
Yes, Favre's been criticized for leaving the Green Bay Packers hanging the last two offseasons while he contemplated retirement. He even struck me as bit selfish after he acted uninterested in grooming the Packers' quarterback of the future and 2005 1st round draft pick, Aaron Rodgers. However, even as Favre inches toward Social Security, he remains one of the best quarterbacks in an otherwise watered-down era for quarterbacks.
Watch ESPN at any time of day and chances are, regardless of what program is on, you'll be overwhelmed by coverage of one of five quarterbacks: Favre, Tony Romo, Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Ben Roethlisberger. It only gets worse when two of the five are playing each other. Why? Because they are basically the only NFL quarterbacks who won't make you sick to your stomach to watch.
Of 34 quarterbacks who've thrown enough passes this season to qualify on the league leaderboard, only four have a quarterback rating (which ranges from 0-158.3) of 100 or higher: Brady, Romo, Roethlisberger and David Garrard. Favre was among this bunch until his last start and is fifth in the league with a 97.9 rating. At 89.4, Manning has had an off year after posting ratings of 99.0, 121.1, 104.1 and 101.0 the previous four seasons.
Of the 34 quarterbacks on this list, half have a rating of 85 (which is nothing special) or higher and the other half are below this mark. What's worse, this median doesn't just separate the adequate from the inadequate; it separates the quarterbacks at the end of their careers from the quarterbacks who are supposed to be the future of the league.
Nine of the 17 quarterbacks with passer ratings in the top half of the league are at least 30 years old. Jeff Garcia, 37, and Kurt Warner, 36, were handed starting jobs because their younger counterparts haven't lived up to expectations. Journeyman Jon Kitna, 35, has maybe one more good season left in him. Chad Pennington, 31, has already lost his starting job and can only hope to continue his career as a backup.
Among those in the bottom half of the list, 11 are younger than 30 years of age. Of course, even Manning had a rating of 71.2 his rookie season, but Kellen Clemens is the only rookie in that group and his rating is 56.9. Twelve of the 17 were 1st round picks, although Trent Dilfer, 35, and Steve McNair, 34, are simply doing the best they can at their age. Two – Eli Manning (75.0) and Alex Smith (57.2) – were No. 1 overall draft picks within the last four years. Three – Philip Rivers (81.1), Joey Harrington (79.7), Vince Young (65.3) – were top five picks within the last six years. These guys were supposed to be the "fantastic five" of NFL quarterbacks.
Teams have gotten so desperate for competent quarterbacking that the Carolina Panthers had to bring 44-year-old Vinny Testaverde out of retirement to replace an injured Jake Delhomme, despite having 2002 No. 1 overall pick David Carr on the roster. Carr got a chance and used it to guarantee himself a place among the NFL's most disappointing No. 1 picks, throwing five interceptions to three touchdowns and getting sacked 13 times in six games.
But even the quarterbacks in the top half of the league in passing offer little cause for celebration.
Garrard has thrown only nine touchdowns this season in eight games, but his zero interceptions are his claim to being an effective play-caller. Garrard, Jay Cutler and Derek Anderson all play in small markets, so they don't get the kind of media coverage to be recognized as some of the better quarterbacks in the NFL. Of course, it hasn't taken much to be a top quarterback this season. Eight of the top 17 quarterbacks have touchdown-to-interception ratios below 2-to-1.
Which brings us back to Favre. He's second in the league in yards, fourth in touchdowns, and third in completion percentage. He's as exciting as ever to watch. He's still unafraid of trying to thread the needle with his passes. Sometimes it costs him, but more times than not, he burns the defense and shows why he's the greatest of all time.
I had the pleasure of witnessing the worst and best of Brett Favre when he played the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium in November. He made two ill-advised throws that resulted in interceptions and gave the Chiefs a chance to take control of the game. But, when his team needed him most, he hit Greg Jennings for 60-yard touchdown to put the Packers up for good. With the victory, Favre joined Brady and Peyton Manning as the only current quarterbacks to beat all 31 other NFL teams.
Sadly, Favre appears to be the last of a dying breed. The last of a group of quarterbacks who can run onto the field with the game on the line and just wing it. And maybe that's the problem with quarterbacks today. Maybe they're being overprotected by their coaches and limited by offensive coordinators with rigid schemes.
Whatever the cause for today's quarterbacking woes, Favre provides an escape to a golden era. Cherish this throwback, and all the drama that comes with him, while you still can.