Brett Favre's offseason has become as painful to watch as his season. As he wrestles with his emotions, the NFL world, far beyond Wisconsin, ponders two possibilities and cringes at both: what if he comes back and what if he doesn't.

At the moment, the choices appear to be between two evils. Things can't possibly get better without him and don't look very promising with him.

Until announcing he would reveal his decision Saturday morning, Favre was teetering on a very unhappy brink of damned if he does and damned if he doesn't.

The Green Bay natives are restless, inside and outside the Packers organization. Is he being spiteful by delaying his decision? Is he trying to force the Packers into releasing him? Or is he just being Brett, honestly trying to sort out his thoughts and in no hurry to accommodate anybody else?

One ex-teammate, Mark Chmura, has come out and labeled Favre selfish. Chmura might lack credibility given his checkered past, but it's safe to say he isn't the only Packers fan with that thought.

Favre would like the Packers to show they are serious about assembling a team with Super Bowl aspirations. If that's his criteria, he might as well keep mowing his Mississippi grass. Packers' general manager Ted Thompson is building for the team's future, not Brett Favre's.

But the Packers are better off with Favre this season, no matter who else is on the team. Anybody with any sense of football history knows the future is dim without him.

With all due respect to Aaron Rodgers, life without Favre probably will be a long, dark period of unsatisfying comparisons. Favre's arm alone, still the strongest in the NFL, is enough to scare away any thoughts of his retirement. Arms like that don't come around every decade.

Let's see. Before Favre, there was Bart Starr. Between Starr and Favre, there were 20 years. Green Bay fans need to remember the facts of the past before eagerly embracing the uncertainty of the future.

Starr's last years of 1969-70-71 were shared with Don Horn and Scott Hunter. Favre has yet to share with anyone, and is hardly fading into the sunset like Starr did.

After Starr retired, the Packers started Jerry Tagge, like Rodgers a promising first-round draft pick. He lasted a year before they traded for broken-down John Hadl. He lasted two years before Lynn Dickey arrived in a trade for Hadl with Houston. With Starr as head coach, Dickey and David Whitehurst muddled through eight seasons, two of them winning but only one playoff appearance during the shortened 1982 strike season.

Next came Randy Wright and Jim Zorn and Vince Ferragamo and Anthony Dilweg and Mike Tomczak and finally Don Majkowski with only a single winning season in 1989 under coach Lindy Infante to show for it.

Slide show   Platinum prospects 10 players to watch in the upcoming NFL draft.

Then came Favre. It seems like ancient history and in football years it is. Spoiled doesn't begin to describe Packer fans since 1992. And now some of them want it to end?

Life goes on, but in Packerland it would never be the same. Favre's consecutive starting streak is like Gehrig's with no Cal Ripken in sight. If Favre is beginning to sound a bit spoiled himself, indulge him for a minute. He gave the team more years than anybody has a right to expect from anybody.

Is it Favre's fault that the Packers decline can be traced to the 1999 exit of defensive end Reggie White and coach Mike Holmgren? The Packers never adequately made up for White's departure, failing first with Vonnie Holliday and then failing miserably with free-agent pickup Joe Johnson.

Even while Favre was winning three league MVPs in a row, he knew it was a team effort starting with defense. Two years after White left, safety LeRoy Butler followed and the Packers still haven't replaced him either.

But replacing Favre will be the most difficult task yet.

Special report Round-by-round recap, analysis, more

Does Favre want to play? Few athletes want to quit, and none of them want to admit to diminished skills. When one like Favre sees with his own eyes that nobody can throw a football like he can, there is no reason to quit.

The educated guess remains that he returns for one more season. If he announces his retirement, here's another guess: by training camp, he will change his mind. That may be why he is taking his good-old time. He doesn't want to undo a hasty decision.

MORE FROM NFL

NFL Section Front

Steelers’ playoff future slipping away Chiefs pull off K.C. masterpiece, stun Steelers Bengals botch chances, lead in loss to Raiders Eagles shake off close losses, edge Bears Pats stifle Jets, take 2-game lead in AFC East   Video: Patriots make a statement Saints move to 10-0, but ‘haven’t peaked yet’ Colts survive vs. Ravens by a ‘small margin’ Chargers rout Broncos, move atop AFC West   PFT’s Morning Aftermath: Broncos reeling NFL Section Front   Add NFL headlines to your news reader: