Steve Silverman

The NFL’s hero is not walking off into the sunset.

At least not right now.

As the weeks and months go by, Brett Favre’s retirement from the Packers may be packaged and spun to have some type of Hollywood patina. But the announcement from the quarterback’s agent Bus Cook came the day after Randy Moss re-signed with the Patriots.

Favre wanted Moss to come to the frozen tundra and help the Packers get back to the Super Bowl. Green Bay nearly made it to last year’s title game, losing in overtime at home to the eventual champion Giants. The return of Favre to Pro Bowl status following two struggling years led many NFL observers to believe that the quarterback still had enough fire to play at least one and possibly two more years in the league.

But the presence of Favre was not necessarily the best thing for the Packer franchise, at least in the eyes of those that run the team. Head coach Mike McCarthy knows how to play the game and was always clearly in Favre’s corner when on the record. But Favre is 38-year-old who has lost a couple of steps and a few miles per hour off of his fastball. He avoided interceptions and made fewer poor decisions in 2007 than he made in 2005 and ’06, but his natural inclination is to depend on his arm and do it himself in tough situations.

That was no longer the best option for McCarthy and his Packers. But what could they do? Favre’s status in his sport is akin to Cal Ripken in baseball and Michael Jordan in basketball. Both men were among the most beloved to ever play their sport, particularly by the fans and those that broadcast their games. John Madden’s admiration of Favre is so great that it launched the career of  brilliant comedian and impressionist Frank Caliendo.

So how in the world could the Packers ever veer away from Favre? They couldn’t trade him, cut him or twist his arm. But when the quarterback wanted a high-priced gift like Moss, they refused to buy their quarterback the present.

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That’s how the message gets across. Favre may be a good old boy, but he is nobody’s dummy. He knew he had the power in the relationship and if he wanted to find out where he stood, he could do so by pressing his employers to bring in a talented player like Moss. If they had wanted to keep Favre around, they would have made him happy by meeting his wishes.

That’s also the opinion of Cook, who told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that his client didn’t think the Packers wanted him anymore. “It's my opinion," Cook said of the Packers' lack of interest. "I know he wants to play one more year. I do not know how much conversation there was (between Favre and the Packers) and I don't think anyone forced him to make that decision. But I don't know that anyone tried to talk him out of it."

Cook said that Favre feels physically and mentally capable of playing at least one more year. "I think he wanted to play," Cook said. "I think he's still got it. He knows he's still got it. I think he felt he could play one more year. I don't know if they told him they really wanted him to play. That's just the feeling I got."

Favre released a statement saying that he is “worn down” and that the team’s lack of inclination to go after Moss had nothing to do with his decision to retire. That’s part of the spin, not the reality.

McCarthy and general manager Ted Thompson are the Packers’ key decision makers. They were in a difficult position because they had to balance Favre’s legendary status with the future of the franchise. There is a belief shared by the two men that backup quarterback Aaron Rodgers has made significant progress and is ready to run a high-level NFL offense. That opinion would never get put to the test if Favre was still around.

Favre, who holds nearly every significant career NFL passing record, came to the Packers in 1992 when he was acquired in a trade with the Atlanta Falcons. Ron Wolf made that trade. Neither McCarthy nor Thompson were anywhere close to Green Bay at the time.

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The two men in charge do not have the same luxury as the pundits who regularly genuflect at the altar of Favre. They have to keep Green Bay on course and holding him in reverential awe has little to do with success on the football field.

So perhaps neither man went up to Favre and begged him to return. They did not buy him a game-changing receiver like Moss. They have their own gameplan and want the Packers to move into the future on their own terms.

McCarthy and Thompson will have to endure slings and arrows. But they have followed poet Robert Frost’s classic and taken the road less traveled. They are to be admired for their fortitude, if nothing else.

They have also gotten what they wanted and now it’s up to Rodgers to show that he is not only ready to lead an NFL franchise but also follow the most popular player to ever play the game. It may be the most difficult assignment any player has ever had.

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