So they started that process and they don't want to turn their back on Rodgers. Good. Keep him atop the depth chart. Stand by your man. You told him he's your guy. Prove it. Keep your word. Stick with him. Tell Favre to get lost and trade him. Get a second-round pick in next year's draft, somebody who can help Rodgers be great, a young lineman or a receiver. Do whatever you have to do to assist the quarterback you believe is your best bet to win.

But don't tell me that in doing that you need to control what Brett Favre does next. If you want Favre, put him in a uniform and tell Rodgers the two of them will compete for a job. If you don't want Favre, let him go. If the Packers choose to try and play both ends, then one can only hope the circus surrounding the team brings the whole season crashing down. Usually when an NFL team squirms it's a good thing, because it's usually brought on by its own greed or need to exert total control.

Because NFL teams are so powerful, especially in a tiny place like Green Bay, and because they're so able and smart about manipulating public opinion, they'll probably get away with successfully painting Favre as the bad guy in this episode. And if Favre thinks the Packers will ultimately cut him and thereby grant him the freedom to cut a deal with any team (the Vikings and/or Bears included), the bet here is he'll be wrong.

Who knows where this is going next. Here's hoping Favre shows up for training camp sometime this week and heads to his locker. What are the Packers going to do, have guards block his path to the dressing room?

The best way for Favre to get what he wants is to be as confrontational as the Packers, to get right in their faces and say with both actions and words, "I'm here. Play me, trade me, or suffer the consequences."

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