This is where it gets interesting.  The third down and long situation was a metaphor to describe what’s going on in Green Bay right now with the Favre situation reaching its peak.  When commissioner Roger Goodell finally reinstate Favre the Packers will have 24 hours to release, trade, or welcome back the 16 year veteran.

Only one of those is in the Packers plans.

No trade has even been close to shipping Favre somewhere else, ala Joe Montana late in career when he went from San Francisco to Kansas City.  The Jets and Buccaneers seem to be the only interested parties.

If Favre isn’t released then the Packers will be in a very tough situation. He will be eligible to return to Green Bay’s training camp as early as Friday and if he does then this spectacle will turn into a circus.

I don’t like the way Favre handled this. He shouldn’t expect the Packers to just welcome him back after retiring suddenly after the season and not giving one inkling that he would be interested in returning.

Or should be?

Favre is bigger than the Packers themselves and he’s got a legion on fans that will follow him wherever he ends up. He has devoted his entire career to Green Bay and has set so many records that it isn’t even funny at this point.

The problem for the Packers is this. If they stick with Aaron Rodgers and then they open the season 0-3 then the critics will be yelling louder than ever, shouting how they should’ve went with Favre from the beginning. If he’s still on the roster then that’s no problem at all because they can just swap the depth chart around, but if they trade him then Rodgers will be their longterm starter.

For me the toughest thing is believing that the unproven Aaron Rodgers can take Green Bay farther than Brett Favre can. Last year Favre took the Packers to the NFC Championship game, and if Rodgers can’t do that as the starter in Lambeau then Ted Thompson will hear it.

The New York Jets have received permission to talk to retired Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre, a source told ESPN’s Chris Mortensen on Friday.

Also Friday, a Packers source told Mortensen that Favre informed Packers general manager Ted Thompson by phone on Thursday that he was planning to report to the team’s training camp this weekend.

The Jets and Tampa Bay Buccaneers have expressed interest in Favre, according to a Packers source.

Sources: Jets can talk to Packers; Favre ready to report – ESPN

The game is suppose to be the best yet in the series, and the new “locker” feature allows you to download names for the rosters. That means no more “QB #15 runs for a 10 yard gain”.

One of the best places to download the rosters is http://fairdale-kings.com.

I will be one of the gamers getting the game at its 12 o’ clock release. For all you big college football fanatics out there I will play out the season and post the results right here.

Another new feature is the online dynasty. The dynasty allows you to play against other online gamers and instead of dominating every season, this will make things much much harder. Recruiting will be more difficult. In years past you could basically get any recruit you wanted but now you will have to compete against other online players.

Going 12-0 in a season will no longer be an automatic thing.

I can’t wait until the game releases but more than anything I can’t wait until football season so I can stop posting articles about video games and focus on the actual game. Right now there isn’t much news other than that Favre guy, and man have I heard enough about him for a lifetime in this week alone.

I still think we are losing sight the significane of this. Brett Favre is 38 years old and he texts. Our society has officially gone bonkers.

Texting is suppose to be for the younger people of our generation, not for 38 year old men that have just retired from their NFL career.

It will be interesting to see what Favre does. Will he come out of retirement? Will he sail into the sunset? Who knows, this story is just getting started.

Michael Vick Files for Bankruptcy: Hmmm…….well let me say this. Karma comes back and bites you where it hurts eventually and that is what has happened here.

Tony Gonzalez saves a man’s life: This story actually broke over the weekend but Tony Gonzalez saved a Chargers fans life. That’s how the story read, although I’m not sure exactly why it mattered at all what kind of fan he was. I mean it’s not like Gonzalez is going to play against him on the field.

Gonzalez did the Heimlich maneuver to save Ken Hunter’s life at a restaurant where both were dining. Gonzalez was actually sitting behind Hunter when all of a sudden he began choking.

I just wanted to congratulate Gonzalez, and thank him for being a great guy and giving kids someone to look up to. We need more NFL players like him.

When is the right time to move on for Green Bay? If Favre decides to return do they give him one more chance to lead them to the Promise Land or do they start Aaron Rodgers and prepare for the future? Most people in Green Bay believe the future is now, even with Rodgers starting at quarterback. Many feel like the difference between Favre and Rodgers is not as much as you might think.

If Green Bay does elect to release Favre, or even trade him then a lot of teams will probably consider going after him. Here’s my list of six that would probably be interested.

1. Miami Dolphins: I would love this move for Miami. They have three young quarterbacks on their roster; John Beck (26), Josh McCown (29), Chad Henne (23). Bringing in a veteran like Favre for one or two seasons would give the others a chance to learn the offense and learn behind one of the greatest of all-time. Mechanics isn’t something you’d like them to learn from Favre, but he could teach a lot to the youngsters…like how to run the MIami offense as well as anyone that has ever played the game.

2. San Francisco 49ers: It seems everyone agrees that the Alex Smith situation isn’t working out and it’s about time San Francisco did something about it. They’ve got some talent and they can compete for the NFC West crown, as they did in Smith’s only decent season in the league. Bringing in Favre would strengthen their biggest weakness and it would give the 49ers a chance to evaluate what they’ve got with a great quarterback at the helm. Plus it would give them time to find their QB of the future through the NFL Draft or free agency.

3. Minnesota Vikings: This could only happen if Green Bay released Favre because the Packers would NEVER trade him to a division rival but the Vikings don’t feel like they’ve found their QB of the future yet. Tavaris Jackson might be that guy, but they won’t know unless they give him a chance. Signing Favre would be more like an insurance policy in case Jackson didn’t work out but we all know that Brett will never come back just to be a backup. I think Minnesota would start him and let Jackson learn behind the veteran.

4. Chicago Bears: Green Bay would have to release Favre for him to be on the Bears roster by the time the season starts, because Green Bay would NEVER trade him to a division rival. Neither Rex Grossman or Kyle Orton have been impressive so far and Chicago is tired of waiting on them to develop. Two years ago Chicago was basically a QB away from really competing with Indianapolis for the Super Bowl, but Grossman struggled and the Colts dominated the game.

5. Atlanta Falcons: Yes ,why not the team that originally drafted Favre? Rookie usually struggle when they start right away so giving Matt Ryan a year or two to develop would be nice, although it would delay the healing from the Michael Vick situation a little bit. Atlanta doesn’t have the talent to win now so Favre probably wouldn’t be happy signing in Atlanta. If it was his only choice he’d probably be a lot more willing to take the offer, depending on how big his “itch” to play again really is.

6. Carolina Panthers: The Panthers already have an aging starter at QB, Jake Delhomme (33). Delhomme’s injuries keep hampering Carolina’s seasons and the Panthers are nearing the time to move on with their franchise. Favre would be a great one to two year replacement for Carolina and I’m sure Steve Smith would be very excited. Nothing personal against Delhomme.

Others who might be interested: Philadelphia, NY Jets, Kansas City, Tampa Bay, Oakland, Baltimore