Apparantly living in Brett Favre’s shadow was too much for Jets’ rookie QB Erik Ainge, who has been suspended for four game for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policies. Instead of just waiting for Favre’s ageing body to fail him, and the inevitable failure of the other quarterbacks ahead of him on the depth chart, Ainge decided to show some intiative and hit the weights.

Like other recent punishments dished out by the commish, this one will also serve as little more than a slap on the wrist, considering Ainge is already on the IR and out forever for the season.

Short and sweet.

I think that somewhat lost in this entire Brett Favre debacle has been poor Aaron Rodgers.  I say somewhat lost because of course the media is still ramming it down his throat that he has to replace a living legend and one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time.  But it isn’t the pressure that would bother me if I was Aaron Rodgers, it’s the simple fact that the organization has treated him like crap throughout this whole mess.

If I were in that position I would be in the frontoffice demanding a trade and telling them that I wasn’t showing up to training camp anymore until I was traded.  The organization turned their back on Rodgers and stabbed him in the back, there is no reason he shouldn’t do the same now.  I understand he has the starting job in Green Bay, the same job he supposedly had locked up when Brett Favre retired.  Then what happened? Favre said he wanted to come back and the Packers reassured Rodgers the job was still his, when it appeared Favre wouldn’t relent the organization turned to Rodgers and basically said “Okay you’re not the starter anymore, now you have to compete with Brett freaking Favre to become the starter, good luck!”

To me that is a move that no organization should make, and if I were in an organization and they did that to me, it would be time to walk away.  Clearly the promises that the organization makes you aren’t worth jack shit to them.  Rodgers had to be wondering why the Packers were asking for Brian Griese from the Buccaneers.  Did they not trust Rodgers?  Is that why they were going to let Favre have an open competition?  And if it was going to be an open competition with Favre why shouldn’t it have been the same with Griese or second round draft pick Brian Brohm?

What the organization has done to Rodgers is unfair in every sense of the word, and it is to his credit that he is a big enough man to put it behind him and play for the Packers. I know that level of disrespect and lying is soething I couldn’t take.  How can he possibly trust his organization anymore?  Apparently Rodgers can, but I’m pretty sure any lesser man probably wouldn’t be able to.

Thank God this is over.  I can’t tell you how happy I am that this month long circus is over.  Mr. “I don’t want to be a distraction” did everything possible to make his situation a complete and total disaster and finally got his way by being allowed to play football in 2008.  The Packers worked out a deal with the New York Jets to send Favre to the Meadowlands for a conditional draft pick.  Of course once Favre reports to camp, it’ll be another zoo with him practicing.  Not to say that Vernon Gholston won’t be a great player, but I have to wonder whether or not the Jets wish they would have taken Darren McFadden instead because the prospects of an offense with Favre and McFadden is boner-inducing.

I’m not one to jump on the bandwagon of “the Jets are a team on the rise” because finishing above 4-12 and doing anything competent this season in the division would be considered an improvement.  They did, however, go out and sign defensive tackle Kris Jenkins and offensive lineman Alan Faneca to do work in the trenches.  Does the addition of two lineman and Brett Favre take this team from it’s dismal 4-12 depths to a decent record?  I’m skeptical.

One thing we’ve seen from Favre in the past is shaky play when the guys around him are less than stellar.  Favre is a guy who tries to make things happen and when they don’t he tries harder and forces the issue.  How many times have you seen him throw an interception and all you can ask is “What the hell was that?” after the ball gets picked in triple coverage or is thrown so hard it sails and hits the free safety right in the numbers.  Countless.

There’s no way anyone in their right minds thinks this team is going to win the AFC East.  I don’t even see this team being good enough to make the playoffs.  Lets not forget how stingy the AFC is with teams like Jacksonville, Clevelenad, and Cincinnati who are all good enough to win a division but might settle for a wild birth given teams like Indy and Pittsburgh stake claim to the division titles before the season starts.  Sure Favre will win this team a few games and do some crazy things that you’ll double take on and say “he did what?” but at the end of the day, this Jets team is still on the outside looking in, Favre or no Favre.

Leave it to Deadspin to find a gem like this one, a great video with dubbed subtitles about Favre’s return to Green Bay. The movie clip is originally from a German movie, Downfall, but has been parodied several other times about pointless topics such as Warcraft and Hitler’s car being stolen. The subtitles, though a bit fast, are redeemed by their hilarity. Enjoy.

Obligatory warning: the subtitles are slightly vulgar

Congrats, Green Bay, you got your boy back.  The Packers have completely gone back on all promises they made to Aaron Rodgers and have welcomed Brett Favre back to Packers camp.  Favre will now have the chance to compete for the starting job even though the four letter network and most of America has already given Favre the job.  This is the straw that broke the Cal Bear’s back.

I’ll quote Walter Sobchak from the Big Lebowski when he said “Life does not start and stop at your convenience you miserable piece of s**t.”  Brett Favre is unbelievable.  His indecisiveness and demand for attention is unparalleled.  And now that he’s whined and cried his way back into the fold with the Packers, Aaron Rodgers is once again finding himself holding the clipboard.  Everyone is talking about Favre needing this job because Favre will lead this team back to the NFC Championship game.  Why are we talking about the NFC Championship game?  The goal needs to be to win a Super Bowl.  Do we really believe this Packers team can win a Super Bowl?  Do we think this Packers team, even with Favre, can beat the Patriots or the Colts or the Chargers or even the Cowboys to get there?  If we do, we’ve been huffing too much spray paint.

Giving Favre this job has damned this Packers team.  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; Aaron Rodgers has been told lie after lie after lie.  He’s not resigning with this team, he’s moving on.  Brett Favre will finally stop lying to us and actually retire after this year and Rodgers will be on his way out of Green Bay because the Packers wasted five years of his life.  Granted, the past three years Rodgers hasn’t had much of an option.  But this was supposed to be his year.  This was supposed to be the year of Aaron Rodgers and, even though they might have taken a step back in the short term, they would take three steps forward with Rodgers becoming the franchise quarterback.  Instead, the Rodgers era has ended before it even started.

This whole situation sucks and frankly I’m tired of hearing about it and tired of getting so pissed off at ESPN’s 24 hour coverage that I have to write about it.  Can it be September 7th yet?