Did I miss a memo?

The one that said fans must put their loyalty to Brett Favre above their loyalty to the Packers? (To those of you who don't give a shit about the Packers -- Workest, I'm thinking of you -- my apologies for yet another post on the topic.) Because I completely understand Ted Thompson's unwillingness to sacrifice any real chance of a Super Bowl this decade for a tiny one of getting Favre another ring next season.

I hate to nearly repeat myself, but Favre's defenders are starting to remind me of Bush apologists: trust him, he's doing what he has to do, he's giving everything he has, etc. Now, Favre has certainly earned a little more patience than our no-account president, but still, the price of being a leader is you get graded on results, not effort, and you don't get to pass the buck. One of the most unattractive things I've seen this season is Favre blaming his wide receivers for interceptions. Not that they couldn't have saved a few, but if Favre is looking to call people out on their mistakes, he ought to start with his own. And yet I don't remember him ever sounding particularly repentent. It's always the same thing: I was just trying to make something happen. Sue me.

You know what, though? Even if I were grading on effort, I wouldn't give Favre an A this season, or even a B-plus. The thing people kept saying about him this year is that he has nothing left to prove, and that's exactly how he played much of the time. Go out, heave it downfield, watch it get picked off, shrug, pout, return to sideline. Not that he wouldn't like to win, mind you, just that so much of it comes down to chance anyway; why pretend otherwise? Mr. Fantastic is a wicked man with a heart of tar, but he has a point: Even if there's no possibility you'll get benched, you should play as though there is.