i was listening to Mike and Mike in the Morning on ESPN radio and they were talking about the pass that will haunt Brett's career. so it made me think...do you think that terrible pass rates up with Bill Buckner ball between the wickets, Chris Webbers timeout? do you think his pass rates up their with those terrible mistakes?


granted there were other things to take into consideration for the loss..such as the penalty that pushed them back and other plays throughout the game. but he had the opportunity to run and slide, putting them back into field goal range for Longwell...its not a gimme, but well within his range to make. and it wasnt the Super Bowl...


i honestly think that Brett felt the pressure to put them into position, and his ego came out and his hero complex won over.


so, what do you guys think about the pass and does it rate with some of the worst mistakes in sports history?

 

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I believe part of this has to do with the fact that it JUST happened, five or ten years from now it won't be viewed as such a big mistake.

 

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There are plays that led more directly to a team losing a championship, so no, I wouldn't put it up as one of the worst necessarily.


I have gone into this in some detail in other threads, but something about the play (I guess that fact that everyone was talking about it) made me really consider the reality vs. the perception. I've come to the conclusion that if a guy like Kyle Orton makes this play, he's not getting killed for it the next day. Even a great QB like Kurt Warner wouldn't be taking as much heat. In this case, the fact that Favre is Favre, and his pass (err, past) history is what it is, is influencing the narrative.


If you look at the play, Brett is not getting past the 35 yard line. He is rolling at around the 41, there's a guy to his left who may or may not close on him, and a linebacker waiting to charge him at the 30 yard line.


Obviously the coaches wanted them to be closer in, which is why they were scrambling for the right play, why they got a five yard penalty, and why the pressure was even more on Favre. They went conservative for two downs, and then it blew up in their face on third.


Favre made an error, but it was one borne not only of his hero mentality (which I think is a good call on your part) but also just the circumstance. The coaches wanted to get inside 50 yards (the original LOS was the 33) and Favre's calculation was that the throw was a better risk than, say, a 52 yarder. He was wrong. However, since it didn't take certain points off the board, didn't lead to Saints points, and there was still an overtime period to play- I think that all adds up to less than a Buckner between the legs mistake.


And that doesn't even take into consideration how beat up he was, and how many fumbles the Vikings as a team had. They easily could have been leading going itno that drive.


Favre's bad INT in the previous NFC championship game he was in, and his history of making a bad throw for every two great ones is what's defining this, moreso than what actually happened. At least imo.

I see that as just the worst turnover of a LOT of turnovers that cost Minnesota the game. They needed another 20 yards to get a reasonable chance at a field goal and he tried to do too much. But that loss cannot be blamed on Farve alone, even with all the fumbles and interceptions, they still scored 37 points... The offense had opportunities to score more and did not, but the defense also gave up a lot of scores. They also could have won the game in overtime after that interception, they just did not.


Edit- what Ynisfre said too!

 

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I would not put it on the level of the Buckner play. That was for a World Championship. This was just for a NFC Championship, and nothing was guarenteed even if he doesn't throw that pass. I do think the deserves the blame for that loss though. Right after the play was over my friend from New Orleans and I looked at each other and said at the same time, "why didn't he run?" He could have picked up 5-10 yards easily. That would have put them into Longwell FG range easily. Don't forget he made a 55+ yarder the year before to get them into the playoffs and win a Division title. It was certianly in his range to make that kick. What makes the Farve INT worse than the fumbles is the fact that is was the last offensive play they would run. With the fumbles they got a chance to make up for those mistakes, the INT they did not. It was the nail in their Superbowl coffin. The bigger thing is that the mistake he made was a rookie mistake, you do not throw across you body while rolling out right, that is just asking for a pic.

 

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i love all the responses, and agree with a lot of them...i do however that Farve being Farve in this game...might have cost them a repeat chance at obtaining a championship. but also the Vikes got what they paid for...this year was amazing for Farve, his low interceptions and the ability to control the game. the Vikes got a hell of a deal this year, and was put in the position they thought they would be in by getting Farve.


just that ol'boy mentality sneaks its ugly head around sometimes and you see the Farve from the past...

 

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As a Browns fan I can think of a few plays against the Broncos that fit this description.

 

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I don't know if that one pass will haunt him... he's done that crap a thousand times in his career.

 

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As a Packers fan all I can say to the Vikings losing by shooting themselves in the foot.....YEAH DOESN'T SO WELL WHEN THE SHOE'S ON THE OTHER FOOT NOW DOES IT!?!?!?!?!

 

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Even with all the turnovers the Vikings still should have won the game. The officiating crew gave the game to the Saints with the lack of calls on blatant holds on the Jared Allen and Kevin Williams (I counted at least 5 times where jerseys were blatantly pulled, 2 on TD passes by Brees), the no call on the low hit on Favre (where he threw one of his Ints) and most importantly the horribly blown reviews in OT (That was an obvious non catch).

 

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