BRETT FAVRE PRO SUMMARY

Brett Favre
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BRETT FAVRE PRO SUMMARY:

• A certain first-ballot Hall of Famer, Brett Favre in 2006 embarks upon his 15th season in his adopted city of Green Bay
• Among the most exciting players in pro football annals ever to line up at quarterback, Favre, now in his 16th NFL campaign, stands as one of the game’s most productive signal callers
• Ranks second on the NFL’s all-time lists for passing yards (53,615), attempts (7,610), completions (4,678) and touchdowns (396), all behind the prolific Dan Marino
• With 139 victories as quarterback, ranks third behind John Elway (148) and Marino (147)
• Celebrated even more than his prodigious numbers is his legendary durability
• Upon taking over the reigns as the Green and Gold’s signal caller Sept. 20, 1992, has started the ensuing 221 contests, a record for NFL quarterbacks and, astoundingly, the fourth-longest recorded streak in league annals
• During 14 campaigns under center for Green Bay, has led Packers to 10 postseason appearances, including six division crowns, three NFC Championship Games, two Super Bowls and a World Championship with a victory in Super Bowl XXXI
• The former Southern Mississippi leader’s success is partially attributed to a commanding knowledge of his offense, astute observation of countless defenses designed to stop him and physical ability – especially renowned arm strength
• But his legacy transcends the passes, the touchdowns and the statistics: the inspiring leader will go down as one of the most beloved players of his generation
• The swashbuckling Southerner embodies the heart of America’s favorite game
• Stands as one of the most respected players among his peers and coaches, as well
• His hard-working approach and down-to-earth attitude appeals to football fans across the nation
• Favre once again topped the Harris Poll, in a survey of American sports fans, as the nation’s favorite football player in 2006 and placed third among all sports figures, behind Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan
• The quarterback earlier topped the 2003 and ’04 Harris Polls and placed second to the Colts’ Peyton Manning in ’05
• In another measure of his popularity, in 2006 he ranked first among active NFL players in Sports QScore, a prominent rating survey conducted for marketing and advertising purposes; overall he trailed only Woods and Jordan
• His legendary grit was saluted twice recently as well
• In February 2004, he was named as the No. 1 'Toughest Athlete in Sports' by USA Today
• Then, transcending sports, in the March 2004 issue of Men's Journal, he was chosen as the No. 1 'Toughest Guy in America' on the basis of his “fearlessness, perseverance, a willingness to take risk, a tolerance for pain and even a dash of modesty”
• In further similar documentation, a 2005 nationwide vote of more than a half-million viewers for The Discovery Channel’s special, ‘100 Greatest Americans,’ ranked Favre No. 89
CONSISTENTLY ONE OF THE BEST
• At the top of his game throughout his career, he is one of the most worthy adversaries for defensive coordinators
• As recently as 2004, helped the Packers to establish all-time franchise records for total net yards (6,357), net yards passing (4,449), first downs (354) and completions (382) as Green Bay finished third among NFL offenses; his output included a combination of 4,000-plus yards and 30 TDs, the third such season in his distinguished career
• His TD total ranked fourth in the league and his yardage total fifth
• Selected as an alternate for the 2004 Pro Bowl, his eighth such honor, one short of Forrest Gregg's team record of nine Pro Bowl appearances
• Known for his strong practice habits, coaches consider him a fine example for younger players, even now in his later seasons
• Execution in practice is legendary, oftentimes working through a session without a ball touching the ground
AMONG ALL-TIME GREATS
• Long considered one of the NFL’s best ever, he ranks high on a number of the league’s all-time lists
• Ranks 12th in NFL history with a career passer rating of 86.0
• Over the course of 2005, extended three other NFL records and established two more
• He padded three streaks: seasons with at least 20 TD passes (12), seasons with at least 300 completions (14) and seasons with at least 3,000 yards passing (14), and broke away from previous NFL-record holder Marino (13) with 3,000 yards in a 14th overall season
• Plus, Favre eclipsed Elway's single-stadium TD pass record (180 at Mile High Stadium), improving his Lambeau Field total to 189
• Is one of only four quarterbacks in league history to post as many as four 4,000-yard seasons (also doing so in 1995, '98-99); Marino (6), Peyton Manning (6) and Warren Moon (4) are the others
• With four 300-yard passing performances in 2005, now has 45 such career outings – tops among active NFL players
• Is the NFL's most accurate passer among those with at least 6,000 career attempts, his 61.5 career completion percentage placing him substantially ahead of No. 2 Marino (59.4 percent)
• A testament to his consistently high production level, his completions, attempts, yards and touchdown totals are tops in the league over the past 15 seasons (1991-2005)
• Along the way, he has solidified his standing among the game's all-time elite by earning the NFL's 'MVP' honor a record three times, capturing the Associated Press award over the 1995, 1996 and 1997 seasons; he was runner-up in 2002 as well
• Honored in “co-status” with the Detroit Lions' Barry Sanders in 1997, he became the first player in league history to win the award three times, let alone in three consecutive years
• Incomparability of the strong-armed Southerner is further evidenced by his selection in 2000 to the 1990s NFL All-Decade second team as voted by the Pro Football Hall of Fame Selection Committee
• Also ranked as the ninth-best player in 'NFL Player of the Century' voting, which was conducted on nfl.com during the 1999 season
• Collaborated with former Packers wide receiver Antonio Freeman for 57 touchdown passes from 1995-2001, the sixth-best such duo in NFL history
• With it being impossible for someone to better it, will be the permanent possessor of at least one all-time NFL record – that for longest pass completion – as he hooked up with wideout Robert Brooks for a 99-yard score in a 1995 game at Chicago
• In 2003 became part of the second-longest rush in NFL annals, handing off to Ahman Green on a play that resulted in a 98-yard TD, vs. Denver in the season finale
WILL FINISH AS A PACKER
• Will finish his career in Green Bay after signing a “lifetime” contract on March 1, 2001
• Then-head coach Mike Sherman, calling the signing day “historic,” commented on the uniqueness of Favre's relationship with the Packers' organization and fans, saying, “No player in the NFL identifies, or is more closely linked to, a specific team like Brett Favre is to the Green Bay Packers. He embodies the spirit and character of Packer fans everywhere. I do not think there is a player in the NFL that experiences a relationship with the fans like Brett Favre does. That is very, very special.”
• Favre echoed the sentiment, saying, “I enjoy it here. I don't want to move. I enjoy the fans and I just want to stay. I couldn't envision myself playing for another team.”
A WINNER
• Throughout his career, has disdained talk of statistics, concerning himself most with his team’s victories
• Ranks alone at third on the all-time QB wins list with 139, behind only Elway (148) and Marino (147)
• From 1992-2004, won at least eight games an NFL-record 13 consecutive seasons, substantially better than the next closest player, Ken Stabler, who had eight straight .500-or-better seasons from 1973-80
• Also has led the Packers to an NFL-best 139-82 record since taking over as the starter in the fourth week of the 1992 season; the winning percentage, .629, is the seventh highest since the 1970 league merger (min. 100 starts)
• Is the possessor of an .782 winning percentage (86-24) at home as a starter, fifth to Terry Bradshaw (.848, 67-12), Roger Staubach (.831, 49-10), Elway (95-23) and Danny White (.787, 37-10) among starters who have begun their careers since 1967 (min. 25 home starts)
• His record as a leader consists of 10 playoff berths, including a club-record six in a row (1993-98), three straight NFC Central Division crowns (1995-97), three NFC North Division titles in a row (2002-04), three consecutive NFC Championship Games (1995, 1996, 1997) and back-to-back Super Bowl appearances, including a 35-21 victory over New England in Super Bowl XXXI, returning the Lombardi Trophy to Green Bay for the first time in 29 years
• Upon defeating Chicago in December of 2000, became the third-fastest player in the NFL since 1970 to reach 100 regular-season victories, doing so in his 153rd career start; only Joe Montana (139) and Bradshaw (147) got to the century mark quicker over the past 34 years
• Since 1992, holds a 46-17 record (.730) in regular-season games after Dec. 1, the fourth-best mark among NFL starters who have begun their careers since 1970 (min. 20 starts); Tom Brady (.826, 19-4), Joe Theismann (.783, 18-5) and Montana (.756, 34-11) rank just ahead
• Owns 35 career fourth-quarter or overtime comebacks (which includes three postseason contests)
• A game conductor of the highest caliber, has led the Packers to a nearly perfect 53-2 regular-season record since 1992 in games where they have more rushing attempts than passing attempts
DOMINANTLY DURABLE
• As indestructable as football players come, has started an NFL-quarterback-record 221 consecutive regular-season contests (241 including playoffs) – 93 games (equivalent of better than five-and-a-half seasons) more than the next closest streak among league QBs all-time, 128 by Manning (1998-2005); his streak is the league’s longest active skein (by nearly six seasons) among all
• Played much of the 2003 season with a broken thumb on his right (throwing) hand
• In 2005 surpassed No. 6 Gene Upshaw (207, 1967-81) and the No. 4 streaks, shared by Fred Cox (210, 1963-77) and Jim Otto (210, 1960-74)
• Actually has played in 223 consecutive regular-season contests, having seen action in two contests as a reserve leading into his starting streak
• Eight more signal callers made their initial NFL start in 2005, meaning that a total of 191 league quarterbacks have opened a game since Favre began his starting streak Sept. 27, 1992
• Furthermore, he is the only athlete in the four major sports to have started every game for the same team since Sept. 27, 1992, having been presented his opportunity the previous week when Don Majkowski suffered strained ligaments in his left ankle midway through the first quarter of Cincinnati contest
• During his remarkable run, 15 different quarterbacks have served as his backup in Green Bay; chronologically, they are Majkowski (1992), Ty Detmer (1992-95), Mark Brunell (1993-94), T.J. Rubley (1995), Bob Gagliano (1995), Doug Pederson (1995-98, 2001-04), Jim McMahon (1995-96), Steve Bono (1997), Rick Mirer (1998), Matt Hasselbeck (1999-2000), Aaron Brooks (1999), Danny Wuerffel (2000), Henry Burris (2001), Craig Nall (2002-05) and Aaron Rodgers (2005); only five times over the course of his streak has a backup had to complete a game due to injury – Oct. 20, 1994, at Minnesota (hip), when Brunell wrapped up the contest; Nov. 5, 1995, at Minnesota (ankle), when Detmer subbed in before injuring his thumb and giving way to Rubley; Nov. 12, 2000, at Tampa Bay (ankle), when Hasselbeck was called upon to finish the game; Oct. 20, 2002, vs. Washington (knee), when Pederson completed the contest; and Oct. 3, 2004, vs. the New York Giants (concussion), when Pederson took over before suffering a rib injury and Nall finished the game
TOUCHDOWN PRODUCER
• Astonishingly productive in firing touchdown passes, in 2005 he padded his NFL record with at least 20 TD passes in 12 seasons
• In 2004, he extended his own NFL record with his eighth career season of 30-or-more touchdown passes – twice as many as any other quarterback in league history (Marino, with four, stands second)
• As recently as 2004, finished fourth in the NFL in TD passes, behind the Colts’ Manning (49), the Vikings’ Daunte Culpepper (39) and the Eagles’ Donovan McNabb (31)
• Also that season stretched his streak of consecutive games with a touchdown pass to 36 games – a franchise record and the second-longest streak in league history, behind only the 47-game string of Johnny Unitas (1956-60); string ended Dec. 5 at Philadelphia
• With a four-TD performance in 2005, has authored 19 such career games, good for second place in NFL history for most career games with four-or-more TD passes, behind only Marino (21)
• Now has 56 career games where he has thrown three-or-more TD passes, second to only Marino (62) in NFL history
• Now owns the NFL’s single-stadium TD pass record with 189 at Lambeau Field, surpassing Elway; Elway threw 180 at Mile High Stadium
• Authored 24 TD passes at Chicago’s Soldier Field, owning sole possession of fourth on that stadium’s all-time list, behind three Bears quarterbacks: Erik Kramer (38), Jim McMahon (37) and Jim Harbaugh (28)
• According to Elias Sports Bureau, he finished 2005 averaging the second most touchdown passes per game (1.76, 396 TDs in 225 games) in league history, just behind No. 1 Manning (1.91, 244-128)
• Has 51 career TD passes against the Bears, the third most all-time by a QB against an opponent
• Owns NFL record (since 1970) for most consecutive games with a TD pass vs. a single opponent by throwing for a score in 26 straight games against the Bears (1992-2004)
• Dependable in his production of scoring strikes, has thrown for at least one TD in 192 of his 223 career games with Green Bay, failing to do so in only 21 games since the start of the 1995 season
ALL-TIME PACKERS
• Ranks first in most seasons leading the team in yards passing (14), having broken Bart Starr’s franchise record (12) in 2004
• Also is the club’s all-time leader with 223 games played, passing Starr (196) during the ’04 season
• Now holds 30 team records, among them career touchdowns (396), pass attempts (7,606), completions (4,678) and yards passing (53,615)
• Has now played in 14 seasons with Green Bay, tying Gregg (14; 1956, 1958-70); Ray Nitschke (15; 1958-72) and Starr (16; 1956-71) are the only former Packers to have played more
• Began his streak of 223 straight games played with second-half, mop-up duty in a 1992 loss to the Buccaneers, he then replaced the injured Majkowski the next week against Cincinnati, leading Green Bay to a come-from-behind victory, before initiating his amazing streak of 221 consecutive starting assignments vs. Pittsburgh on Sept. 27, 1992
COLD WEATHER EXCELLENCE
• Born and raised in the South, goes against conventional wisdom by performing well in the cold
• At home, now holds a 40-4 record including playoffs when the kickoff temperature is 34 degrees or below; possesses an impressive 92.0 passer rating in those 44 cold-weather games, based on 866 completions in 1,394 attempts (62.1 percent) for 10,028 yards and 78 TDs, 35 INTs
PLAYOFFS
• In the postseason, has thrown a touchdown pass in an NFL-record 16 consecutive games (1995-2004)
• Ranks second on the NFL's all-time list for postseason touchdown passes; his 34 places him behind only Montana (45)
• Ranks third all-time in postseason yards passing, with 4,902; Elway (4,964) and Montana (5,772) are the only players above him
• Ranks second on NFL’s all-time postseason completions list (401) and third on the attempts list (663)
• Owns the club's all-time postseason record for service with 20 games played
• Owner of 13 club postseason marks overall, while sharing in one
2005 Season
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