Ben's Picks

Wildcard

     Let me begin by stating, I know what I'm about to reveal is a little hard to swallow. Try to keep an open mind. You see, you and I have been brain washed for years about Brett Favre, the Good Ole Boy. It's a bunch of Hogwash. Life is not a Wrangler commercial my friends, no matter what John Madden and the NFL would have you believe. That is why I wanted you to come here, where I can explain myself in detail, and show you some visual evidence.

     Now here goes, it is my opinion that Brett Favre may not always play to win the game, he might be playing to win money. What does that mean? It means, Brett Favre may be a cheater. But Ben, Brett has won a Super Bowl, he has all the records, he's been the MVP, why would he cheat? The answer is, because he can. You see, along with all those accomplishments he is also the all time interception leader. John Madden and company would have us believe it's because of his Gunslinger mentality. He's a Gunslinger all right, but maybe he should also be wearing a mask. You see, every interception is not made equal. The most important thing about interceptions is when they happen.

     I will try to lay this out for you as simply as possible. Green Bay won Super Bowl XXXI to cap the 1996 season. The next year the Packers started the season 0-7 Against The Spread. After the first 11 games of 97 the Pack was 1-9-1 ATS. The kicker is, although they only covered 1 game of 11 ATS, they won 8 games outright. You see many of those games they were overwhelming favorites. Brett would spot the underdogs an early lead then comeback in the second half to win the game but not cover the spread. Nice trick if you can do it. Brett can, and the best part about it is the fans loved him because he brought their team back for a win. The Pack wins, the Favre legend grows, yet everyone that bet on them may have been cheated. What a joke.

      In 97 the Pack eventually got back to the Super Bowl, as a huge 11.5 point favorite versus Denver. In that game Brett threw an interception and coughed up a fumble in the first 3 possessions. It was a close game and the Broncos won, 31 to 24. Those 2 early turnovers made a huge difference in the outcome.

     In a 2001 Divisional playoff game in St. Louis, a 45 to 17 Packers loss, Brett threw 5 touchdown passes, the problem was 3 of those TD's were for the Rams. Brett's very first pass of the game was to a phantom receiver who never made the cut and it turned into an easy pick and TD for St. Louis. Brett's final line was 26 of 44 with 2 TD's and 6 interceptions. Yes, 6. Why 6, I think he may have had the OVER too.

     In 2002 the Pack lost their first home playoff game ever, 27 to 7, to Mike Vick and the Falcons. In that game Favre was 20 of 42 with 1 TD and 2 interceptions. One of those interceptions was on the Pack's first possession and helped Atlanta build a 24 to 0 lead in the first half. Coincidence, I doubt it.

     In a 2003 Divisional playoff game at Philly, the Pack lost 20 to 17, in OT. Favre threw an interception on the Packs first OT possession. Starting to get the picture? 

     In 2004 the Pack faced the Vikings at home in a playoff game. Favre was 22 of 33 with 1 TD and 4 interceptions. Minnesota also took a big lead and never looked back.

     In 2006, a Monday Night game against Seattle and Favre's old coach Mike Holmgren. The Pack was going nowhere and the Seahawks needed the game. Somehow the game ended Seattle 34 to 24, a tie against the spread. Favre threw 2 late game rainbow interceptions to preserve the ATS tie. Read below what I wrote after the game, and you will realize there was something very fishy about the outcome.

     Finally last year's game against the Giants tops them all. The Pack gets the ball in OT and, with the Super Bowl on the line, Favre throws the ball to the only receiver on the field that's covered, as you can see in the photo below.

        It was OT in the NFC Championship game versus the N.Y. Giants. It's 2nd down and 8 in the first minute of OT. As you can see, the rush is nowhere close to Favre but the ball is already in the air to the covered receiver on the right. The ball was intercepted and the Giants kicked a 36 yard FG to win 23-20 and went on to the Super Bowl. Now look at the receiver on the left, wide open. Look at the one over the middle coming out of his break, wide open. How about the RB begging for the ball just beyond the line, wide open. Yet Favre throws the ball to the only receiver covered. Gunslinger my ass.

     There you have it. I know this is hard to believe, but with what's happened the last couple of weeks, many people are beginning to change their minds about Ole # 4. Rumor has it, he has orchestrated this whole retirement show, so he can get out of Green Bay. Also, the Packers supposedly have proof that Favre has talked directly to the Viking coaching staff in the last couple of weeks. Favre is so dumb, he used a cell phone the Packers provided to do it.

     Remember Brett Favre is a Pro-fessional football player. In the dictionary 'professional' is defined as, "engaged in some sport or in a specified occupation for pay." What it doesn't tell you is, who's paying. Are we gamblers subsidizing Brett's paycheck? Now don't get me wrong I don't think Favre is the only player who has ever done this. But it's kind of surreal to think he can do what he does, yet everyone still kisses his ass. Maybe that's why he can get away with it.

     Just ask yourself one important question, why would a successful GM, Ted Thompson and Coach, Mike McCarthy, not want the player back that got them 1 play away from the Super Bowl. The answer is, because they know the same thing that you now know. Brett Favre may be a cheater. Sorry, but the truth hurts. Thanks, Ben

"Brett Favre - Man In The Middle?"

November 30, 2006

       Let me begin this Rant by stating, this is not sour grapes because I had the winner Monday Night, Green Bay +10.5. Now, those of you that have read my Rants in the past know my feelings on Brett Favre, I don't trust the man. He has made many questionable decisions in the past and I have the feeling he does not always play to win, he plays to win money. Now, I have no definitive proof, only what I see and hear, and through the years his actions have only served to solidify my doubts. Now let me lay this out for you, so you can be the judge.

    On Sunday night the line for the Seattle v Green Bay Monday night game was Seattle -9. I awoke on Monday morning to check the lines and to my surprise, the game was off the board. I assumed there was a major injury, so the books took the line down. Was Favre not able to play, was Hasselbeck going to be a no show, did Alexander have a setback? It had to be something major to bring a big game off the board in Vegas. I did a little research and found there were no changes in the injury report, so I dug a little deeper and found my answer on www.covers.com. The books took the game off the board because of some overwhelming action on the Seahawks during the evening. Yes, it is very unusual for the books to take down a major game, but Vegas smelled something fishy, and money doesn't lie. The books finally returned the game to the board, but to cover themselves, set the line at 10.5 or 11.

      I pondered this turnabout and wondered, what the hell was going on? Someone knew something and wasn't afraid to put some major cash on the line. It had to be Millions of dollars to take the line down on a Monday Night game. So, I though about it for awhile and it finally hit me, Brett Favre was playing against his old Coach, Mike Holmgren. Now, let's get this straight, the Packers are going nowhere, two old buddies are facing each other, and big money is going down on the Seahawks. The smell of rotten fish was now in the air. The kicker to the whole story is, there was a huge buy back on the Packers and the line closed at 10 just about everywhere. To reiterate this further, someone out there had some major cash on Seattle -9 and -9.5 and someone out there had some major cash on Green Bay +10.5 and +11. Was it the same someone?

      You all know the result of the game Seattle 34 - Green Bay 24, but think about what happened in the final few minutes, after Seattle pushed their lead to 10. The Pack got the ball and Brett threw an interception downfield. Then Seattle ran, ran, ran, running the clock. Green Bay got the ball back again, Brett threw another interception and Seattle basically ran out the clock.  Someone made a ton on the Packers, someone made a ton on the Seahawks. Was it the same someone? Vegas got stuck in the middle and the books lost a ton of money. Brett Favre v Mike Holmgren was it real, or was it wrestling? 

You be the Judge.

Thanks, Ben

ATS – Against Spread

aft - after

bfr - before

BPR - Ben’s Power Rating

B2B – Back To Back

BOUNCE – Opp. result

D – Dog

Def - defense

DDD – Double Digit Dog

DDF - Double Digit Favorite

DIV - Division

F – Favorite

L - Loss

SAND - Sandwich game

H – Home

HD – Home Dog

HF – Home Favorite

HOME TEAM – In Capitals

LW – Last Week

LY – Last Year

N-DIV - Non Division

O/U – Over /Under

OFF – Offense

R – Road

REV – Revenge

SU – Straight Up

V - Versus

W - Win