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While some Buc fans may be thrilled that Tampa Bay failed to land Brett Favre on Wednesday, the franchise suffered a major blow in prestige when the Green Bay icon was instead traded to the Jets.
In effect, the Bucs just suffered their first loss of 2008.
Tampa Bay officials went to bed Tuesday night believing the Bucs were in prime position to satisfy Green Bay’s compensation demands and introduce Favre to the Bay area by the end of the week. Once Favre backed off his original demands of playing for either the Packers or the Vikings, Tampa Bay figured it held most of the significant cards in a potential high-stakes game vs. the Jets.
The Bucs won the NFC South last season while the Jets were awful in the AFC East, where New England has ruled during Tom Brady’s long run. Tampa Bay plays in the weaker NFC and the Buc defense is far superior to New York’s, theoretically giving Favre a better chance to play in the Super Bowl if he chose pewter.
The Bucs had more space under the cap than the Jets and could more easily afford Favre’s exorbitant salary. Tampa Bay’s West Coast offense appeared to be a better fit for Favre than New York’s attack, while Favre’s relationship with Jon Gruden was also considered an advantage for the Bucs.
But all those playing chips weren’t enough late Wednesday evening as Favre spurned the Bucs in favor of an AFC lightweight.
The decision was particularly galling for the Glazers, who have a history of getting what they want. Tampa Bay’s owners had proved their determination in the past by successfully going after the Buc franchise, securing Gruden’s services in 2002 and purchasing Manchester United, the world’s most popular soccer club.
In failing to land Favre, the Bucs must now regroup behind wounded leader Jeff Garcia, whose confidence has been eroded by Tampa Bay’s efforts to replace him as the franchise’s starting quarterback. And don’t forget, Garcia is still disgruntled about his contract situation, even while he recovers from a calf strain suffered a week ago.
With the regular season only a month away, the Bucs have to be concerned that their failed pursuit of Favre will have a lasting effect on the man entrusted to run Gruden’s offense.
Tampa Bay will undoubtedly say the franchise is anxious to turn the page, but the failure to consummate a deal with Favre could have lasting repercussions.
Posted by TC, Sanford on 08/07 at 10:59 AM
This article is a crock. According the the fishwrap across the bay the Buc’s never made an offer to the Packers. This whole thing was a media creation from the start !
http://blogs.tampabay.com/bucs/2008/08/allen-bucs-neve.html
Posted by Bobby Schmidt, Greenville, SC on 08/07 at 10:58 AM
Favre spurned the Bucs? What a lazy job of reporting! Favre isn’t the Packers GM and had little to do with this trade, except for OK it. The Jets simply offered much more in trade value!
Posted by bucfan4life, edgewater, fl. on 08/07 at 10:58 AM
I SAY PAY GARCIA THANK GOD FARVE IS NOT IN TAMPA
Posted by Keith, Tampa Florida on 08/07 at 10:52 AM
What a crappy, biased article by Ira Kaufman! Makes one wonder why the Tribune continues to have non-supportive home team writers on their staff. Geez I miss Tom McCwen!
Posted by Mitch R, NYC on 08/07 at 10:42 AM
Jets got a steal, yes, but face it, they needed him. They had Chad Pennington (who’s shoulder is held together with scotch tape) and Kellin Clemens for god’s sake. Favre adds instant credibility to their team. We didn’t need him as much and weren’t willing to top their offer. It’s like trading for a Mercedes when you already have a BMW, makes no sense, and I’m glad we didn’t do it. We have a very good team and a chance to repeat as NFC South Champs, why spoil the team chemistry?
Posted by Nick Perkins, Melbourne Beach Fl on 08/07 at 10:40 AM
This move was all about bringing dollars in for the Glazers and not about winning. How did we pass on our REAL NEED wide receivers during free agency period and now we go after Bret Favre and be willing to give him $12 million when we already had Jeff Garcia?? So much once again for our big splash in free agency this year. We are over $30 million under the cap and why????? Because they wanted a big name to bring in the fans and did not want wide receivers which is what we really need to get to the Superbowl. I am disgusted and hope Garcia can not let this bother him.
Posted by John T, Lithia, FL on 08/07 at 10:38 AM
Most fans want to blame Gruden and Allen for everthing! To Jim from Dunnellon there where 26(half) new players on that 2002 Superbowl team. Most smart Buc fans understand that Dungy would have never won a Superbowl here. Dungy also had the big three here before he came here(Sapp, Brooks, and Lynch).Counsel Rudolph is right.The Tampa Bay media misses Rich McKay a lot.
Posted by Vinny, West Palm Beach on 08/07 at 10:37 AM
Jeff is professional who knows this is the NFL and this is a business. He’ll get over it and move on for a great year.
Posted by Mitch R, NYC on 08/07 at 10:36 AM
Nick, you are a raving lunatic. Calm down, last I checked, the Bucs sell out every game and we still have a very solid core of young guys and wiley vets. Getting Brett Favre as a PR stunt is not the way you win in the NFL. This isn’t Joe Namath going to the Rams, we don’t need PR, we need consistency from year to year, which is something we’ve lacked since 2000. Get over it and get back in the game. Favre is a certain 1st ballot HOFer, but face it, we didn’t need him as much as the Jets. Do you think getting Favre would have been good for Garcia and the locker room?
Posted by Vinny, West Palm Beach on 08/07 at 10:34 AM
Let’s give the Jets credit, it was really a brilliant move. They put a deal on the table we could never match. A conditional 3rd or 4th round pick, which could be a number 1 or 2 depending on performance. They know that they won’t make it to the AFC Championship, Superbowl and will be lucky to be a wildcard with Brett, so the pick will probably only be a 3rd or 4th. But if the Bucs would have matched it the chances of us making it to the NFC Championship and Superbowl with Brett was a very real possibility, which could have cost us a number 2 or 1 pick in next year’s draft for a QB who turns 39 years old in October. Plus we were not even sure he would be coming back for another year. That would have really been a disaster.
Posted by Shan Shariff, MD on 08/07 at 10:33 AM
I just read Ira’s column and would like to have him on our ESPN Radio show in MD to discuss what happened with Favre. We are on from 1-4pm and would like Ira at 2pm, 2:40, 3 or 3:20. Please email back or call my cell at 202-309-1637 to set up a time.
Thanks,
Shan
Posted by :PapaJohn, Tampa on 08/07 at 10:32 AM
I would be nice now for the national media to move on. Yes, he is in a big market now but there are 30 other teams that deserve equal coverage.
Posted by Nick, Oviedo on 08/07 at 10:30 AM
MITCH, I NEVER SAID HE WAS A 4TH RD PICK. THE JETS JUST GOT A $TEAL!
Posted by Sam Shukovsky, Short Hills, Nj on 08/07 at 10:29 AM
Unfortunately, the Tribune missed the point here. Brett Farve has NO SAY in where he goes, only he can agree to be traded or not and even in that case, the team has no obligation to respect his wishses.
In this case, where Farve wanted to go made no difference - it was what the Jets wanted for him. They were willing to give up more for Farve than Allen was willing. Good for Allen, showing that he is a more savvy Manager than people give him credit for.
Again, this team has a bigger problem than QBs right now. For one, who is going to catch the ball? Galloway is hurt again, so Antonio better pick it up along with Paris, Hillard, and Clayton. No one will care about the QB if everyone is dropping the ball, mark my words.
Posted by Nick, Oviedo on 08/07 at 10:24 AM
WTF! FIRE ALLEN! yOU JUST COST THE COMMUNITY MILLION$$$$$$$$ HELL A GUARRANNTTEEED 2ND ROUNDER WITH PLAY BONUSES…BUT NOOOOOO.
NOW YOUR LOOKING AT A NICE PR NIGHTMARE. DON’T GO SAYING LETS SEE HOW THE SEASON PLAYS OUT! AS A WHOLE, ALLEN AND GRUDEN JERKED AROUND THE BUCS FANS, TAMPA BAY AREA, THE TEAM AND CRAPPED ON JEFF GARCIA.
GOOD LUCK EARNING EVERYBODIES TRUST!
KEYSHAWN & MCCARDELL WERE RIGHT! WTF!
LUKE OR CHRIS SHOULD BE THE QB, EVEN IF WE MAKE THE PLAYOFFS WITH GARCIA, WE WOULD BE ONE & DONE.
GLAZERS SHOULD FIRE ALLEN & GARCIA, THEN TELL GRUDEN TO GET HIS HEAD OUT OF HIS @$$!
Posted by greg_gorman, halifax on 08/07 at 10:19 AM
I for one am happy to see the Bucs didn’t waste the future to pick up a possible 1 and done QB.
Now lets finally put this nonsense behind us, and get back to the business of prepping for the season.
Gruden - give Simms the snaps to prove that in this new offence you designed for Garcia will work for him behind this far superior O-line.
On the Garcia side of things, lets just throw a few million at him to soothe his bruised ego and give him a raise based on his ability to run this team. Show him the money and no one will care we didn’t get “The Farve”
Posted by Mitch R, NYC on 08/07 at 10:17 AM
and Nick, Josh Johnson was a 5th, not a 4th.
Posted by Joey, tampa on 08/07 at 10:17 AM
Great….the season is now destroyed before it even started. Garcia will now hate the Bucs more than ever, and his calf will now probably never heal and linger longer than Brian Kelly’s “turf toe” did. Thankfully we have Greise, since at this point, he is our best chance.
Also, Tampa Tribune is an embarrassment. They jumped the gun and announced something VERY prematurely. Nice job, fellas. This sucks worse than the Big Tuna debacle…. i hope the jets stink it up this year.
Posted by Mitch R, NYC on 08/07 at 10:16 AM
Nick, The Bucs do not have egg on their face, it’s plain to see that the Bucs were not willing to go above and beyond what the Jets offered. I’m sure the Packers first choice was to ship him as far away as possible, so not in division and not in conference. It’s clear that the line in the sand was a conditional 4th which can go to a 2nd based on snaps taken and performance. Good for Allen and Gruden for not mortgaging a future 2nd on a guy who wont be around in 2 years. They dont need Favre to win now, they have a pro-bowl QB in house already. QB was not an area of need, so I’m glad we didn’t spend to get another 38 year old QB.
Posted by GGoose, Tampa on 08/07 at 10:15 AM
So the Bucs really weren’t that interested as we were led to believe by no nothings like Ira K. This whole deal was blown up by the media including the clueless wonders at the Trib. I really don’t see any egg on the teams face as its quite apparent now that the Bucs just weren’t willing to go long on a short term project….......... Nice job Bruce and thank you for not giving away the farm for #4 and leveraging the future to do so!
Posted by Greg, Bradenton on 08/07 at 10:11 AM
Brett Favre to Keller. This combination will be making headlines in New York; but Super Bowl, not exactly! Face it folks, Tampa is not exactly the Big Apple for a brief sojourn of what 2 or 3 years for Favre. His family will love the time spent there. Great restaurants, world class museums, Broadway. No contest.
Posted by glenn, lakeland on 08/07 at 10:08 AM
What I’d like to know, Ira, is why you have such a vendetta against the Bucs. I could understand it if you represented the St. Petersburg paper, but you represent the TAMPA paper, for crying out loud. I am personally elated about how this came down. You know, if Favre had come here & led them to the SB winner’s circle, the national media would have credited Favre, Favre & more Favre, no matter what contributions were made by his teammates. I would far prefer a TEAM credit for a job well done, which I think has a good chance of happening the way we are. By the way, do you really want a QB that can’t ever spell his name correctly?
Posted by Nick, Oviedo on 08/07 at 10:03 AM
Oh, theres no living with Garcia now!
Gruden & Allen have egg on there face, they lost out on Brett Farve to the Jets @ min 4th round pk. How many 1st to 4th picks have Allen wasted? Please Josh Johnson! The Glazers should fire Allen TODAY. WTF!
Simms could’ve done what Garcia did last year. If Garcia played behind Kenyatta Walker he would have beed dead by now. I’m sick of Garcia, yes he has alot moxy, he has no range to go deep. He looked lost in the Play-offs against the Giants with the same recievers Simms had in the play-offs years before. How long before Jeff get$ a new Contract? Today or when a QB goes down in Camp? At Least Luke has looked good in Camp…does LUKE sound like a lil girlie man like Jeff?
Posted by luis, Cape Coral,Fl. on 08/07 at 09:59 AM
no matter wich team B.Farve went to he would not take them to the super bowl…Green Bay was second best team in the NFC last year and loss to the Giants at Green Bay with B.Farve…so the bucs management did not failed.
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Posted by Bill, Sarasota on 08/07 at 11:05 AM
This is an irresponsible article. The reports from every other media source indicate that Favre was angling for the Bucs but settled on the Jets when the Bucs would not make any offer at all for him. Tough to be “outflanked” when you’re not even part of the conflict.
Meanwhile, if that idiot Kaufman wrote this article, he ought to be ashamed of himself. He’s the one who irresponsibly said this was a done deal a few days ago, pimping himself out to ESPN and elsewhere as someone with insider knowledge, when as usual he was clueless. I know how much he wanted to have Favre come here so he could lick his boots for him all season, but wishing it doesn’t make it so.