Dan Snyder has been awfully quiet, too quiet. This worries me, as an Eagles fan. Other owners are swapping players and snapping up free agents. This is the time of year that the juices race through the Redskins owner’s veins. Who can he grab? Who will be the player that can save the Redskins from another flaccid season? Last year it was Donovan McNabb. Who’s next?
Why not Brett Favre? Don’t laugh — yet.
Here are ten reasons why Favre could be Dan Snyder’s next great hire.
1. The Redskins have no quarterback. Having run through 15 in the last 15 years, the team is expected to start training camp with three has-beens and one rookie: Rex Grossman, who keeps defenses guessing (will he throw or fumble?); John Beck, who hasn’t played an NFL game since 2007; Kellen Clemens, a sub with the New York Jets since 2006; and Ben Chappell, who took his last snap with Indiana University.
2. Favre, 41, is available. Sure, he says he’s done, but the Eagles’ Michael Vick tweeted that he would love to have Brett as a back-up, and ESPN.com’s Viv Bernstein posed the essential question: was “the man of 10,000 retirements considering yet one more return?” He’s waiting for Dan’s call.
3. Snyder is a sucker for brand name players past their prime. Hello Deion Sanders, Jeff George, Donovan McNabb? Favre fits right in.
4. Snyder has sat on the sidelines while proven quarterbacks have passed him by. The Eagles, for example, traded away Kevin Kolb and grabbed Vince Young, a raw but talented starter with the Tennessee Titans, to back up Vick. Proven, available QB’s are scarce.
5. Favre could fill Fed Ex Field. Let’s be honest and dismiss the Redskins’ palaver that it sells out the stadium, and fans cue up for season tickets. For the past decade Snyder has delivered a mediocre team in beer-soaked stands. Fans need a reason to show; somehow, I don’t see Rex Grossman as a draw.
6. Favre would fit the Shanahans “system.” Apparently Donovan McNabb was too laid back for Coach Mike and his son Kyle, the offensive coordinator. Favre is quick and jumpy in the pocket. He throws before he thinks. He’s a QB with ADD – perfect!
7. When Favre unretired himself in 2008 and showed up as quarterback for the New York Jets, Mike Shanahan was impressed. “I am sure there was a learning process involved,” he told ESPN, “and he has done a great job.”
8. Favre’s Anthony Weiner problem is in the past. The NFL already investigated allegations that Favre sent sexually suggestive messages and photos of his privates to a former Jets hostess. The probe was inconclusive, but Favre paid $50,000 for not cooperating in the investigation.
9. Given the Redskins’ current roster of quarterbacks is unfit for NFL prime time, Favre is the team’s best chance of not finishing last in the division — for the third season.
10. Dan Snyder cannot resist Brett Favre.
And that’s why the Redskins are such a joke.
Harry Jaffe’s column appears on Tuesday and Friday. He can be contacted at [email protected].
