I didn't want to write this, I really didn't.  Heck, I don't even want to be thinking it.  Yet some time in the middle of Brett Favre's second consecutive dissection of my beloved Packers, I was.  Again.  For the first time since last summer, I got that queasy feeling in the pit of my stomach.  For the first time in a long time, I thought the thought that no devoted Packer fan should.

Maybe they should have taken Brett back after all.

I know what you're thinking right now, believe me, I know...and I agree with you.  I'm an idiot.  I'm living in the past.  I'm a hopeless romantic who remembers the records and comebacks but conveniently forgets the infuriating interceptions in pressure situations and diva behavior each offseason.  Trust me, I remember.

And yes, I do agree that Aaron Rodgers is one of the best young quarterbacks in football and that even with my beloved St. Brett behind center, Green Bay's banged-up defense would have still relegated the team to a sub-.500 record last season.

So why am I thinking that Green Bay should have welcomed him back with open arms four months after he retired?  Why am I putting a player--no matter how talented he my be--ahead of the team (much like Favre himself did when he put the Packers through the awkward Training Camp Circus of 2008)?

Because this player proved tonight that he is still, at age 40, one of the best quarterbacks in the league and, more importantly, a leader of men who makes everyone on his team just a little bit better.  With no disrespect to Rodgers, Favre's veteran leadership is precisely what separates good teams from great ones, and it is Favre's presence in Minnesota that has turned it from a great collection of players into a Super Bowl-contending team.

This is the ultimate irony of Favre: he is quite possibly one of the most selfish, "me-first" players in the NFL off of the field, but once the game starts, he is both a consummate teammate and exceptional field general.  With the precision passing and cannon arm of a man half his age and veteran moxy unrivaled in all of professional sports, Favre is able to lead by example and win with talent.

Not coincidentally, this leadership and sense of direction have eluded the Packers since Favre was traded to New York.  The youngest roster in the NFL (for what feels like the tenth consecutive season) is still racking up foolish penalties, missing easy blocking assignments, and looking generally lost in crunch time.  Why do you think they brought back Ahman Green?  It sure wasn't to return kicks!

No, the Packers recognized a deep void in their locker room that will never show up in the stat sheet--heart, grit, swagger.  Green Bay doesn't so much miss its Dan Marino.  It misses its General Patton.  

Though much is made of Favre's stellar supporting cast in Minnesota (an I won't argue that Adrian Peterson is the best running back in football, that the Vikings have a bruising offensive line, or that their pass rush is downright terrifying), it has been Brett more than any of his teammates--even Peterson--who has won the Vikings football games this season.

Think about it.  In Minnesota's two wins against the Packers, Peterson was solid but hardly spectacular but Favre threw for seven touchdowns.  While Green Bay focused on containing Peterson, it was Favre who picked apart their normally-staunch secondary.  Even when the superstar running back wasn't dominating, the Vikings were still winning.  Why?  Heart, grit, swagger.

I hate myself for even thinking this--let alone writing about it--but I'm starting to believe that my Pack has a serious deficiency of all three, and for the first time in a long time I believe I know why.