| The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel GREEN BAY, Wis. -- A week ago, the Green Bay Packers explored for the first time the very real possibility that they would have to trade Brett Favre to the Minnesota Vikings. SAVE MONEY ON TRAVEL DEALS That Wednesday represented the absolute depth of despair for an organization under siege and not really knowing which way to turn. Seven days later, just about the best possible outcome has occurred. The news late Wednesday night that Favre had been traded to the New York Jets for what reportedly was a fairly high draft choice couldn't have been more welcome in the team's offices on Lombardi Ave. Favre won't be playing against the Packers in 2008 (or 2009, if he decides to play another year) unless it's in the Super Bowl Favre will be playing for an American Football Conference team, not an NFC team. And Favre has been moved beyond the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes region, to an East Coast franchise with almost no ties to the Packers. In the National Football League, the Jets are about as close as one can get to being out of sight, out of mind if your frame of reference is the Green Bay Packers. From a competitive standpoint, the Packers still had reason to fear Favre. The organization made the determination months ago that they didn't want Favre back, but a Favre-to-Minnesota denouement would have alleviated the Vikings' only glaring weakness and stamped them as the best team on paper in the NFC North. If Favre had forced his way onto the Packers' practice field, the most likely way they would have gotten him off it was the waiver wire. But the Packers wouldn't have done that until the last possible second, preventing the Vikings from being able to play Favre against them in Lambeau Field on opening night. Now all those ruinous, team-destroying scenarios are history. The fog of Favre has lifted. Aaron Rodgers can fend for himself, at least with some degree of peace. If the Packers want to obtain a veteran quarterback, Chad Pennington will be available. The Jets will clear away Pennington quickly and back up Favre with Kellen Clemens and rookie Erik Ainge. The Packers also gained a major stroke of fortune because the Tampa Bay Buccaneers also were involved in the talks for Favre. If it had been just one team, the draft choice headed for Green Bay wouldn't be as high. By approving the deal, Favre proved just how badly he wants to play and how adventurous he still is. The coach, Eric Mangini, is a humorless Bill Belichick disciple with no ties to Favre. The offensive coordinator, Brian Schottenheimer, is four years younger than Favre. Under Schottenheimer, the Jets employ a ton of motion and shifts and have made frequent use of a slow no-huddle. The West Coast terminology doesn't apply. On the Jets roster are just two former Packers, tight end Bubba Franks and defensive end David Bowens. No one on the coaching staff is overly familiar with Favre. The scouting department under general manager Mike Tannenbaum includes Jesse Kaye, a part-time college scout who worked in Green Bay during Favre's first few years. Otherwise, it's a blank slate. Which, in the end, is entirely fitting. Although the Jets were 4-12 last season, they were a surprise playoff team in 2006 that shelled the Packers in Green Bay, 38-10. Mangini and Schottenheimer outcoached Mike McCarthy something awful that afternoon and Chad Pennington was their quarterback, not Brett Favre. The Packers might try to conceal their enthusiasm for how it all worked out but don't believe them. And Brett Favre has found a team -- maybe not his preferred team but nonetheless a team -- that dearly wants him. An era of excellence in Green Bay never to be forgotten officially has come to an end.
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