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Packers' Reaction to Favre: From "Not Surprised" to "Bulletin Board"By Jay Sorgi and the Associated PressNext game: Saturday, August 22nd vs. Buffalo The Green Bay Packers, like the rest of the National Football League, now know it won't be Sage Rosenfels or Tavaris Jackson behind center for the Vikings this year. It's the old familiar number four of Brett Favre, wearing very unfamiliar colors. Linebacker Nick Barnett has a warning for Favre: He will be looking for you. Barnett had a little fun with the possibility that Favre might come back to the NFL to play for the rival Vikings.
Hamming it up for cameras, Barnett said he respects Favre but can't wait to hit him:"I want to get a nice little shot on you, Brett. I said it. Put it on the bulletin board." His former coach, Mike McCarthy, wasn't as pointed with his comments. "If he's going to play, that's obviously his choice," said McCarthy. "I'm not surprised by it. I don't think anyone should be surprised by it." "We always look forward to playing the Vikings. I don't think that will ever change here in Green Bay." To wide receiver Donald Driver, the move to Minnesota won't move around the standings in the NFC North. "He's a good quarterback," said Driver, who has said often he maintains his friendship with Favre. "He's a Hall of Famer, but I don't think it's going to change who's going to be on top of the division. We're not going backwards for anyone, regardless of what teams get who." Cornerback Al Harris will have to guard receivers Favre will be throwing to when they match up this year. It's something he was used to for years in practice when Favre was a Packer, and he says the issues Favre faced with the team wasn't with the other guys suiting up in Green and Gold. "We didn't have any distractions here in the locker room," said Harris. "It was more of an upstairs thing. Everybody who's played with Brett up here knows Brett. Brett is Brett. This is a business. We understand the business side of it. Brett understands the business side of it. You play long enough, things happen." Now, what has happened is the Packers facing Favre twice, though Harris says that's not the thought in their mind. "Right now, my focus is Buffalo. (When) we play the Vikings, then we'll focus on the Vikings, but Buffalo's our focus right now, then Arizona, then Chicago. "We're here. We're grinding. We're doing what we need to do, no matter who they have for quarterback, no matter who the Bears have for quarterback, Detroit, or whoever. We're concentrating on the Packers and what we need to do." Special thanks to Sirius Satellite Radio for their assistance in this story. |
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