Sports Then and Now

Though Peyton Manning is closing quickly, Brett Favre is currently the NFL’s career leader for passing yards.

In your quest to find a reliable betting strategy, you will be best served to look for betting systems that work over a long period of time. In the NFL, that is not an easy thing to do given the likelihood of major injuries and inconsistent play from the stars of the game. Consistency is always the key when selecting a betting strategy from a short list of betting systems that work.

The value of consistency can best be represented by looking at the football career of quarterback Brett Favre. He currently sits at the top of the list for career passing yards (71,838) with Peyton Manning zeroing in on the record with 71,215 yards. Favre also sits in second position for career touchdown passes with 508, second only to Manning’s amazing 537.

Brett Favre was drafted as the third pick in the second round by the Atlanta Falcons on 1991. He was anything but a darling to Falcons Head Coach Jerry Glanville who claimed from the beginning that Favre would just rot on the bench before he would ever play him. Of course, Favre did himself no favors when he threw four passes as a Falcon for zero completions and two interceptions, of which one was returned for a touchdown.

In the off-season, the Green Bay Packers saw Favre as the best alternative to its QB problems when compared to players available in the 1992 draft. They traded the team’s number one pick (19th overall) to acquire the man who would go on to become a legend in Green Bay.

As a testament to his durability and consistency, Favre played in 255 straight games for the Packers between 1992 and 2007. He then went on to play 16 straight for the New York Jets in 2008 and 29 straight with the Minnesota Vikings between 2009 and 2010 before succumbing to injury and retirement.

During this amazing stretch where he became the league’s all-time iron man for consecutive games played, he passed for over 3,000 yards every season but his first when he didn’t play and his last season, which was shortened due to injury while he was on a pace to pass for over 3,100 yards.

His best season came in 1995 when he completed over 63% of his passes for 4,413 yards and 38 TDs against only 13 interceptions. It was also the first of three consecutive years (1995-1997) when he was voted the league’s MVP. The following season, he led the Packers to a Super Bowl title over the New England Patriots 35-21 in Super Bowl XXX1 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. On the season, he threw for 3,899 yards and a career-high 39 TDs.

One of the characteristics that set Favre apart from other legendary quarterbacks was his arm strength. He was not necessarily known for his accuracy, but he could deliver the ball great distances from awkward throwing positions under duress. In fact, it was his ability to turn sure losses from scrimmage into incredible touchdown passes that simply drove defenses crazy.

Barring injury, one would expect that Peyton Manning will break Favre’s career yardage record sometime in the middle of the 2015 season. No matter how many QBs might threaten passing him on the all-time list in the future, no one in any position will ever be able to rival his competitive spirit and ability to take a big hit and get back up to keep playing. In 2016, he becomes eligible for the NFL Hall of Fame and will certainly be inducted on the first ballot. During his 19-year career, it wasn’t pretty, but pretty never wins football games anyway.

This article was written by Tony Samboras who is not only a sports writer but also a sports analyst. His experience in player and team analysis has brought him to writing for a sports betting system found at www.simplythebetsus.com.