Tough loss for the M’s in many ways…and Favre. Ich. That’s today on the show.

by Mike Salk

yesterday’s loss was brutal. Tough to lose in extra innings. Tough to lose when Erik Bedard gives you 7 innings of 1-run ball. Tough to get swept at home by your top competitor in the division. Tough to lose the positive momentum from the weekend. And especially tough to lose Shawn Kelley – who has been one of your pleasant surprises thus far.

And to stop the bleeding today…Carlos Silva. And his ERA over 7. As I said, tough.

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Meanwhile, Brett Favre could be playing in Minnesota this year which is just lame. I am rabildy anti-Favre, and just the thought of talking about him gets me irritated. But whatever.

Here’s my question for you (and Brock) about Favre. Is he a great player, or is he a great myth? Or a great holdover from a previous era? Favre made his reputation as a “gunslinger.” A guy who threw the ball all over the place. Look at the numbers. In 1994-1997, he was the best at it. 30+ TD’s every year and less than 16 picks each year. Pretty amazing stas. But then he plummets. The TD’s hold reasonably steady, but the INT’s climb at an alarming rate.

1998: 31 TD’s. 23 INT’s.
1999: 22 TD’s. 23 INT’s.

In 2005 he threw 29 INT’s. That is an enormous number for a quarterback. By comparison, Tom Brady has never thrown more than 14 in a season. Peyton Manning hasn’t thrown more than 14 in the last six seasons.

My point is this. It used to be that coaches (and fans) were willing to live with the picks as long as you delivered the great plays. As a football culture, we revered guys who tried to “squeeze the ball” into tight spaces. We praised quarterbacks for “trying to make a play.”

But then everyting changed. Coaches realized that a major indicator of success in the NFL was turnover ratio. And that while big plays were nice, it was more important NOT to make the big mistake.

But guys like Brett Favre were from the previous era. Where their mistakes were “justified” by their “big play potential.”

So is Brett Favre no longer as good because he is getting older, or is it because the game has evolved beyond him?

I think it’s prbably a little of both. The 1994-1997 Favre is elite in any era. His numbers are sick. But the guy since then? Some good years, some bad. But not what I’m looking for in a quarterback.

How about you? We’ll discuss at noon.

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Dave Cameron from ussmariner joins us at 11:25.

Seahawks defensive coordinator Casey “Gus” Bradley on the show at 12:40. Here’s his bio.

ESPN’s Buster Olney at 1:25. His latest blog entry.

Talk to you at 11:00.