Four-getting Anybody, Guys?

Was Thursday's press conference to announce Brett Favre's retirement, or his funeral?

Sorry for you to start your reading with such a morbid question.

Based on the vignettes from ESPN, Favre got the same treatment from fans and pundits alike as Elvis did the day the king passed away in August of 1977.

Newspapers across the country are littered with columnists gushing over Favre's greatness and how the NFL will now wither-up like the original American Gladiators without "our" Favre.

There's no denying Favre was a great quarterback. He holds every major passing record, three MVPs, a Super Bowl ring and a place in Canton in 2012.

But he's not the greatest quarterback of all-time. He's not even the greatest quarterback of this generation.

Unlike baseball, football is based on rings, not records. Joe Montana doesn't own any passing records but he's considered the greatest by many football fans due to his four title rings, three Super Bowl MVPs and his penchant for late-game comebacks and Hall-of-Fame moments such as "the catch", and asking Harris Barton if he saw John Candy in the front row before his famous game-winning 92-yard drive versus the Bengals in Super Bowl XXIII.

Favre's had some comebacks of his own, many of which before a national audience on Monday Night Football. He's also had his share of tragedies which endeared him even to fans of rivals. And he led some mediocre teams to playoff appearances.

That's pretty good. Until you realize John Elway led lesser teams to Super Bowls.

If don't think so, ask yourself who the second-best players were on those Denver Broncos teams that went to three Super Bowls in the late 1980's.

Then ask yourself if you switch Elway with Phil Simms, Doug Williams, or even Joe Montana if any of those quarterbacks would have led the Broncos over the '86 Giants, the '87 Redskins or the '89 49ers if those teams were led by John Elway.

The reason why Montana and Elway are mentioned here are because they are both better than Brett Favre. Sorry, cheeseheads.

And so is Tom Brady, and before Peyton Manning's career is over, he'll own many (if not all) of Favre's passing records, and perhaps his iron man streak, too.

Brett Favre is only in the conversation because he's such a lovable athlete. But his playoff performances don't lie.

After the Packers lost Super Bowl XXXII, Favre's playoff record dropped from 9-3 beforehand to 3-7. In his last ten games he has as fewer wins than Eli Manning earned to start 2008. Favre has drawn knocks for not playing well in domes, and throwing countless interceptions in playoff games including two overtime picks that ended the Packers' seasons in Philadelphia and against the Giants this past January.

Favre also completed six passes to St. Louis Rams defenders in a 2001 divisional playoff game.

Not to mention, Favre not only holds the record for most interceptions in league history (which, you have to be great to have the longevity to hold that record in the first place), he tied Jim Kelly for the most playoff pick-offs with 28. Again, you have to play in many playoff games to do that, but the other great ones don't have such horrible postseason numbers.

Apologists will claim Favre had nothing to work with and was trying to make things happen. John Madden called him a "gunslinger." Ah, so when the Packers were awful, Brett was trying to make something happen, but when they were good, it was all Brett's doing.

This piece isn't to pick on Favre. He one of the most fun quarterbacks to watch. He put Titletown back on the map and made them forget about David Whitehurst, Lynn Dickey, Randy White, Mike Tomczak and Don Majkowski. He kept the Packers in every game. He was the Packer franchise. He will be a Hall-of-Famer. He has a great personality. He's a media darling. There's few people outside cities from the NFC North who hate Favre.

This piece is directed at all the writers and sportscasters who put Favre next to names such as Ruth, Ali, Jordan and Tiger. C'mon now.

Brett Favre has one ring. Yes, one more than Kelly and Dan Marino, but one less than Bart Starr, Roger Staubach and John Elway; two fewer than Tom Brady and three less than Montana and Terry Bradshaw.

Favre had Robert Brooks, Antonio Freeman, Dorsey Levens, Ahman Green, a great offensive line, and a stellar defense led by Reggie White. However, Elway reached the Super Bowl three times with names remembered only by die-hard Broncos fans, and Browns backers who still curse them to this day.

Montana didn't always have Jerry Rice and Roger Craig, yet won two Super Bowls without them and didn't waste the talent given him by winning two more titles. And sure, Elway didn't win a Super Bowl without Terrell Davis and a stacked defense. But he got there with nothing but an arm before they switched jerseys from orange to navy blue. Then he did it again, proving his wild card upset of Favre's Packers the year before was no fluke.

Favre is great. But to say he's the greatest is like putting Barry Bonds ahead of Babe Ruth. Montana had a few bad playoff games, but they're forgotten by those four rings. Elway had a few bad playoff games--all in Super Bowls the Broncos had little business being in without him. Brady has had a couple rough games in his playoff career, but few will remember them thanks to his Super performances.

Simply put, if Peyton Manning eclipses Favre's records, but retires with only one ring to his credit, people will argue who was better between the two. But people already call Tom Brady the "next" Joe Montana, which puts him over Manning, so why wouldn't he be over Favre then as well?

It's Course I Math. It's the Law of Logic. After all the accolades and parades and pageantry and genuflecting of greatness, Brett Favre had a great career. But he's no Montana. He's no Brady. He may not even be Peyton Manning. And he's no John Elway, either.

Don't worry. Brett Favre will have his day in Canton just like the other great quarterbacks and get a seat at that exclusive table.

But pro football is not like baseball, where records mean almost as much as championships. In the NFL, it's all about Super Bowls; rings AND appearances.

And those are records Favre could never eclipse, no matter how hard he tried with his own arm.