Brett Favre, whose NFL record for career passing yards was eclipsed only by Peyton Manning and, earlier this month, by Drew Brees, was not wed to the philosophy of taking what the opposing defense chose to give. He was much more interested in having the defense eat what he was serving.
"I'm never going to be a Checkdown Charlie," said Favre, who was a starter in the league for 19 seasons, and left the game a shell of the reckless genius that entered it, but not due to any change of heart.
A quarterback comes in all forms, but the best of the bunch makes his mark in those moments when he stands alone amid the chaos of the line fight, a game in the balance, and unslings the marvelous weapon that hangs from his shoulder to successfully deliver a football to a place he probably shouldn't have tried to reach.