Larry Brown Sports

Donald Driver retired from football four months ago, but the former Green Bay Packers star says that has not stopped a number of NFL teams from calling him to see if they can coax him into continuing his career. While the 38-year-old has not completely ruled out returning to football, he says he would never play his home games anywhere but Lambeau Field.

When speaking to reporters before his sixth annual charity softball game over the weekend, Driver explained what it would take to get him to come out of retirement.

“I think the thing is, if you have the itch to continue to play, then it doesn’t matter who you play for, because that’s what you want to do,” Driver said, via FOX Sports Wisconsin. “You just want to play the game. I love the game, but I only love one team. When you love the game, you’ll play for anybody. Anybody who offers you something, you’re willing to step on the field and play for them.

“I decided that I love one team. But I do love the game. At the end of the day, if I get that itch, it would only be for the green and gold.”

And Driver insists his comments are more than just a compliment to the team where he spent his entire 14-year career. If the Packers still wanted him on the roster, he wouldn’t mind going through a 15th training camp.

“If the Packers called me and said, ‘Drive, come back to training camp,’ I’d be back for training camp,” he said. “But until then, I’ll be sitting at home and just watching football.”

Driver said he spoke to other former NFL players who told him he would never get the same love and respect from another team as he got from the Packers. As this 78-year-old fan recently reminded us, Driver was a huge fan favorite during his career with Green Bay. The team has gotten younger and more explosive at receiver, which basically signaled the end of his career. There’s nothing wrong with knowing when to call it quits.

Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers continue to inch closer to burying the hatchet. There has always been a noticeable amount of tension between Favre and Aaron Rodgers since the Packers decided to commit to the former Cal star as their quarterback of the future, but it appears the Ole Gunslinger is even ready to move on from that.

During an interview with Bruce Murray and Jim Miller on Sirius XM NFL Radio Thursday, Favre said he believes Rodgers could end up with a better legacy than his in Green Bay when his career is over.

“Aaron has played extremely well, probably even better than anyone anticipated, but I knew he was capable of that and that’s why they drafted him,” Favre said, via Pro Football Talk. “Barring any injury he’ll shatter everything I ever did there except for maybe consecutive games.”

Last week, Favre even took some of the blame for the way his career with the Packers ended. He alluded to that again on Thursday, saying he understood the team’s perspective when it came to going with Rodgers over him.

“I understood that they had a young quarterback who had tremendous potential, that they had to find out what he could do,” Favre said. “And, quite frankly, I had probably my best year in 16 years that past season and there’s two ways to look at that. If you’re in the organization and you’re making decisions you got to feel like, ‘OK, he had a great year but he’s probably maxed out.’ That’s kind of what I would have been thinking.”

Again, it is starting to sound like Favre is ready to see his number retired at Lambeau Field. With the way things have been going, I’d say it’s a safe bet that will be happening sooner rather than later.

H/T Pro Football Talk

Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers are well on their way to making nice. The relationship ended on sour terms, but at the end of the day Favre is a Lambeau legend who is going to receive a warm reception when he decides to return.

Last year, Favre expressed confidence that his day of reconciliation with the Packers will eventually come. During an interview with Joe Buscaglia on WGR 550 in Buffalo on Thursday, he hinted that it may be coming sooner rather than later.

“The things that transpired that led to us ‘breaking up’ if you will, to me, are over and done with,” Favre said, via the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “When will that happen? I don’t think either side is trying to push the issue . I think (Packers CEO) Mark Murphy — and Mark really came in the last few weeks of my career in Green Bay — he kind of came into a hornet’s nest if you will. He’s been extremely great in trying to make this work.

“In our discussions, it will happen. I think both sides are genuine. I know they are. And that’s the way it has to come across because that’s the way it should be. We don’t want to go out there waving to the crowd with our backs to each other. And I don’t think that’s going to happen.”

Even Aaron Rodgers feels that it is time for Favre and the team to bury the hatchet, which is saying a lot coming from a guy who took Favre’s job and has had some awkward moments with him.

Perhaps the most surprising part of the interview came when Favre actually took some of the blame for the way things ended.

“It is what it is,” he said.  “It’s over and done with. I was at fault. I feel that both sides had a part in it. If you could go back would I or them have done things differently? I’m sure both sides would. But you can’t.”

Close enough. Maybe this guy is more anxious for his standing ovation than we thought. Whether you were annoyed by the way his career ended or not, it’s tough to argue that Favre doesn’t deserve it.

H/T Pro Football Talk

A former Green Bay Packers cheerleader is taking a stand against cyber bullying. Kaitlyn Collins, who cheered for the Packers in 2009, was recently the victim of cyber bullying when a photo of her was posted on the Chicago Bears Fan page on Facebook.

According to the Green Bay Press Gazette, a Facebook user posted a photo of Collins on Monday with the following caption: “Like If You Agree The Packers Have The Worst Cheerleaders In The NFL!”

The photo was then littered with comments that said horrible things about Collins, with many Facebook users calling her “ugly” and worse. Rather than ignoring it, Collins decided to fight back against cyber bullying by creating a silent YouTube video, during which she held up signs that showed some of the nasty things people posted about her. She also showed quotes from people who had come to her defense and thanked them for their support.

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The Chicago Bears may not control their own destiny to secure a playoff spot this weekend, but their formula is fairly simple. If the Bears defeat the Detroit Lions and the Green Bay Packers beat the Minnesota Vikings, Chicago slides into one of two wild card spots.

With the Bears scheduled to play an early game and the Packers playing in the afternoon, one would think all of the Chicago players have the following planned for Sunday: take care of business in Detroit and then root for Green Bay. However, Brandon Marshall said he is not going to cheer for the Packers despite the situation.

“I’m not cheering for anybody but the Bears,” Marshall said Thursday according to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. “Yeah, that’s how it is. We put ourselves in this position and right now it could be a good position. You never know how things will work out. But all we can do is beat Detroit and sit back and have a cup of coffee and see what happens at that afternoon game.”

If the Bears beat the Lions, almost all Chicago fans and all of Marshall’s teammates will be rooting for Green Bay. Based on his recent remarks about his division rival, we know Marshall despises the Packers. While most of the things the star wideout says baffle me, I actually understand where he’s coming from. The Bears put themselves in this position and his cheering isn’t going to affect the outcome of the game. Obviously Marshall wants the Packers to win, but it’s not something he can control. The only thing he needs to worry about is making an impact against Detroit.

Photo credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-US PRESSWIRE

Mike Ditka is the ultimate Chicago Bear. He was a five-time All-Pro tight end with the Bears in the 1960s. He won championships with the Bears as a player in 1963 and as the team’s head coach in 1985. People who are associated with Chicago are supposed to hate the Green Bay Packers, so hearing Ditka gush about Aaron Rodgers and company is probably painful for Bears fans. If so and you are one, avert your eyes.

“I’m still a Bear fan. I got a right to be a Bear fan,” Ditka said in an interview with the Journal Sentinel. “We won two championships in the last 60 years – I played on one and coached the other one. So I got a right. I’ll always be a Chicago Bear.

“Now, I’m a Packer fan too – for one reason. First of all, I love the coach, he’s from Pittsburgh. But Aaron Rodgers is the best quarterback in football – without question. He gets it, he understands, he’s a class act. He’s a great leader. I hope they give him a little more protection than they’re giving him right now or he’s going to get his (expletive) busted.”

Isn’t that two reasons? In any event, it’s tough not to like the Rodgers and the Packers as someone who lives and breathes football. Chicago and Green Bay may be division rivals, but there certainly wasn’t much of a rivalry this season. The Packers have been a much better team in recent history and that trend has continued this year. Somewhere in heaven, Chris Farley is wearing his “Da Bears” attire and shedding a tear because of Coach Ditka’s comments.

The Chicago Bears had plenty to say before their first meeting with the Green Bay Packers back in September, and not all of them are willing to back off of that simply because they lost the game in convincing fashion. Jay Cutler basically said Green Bay would be making a mistake if they played press coverage against Chicago’s physical receivers, and the Packers went out and held them to 10 points. Brandon Marshall had just two catches for 24 yards in week two, but he is still overflowing with confidence heading into Sunday.

“I’m not going to say hate, but I really don’t like the Green Bay Packers or their players,” Marshall said Wednesday according Sean Jensen of the Chicago Sun-Times. “This is personal. … This is the biggest game of my career.”

Marshall feels as though the Packers were disrespectful to the Bears after the game. He mentioned these comments about Cutler from Charles Woodson before downplaying the ability of Green Bay’s defensive backs and explaining how things will be different this time around.

“They want to roll coverage to me, shoot, I got Alshon Jeffery on the other side,” Marshall said. “He’s not a rookie anymore. He’s not rusty anymore. (They’re physicality) is non-existent. Not physical at all. Leading up to the game, they were talking about how big I was, I was a cheater.

“I would love their play to back up their talk.”

Trading trash talk the week before a big rivalry game isn’t exactly a novel concept, but I don’t understand what Marshall is gaining from making these comments. He and Cutler were horrible in their first meeting against Green Bay, so the only thing they can do to silence the doubters is go out and vastly improve this weekend. Talk is cheap. It’s even cheaper when the last time your players spoke they embarrassed themselves.

Photo credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-US PRESSWIRE