So, what was Thompson doing in all this time before? And why is the team so adamant about Favre playing anywhere but Green Bay?

Unless the Packers convince the Patriots, Colts or Cowboys that they are one quarterback away from a Super Bowl, I don’t see Thompson coming up with any offer that will be acceptable to Brett.

Playoff contending teams are set at quarterback. Teams likely to give the most are teams that have the least in a supporting cast. That’s not the ideal spot for a late career star. Favre reportedly nixed a deal that could have landed him in Tampa Bay. Even Brett Favre would need a two or three year run with a new team to get another bite at the apple.

Playing outside of Green Bay could be disappointing, even disastrous, for Favre.

If Favre were traded away and Aaron Rodgers has a season typical of a first year starter, a Matt Leinart, Jay Cutler, or early Eli Manning year, Rodgers will come under unfair Brett Favre comparisons. Favre gone is a no win scenario for Rodgers. He may well become the most hated man in Wisconsin with little chance short of an immediate Super Bowl to win fans over.

As for Thompson and coach Mike McCarthy, if they dump trade Favre and lose with Rodgers, their legacy will forever be tainted.

The best solution is the one that’s least likely to happen. Brett Favre should stay in Green Bay.

He needs to be in a NFL training camp. He cannot get in playing condition by practicing with high schoolers.

He needs to accept his back up status for awhile. It’s the price to pay for the turmoil he’s caused.

He needs to bide his time, because Brett Favre on the roster means Brett Favre’s going to play.

Brett Favre playing in Green Bay is the least bad scenario. Anything else is going to be a disaster.  

NFL.com’s Adam Schefter reports that Brett Favre intends to show up at the Green Bay Packers training camp when it opens this weekend.

Boom. End of story. If it happens, that is.

And if it happens, it’s the only way the story should end.

Word is that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell “hinted” to Packer GM Ted Thompson to cut the PR campaign and be less picky about a trade partner for Favre. Maybe the commish whispered to Favre to just shut up and show up.

I don’t think Brett Favre will be happy anywhere but Green Bay. If that’s the case, then he should get reinstated, accept his back-up status and bide his time. Because, it’s only a matter of time before he gets his starting role back — whether Thompson and coach Mike McCarthy want it or not.

You don’t want to be Aaron Rodgers who will be under a magnifying glass with the whole world knowing that the NFL’s statistical leading quarterback is just a slip-up away from winning his job back. Rodgers is the only innocent bystander in this soap opera.

As for No. 4, showing up in the back-up role is the only real way to force the Packers’ hand. He is too expensive to ride the pines. He is, or was, too popular with Packer-Backers to he held in reserve. We’re talking the mother of all quarterback controversies here.

The Packers either have to reinstate Favre as starter, or lower their trade demands to work a deal — and every GM in the league knows Favre has them over a barrel — or give Favre his outright release and live with the consequences.

The least bad choice would be for Brett Favre to start for the Green Bay Packers (and how odd it is to put it that way).

I am surprised by Brett Favre’s vacillation of whether he is, or is not, or is again retired. That doesn’t match his reputation as the confident gunslinger. After all he’s accomplished, after the 2007 season, is he really so dependent on what Ted Thompson or Mike McCarthy think about his ability to play? Is he really that sensitive? Could the media have gotten that right?

If Brett Favre thinks he still has the touch, then he doesn’t need Mike McCarthy’s agreement. Just shut up and show up.

And bide your time.

QB Peyton Manning, S Bob Sanders and DE Dwight Freeney will miss a good part of camp, though all are expected to be available when the regular season opens. Along with Harrison, that’s 21 Pro Bowl appearances by the playmakers who helped make the Colts the only consistent challengers to the New England Patriots for AFC dominance.

Harrison injured his knee early last season and appeared in five games. He participated in the the playoff game against the San Diego Chargers, a shocking home loss. Harrison was expected at training camp following knee surgery in January. 

 “It’s time for me to take a stand,” he told the Sun-Times Tuesday in explaining his absence. “We’re going to stand by our decision to do this and we feel like this can go down to whenever in the season or the end of the season. No matter what.”

Devin Hester is hoping you don’t, because it’s what he said just three days ago when he said he was holding out of the Bears’ training camp.   Then people started reporting that $15,000 in fines per day * the number of days he would miss > Hester’s salary for the year.  Hester figured it out, too, so today he showed up to camp only $30,000 lighter after missing two days.

So, Lance Briggs said he’ll never play in Chicago again and Hester said he’ll hold out as long as it takes to get a new deal.  Who’s going to  complete the Bears flip-flop trifecta?  Maybe Kyle Orton will promise to stop passing out at frat parties or Rex Grossman will swear off getting replaced mid-season.

That the opening line in a Houston Chronicle story today about the Houston Texans. Houston fans have had little to cheer for since the old Oilers were in town. The team made widely questioned personnel moves that seems to be paying off now.

DE Mario Williams was widely panned when Houston picked him first in the 2006 draft. Texans fans, like fans everywhere, preferred skill players like home boy QB Vince Young or RB Reggie Bush. Williams had a decent rookie season without much fanfare and exploded for 14.5 sacks in his second year.

DT Amobi Okoye adds muscle to the Texans pass rush. He achieved 5.5 sacks as a rookie last year. The Texans defense, although ranked 24th overall in 2007, can no longer be considered a laughing stock.

Fans may be forgiven for wishing that Vince Young was in Texans uniform, but Houston pulled an astute and very will timed trade with Atlanta for QB Matt Schaub before the Michael Vick scandal broke.

Schaub gets a healthy Andre Johnson back as a target to bolster the offense. Johnson missed seven games to a knee injury. He’s a big scoring threat if Houston’s notorious line protects Schaub long enough to throw.

Houston finished 8-8 last season in a division that sent three teams to the playoffs. They still have an uphill battle to make the playoffs. Their path to the post season isn’t so steep as in years past.

Even though he didn’t post amazing numbers at Wake Forest, Thompson is a solid player who will only get better. He could actually start at defensive end once Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila retires.

I don’t think this would be because Chicago can’t sign Hester. In fact, if the two sides work on it enough, it could probably get done. Pompei thinks so because he believes a trade of Hester would net so much in return that the Bears would be in a better position to succeed.

This is because his trade value is possibly the highest it will ever be. He’s young, will never be a better returner than he is now and intrigues teams with his receiving capabilities, not showing them that he can’t do it.

Pompei basically thinks this: if a team is willing to give up a ridiculous amount, trade him. If they aren’t, than keep him.

I’m kind of split down the middle on this one. When you look at their team, Hester is the only explosive offensive player they’ve got. But, I doubt he’s close to as good as a returner in a few years, the time Chicago figures to be in contention again. Getting draft picks for him could help them in those years. Therefore, if a team is willing to part with two or three first-day picks in addition to something else, I’d do it. I’m not even sure if anyone would be willing to do that for a returner who could be a bust as a receiver.

I still doubt that Chicago will even think about trading Hester. He’s just too special of a talent, and their focus will be on giving him an extension and/or getting him into training camp. What do you think?

Now, Williams has come down with a bad back, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. He was practicing, but had had to stop because of back stiffness. Coach Lovie Smith said this:

“We’ll always err in favor of the players, but it was to the point where he couldn’t practice. When I say there is some stiffness, I don’t know exactly how much, but he couldn’t practice. The guys know there’s a difference between pain and injury. It seems like his was more of an injury.”

It is not yet known how serious the injury is, but it looks minor. Still, not a good way to start off a career, as they need him to start right away.

However, this probably isn’t him holding out, as coach Scott Linehan said he gave Jackson permission to travel alone.

Still, Rams’ fans should be holding their breath until they see him on the practice field tomorrow morning. He is entering the final year of his contract, and wants an extension. I still can’t imagining him holding-out, though, as he is currently in negotiations with St. Louis.

If he does holdout, the Rams would be in tons of trouble, as their offense becomes one-dimensional without him.

In Marshall’s case, as I wrote earlier today, he has been arrested three times in the past year. That’s obviously not good. However, he has yet to be convicted on any charges. Therefore, I thought he would only get a one or two games suspension, if any.

Schefter, though, says Marshall could be gone for four to eight games. Wow, I didn’t think it would be that severe. I guess Goodell doesn’t consider being found guilty staying out of trouble. If he’s suspended this long, the Broncos would be in trouble. He’s their best receiving threat, and they need him desperately, even with how well they can run the ball.

Chris Henry is currently not on an NFL team after being cut by the Bengals following his fifth arrest in his short NFL career, shortly followed by an indefinite suspension. Even though those charges were dropped, Schefter thinks that Henry might not be reinstated, if he is at all, until the middle of the season. Despite the fact that he wasn’t convicted, he’s been in trouble so many times that this would be the right punishment. I guess he offered good reasoning, though(uh, ya, I’ve gotten unlucky, been in the wrong place at the wrong time five times. It happens).

If he is reinstated, there would be some teams interested in him, maybe even the Cowboys.