Benedict Favre routine will ruin Brett's legacy

The Brett Favre Legacy Decimation Watch just took a turn.
For many of the observers cringing at the idea of Favre in a Jets uniform their fear was stoked by images of Johnny Unitas and Joe Namath performing miserably for the Chargers and Rams, respectively.
Nobody wanted to see the ol' gunslinger lose his fastball and take a bunch of hits on a 6-10 also-ran.
Favre fervor
Jay Glazer reported Sunday that Brett Favre leaked info to the Lions ahead of their game with the Packers in September. Read the story that got the controversy started. Also: Favre info leak story sparks reaction
But until Sunday, when Favre and the Jets scored only one TD in an OT loss at Oakland, Favre had put those fears to rest. He had thrown 13 touchdown passes in five games, leading the Jets to a 3-2 record and appeared to be transforming them into a playoff contender.
But Bad Brett — the guy who has thrown four picks and only one TD in his last two starts — has apparently given way to Odious Brett, a disgruntled, traitorous former employee guilty of what amounts to corporate espionage against his old company.
According to FOXSports.com's Jay Glazer, in a report citing several sources that was corroborated independently by two league sources, Favre spent between 60 and 90 minutes helping Lions coaches prepare for their Sept. 14 meeting with the Packers. The tutorial must have been a smash success. The Lions lost 48-25.
There is an irony here, of course. Favre would only be able to provide details of how the Packers approached different situations when he was the quarterback. Aaron Rodgers, who threw for 328 yards and three touchdowns against the Lions, is a different animal, more than happy to go to the check-down and avoid the high-risk improvisation that has come to define Favre. Rodgers' stewardship of the offense in high winds against the Colts on Sunday — 21 for 28 for 186 yards, no picks, one TD — stood in stark contrast to Favre's riverboat gambling that produced a 47.8 QB rating in Oakland.
There is nothing in the league rules to prevent a former player from providing proprietary playbook information to another team. But one might have thought Packer fans could rely on Favre's moral code to prevent it.
Guess not.
During his tempestuous summer battling Packers GM Ted Thompson through the media, Favre accumulated a whole lot of bitterness toward his former employer, feelings that must not have been assuaged by his move to the Jets.
And while Favre may feel completely justified in doing anything and everything to undermine his former organization, he must understand that you can't hurt the Packers without hurting the team's legendary fan base.
At the height of the summer soap opera in early August, hundreds of Packer fans braved a lightning storm to greet Favre at the airport when he arrived in Green Bay. Even as they slowly warmed to Rodgers, they made it clear that No. 4 would always be No. 1 in their hearts. Packers fans' love of and loyalty to Favre have never been in doubt.
Turns out that might be a one-way street.
Whatever affinity Favre may have for his longtime fans and for Green Bay apparently lost out to his deep, searing enmity for Thompson and the organization that he believes should have treated him like a Supreme Court Justice with a lifetime appointment to quarterback the Pack.
Packer fans are still rooting like crazy for Favre because the better he and the Jets do, the better the draft pick Green Bay will receive. The fourth-round pick becomes a third when Favre plays half the team's plays, a second if the Jets make the playoffs with Favre under center for 70 percent of the plays and a first if Favre leads them to the Super Bowl. The last two scenarios seem unlikely after that result in Oakland on Sunday.
Favre, however, is clearly not rooting for his old team. It's called the high road. Even though players' emotions can be pretty mixed up after they are dealt to another team, most of them are usually able to muster, "Hey, I've got a lot of friends in that locker room and I'll be rooting for them."
If Favre needs a road map from Wisconsin to that elusive high road he should take a look at the way Ned Yost handled his firing from the Brewers with 12 games to play despite being tied for the wild card.
"If anybody thinks that I've got sour grapes or I don't want this club to succeed, they're crazy," said Yost. "I'll be rooting them on every inch of the way and I hope they can win that wild card and go deep, deep into the playoffs and win the World Series."
Gee, you mean Yost didn't call up Phillies manager Charlie Manuel and give him the Brewers' signals?
Yost took his separation from the Brewers like a man. Favre has taken his separation from the Packers like a spiteful, petulant child.
If Packer fans are looking for sign ideas for their next home game (Nov. 16, Bears), here's an easy one for the Sharpie: Brat Favre.