Brett Favre

Wolf, however, did not forget Favre, and on February 10 of 1992, when he had a new job as the Green Bay Packers' general manager, he acquired Favre for the Packers. The young quarterback had thrown only five passes all season, and was on the Falcons' third string signal caller, so Wolf's decision seemed questionable, but he recalled to Montville, "I just really liked him. He has that unexplainable something about him."

Favre's ascent with the Packers was aided by the fact that their starting quarterback, Don Majkowski, was benched with sprained ankle ligaments. Favre stepped in, won two games, and never stepped out. He finished the 1992 season with 302 completions for 3,227 yards and 18 touchdowns. The Packers missed the playoffs only in the final week of the season. That year, Favre was selected for the Pro Bowl, and the Packers redesigned the team around him. In 1993, Montville wrote, "The Packers have virtually handed their team to Favre." The team got rid of Majkowski, who was considered a hot prospect before Favre's arrival, and paid a large amount of money to bring in free agent Reggie White. Montville commented, "They are making a run for a division title, making it with a kid quarterback."

Despite his talent, Favre sometimes clashed with Green Bay coach Mike Holmgren, who insisted that Favre study plays and run them as they were planned. Favre, on the other hand, was used to a more intuitive style of play. In Sports Illustrated, Peter King commented, "Favre is an act-first, think-later gunslinger who, until he reached the NFL in 1991, hadn't run something as elementary as the seven-on-seven passing drill." Favre, on the other hand, did not like memorizing complicated plays because in real life, the opposing players seldom did what they were expected to do. Favre gave King an example: "We'd call Red Right, 22 Z In. I didn't care what the defense did, I was going to the Z [the flanker] and if he was covered, boom, I was gone. I was running, trying to make something happen." Eventually, however, the two men were able to learn from each other and by 1995 Holmgren was seeking Favre's opinion on plays. Favre memorized Holmgren's advice: "Relax. Play smart."

In 1995, Favre was named NFL MVP, largely because he led the Packers to an 11-5 record and a spot in the NFC Championship Game. The Packers lost that game to the Dallas Cowboys, 38-27, but Favre swore he would do his best to bring the team back to the Super Bowl in the following season—and win it.