{mosimage}Brett Favre is a relic, and I mean that in a good way. He is a throwback to players like Bobby Layne, Joe Namath, and Kenny Stabler. Quarterbacks had a swagger in their walk, and who never met a pass they thought they couldn't complete.

Looking around the NFL today, there are not that many gunslingers like him left. Peyton Manning, bless his ever efficient passing heart, is a brain. Manning is a thinker, the ultimate chess master, but he is no gunslinger. Manning may some day break all the records that Favre is setting, but he won't do it trying to thread the needle while throwing into coverage. The rest of the league, no offense to Carson Palmer, is made up of game managers. Quarterbacks with west coast mentality coached in the art of not losing a game. Forget about trying to win a game. That thinking went out with Staubach and Elway. These days you play not to lose.

Yes indeed, times have changed, and Favre is an aging master. Year after year there are calls for him to hang it up. To leave the game with dignity, before the last of the skill set that made him arguably the best passer of his generation begin to fade. Favre's answer? He just wants to play, and more than that, as the gunslinger that he is, he just wants to win. He wants to spend his time trying to rally a bunch of overachieving young Packer into one last magnificent year. So far so good. Last week he broke Elway's record for most career victories by a starter, winning his 149^th game. This week, the old hired gun starts to take aim at Marino's record for most lifetime touchdowns. After throwing for three touchdowns in the Green Bay's win against the Giants, Favre sits at 417 lifetime touchdowns. He has Marino in his sights, and should these young Packers continue their winning ways, he only needs to pick a receiver who will receive that golden throw. Will it be Donald Driver the consummate pro who has been his favorite target over the past three years, or a young up and comer like Greg Jennings?

Whomever he hits for the record breaking toss, it is a good bet that Brett will just shrug it off as another day at the office. Mostly because this man-child is too busy taking in the sights and sounds of one more season out on the field, to stop and enjoy the records he is setting. Maybe when he finally hangs it up he will look back and see the legacy he has left on the game. When he does hang it up, we are going to miss him. We are going to miss the swagger, and the little boy enthusiasm he brings to the game. Maybe then, we will admit something we are not willing to admit just yet, that Favre is the last of the gunslinger quarterbacks, and that those who will replace him will never do justice to the position. God speed Brett Favre. Thanks for reminding us of what a quarterback is suppose to look like.

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