49ers Remember Favre

With Packers quarterback Brett Favre retiring, we thought we would get some thoughts from 49ers past and present on their memories of him. Here's a sampling and hopefully, I'll get some more as people call back throughout the day. Did anyone enjoy the game more than this guy?

Former NFL linebacker Gary Plummer:

"He was like a kid at recess playing sand lot football, which is such a stark contrast to what a great competitor he was, like running all the way down the field to pick up Donald Driver." Plummer told two stories about Favre:-We were playing them in the playoffs in '96. It was one of those days at Lambeau, cold, muddy, we were playing in slop and freezing rain. At one point, he was trying to get us to jump offside on fourth-and-short. The defensive linemen in front of me, were just about to jump on his hard count. So I had to literally get behind them and grab them by the butt so they wouldn't jump. Favre saw me doing this and started cracking up. He was laughing so hard, he had to call time out because the clock was running down. -The year before, we're playing him in the playoffs again, and he threw a ball 30 yards to Keith Jackson from his knees. It was unbelievable. He's sliding on his knees to his left and completes the pass. Impossible throw.

49ers quarterback Trent Dilfer:

"I've said many times, he was the best quarterback to ever play the game. Everyone who plays football is competitive, but he had a competitive greatness. If he was a little faster, he would have been a linebacker, a little stronger he could have been an offensive linemen, a little quicker he could have been a corner. His toughness was unparalleled, just look at his consecutive start streak. "He meant a lot to me personally. The quarterback fraternity used to be a lot closer and at dinners and outings, he really reached out to me and my wife. It meant so much to me that he would do that to young, little arrogant quarterback." Dilfer told this story about Favre: It was 1997 and we (Dilfer was with the Buccaneers then) are playing a nationally televised game at Lambeau Field. It's a huge game for me and for the franchise. We hadn't beaten them there in a long time (since '89). I took the team down and scored a touchdown in three plays to take the lead with 52 seconds left. I had a 35-yard scramble on the drive, we scored on the road in front of a big crowd, on national television. The drive was everything you wanted from a quarterback.
We had a really good defense, so I think we've won. Then Favre comes back and he throws the winning toe-tapping touchdown to Antonio Freeman at the back of the end zone with no time left. We had a blitz on, and Warren Sapp and Derrick Brooks are right in his face and he got the ball off anyway. You know they talk about spygate, but the Packers knew exactly what kind of blitz we were going to run in that situation. It was the most crushing defeat I ever experienced, and I've had a lot of them.

Chargers Linebacker and former 49er Derek Smith:
What stands out for you with Favre: "The sack he gave Michael Strahan (to get the record for most sacks in a season). He has respect for the game and respect for another great player. He's a gambler and a slinger."

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