Have the media and fans been too hard on Brett Favre lately?

That's the perception around the league and, judging by some of the e-mails I receive from the fans, I'm as guilty as anyone.

Here's the difference: My knocks on Favre are as a player. I don't care if he called the Detroit Lions and gave them game-plan help. That happens a lot. Believe me. Players talk to opposing coaches and opposing coaching staffs talk to other staffs.

Give Tyler Thigpen credit for outplaying a future Hall of Famer. (AP)

It happens -- even if it's not supposed to happen.

My beef with Favre is the trade. When the New York Jets made the deal to get Favre, I questioned it.

The Jets fans lit me up.

Now they're the ones booing Favre.

Still think he's getting you to a Super Bowl?

I don't think so. Not the way he played Sunday. Favre was terrible against the Kansas City Chiefs. He threw three interceptions, with two of them awful throws, one returned for a touchdown by Brandon Flowers.

Favre did lead the Jets to the game-winning score in their 28-24 victory, but his bad play was the reason the Chiefs were even in the game.

On Flowers' second pick, Favre made a bad read. He didn't anticipate Flowers jumping inside the receiver and he threw it right into his stomach. If Flowers didn't get it, safety Bernard Pollard might have.

The amazing thing is the announcers on the broadcast almost seemed to be blaming the receiver for letting Flowers get inside.

Please.

In seven games, Favre has thrown 11 interceptions, which is four fewer than he threw all of last season with the Packers. He has also lost two fumbles and been sacked 15 times, one fewer than 2007 with Green Bay.

Is the magic gone?

One has to wonder.

The close game made me do something different in my grades. I'm giving the Chiefs a better grade than the Jets, even though they lost.

Don't agree with it? Blame Brett.

Oh, wait. We're too hard on him. I forgot.

Sunday, Oct. 26, 2008
Philadelphia Eagles 27, Atlanta Falcons 14		Prev. Grade	GPA
B-	Eagles: Brian Westbrook had a huge day running it with 167 yards and the defense had two huge picks in the end zone. The passing game never really got going. The blown call on the muffed punt late locked it up.	B+	2.83
C	Falcons: They showed they could be feisty each and every Sunday. Coming out of the bye, they played the Eagles even for much of the game. Matt Ryan's two picks in the end zone were killers. The run defense wasn't good.	A	2.80
Kansas City Chiefs 24, NY Jets 28		Prev. Grade	GPA
B	Chiefs: It's hard to give a team credit for losing, but they deserve a better grade than the Jets. They battled all day long and the defense had three picks and the one for a score to go up late. Tyler Thigpen was solid at quarterback.	F	1.53
C	Jets: They got away with one. Brett Favre was terrible. He threw three picks, one returned for a touchdown. He did rally the Jets, but if they had lost, this was on him. Leon Washington had a nice day, scoring two touchdowns. The defense didn't play that well.	C	2.28
New Orleans Saints 37, San Diego Chargers 32		Prev. Grade	GPA
B	Saints: Drew Brees played pitch-and-catch against the San Diego defense. He was 30-of-41 for 339 yards and three scores. Wow. The Saints defense made it interesting because they couldn't stop San Diego.	D	2.46
C-	Chargers: It's hard to believe that is the San Diego defense we're watching. They can't stop anybody. When you have 451 yards of offense and lose, that's bad. Philip Rivers kept them in the game.	C-	2.20
New England Patriots 23, St. Louis Rams 16		Prev. Grade	GPA
B-	Patriots: It wasn't pretty but they'll take it. Without their top three backs, they turned to Kevin Faulk, who had a nice day, including catching the winning touchdown pass. The defense had too many lapses. Deltha O'Neal did have the game-saving pick.	A	2.63
C	Rams: They battled, despite being without Steven Jackson. Marc Bulger had a nice day, except for the late-game pick. The defense played a decent game, but wilted late.	A+	1.81
Miami Dolphins 25, Buffalo Bills 16		Prev. Grade	GPA
B+	Dolphins: Chad Pennington had a big day, throwing for 314 yards and a touchdown. And what got into Ted Ginn? He had 175 receiving yards. The defense made some big plays in the fourth quarter.	C	2.43
C-	Bills: They made too many mistakes on offense in crunch time. Trent Edwards lost a fumble, had a pick and a safety late. Ouch. The secondary had a rough go of it.	B+	2.66
Washington Redskins 25, Detroit Lions 17		Prev. Grade	GPA
B	Redskins: Jason Campbell did a nice job throwing the ball, but the big play came from Santana Moss when he ripped off an 80-yard punt return for a score in the fourth quarter. Oh, he also had nine catches.	B-	2.67
D	Lions: Their defense, which has been a trouble spot all year, couldn't stop the Redskins. The special-teams flop was a killer. Dan Orlovsky did play better in the second half.	C-	1.20
Dallas Cowboys 13, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9		Prev. Grade	GPA
B	Cowboys: Looking at the numbers, it's hard to believe they won this one. They had 172 yards of offense. Give this one to the defense. The run defense set the tone as they shut down the Bucs there.	F	2.62
C	Buccaneers: They moved the ball a little through the air, but couldn't cash in with touchdowns. The running game was nonexistent. A good defensive effort went to waste.	B+	2.71
Carolina Panthers 27, Arizona Cardinals 23		Prev. Grade	GPA
B+	Panthers: After a slow start, they came alive in the third quarter with 21 points. Steve Smith made two big plays for touchdowns and the defense forced two turnovers in the second half. DeAngelo Williams ran it well.	A	2.99
C	Cardinals: Kurt Warner had a good day, but the pick late, which went off J.J. Arrington's hands, was a killer in the end zone. The defense played good for a half, but then fell apart in the second half. This is one they should have had.	B+	2.76
Baltimore Ravens 29, Oakland Raiders 10		Prev. Grade	GPA
B+	Ravens: The defense dominated in this one. They limited the Raiders to 35 first-half yards and had four sacks and a safety on the day. The offense didn't have to do much, but they did unveil their new single-wing offense with Troy Smith at quarterback.	B+	2.33
D	Raiders: The offense was nonexistent. They have to get more from JaMarcus Russell and the passing game. The defense was on the field way too much and played OK.	B	1.57
Houston Texans 35, Cincinnati Bengals 6		Prev. Grade	GPA
A	Texans: Matt Schaub had another big day, hitting 24-of-28 for 280 yards and three touchdowns. Andre Johnson had another big day. Jacoby Jones' punt return for a touchdown set the tone. The defense stifled the Bengals.	B	1.96
F	Bengals: It was bad again. They didn't do much on offense, didn't stop the Texans at all and struggled on special teams. Ryan Fitzpatrick just can't get it done at quarterback. It's going to be a long season.	D	1.35
Cleveland Browns 23, Jacksonville Jaguars 17		Prev. Grade	GPA
B+	Browns: They made some big special-teams plays to help win this one, including a blocked field goal and a forced fumble on a kickoff. Derek Anderson had a good day throwing it and Jamal Lewis pounded it inside for 81 yards. The defense bent, but made some big stops.	C	2.14
D	Jaguars: They just seem off. The special teams let them down. The running game is nonexistent and they still don't pressure the quarterback. David Garrard had a good day, but he went three-and-out on the key drive late.	B+	2.10
Seattle Seahawks 34, San Francisco 49ers 13		Prev. Grade	GPA
B	Seahawks: Fullback Leonard Weaver turned two short passes into long touchdown receptions. That really helped Seneca Wallace. The defense had the biggest play with Josh Wilson's pick for a touchdown.	C-	1.87
F	49ers: It's embarrassing letting a fullback run wild like they did. J.T. O'Sullivan was benched for Shaun Hill, who moved the ball some. O'Sullivan had two fumbles and the pick. He just doesn't take care of the ball.	C-	1.92
NY Giants 21, Pittsburgh Steelers 14		Prev. Grade	GPA
B	Giants: This was a day for the defense. They had four picks of Ben Roethlisberger and got after him all day long, getting four sacks. Mathias Kiwanuka had three of them. The offense didn't do much but had a big drive late to win it. They kept the Steelers to 1-for-15 on third and fourth downs.	A	2.96
C-	Steelers: When you don't keep drives alive, you don't win. When you don't protect the football, you don't win. The Steelers violated both rules, wasting a solid defensive effort. Losing deep snapper Greg Warren (knee) cost them two points and maybe the game.	B+	2.76
Monday, Oct. 27, 2008
Tennessee Titans 31, Indianapolis Colts 21		Prev. Grade	GPA
B+	Titans: Kerry Collins came up big in the second half throwing the ball. The run game wasn't as good as usual, so Collins had to respond. The key plays for the defense were two fourth-down stops.	A	3.37
C-	Colts: The offense, after a decent start, bogged down in the fourth quarter. Those two stops were killers. Two Peyton Manning interceptions also hurt. The pass defense had issues.	F	2.10