
Last week, retired Packers legend Brett Favre said he was surprised that it took current Packers legend Aaron Rodgers "so long" to win a Super Bowl, because of all the talent on Green Bay's roster.
This did not go over well -- current teammates of Rodgers' lept to his defense, and most of the media chastised Favre for refusing to fade quietly away from the spotlight.
Favre, for his part, now says he's "surprised" at the reaction that his comments caused.
"Nothing, for the most part, surprises me anymore," Favre told USA Today's Jon Saraceno. "But I have to admit [the reaction to] this one surprised me."
This is somewhat understandable, given that Favre did have lots of nice things to say about Rodgers and the as-currently-constructed Packers roster.
"It is very [infrequent] when I do interviews," Favre said. "I was very gracious and complimentary of the Packers and Aaron Rodgers."
Again, this is true. However, Favre left the door open for criticism with the way he phrased his words. Had he said, "I knew that Rodgers would win one sooner or later," we wouldn't be talking about this.
But Favre didn't do that. He used the phrase "fell into a good situation" to describe where Rodgers ended up, which is the very definition of a backhanded compliment, especially when, to paraphrase Packers wideout Greg Jennings, Favre couldn't win a Super Bowl with the same roster.
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