What people were saying about Packers quarterback Brett Favre after he retired on Tuesday:
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"He said it was time for him to hang up the cleats." - Packers coach Mike McCarthy.
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"Brett's career accomplishments will be measured among the greats of the game for the balance of time. He truly was as gifted a player as I have ever seen." - Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren.
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"Nobody pushed Brett Favre out the door, but then nobody encouraged him not to go out that door, either." - Favre's agent Bus Cook.
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"His accomplishments are legendary. And it's the passion with which he played that made everyone a Brett Favre fan." - Packers general manager Ted Thompson.
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"Brett Favre will always be remembered as one of the greatest players and fiercest competitors in NFL history. His long list of accomplishments both on and off the field is remarkable. Bretts talent, enthusiasm and love of the game helped him become the only player to earn three MVP awards and he was a vital part of bringing a Super Bowl championship back to Green Bay. It has been a joy and privilege for all of us to watch him play." - NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.
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"He played with such a great passion. He must have figured he no longer had that passion, and it was time to get out." - former Packers general manager Ron Wolf.
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"I think this announcement comes about 17 years too late and I don't know if I will completely believe it until Green Bay opens the season without No. 4 lining up under center. In all seriousness, no one has given more to our game than Brett Favre. There is no player I respect more." - Bears coach Lovie Smith.
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"His record for most consecutive starts will never be broken. It's one of the most amazing records in sports. I guarantee you, he gets an immense amount of respect from every quarterback in the NFL for that record." - Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer.
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"His style of play was as unique as it was effective. I admired his skills, his leadership, and especially his love for playing the game. You knew he was having fun when he played, and that made him fun to watch. He set the standard at the position for a long time." - Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo.
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"Brett Favre is one of the greatest quarterbacks in the history of professional football. You're judged by winning, and he's won more games than any other quarterback who has ever played." - Broncos coach Mike Shanahan.
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"He just felt like it was time to go out. He's been lucky. He's been injury free, and it's time to go out on top." - Brett Favre's brother, Scott Favre.
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"I think it's just his love for the game. I'm not sure that I've been around anybody who is 37 years old and is jumping on people and acting like he's 12. That's how he played every day." - Eagles coach Andy Reid
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"He was the prototypical gunslinger type. He's the type of guy where, 'Oh, what's he throwing into that crowd for?' But he had intuition, toughness, resilience. It helped to have a good cast around him, which he often did. Those are all qualities which good quarterbacks have." - Former Bills coach Marv Levy.
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"If people say to me, 'Who are the athletes you respect the most?' I would tell you that I respect Andre Agassi and Brett Favre the most because they were guys that played through pain, played through misery." - Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong.
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"I've said many times it's a lot easier to govern this state when the Packers are winning than when they're losing. And with Brett Favre, they have won a lot more than they have lost, and they have done it with great style." - Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle.
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"He certainly set a new standard for quarterbacks; in a few different ways. Statistically, certainly, durability, and he won a Super Bowl in there as well." - Eagles offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg.
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"What he has meant to Green Bay and that franchise and to the fans in Green Bay has been a tremendous rallying point throughout the 16 years he played there." - Giants coach Tom Coughlin.
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"It's an honor to have competed against Brett Favre in his last game. Brett is by far one of the best quarterbacks I have ever competed against." - Giants cornerback Corey Webster, who intercepted Favre's last pass.
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"If he decides this is the time, I hope he stands by it, spends some time with his family and enjoys life the way it's supposed to be. He's earned it." - former Bills quarterback Jim Kelly.
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