We are now at T-minus 13 days and counting till the next meeting of Packers shareholders at Lambeau Field, and my guess is it might be a tough room to work for team CEO Mark Murphy and GM Ted Thompson.

Or not. Maybe by then a white puff of smoke will curl from the chimney of Brett Favre's home in Hattiesburg, Miss., and he'll appear on the front porch to announce he's really, really, really retiring from pro football, no misgivings or fingers crossed behind his back.

And Murphy and Thompson will be off the hook.

Where they ought to be.

It's a dicey moment up in Packers country. Four months ago, Favre held a news conference at Lambeau Field at which he announced his retirement before adding, "but I know I can still play." Two and a half weeks ago, during a promotional appearance at William and Mary, Favre took note of speculation he'd fudge on withdrawal and said, "Meanwhile, I'll be on a tractor or something like that."

The something-like-that part apparently to include flinging around passes (to Mississippi schoolboys) and hints and generally driving Cheesehead Nation and the Packers brain trust nuts.

Which brings us back to Messrs. Murphy and Thompson, who are being sized for tar, feathers and nooses by various cheesies from Milwaukee to Menomonie who'd hold them accountable if a certain iconic quarterback is dissed or driven into exile. Or, God forbid, is chased to the Bears or Vikings.

Look, I love Brett Favre. You love Brett Favre. We all love Brett Favre. We love it when he squiggles around in the backfield, dodging heat-seeking rushers until he heaves a missile off his back foot that zings to a wideout streaking toward the goal line. We love it when he flips one of those underhanded improv jobs while being planted by a 600-pound tackle. We love it when he flashes that grin and punches air with his right fist after completing another TD pass.

We love his passion, his kid-on-a-sandlot zeal that makes you forget he's 38 and a football geezer.

But enough already.

Favre made his teary farewell in March. If he wants to change his mind, that's his business. But if the Packers are committed now to Aaron Rodgers taking snaps, that's their business. Murphy and Thompson aren't callous idiots, as some would portray them. They run a football team. And they're doing it quite nicely, with or without Brett Favre.

With him, some argue, the Pack has a better shot at the Super Bowl than it does with Rodgers. Well, you know, that depends. If Favre is the Favre of 2007, when he completed 66.5 percent of his passes for 28 touchdowns against 15 interceptions and took a modest 15 sacks, then, yeah, he's a sounder bet than Rodgers to steer the Packers to Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa.

But what if he's the Favre of 2005 and 2006? That's the Favre who threw for 38 TDs vs. 47 interceptions, was sacked 45 times and wound up with two of the puniest quarterback ratings of his career. The Pack went 4-12 and 8-8 and sat out the playoffs. True, its roster is more imposing now. But its Hall of Fame (and, umm, retired) quarterback will be 39 in October -- and you just never know.

"I keep going back to his retirement announcement and how sincere and heartfelt that was," Murphy told reporters the other day. "I think it's pretty reasonable that, as an organization, we're going to move on."

As it should.
Contact Bob Lipper at (804) 649-6555 or blipper@timesdispatch.com.