Former stars offer Favre advice

John Elway has a message for Brett Favre: Just do it.

“If he decides not to play now and doesn’t come back, I think he’ll question that for the rest of his life,” the retired Denver Broncos star said.

Joe Montana has a message for Favre too: Just do something.

“If he’s ready to play, then yeah, he should,” Montana said. “But usually when you’re waffling like that it makes it difficult on everybody. … If it was the first time he’s done it, it would be different. But we’ve seen it already, and here we go again. I’m sure that’s all (the Minnesota Vikings) are thinking about.”

The two Hall of Fame quarterbacks weighed in on the Favre situation Friday while warming up for the Madden NFL 10 Pigskin Pro-Am, a celebrity flag-football game in Malibu, Calif.

The latest reports indicate Favre is still torn over whether to return, and that he will make a decision before the Vikings report to training camp Thursday.

He has said the decision hinges on how his surgically repaired throwing arm feels.

Elway, who retired in 1999 after leading the Broncos to consecutive Super Bowl victories, said the desire to come back isn’t easy to suppress.

“You always think mentally you can play,” he said. “It’s just a matter of whether you can do it physically. My last year, I got beat up quite a bit. I pulled a hamstring and hurt some ribs, and it just never heals. That’s when I knew that I could probably come back and play, but could I come back and play a 16-game schedule, get into the playoffs, play three more games and win a Super Bowl and stay healthy? I didn’t think I could do that anymore.”

Like Favre, Elway sustained an injury to the biceps on his throwing arm that required surgery. In 1997, Elway suffered a ruptured tendon, and his biceps looks like an apple with a huge bite taken out of it. Broncos doctors said at the time of the surgery that there was little necessary biceps function involved when Elway threw the ball, a motion far more reliant on his triceps. His Super Bowl victories came after the injury.

Elway, in turn, said Favre should be fine – and even better if his pain has been alleviated.

“With his shoulder, if they released that biceps tendon and cut it, his arm is going to feel great,” he said. “I popped mine two years before (retirement), and as soon as I popped it, it was great. What I heard is he had the same type thing. If he did, then his arm is going to be fine.”

The way Elway sees it, Favre has the chance of a lifetime: to play in an offensive system he knows well, with Adrian Peterson at running back, and an outstanding defense.

“I think it’s perfect,” Elway said. “I think he’ll be back. The big question is, even though he’s played in 300 straight games (291 consecutive starts, including playoffs), is whether he can hang into there physically or not.”

Montana understands that. He had surgery on his throwing elbow, and complications arose when doctors nicked a nerve when removing a staple from the area. That made the last two fingers on his throwing hand lose feeling, something that took him two years to overcome.

What Favre needs, Montana said, is to be absolutely sure he wants to come back before he steps back onto the field.

“If you’re not into it mentally, it’s really tough to get there,” Montana said.