Sometimes asking basic questions can be scary. A question that is too simple can be misrepresented as dumb, and often can be cause for ridicule. But those who never ask never learn, which is likely what happened with Brett Favre, as he did not learn what a 'Nickel Defense' was until several years into his NFL career.
A nickel defense is a defensive formation which uses five defensive backs.
Did he really not know?
The nickel formation is usually something players learn from a very early age, as it is one of the most fundamental pieces of knowledge one can have about defensive alignments.
Despite being the son of a coach and playing football for many years before making it to the NFL, Favre did not know this information.
"If you don't know what is going on, the trick is to act like you do," Favre said at a coaching clinic at LSU. This 'fake it until you make it' attitude put the future Hall of Fame quarterback in the awkward position of not knowing what a nickel defense was until he was already a couple years into starting for the Packers.
"It was the first time I had been around anybody that just kind of winged it," former Packers backup quarterback, Ty Detmer told the TheBigLead.
This style of 'winging it' is extremely rare at an elite level, especially as a starting quarterback in the NFL.
The lack of memorization and Favre's style is in stark contrast with other successful quarterbacks like Tom Brady who make a living off of assessing and diagnosing defenses.
Detmer told CBS that Favre was never great at memorizing formations. "He was a genuine guy that loved playing the game," Detmer said to TheBigLead, "but he didn't really put a ton of time into it."
When did he finally ask?
After hearing the coach talk about the nickel defense and have chalkboard sessions on it, Favre finally decided to ask the question.
Though Favre did not address it with a head coach, but instead with the Detmer, the backup.
Detmer initially questioned whether or not Favre was confused or just messing with him, but came to the realization that Favre's concern was serious. "He was sincere in asking," Detmer said to TheBigLead. Upon learning and understanding how basic of a concept the nickel formation was, Favre initially was puzzled as to why it mattered.
Detmer claims that Favre struggled quite a bit in his early years matching offensive plays to their formations as well. Yet that did not seem to hinder the future Super Bowl champion as much as it probably should have, or as much as one would expect it to. Favre went on to obviously have a Hall of Fame career.
