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Brett Favre admits he didn't know what a nickel defense was: 'Who gives a s--t?'

Pierre DuCharme / REUTERS

Brett Favre was never known for his studious football habits or for being conventional in his preparation for a game.

However, the Hall-of-Famer admitted recently that his knowledge of football terminology early in his career was even worse than suspected.

"I think it was my second year in Green Bay and we'd drafted Ty Detmer, a good friend of mine," Favre said, according to Katherine Terrell of NOLA.com. "Now if you don't know what's going on, the trick is to act like you do. I'm the starting quarterback and (Packers coach Mike) Holmgren would be up there and ... he's writing 'nickel defense is in.' ... I'm sitting there and thinking, 'I hear this nickel defense all the time and I'm not sure what it is.'

"Then I'm thrown for a loop when (Holmgren) says, 'Long yardage situation, dime comes in.' And I’m thinking, 'What the hell is dime?' ... but I was afraid to ask, because I'm the starter. So after about our second year, finally I said, 'Ty, I have to ask you a question.' I said, 'Ty, what's a nickel defense?' He gets real quiet and says, 'Are you serious?' I said, 'Yeah, I'm serious.' He says, 'Well, basically they take out a linebacker and bring in a DB.' I said, 'That’s it?' He said, 'That’s it.' I said 'Who gives a s--t?'"

Favre's casual approach to the game irked many purists during his near two-decade career, but his child-like enthusiasm and backyard style of play made him one of the most entertaining players to ever step foot onto an NFL field.

Not knowing the difference between nickel and dime defenses didn't stop Favre from retiring with nearly every significant passing record.

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