Phil Simms on Favre, NFL Lockout and Predictions

As we get closer to the Super Bowl, who better than NFL analyst Phil Simms of CBS Sports to help us look ahead at the games this weekend.

The first order of business was to talk about Brett Farve's retirement plans.

Asked if this is really it for Favre, Simms told "The Early Show" co-anchor Chris Wragge, "I believe him this time. I think he wanted to retire last year, but his teammates came down and I think all players are sentimental."

For Favre, "it was rough year," Simms added.

"The flip side, he's been involved in an off-the-field scandal. And I've got to believe that takes its toll on people. Do you think that it diminishes his legacy at all?" Wragge asked.

"I think in time people will just think about how exciting he was, how daring he was. The 'every man.' That's why everybody liked him. He never put on a tie, he always looked scruffy and he was one of the guys. And I think when it's all said and done, we'll just say he was a tremendous player and he had a great throwing arm," Simms said.

"You had the opportunity to see the Jets and Patriots this past weekend. A lot of trash talking going on in the run up to that game. Even Roger Goodell had to tell the teams, 'Look, this is diminishing what the NFL is all about,'" Wragge remarked.

"Sure. I think he did the right thing. I look at that just like I did celebrating. Everybody goes 'Let them have fun in the end zone.' The problem is, where does it end?" Simms asked. "Used to be if you trash talked, it was a your unique thing. Now everyone is doing it."

When Wragge pointed out that some have started calling the NFL the "No Fun League" and asked where Simms draws the line, he said, "If it's the 'no fun league,' how come so many people are watching it? You just got to be careful because you have to draw lines because then it becomes just like penalties. It is or it isn't, so you have to draw the line so it doesn't get out of hand. And we know everything truly does filter down, so the trash talking, if it gets out of hand, the next thing we'll see is college football and then high school. You even see it in youth football."

Asked if an NFL labor dispute will lead to a lockout, Simms predicted, "I hope not, but sometimes when you're in charge of an organization, you think strike is the only way you get attention. I would say there will be some kind of lockout, I just hope it doesn't last long."

Simms also talked about the FedEx Air & Ground NFL Players of the Year awards. This year's nominees include Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Jamaal Charles and Arian Foster. Fans can vote for their winners at FedEx.com until next Friday.

Asked what he thinks about the upcoming Jets and Steelers game, Simms predicted, "I don't think we'll hear the trash talking this week because they're not heated rivals like the Jets and Patriots were. It's going to be an exciting game and I think it will be different in this day and age where we watch it and everybody says we want a lot of scores. There's not going to be a lot of scoring. It's about the defenses. I love it when the defenses are tough."