Brett Favre speaks to Eagles on eve of Super Bowl LII

Brett Favre said he kept his message to Philadelphia Eagles players "lighthearted and fun" when he addressed them Saturday on the eve of Super Bowl LII.

But he also got serious when he spoke of what it will take to beat NFL MVP Tom Brady, coach Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots come Sunday night.

"We know the Patriots. They're a tremendous team. Their quarterback is the greatest to ever play. Bill Belichick is the greatest coach to ever coach. You know what they're about," Favre told NBC Sports Philadelphia of his speech. "They're going to play the whole game. Don't ever say -- kinda like last year, 'We have it won and we're going to go to the drive-thru.' That's not a good idea."

Favre, of course, was referencing Super Bowl LI, when the Atlanta Falcons built a 28-3 lead against the Patriots, only to lose in overtime 34-28.

Eagles coach Doug Pederson had said earlier this week that Favre would meet with his players at the team hotel Saturday morning.Pederson and Favre were teammates on the 1996 Green Bay Packers team that defeated New England in Super Bowl XXXI. The coach raised some eyebrows this summer by saying this current Eagles team had as much talent -- if not more -- than that Packers squad, which boasted Hall of Famers such as Favre and Reggie White.

"Doug and I go way back. Dear friends, hunting buddies, golfing buddies; we were teammates for almost 10 years," Favre said. "My success as an NFL player is in part because of our connection and friendship. He was kind of like my second eyes, and I trusted him tremendously. So when Doug asked me, I sorta laughed. But when I realized he was serious, I was honored. And like I told the guys today, I said, 'Look, I'm not gonna tell you anything you don't know, you haven't already heard.

"I congratulated them on the year they've had; it's a wonderful year. And just encouraged them to enjoy the moment. You think you're always going to come back after you've gotten a chance to go, but it's such an honor to play in the Super Bowl. And to just embrace that. And I said to them, 'This is probably something I should have told you two weeks ago, but this is the longest two weeks of your life, and this is going to be the longest 24 hours-plus of your life. The game, at this point, cannot get here quick enough. But it's going to slow down even more."

Information from ESPN's Tim McManus was used in this report.