Heatherthepackgirl
16 years ago
By Tom Pedulla, USA TODAY
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. As Brett Favre sought to identify the greatest challenge he has ever faced, he could not help but reflect on all of the obstacles he has overcome in building a storied, 18-year NFL career.

Was his greatest test the summer of 1990, when he was involved in a horrific car crash and willed his way back into the Southern Mississippi lineup one month after having 30 inches of his intestines removed?

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Was it 1992, when he needed to prove that he was worth the first-round draft choice the Green Bay Packers used to obtain him from the Atlanta Falcons and responded by becoming the youngest quarterback to play in the Pro Bowl at 23?

Was it the end of the 1996 season, when he responded to the enormity of the Super Bowl by firing a 54-yard touchdown pass to Andre Rison on a first-throw audible and went on to lead Green Bay to a rousing 35-21 win vs. the New England Patriots?


No, Favre decided, it was none of those. He settled instead on the here and now. He focused on the expectation that, at 39, he can help the New York Jets to soar in what might be an all-or-nothing, one-year stop before he retires once and for all.

"I think it is probably the toughest challenge up to this point," he says.

Heck, he'd barely left Green Bay, had yet to throw his first pass in a different shade of green, when he was presented the keys to New York at City Hall. That's pressure.

But it is typical of laid-back Favre that he hasn't blinked.

Of greater significance, the Jets showed grit they lacked in past years when they ventured to New England and emerged with a 34-31 overtime decision Nov. 13 and followed it up by handing the Tennessee Titans their first loss Sunday.

Favre is not at all content at having helped to transform a 4-12 team into 8-3 AFC East leaders and a Super Bowl contender. "Believe me," he says, "we can get a lot better."

As carefree as the league's only three-time MVP acts, as quick as he is to smile and joke with teammates, the competitive fires that caused him to unretire burn brightly. For many reasons, Favre is exactly what the Jets needed as he commands an offense that averages 29.4 points, second in the league.

"He's got a great way about him at the games, that poise, that confidence, all those things," says Jets coach Eric Mangini. "But during the course of the week, he's also got a very good personality in the sense that he can be focused, get his work done, but keep the group light, keep practice fun, keep the guys excited about each day. He's got that passion for football, that love of the game, that is very contagious."

Favre possesses what few quarterbacks have ever had supreme confidence developed by succeeding for almost two decades.

And that quality helped make the difference in New England.

"Same old Jets!" Patriots fans chanted gleefully after their team forced overtime two weeks ago after trailing 24-6. "Same old Jets!"

But New York won the coin toss to begin overtime and Favre, sensing doubt on the sideline and in the huddle, took over. "The first thing he said," says running back Leon Washington, "is he assured us that we were going to go down there and put points on the board."

And so they did. A precise drive of 64 yards in 14 plays led to a nerveless 34-yard field goal by Jay Feely that rocked the AFC East, if not the NFL. "We know what we're going to get from Brett. He's going to go out and leave it all on the field," says receiver Jerricho Cotchery. "He's going to have fun, and we have to feed off of him."

Despite the ongoing process to learn a new offense, despite the struggle to keep his body together amid whispers that he has a sore arm, Favre continues to prove he can still compete at a high level, completing a league-best 70.6% of his passes for 2,461 yards, 20 touchdowns and 13 interceptions, also an NFL high.

Favre acknowledges that age, when combined with years of pounding, will undoubtedly cause his performance to eventually fall off. "I don't know when that point will be," he says, adding that he will not contemplate whether he will play next year until he has devoted all of his effort to this season.

New York, with an eye toward selling suites, personal seat licenses and corporate sponsorships as it prepares to enter a new stadium, had taken dramatic steps to improve the club even before Favre suddenly became available. The Jets devoted $140 million to player acquisitions before Favre came aboard in August.

That investment, on both sides of the ball, is being rewarded.

It helps, too, that Favre has a much bigger arm than Chad Pennington, his predecessor. "When you have a quarterback who can throw the ball downfield, they have to respect that," says AFC rushing leader Thomas Jones. "You don't have to worry about nine guys in the box."

Same old Jets? Don't think so.

KEYS TO JETS' CONTINUED SUCCESS

Good gambles by Favre: Quarterback Brett Favre is the career leader in touchdown passes (462), but there is a significant "but" with him. He's also thrown more interceptions (301) than anyone else in NFL history. While he's renowned as a gambler, there are some balls during the course of his career that should have never left his hand. Even a few ill-advised throws could dash this team's hopes at some critical juncture.

Run, Thomas, run: Top tailback Thomas Jones leads the AFC and ranks fourth overall with 950 rushing yards this season. Now in his second season in New York, the Jets have never lost in the nine games in which he scored a touchdown either rushing or receiving. That's hardly a coincidence.

Special special teams: Special-teams coach Mike Westhoff is as good as they come. The Jets have returned an NFL-high 11 kickoffs for touchdowns since 2002. This oft-overlooked aspect of the game can be a real difference-maker. Even when special teams don't produce points, field position is huge. To that end, return-man extraordinaire Leon Washington is fifth in the league in kickoff returns (28.8-yard average) and sixth in punt returns (12.1).

Keep stuffing the run: New York is not always viewed as one of the top teams at stopping the run, but it is; the 78 rushing yards the Jets allow a game rank third in the NFL. Of greater significance, they are perfect through seven games in which they held the opposition to fewer than 100 yards on the ground.

Withstand adversity: Past editions of the Jets didn't always react well when adversity struck, leading fans to complain they were the "same old Jets." There has been a different feeling around this team since laid-back Favre arrived. It will be interesting to see if those good vibrations continue in the big games ahead.
Heathiee
longtimefan
16 years ago
just a month ago this team was set to take on everyone
Pack93z
16 years ago
Should of.. would of... whatever...

We could drag up 100 articles on the Packers up to about week 8 about how good we are..

They collapsed.. so did Tampa.. so did the Bears.. so did we.. so did the Cards.. so did the Cowboys.. so did the Redskins..

Tampa and the Boys probably collapsed harder than the Jets..
"The oranges are dry; the apples are mealy; and the papayas... I don't know what's going on with the papayas!"
Nonstopdrivel
16 years ago

Good gambles by Favre: Quarterback Brett Favre is the career leader in touchdown passes (462), but there is a significant "but" with him. He's also thrown more interceptions (301) than anyone else in NFL history.

"Heatherthepackgirl" wrote:



He ended the season with 464 and 310, respectively.

5:3 career TD:INT ratio. Ouch.
UserPostedImage
zombieslayer
16 years ago

Should of.. would of... whatever...

We could drag up 100 articles on the Packers up to about week 8 about how good we are..

They collapsed.. so did Tampa.. so did the Bears.. so did we.. so did the Cards.. so did the Cowboys.. so did the Redskins..

Tampa and the Boys probably collapsed harder than the Jets..

"pack93z" wrote:



Heh. Now, THAT would be an interesting debate - whose fans have it worse.

Buc fans, Cow fans, or Jets fans. Who collapsed the hardest this year?

Wasn't there a time in '08 when the Cow O looked completely unstoppable?

EDIT: Never mind. This is such a non-issue. If anyone says it's harder to be a fan of their team than being a fan of the Lions, then they need to be slapped upside the head.
My man Donald Driver
UserPostedImage
(thanks to Pack93z for the pic)
2010 will be seen as the beginning of the new Packers dynasty. 🇹🇹 🇲🇲 🇦🇷
Cheesey
16 years ago
The only difference is: The Lions are never expected to do anything, the Jets were expected to at LEAST make the playoffs.

We were 5-5 at one point, and collapsed too.
UserPostedImage
Fan Shout
Zero2Cool (14-Feb) : Packers are hiring Luke Getsy as senior offensive assistant.
Martha Careful (12-Feb) : I would love to have them both, esp. Crosby, but either might be too expensive.
Zero2Cool (12-Feb) : Keisean Nixon is trying to get Maxx Crosby and Davante Adams lol
Mucky Tundra (11-Feb) : Yeah where did it go?
packerfanoutwest (11-Feb) : or did you resctrict access to that topic?
packerfanoutwest (11-Feb) : why did you remove the Playoff topic?
Zero2Cool (10-Feb) : Tua’s old DC won a Super Bowl Year 1 with Tua’s former backup
Mucky Tundra (10-Feb) : *winning MVP
Mucky Tundra (10-Feb) : Funny observation I've heard: Carson Wentz was on the sideline for both Eagles Super Bowl wins w/guys supposed to be his back up winning
Zero2Cool (10-Feb) : NFL thought it would get more attention week preceding Super Bowl.
Zero2Cool (10-Feb) : Yes, the Pro Bowl. It was played Sunday before Super Bowl from 2010-2022
packerfanoutwest (10-Feb) : pro bowl
Zero2Cool (10-Feb) : From 2010 to 2022, it was played on the Sunday before the Super Bowl
Zero2Cool (10-Feb) : They moved it to the BYE week before Super Bowl several years ago.
packerfanoutwest (10-Feb) : it was always after the SB.....
beast (10-Feb) : Though I stop following pro bowl years ago
beast (10-Feb) : I thought the pro game was before the Super Bowl?
packerfanoutwest (10-Feb) : ok now for the Pro Bowl Game in Hawaii
TheKanataThrilla (10-Feb) : If I was Philly I would try to end it instead of punting it
Mucky Tundra (10-Feb) : VICTORY! We have (moral) victory!
TheKanataThrilla (10-Feb) : Hey they mentioned that we 3-peted
Mucky Tundra (10-Feb) : seems to me the 49ers should have traded Aiyuk when they had the chance
Mucky Tundra (10-Feb) : if the Eagles get it down to the 1, do they Tush Push or give it to Barkley?
TheKanataThrilla (10-Feb) : 49ers have a money problem if they want to sign their QB
Mucky Tundra (10-Feb) : Wait for real? Didn't he just get an extension two years ago?
Zero2Cool (10-Feb) : 49ers gonna trade Deebo. Interesting
TheKanataThrilla (10-Feb) : Replays always never seem to show the holdings
TheKanataThrilla (10-Feb) : Great throw by Hurts
Mucky Tundra (10-Feb) : Where Carter falls prey to bad off the field influences (to be clear, not saying he'd clip someone though)
Mucky Tundra (10-Feb) : Had Carter not gone to Philly were they already had a lot of old college friends, he ends up in a similar spot to Aaron Hernandez
Mucky Tundra (10-Feb) : I think some of his coaches told scouts to stay away
Mucky Tundra (10-Feb) : the street racing incident+conditioning and motivation problems
beast (10-Feb) : Then Carter was street racing, where the other car crashed and people died... and other teams were scared to pick Carter for some reason
beast (10-Feb) : I think the Saints traded up, giving their next year 1st to the Eagles, and then they sucked and Eagles got the 10th overall pick
packerfanoutwest (10-Feb) : wtf Barkley?
TheKanataThrilla (10-Feb) : Getting Carter and Nolan Smith in the first round in 2023 was pretty darn good
Mucky Tundra (10-Feb) : for some reason i'm thinking of a draft where the Eagles where in the mid 20s and a top player fell all the way to them
TheKanataThrilla (10-Feb) : I think so. I would need to look it up. Think it may have been Carolina's pick.
Mucky Tundra (10-Feb) : i'm not sure who i'm thinking of now
Mucky Tundra (10-Feb) : oh fuck me i messed that up
Zero2Cool (10-Feb) : Jordan Davis was 13th overall
Zero2Cool (10-Feb) : Carter was 9th overall
Zero2Cool (10-Feb) : Eagles had 15th and 10th selections, moved to 13 and 9 to get Davis and Carter back to back
Zero2Cool (10-Feb) : Eagles traded up for Carter, didn't they?
Mucky Tundra (10-Feb) : Obviously he was a huge risk but getting a top 5 talent on the dline in the mid 20s is fortuitous
Mucky Tundra (10-Feb) : Jalen Carter falling into their lap certainly helps
TheKanataThrilla (10-Feb) : And we could only wish to have this type of D
TheKanataThrilla (10-Feb) : It's not like Philly has had low draft picks, but has managed to get themselves a top notch pass rush. We spend so much draft capital of D
packerfanoutwest (10-Feb) : another crap halftime show
TheKanataThrilla (10-Feb) : I think it is over, but then I think of Atlanta and want Philly to go in with the same intensity in the second half
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