ScreaM
09-24-2008, 06:47 AM
Favre's future with Jets not looking so bright
Maybe Brett Favre in a New York Jets uniform is turning out exactly as some of us thought it might last August -- a lot of hype followed by little, if any, substance.
To be certain, it is one of the compelling stories in a young season already overflowing with them.
I'm just not convinced it will ever amount to much more than "interesting copy."
Face it. Monday night's game against San Diego was set up to be a watershed moment for Favre as a Jet -- when his impact, all $12 million worth, should have been felt. As difficult as it might have been to expect the Jets to travel across the country and win a game against an extremely desperate opponent that was clearly better than its 0-2 record indicated, there was still reason to believe they might do something memorable. The reason was Favre.
It was Monday night. It was the prime-time stage that he had owned for the better part of the past 16 seasons. As long as Favre had decided he should not stay retired, he was obligated to at least show that he could still perform at a level commensurate with his legend.
Instead, the man who never lost a game to the Chargers wasn't on par with his much younger counterpart, Philip Rivers. As a kid, Rivers owned a poster of Favre in a Green Bay Packers uniform -- the one Favre used to wear when he routinely won this sort of game that the Jets lost, 48-29.
Charged up
The Chargers finally got their first win of the season Monday night, beating Brett Favre and the Jets 48-29. This could be the start of big things for San Diego, says Steve Wyche. More ...
Favre finished with three touchdown throws, as many as Rivers had, and 271 passing yards. But the bulk of his positive numbers came late in the game, after the Chargers had built a comfortable lead and were conceding the middle of the field to the short and intermediate routes that Favre completed in a hopeless comeback attempt.
When the game was still a game, Favre was mostly inept. He threw a pair of terrible interceptions, one of which Antonio Cromartie returned for a touchdown, and had two would-be pickoffs that were dropped (including another that Cromartie easily would have returned for six).
Frankly, Favre looked much more than a year older than he was during that MVP-quality season in 2007. For the most part, he played the role of dinner for a Charger defensive front that generally got the better of him, especially when the game was close.
I don't want to hear about Favre's difficult transition in learning a new offense with which he has had limited exposure. He made bad reads and poor decisions. Throughout his career, he has been a quarterback who mainly relied on his instincts. Those instincts often let him down Monday night and they haven't exactly been good to him for the better part of the past three weeks.
If the problem truly is that Favre has yet to fully grasp the playbook of offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, then what are the Jets doing with him as their quarterback? Wasn't part of the benefit of having such a highly accomplished veteran that he could provide fairly instant production because of his wealth of knowledge? So far, Favre's contributions have been good enough to give the Jets a close win over the rebuilding Dolphins.
Some analysts say it will take many more weeks for Favre to find that comfort zone. The Jets had better hope that's wrong. By then, their season might very well be over.
Maybe Brett Favre in a New York Jets uniform is turning out exactly as some of us thought it might last August -- a lot of hype followed by little, if any, substance.
To be certain, it is one of the compelling stories in a young season already overflowing with them.
I'm just not convinced it will ever amount to much more than "interesting copy."
Face it. Monday night's game against San Diego was set up to be a watershed moment for Favre as a Jet -- when his impact, all $12 million worth, should have been felt. As difficult as it might have been to expect the Jets to travel across the country and win a game against an extremely desperate opponent that was clearly better than its 0-2 record indicated, there was still reason to believe they might do something memorable. The reason was Favre.
It was Monday night. It was the prime-time stage that he had owned for the better part of the past 16 seasons. As long as Favre had decided he should not stay retired, he was obligated to at least show that he could still perform at a level commensurate with his legend.
Instead, the man who never lost a game to the Chargers wasn't on par with his much younger counterpart, Philip Rivers. As a kid, Rivers owned a poster of Favre in a Green Bay Packers uniform -- the one Favre used to wear when he routinely won this sort of game that the Jets lost, 48-29.
Charged up
The Chargers finally got their first win of the season Monday night, beating Brett Favre and the Jets 48-29. This could be the start of big things for San Diego, says Steve Wyche. More ...
Favre finished with three touchdown throws, as many as Rivers had, and 271 passing yards. But the bulk of his positive numbers came late in the game, after the Chargers had built a comfortable lead and were conceding the middle of the field to the short and intermediate routes that Favre completed in a hopeless comeback attempt.
When the game was still a game, Favre was mostly inept. He threw a pair of terrible interceptions, one of which Antonio Cromartie returned for a touchdown, and had two would-be pickoffs that were dropped (including another that Cromartie easily would have returned for six).
Frankly, Favre looked much more than a year older than he was during that MVP-quality season in 2007. For the most part, he played the role of dinner for a Charger defensive front that generally got the better of him, especially when the game was close.
I don't want to hear about Favre's difficult transition in learning a new offense with which he has had limited exposure. He made bad reads and poor decisions. Throughout his career, he has been a quarterback who mainly relied on his instincts. Those instincts often let him down Monday night and they haven't exactly been good to him for the better part of the past three weeks.
If the problem truly is that Favre has yet to fully grasp the playbook of offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, then what are the Jets doing with him as their quarterback? Wasn't part of the benefit of having such a highly accomplished veteran that he could provide fairly instant production because of his wealth of knowledge? So far, Favre's contributions have been good enough to give the Jets a close win over the rebuilding Dolphins.
Some analysts say it will take many more weeks for Favre to find that comfort zone. The Jets had better hope that's wrong. By then, their season might very well be over.