It was interesting that Brett admitted his arm isn't what it use to be. He seems to have good speed on the intermediate pass but fails miserably on the deep ball. Some passes look better than others and I'm sure his mechanics which have never been good are factoring into it. I just wonder how much he has lost of his fastball.
If you watched mid-late 90s Packer games over again you'd quickly see the difference. He threw the ball so hard on intermediate passes over the middle it was ridiculous. Not that his arm is weak or anything now, but I just can't remember anyone throwing as hard as he used to.
Also he doesn't throw a whole lot of long balls these days so you'd have to assume some of the muscles specifically required for the long ball suffer from mild atrophy.
While he certainly doesn't throw the ball the way he did when he was in his prime (I don't know how anyone could expect him to), he still has a cannon and is still one of the stronger armed quarterbacks in the NFL. I don't know if anyone remembers it, but during the last Jets possession of the 49ers game (I know, thinking about that game is torture), Favre threw an absolute bomb (it was incomplete) down the left sideline to coles (I'm fairly certain it was coles but not 100% positive) and it probably traveled 60-65 yards in the air. It was one of the most impressive throws I've ever seen a Jet quarterback make. Note: I didn't say PASS, as it was incomplete. I said THROW) Just out of curiosity, anyone else remember the throw I am referring to?
He looks to have the same velocity as Chad this year. Seriously, look at Chad's deep throws they are the same speed but more accurate. It pisses me right off.
Yeah Chad 50 yds with a 25 mph Meadowland wind at his back ... Brett at 50 will have more of an arm than Chad did in his prime
I noticed that Brett held his arm against his body for 3/4's of the Oakland game after being hit. I wonder whether he got injured? It wouldnt explain the non-execution , but maybe be the reason that he cant sink up on the long routes.
He's 39 years old and injuries take a toll and the guy keeps playing and standing tough. He doesn't have the greatest rocket known to QB's anymore but its still pretty good.
Look at the intermediate throws and the sideline routes. Brett makes 5+ throws every single game Pennington has not been able to make at any point in his career.
Favre looks like he has to wind up to get the ball down the field on a bomb. His deep ball has been outright atrocious. The TD pass to Cotch the other day was a thing of beauty and his short passes into tight spots with little window are great. It honestly looks like on deep balls he has no feel at all for where the ball is going.
Everyone seems to think he was always a great deep ball passer. He was a great short yardage passer. This always amazes me. Sure he's lost some zip on his fastball, but that TD to Coles in Tennessee should show everyone that he hasn't lost much. You guys gotta get over the 50+ yard passes. They are very difficult to complete for anyone.
Compare Favre's down field passing to Vinny in 98. He is not even close to as good at throwing the 20 to 40 yard passes outside the hash marks down the field. Jay Cutler threw a couple of balls in our game that Favre couldn't come close to pulling off right now and they weren't 50 yard bombs. Favre doesn't seem to have touch when you need to put a little air under the ball. If it's not on a line it's not going near the WR. Not knocking it it is what it is, he is a great WCO QB but he is not a classic down field passer.
I didn't want to post this because I fear the 123456789th Brett vs. Chad argument breaking out in this thread but . . . this is absolutely correct and anyone who argues with it either: A) Hasn't watched both quarterbacks play enough to comment one way or another, B) Is an intellectually dishonest person, C) is remarkably imperceptive, or D) is just a very silly person.
Vinny didn't throw that many of those passes in 1998, but in the limited sample size we got to evaluate, I would have to agree with everything you wrote. Favre seems to really struggle with touch passes more than 20 yards DOWN THE FIELD.
I think the "Legend" of Farve isn't being reflected in the "reality" of Farve. Alot of Jet Fans thought Farve still had a arm like Cutler or Flacco and at 39 years old, that's simply not realistic. His deep balls have too much air under them now so perhaps a cap of say, 30yds should be suggested by Schotts. Perhaps the post pattern should be shelved in favor of the intermediate crossing patterns that we seem to run well. Brett Farve is 39. He's been banged up quite a bit this year and frankly, asking him to be the Farve of even 2 years ago isn't fair. Perhaps a little foresight would have been helpful here. Sadly, if the Jets had pulled the trigger and drafted a true heir to Pennington when they had the chance, we wouldn't be having this conversation true, but we'd be on firmer ground developmentally speaking..
On his downfield throws, particularly the ones that he has underthrown for INTS or near INTS, he seems to get on his toes and wait a split second too long for the pressure to get there. In this situation, he can't follow through or step into his throw and it is simply arm and no body mechanics generating power to get the ball out, thus having it fall a little short. I think this is a far larger problem than sheer arm strength, demonstrated by many bullet fired on crossing routes throughout the year.
The "bomb" Favre is kind of a myth. He has always been a elite WCO passer. He just happens to have a cannon, but needs a BIG target for it to come into play (Jennings last year).