Numbers add up to another Jets season for FavreBob Glauber October 16, 2008 From the tear-filled news conference announcing his retirement from the Packers in March, to the fist-pumping excitement he now enjoys on Sundays with the Jets, it is pretty obvious Brett Favre is comfortable with his decision to continue playing football. The arm strength is still there, and so is the boyish enthusiasm, even if he has just turned 39 and his ever-present stubble and close-cropped hair are tinged with gray. Now the question is how much longer Favre thinks he can keep this thing going, and whether the fun factor is enough to keep him playing beyond this season. OK, OK. There are still 11 games left and still plenty of time for Jets fans' angst over what comes next. But with Favre playing some of his best football yet, the issue is in play as far as I'm concerned. Not for Favre, though. Bob Glauber Bio | E-mail | Recent columns "For me, I'm taking it game by game," he said. "I don't see how you can look at it any differently. My job is to lead this team and hopefully go into Oakland [on Sunday] and win this football game, then we'll go from there. It's always a game-to-game basis. I haven't even thought about next year, honestly." But if he keeps going like this, he'll surely have to. Consider: Favre is fourth in the NFL with a 103.0 rating, and his 71.3 completion percentage is the highest after the first five games of a season in his entire career. And he's third in the league with 13 touchdown passes. The numbers are all the more startling in light of the fact Favre didn't join the Jets until Aug. 7. So much for needing time to acclimate himself to the offense. And even if there is still a work-in-progress dynamic to the Jets' offense, and there are certain to be some more stumbles along the way, there are plenty of possibilities in a division that no longer has Tom Brady to worry about and in a conference that doesn't feature as many elite teams as the preseason expectations indicated. All the more reason Favre is concerned with the here-and-now, not the what-ifs of 2009. "Sometimes I wonder," he said, "just like other people have, 'What the heck are you doing? You got it all. Why continue to put yourself through it?' " His answer: "I love to play the game. It's a different situation here in New York, but I'm really excited about it. I don't know what's gonna happen in the end. The only thing I can control is this week and the type of leadership they brought me in here to show." It wasn't that long ago when there was never a question about next year. Back in the day, there was always next year. "When I was in my third, fourth, fifth ... year, you're always thinking past that [year]," he said. "You're always thinking next contract, can I get to the Pro Bowl. You're always thinking Super Bowl. It seems like as a younger player you're always thinking more individual things. For me, I've been fortunate enough to achieve all those things, way more than I ever set out to do. I don't know if there are too many guys who have been in my situation." There aren't. Which is why Favre has been such a special player over the years. Even now, at an age when most personnel executives consider Favre to be ripe for a downward spiral, he is overcoming the odds. And in the process, he is doing his part to break what might be the biggest challenge of all for the Jets: fighting the negativity that has enveloped the franchise for years. Decades, even. "It was almost like they anticipated something bad happening," Favre said. "I think good things happen when you start believing that good things will happen. That's how we started out in Green Bay. They lost there for so many years, and Mike Holmgren tried to change that way of thinking ... I think more than anything, it's a mindset. We need to continue to believe that we can win any game and that we can make every play and not anticipate something bad happening." Sprinkle in a heavy dose of fun - whether it's in practice or on game day - and Favre believes the prescription is just that simple. "It's a game," he said. "If you lose sight of that, it won't be as much fun and I don't think you'll be as productive. There's nothing more enjoyable than doing it as a team, celebrating as a team." The plan for Favre is to celebrate all he can this season. After that, he'll figure out if there will be another one after that.
If he can change the culture there with that philosophy, then I don't see why the culture can't be changed here either. It is a mindset, so lets change it.
The more I see our guys on TV, the more I feel the culture change has begun. recently on JETS EXTRA POINT Brandon Moore was asked about Pennington and Favre. He said I am happy for Chad down there but man, I love playing with Brett! That says it all!
I feel that even if Brett Favre doesn't return than I agree with the other posters when I say that the culture of the Jets are changing believe it or not, if down the road Clemens or whoever takes the reins as the QB of the Jets that we can pick off where we left off. The o-line is legit as well as the d-line all the way to the receivers. As long as we continue to bring in young talent and a mixture with veterans that will produce, we will be fine hahah finally, CONSECUTIVE YEARS of Jets success is upon us :jets:
The question is, what will Brett want to do. I tend to think that, even if we don't make the postseason, as long as there is a feeling on his part thta things are on the upswing, he'll come back (and also, he'll commit right away, assuming Jets publicly or privately commit to him first of course). I think he learned his lesson (and how) last season. I'll go even further and predict he will find a way to get in a dig at Packer management when he does, sayign something like "knowing you're wanted and appreciated makes it easier to want to come back" -- bookmark my comment and come back to it in 4 months. On the other hand, something maybe not many people know is that as part of the trade deal, Brett renegotiated his original 10-year Green Bay contract with the Jets, so that if he retires this year he will not have refund the bonus money he was paid for the remaining years of his contract. If the Jets offered it to him to sweeten the sting of not going to a team he wanted to go to (at the time), I can understand why he took it -- why not. But if Bus Cook instigated the idea ... well, you have to wonder what he might be thinking. By the way, Brett's comments about Green Bay & changing the way of thinking there -- trust me, he knows what he's talking about. All the old-timers seem to like to indulge in "oh woe is me!" about all the years since Super Bowl III -- but believe, me, you have never had a stretch even close to HALF as bad as the Packer had from the merger to the arrival of Favre, Holmgren, Wolff, and then (the next year) White. Over almost a quarter century they had TWO teams with winning records, and only one playoff victory (in the strike season, when they were playing with scabs & not the regular players). I sometimes laugh when I read some posters moan about how things have been bad for so long for the Jets. You guys have no idea ...
I hope he plays as long as he can, and is still productive. Normal stats about play falling off with age don't yet seem to apply to him. I always thought the way he runs backward after the play has helped to keep him healthy. Throw the ball, he's out of there. Can't remember too many times, except the 4-12 year, where I didn't feel there was a chance to win, with him on the field.
I wonder if the possibility of the league adding 2 games to the season will be motivation for Favre to play another year or two. He doesnt strike me as a huge stats guy. However if he can still play for the next couple of years and be effective it would keep his records safe for a longer duration.
"I love to play the game. It's a different situation here in New York, but I'm really excited about it. I don't know what's gonna happen in the end. The only thing I can control is this week and the type of leadership they brought me in here to show." His sincerity of the game is so refreshing in a league full of douche bag pac-mans. Given his toughness, longevity, advances in modern medicine and his elevated income – I don’t think it’s unreasonable to think he could play another 15 – 20 years. I see him living to 145 – 150 easy.
A moment of seriousness here -- it's statistically proven that NFL players have shorter lifespans than others in their otherwise equivalent actuarial tables. Even though for the most part these men start out as the cream of the crop physically. This game does permanent damage to bodies.
We?re not talking about NFL players here ? we?re talking about Iron man Brett Fav-ray. Brett Fav-Ray does not get frostbite. Brett Fav-ray bites frost.
