Brett Favre's story is getting shorter By RICH CIMINI DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER Wednesday, November 5th 2008, 8:50 PM Sipkin/News Brett Favre says he can have a ball with Eric Mangini's conservative game plan, as long as Jets are winning. Brett Favre had to push the word off his lips, the "M" word. For as long as he can remember, it's always been tough for him to get it out: M-m-m-anager. As in, game manager, the trendy description for a quarterback who operates a low-risk offense. JETS MIDSEASON REPORT CARD "I don't manage," he said Wednesday, sounding like a famous chef being assigned the pedestrian task of grilling hot dogs at a backyard barbecue. Favre paused, then smiled. D LEADS GANG GREEN PAST BILLS "But I managed the game the other day, as bad as I hate to say that," he said. Managed it well, too. With his interception total growing, Favre, probably following orders from the coaching staff, played with extreme caution in the Jets' 26-17 victory over the Bills. He attempted only one long ball (incomplete), throwing mostly underneath. His stats weren't gaudy (only 201 yards and no touchdown passes), but he made only one big mistake - an interception returned for a touchdown. That was an improvement, considering his recent performances. Even though it's against his daring nature to play conservatively, Favre insisted he's okay with the small-ball approach. "I've got no problems doing whatever it takes to win, believe me," he said. "That felt really good the other day. I'd love to throw 70-yard touchdowns, love to throw six (touchdowns) every day, but I'd much rather win." Perhaps Eric Mangini and Co. have come to the realization that Favre needs to be on a tight leash. They were criticized early in the season for not letting Brett be Brett, but the dynamics have changed. Thomas Jones is the second-leading rusher in the AFC, and the defense is showing the potential to control games, reducing the need for Favre to take chances. "He doesn't have to win games for us," tight end Chris Baker said. "We have enough guys to make plays. That's why they want him to be a game manager, because we have the talent to win games as a team." Can they stick to that philosophy? Their will power will be put to the test Sunday at the Meadowlands, where the Jets will face the defensively-challenged Rams (2-6). After studying the Rams-Cardinals tape from last week, the Jets will be tempted to wing it. The Cards spread out the Rams' secondary with a four-receiver attack, and Kurt Warner passed for 342 yards and two touchdowns in a 34-13 victory. That would seem to be the way to go, but you never know with offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer. Two weeks ago, against the Chiefs' dreadful run defense, the Jets came out throwing. And throwing. The result was three interceptions and an escape win over a bad team. Favre's interception streak is at seven straight games, bringing his total to 12picks - 300 in his career. When he throws long, it's usually euphoria or disaster. On attempts of at least 30 yards, he's 2-for-8, including two touchdowns and two interceptions, according to STATS, LLC. Throwing safer passes would seem to make the most sense, especially if his right shoulder is hurting, as some suspect. "I hope he keeps doing that," said Rams coach Jim Haslett, who called Favre "probably the greatest quarterback that ever played the game." Favre said he joked Saturday with Phil Simms, who worked last Sunday's game for CBS, about the whole game-managing thing. "I told him I never really believed in that," said Favre. "I think you play the game. Whatever's asked of you, you do." KICKING BACK: PK Mike Nugent, sidelined since Week 2 with a significant thigh injury, returned to practice on a limited basis. ...NT Kris Jenkins was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week. ... S Abram Elam will likely start again for Eric Smith (head), who didn't practice.... Rams RB Steven Jackson (thigh) didn't practice. His status is uncertain. The Jets made a splash by bringing in Brett Favre. The future Hall of Famer has Gang Green at 5-3. Rich Cimini has posted his grades; how would you score the first half? Jets Live Chat A huge win in Buffalo has the Jets in a three-way tie for first place in the AFC East. Join Gang Green beat writer Rich Cimini for his weekly live chat. Friday at Noon. After surgery, Harris is grounded Jet There's a hole in the wall that has become the Jets' run defense. Inside linebacker David Harris, their leading tackler, underwent groin surgery yesterday and will miss at least two or three weeks, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. Harris was hurt two weeks ago, landing awkwardly while making a tackle against the Chiefs. He didn't play last week with what was believed to be a pulled or partially torn groin muscle. After two visits to a specialist in Philadelphia, he opted for surgery. It's bad timing for the Jets. After the Rams, they face the Patriots and Titans, two of the NFL's top rushing teams. Eric Mangini refused to give details, but his cryptic remarks made it seem ominous. Asked if Harris had suffered a setback, Mangini said, "(There are) just some things that we're doing, so he's a little bit of a longer shot" to play Sunday than last week. Harris will be replaced by David Bowens, who made his first career start at inside linebacker last week. After blowing a coverage on the first play, Bowens settled down and finished with four tackles and a sack. - Rich Cimini __________________
Bowens' play will be everything for this defense now. He has the mentality to do it. I hope that the Bills game was enough to let him settle into the role, because these next 3 games are extremely important. Going 2-1 in this stretch could be the separation in the division that the Jets are going to need.
Jones is the 2nd leading rusher in the AFC? When did that happen? Remember last year? Granted we had no holes to run through really but still........................2nd?
if bowens can half ass cover he should be ok with the front 3 play as well as they are any lb can make tackles against the run.as far as favre goes let's keep the small ball going then when the patriots move up to stop it throw it tight over there heads.
yeah, I am sure Favre is wondering when the last time he had to run a WR screen and a run play on third and goal outside the 5-yard line on consecutive possessions. I was all for getting Favre, but we pretty much wasted a draft pick if Mangini / Shotty keep pulling this bullsh!t. F'n awful.
Right now Favre is the weak link on the Jets. The game plan against Buffalo was basically to protect the Jets from Farve by not letting him do anything. Hence the dink-and-dunk, no-long-pass offense. He still managed to throw an INT for a touchdown, but everyone else so outplayed Buffalo that it didn't matter. A WR screen and a run play on third-and-long-goal is what you call when you don't trust your quarterback.
Remeber last year what? Thomas Jones had 1,100 yards last season with the worst offensive line in football. I dont understand why people keep acting like he is coming off a bad season.
favre will snap out of his managing phase in due time and start producing blowout games, but hey...he does do one hell of a job managing a game haha.
Exactly. He just needs more time and chemistry with the team to be the Brett Favre we know he still can be. Oh, and our WRs need to get open and hold onto the ball downfield. That would help. I still haven't gotten over that 40 yarder to Cotchery that was called back in the Pats game. He did everything right but not commit a penalty.
I think part of the problem is the personnel at receiver. First of all we are not seeing much at TE, so far, anyway. At wideout no one is a deep threat. It doesn't mean that Coles and Cotch are not good players, but with Favre's arm a speed burner would make a huge difference. This particular corps of receivers were picked with old Noodle Arm as the Qb, and not Favre. Boland's article suggests Clowney is a victim of a numbers game so far in not being activated, but I sure would like to see him in there to see what Favre could do with the deep pass.
it hurts what the article said. Against the chiefs who suck balls against the run we pass it. Knowing our coaching staff this week the rams probably know we are going to try to pound it down the middle. Who honestly knows anymore
This ones on the HC. Drop Smith down in the order and go 4 wide with Coles, Cotchery,Stuckey and Clowney.
Being poor at managing a game is nothing to brag about. Its like he is saying, "I am not going to manage a game. If the big pick needs to be thrown I am damn well going to throw it".
Favre is far from the "weak link" on the Jets...have you seen the pass defense? The part I bolded in your post is my exact point. The Jets wasted a draft pick to get Favre if they aren't going to trust him. Not to mention the fact that not trusting your QB won't lead to wins in the playoffs (if you even get there.) If the Jets wanted a game manager they should have just held onto Pennington (and their draft pick).
I am a Dolphins fan (you can find me at Phins.com). Sorry, I thought that was known. But I was not trying to troll. When the Jets picked up Favre and the Dolphins got Pennington, I thought it was a win-win for both teams, because Pennington was an upgrade from the dreck we had, and Favre was an upgrade from Pennington. After all, even if you forget career accomplishments, Favre was a much better passer than Pennington in 2007. But especially over the past month or so, it's become evident that Pennington is playing much better than last year, and Favre is playing much worse. Of course the season is just half over, and I know that Pennington's arm could fall out of its socket tomorrow. As for Favre's struggles, it could be the coaches' fault, or it could be adjustment issues, or it could be that time has finally caught up with Favre (it's amazing just to be on an NFL roster at age 39). But in my honest opinion, when the Jets played the Bills they took the ball out of Favre's hands to the extent they could, while against the same opponent the Dolphins relied on Pennington.
That's a fair assessment. I'm not 100% subscribing to the line of thinking that the Jets' coaching staff is taking the ball out of Favre's hands. The Jets are a strong running team, so you do what works best. That should open things up more for the passing game, but for the most part it hasn't yet. Partially because of Favre's poor decision making, partially because he and the WRs are not completely on the same page, but mostly IMO because this O line is not very strong in the pass protection department. This has limited the team to short pass plays. Brett simply cannot drop back and expect 4-5 seconds of time on a consistent basis. People tend to grossly underestimate front line play on offense and defense. No defense can look good with a bad D line and no offense (particularly the QB) can look good with poor blocking. Unfortunately, the QB takes the brunt of the criticism despite this. That's just the nature of the game I guess.
