Cramming over, Favre ready for first testBY JIM BAUMBACH | jim.baumbach@newsday.com September 6, 2008 FLORHAM PARK, N.J. - Brett Favre may be driven by a constant fear or failure, as he said this past week, but he didn't look like the worried type on Friday during the team's final practice before heading south. With the season opener against the Dolphins quickly approaching, Favre wasn't exactly ripping out his hair or furiously studying his playbook. Rather, he was his usual jovial self at practice and in the locker room afterward he casually milled by his locker, seemingly not a worrisome thought on his mind. What was it that our schoolteachers used to say? The worst thing to do the night before a big test is stay up cramming. That was Favre. At this point the work's all done. Now it's time to see what happens. "I think he's very comfortable," offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer said. Being comfortable, as easy as it might sound, was no small task considering Favre joined the Jets a month ago Sunday. As Schottenheimer later said, "Getting Brett was a really nice addition, but it was a lot of work," and that's for every party involved. Once the trade with the Packers became official August 7, training camp took on a completely new meaning for the Jets. Suddenly, each day's sessions revolved around working the new quarterback into the system. Jericho Cotchery said the wide receivers made a point of meeting privately with Favre often - sometimes up to an hour - to make sure they were doing everything they can to grow as a group. "We tried to do that a lot before Brett got here, just to be on the same page with the quarterback, but we've done it a lot more since Brett got here," Cotchery said, "because there were a lot of things we had to get comfortable with." Earlier this week Favre said "I'd be lying if I said I was completely comfortable" with the playbook. But his teammates and coaching staff scoffed at that notion on Friday, expressing confidence that Favre has a vast list of plays at his disposal. Or, at the very least, he knows many more than the 15 plays he said he knew immediately following his first preseason game with the Jets three weeks ago. "People don't realize quarterbacks have to know where everyone is on every play, so it's hard for them to learn the playbook, especially as fast as he had to learn it," TE Bubba Franks said. "But he picked it up real fast. It's amazing how fast he caught on." The biggest unknown heading into Sunday's opener, however, is something Favre couldn't practice. And that's connecting with received Laveranues Coles, who didn't play in the preseason because of his thigh. Asked about that, coach Eric Mangini dodged the question but Schottenheimer said he was pleased with the time they spent talking to each off the field during camp. Notes"es: The Jets agreed to fly to Miami last night, a day earlier than they typically travel, so the builders of their new practice facility could do some final touch-ups. "They needed some more time to go through the punch-list and clean some things up," Mangini said. One such item might be the DirectTV hookup in the coach's office, which didn't work when Mangini tried to watch the Giants-Redskins game Thursday. Brett starts Favre is starting his 16th consecutive Opening Day game. He is 10-5 in openers. Career Opening Day numbers Comp. Att. Yards TDs INTs 323 520 3,495 24 18 Best opening day start: Sept. 1, 1996 @ Tampa Bay: 20-for-27 for 247 yards and 4 TDs (0 INTs) in a 34-3 victory. Worst: Sept. 3, 2000 vs. Jets: 14-for-34 for 152 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT in 20-16 loss. Season opener Jets at Miami Sunday, 1 p.m. TV: Ch. 2 Radio: WEPN (1050)
it seems like a lot of the players here have a lot of work ethic. i've heard a lot of different names that make it a point to stay after practice, review film, or do whatever it takes to get that extra edge. it's a good sign.
