Favre?s Streak Is a Modern Marvel to the Jets By GREG BISHOP Published: September 10, 2008 FLORHAM PARK, N.J. ? Seven games into the 2003 season, Brett Favre broke his right thumb on the third offensive play against the Rams. He finished the game with two touchdown passes and a 104.7 quarterback rating. Doctors fashioned a splint on his throwing hand to protect the thumb, and Favre played in the next game, and the game after that, and the game after that, too. Nineteen of his touchdown passes that season were thrown with the broken thumb. "He had one of the better streaks of his career later that season," Kellen Clemens, Favre?s backup this season on the Jets, said. ?His streak, it?s unbelievable. It defies all the odds, every single one of them. It says a lot about him, about his toughness.? His streak of consecutive games started is 276 and counting (including the postseason). It started on Sept. 27, 1992, and continued last Sunday in a 20-17 victory over the Miami Dolphins. Like the rest of the football world, Favre watched Tom Brady?s season-ending knee injury. Favre called it a freakish thing. Brady had started 128 straight games, the third-longest consecutive-games streak for active quarterbacks (behind Favre and Peyton Manning) but not half of Favre?s total. ?Just goes to show you, you never know,? Favre said. ?I know he knows that. I know we all know that.? Favre admitted Wednesday that his streak almost ended numerous times. Legs, fingers, the broken thumb ? and Favre is still standing. ?I?m sure he has some secrets, being healthy for so long,? Jets defensive lineman Kris Jenkins said. ?I think it?s the red jerseys. It helps take a lot of bang off." Favre?s durability comes from dozens of factors, teammates said. They pointed to Favre?s almost childlike love of the game, the way he admitted to making it up as he went along against the Dolphins, the times he told his teammates to run the same play because he forgot the call from the sideline. His gambling nature led to a 22-yard, fourth-down touchdown pass that resembled a javelin throw. His noted arm strength led to a 56-yard touchdown strike. They pointed to his toughness, to his moxie, but mostly, to his good fortune. ?Remarkable,? safety Kerry Rhodes said. ?It has never been done before. It?s the longest streak in history. He?s a special guy to be able to do that.? Rhodes paused. ?And a lucky guy as well. You have to be lucky to do that.? Everything appears to be falling into place for the Jets in this Favre era ? new headquarters, new high-priced free agents, now Brady?s injury. One worry, that Favre would clash with the less freewheeling Eric Mangini, has been alleviated. The two exchanged compliments in separate news conferences on Wednesday. Favre said he found Mangini mild-mannered, unassuming, a coach who never raises his voice and still gets his point across. It amazed Favre how many Jets practiced each day, and that they had to set their own wake-up calls on the road. He found no hand-holding, but high expectations. ?He asks a lot of you,? Favre said. ?He?s willing to give." Mangini noted that Favre answered a question about the special-teams game plan last week, and that at practice, Favre led a reverse around the corner, begging for a block. Mangini told a story of how Jerry Rice used to attend every special-teams meeting, then compared that ?subtle or not so subtle? involvement to Favre?s so far. ?You could very easily take care of your responsibilities, take care of things that you have to do, and then go home,? Mangini said. ?But that?s not how he?s wired. That?s not who he is.? The third-string quarterback Brett Ratliff said Favre?s throws and streak were more impressive in person than from afar. He said that, if you are close enough, you can hear Favre?s passes whistle down the field. Favre would also be lying if he said he felt comfortable with the passing offense so far. ?You would rather not have to do that on a consistent basis,? he said of his improvisation Sunday. ?There?s no way we can win if we have to go for it on fourth-and-13 like we did last week, or if you have to call the same play in the huddle and hope that we line up and run it correctly. You just can?t win that way.? Only last week, as he extended the streak, they did. EXTRA POINTS Eric Mangini confirmed Wednesday that the Jets had signed Jay Feely, who spent two seasons kicking in Giants Stadium. Mangini said Feely would kick on Sunday against the Patriots, meaning the injured place-kicker Mike Nugent will not be available. The Jets are carrying two kickers on their 53-man roster, after releasing Kenwin Cummings, a rookie linebacker, to make room. Asked how long Feely would remain the kicker, Mangini deadpanned, ?Till Mike gets back." More Articles in Sports ? A version of this article appeared in print on September 11, 2008, on page D3 of the New York edition. __________________
Well, at least we know for sure the staff feels confident in a healthy Mike Nugent. I just wonder how bad the leg injury really is and how long he'll be out. Nice article on Favre. Glad to see everyone seems to, at this point, be getting along and working hard. Hopefully that continues all year.
I enjoyed that article. Thanks for posting. It is nice to hear that Favre is engaged in team meetings and spending the time.
You know if you think about it; if Favre plays this year and next and remains healthy, he could reach 300 consecutive games. When you consider the QB position and how hard the defenses play; it wouild be just amazing.
Favre loves to block on reverses, always used to hate it when he did it at Green Bay. At least he doen't tackle his team mates anymore. :up:
I think if he feels he can produce, and that the team still WANTS him, he will play next year. Unless the J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets, win the SB. :beer: .
