article: Pennington wants to make Jets pay- NY Post

article: Chad fired up for his duel with Favre- NY POST

CHAD FIRED UP FOR DUEL WITH FAVRE
FOR BRETT, WINNING IS KID STUFF
FANCY FOOTWORK: Brett Favre, who was voted captain, works outyesteday at the Jets' new practice facility in Floral Park, N.J.

Posted: 3:59 am
September 4, 2008

EARLY during the JetsNew York Jets practice yesterday at their new facility in New Jersey, Brett Favre snuck up behind fellow quarterback Kellen ClemensKellen Clemens and slapped him hard in the right buttock. Favre then pulled off his helmet, took a big swig from a water bottle and yelled out something that sounded like "Youu-weee!" as loud as he possibly could.

So this is how a three-time MVP acts the week of an NFL season opener. Who knew?

It was a glimpse of the kid inside of the 38-year-old Favre; the kid that brought him out of retirement and back to the game he loves; the kid that eagerly awaits the chase of a rushing lineman because, "when they start chasing you for real, you better get excited." That's the fun part of football for Favre.

But Game 1 at Miami arrives on Sunday and Favre will soon realize, if he hasn't already, that being a Jet isn't child's play.

Given the beleaguered history of the franchise, the "new challenge" he has undertaken is more likely to wind up a disaster tossed atop the heap of others who hoped to rescue the franchise from its doldrums: Browning Nagle, Boomer Esiason, Glenn Foley, Neil O'Donnell and Chad PenningtonChad Pennington , just to name a few.

Despite the fanfare, optimism and shiny new practice facility, the Jets are still a franchise where high hopes normally turn into unfulfilled dreams, breeding a culture of futility that third-year coach Eric Mangini is hoping Favre will help him change.

That's why you hope Favre's heart is really in this. That it's not just fun and games. You hope that in a few weeks he isn't wishing he was still a Packer or wondering how he wound up with the responsibility of leading a franchise that hasn't won a Super Bowl in four decades.

Favre has said all the right things since arriving as the Jets' latest savior and continued to do so yesterday, admitting his biggest motivation is the fear of failure.

"As much success as I've had in my career, I've never gone into the next game or the next season and said, 'Whew, I've been playing well, that will continue,' " he said before adding, "the bottom line is I still believe I can play at a high level. But there's that fear that I won't."

That fear of failure figures to increase knowing how much the franchise and his teammates are depending on him to lead them to the promised land. To emphasize their conviction they voted him team captain though he's still putting names with faces.

"He's like a player coach," running back Thomas Jones said of Favre. "Everybody here has the ultimate respect for him."

Favre reiterated he comes with no guarantees on what the win-loss record will look like come December. He really doesn't want to look beyond Sunday.

"Believe me, there will be some excitement and butterflies," he said. "But I've had that each and every year. There may be a few more this time than in years past."

Fear of failure might be driving Favre, but it's driving the Jets, too. He is synonymous with success and durability; anything less than that could stigmatize the Jets for years to come.

"I understand that most people think the odds are against me and that's fine," Favre said. "If it doesn't work out, so be it. I'm not here to become a god. I'm not here to get trashed either. I'm here to help this team win."

And hopefully feel like a kid again.

george.willis@nypost.com

 

PENNINGTON WANTS TO MAKE JETS PAY
By LENN ROBBINS
GO TIME: Chad Pennington will try to keep his emotions in check when he leads the Dolphins into Sunday's opener against Brett Favre and the Jets.Posted: 3:59 am
September 4, 2008

Hypothetically, if you ask a girl to the prom and she says yes, but then ditches you at the 11th hour to go with the most popular guy in school, you'd have to be a robot not be a little ticked.

Chad PenningtonChad Pennington is not a robot.

"I would be remiss in saying that I'm emotionless," Pennington said yesterday on a conference call from Miami. "I'm a human being. All of us have emotions, but my whole goal is to stay focused entirely on what I need to do to learn my responsibilities and what I need to do to help us win.

"It would be a disservice to my teammates and to myself if I put too much into the emotional part of this and not being able to go out there and perform well and not giving us a chance to win," he added.

If we didn't know the NFL drew up its schedule months ago, one would think the director of a daytime soap was responsible for this opening weekend's matchup between the JetsNew York Jets and the Dolphins.

Less than one month ago Pennington was the Jets' starting quarterback and Brett Favre, one of the most popular and successful players in NFL history, was in a bitter split with the Packers.

The Jets traded for Favre on Aug. 7 and gave Pennington his release the same day. Pennington signed with the Dolphins, where Bill Parcells now is the GM. Parcells with the Jets in 2000 when he drafted Pennington out of Marshall.

So Pennington makes his first start in a Miami jersey against the team that jilted him. And Favre makes his first start as a Jet against the quarterback who was the face of the franchise for eight seasons.

Favre, who was elected one of two offensive captains in a Tuesday night vote, said he had no feelings about facing Pennington. But if the Jets were facing the Packers this weekend, well, Favre isn't a robot either.

"If I [were] playing against the Packers this week, it would feel a little bit different obviously," Favre said.

Obviously Pennington will have a lot of emotion inside when he wakes up Sunday morning. Though he tried his best to keep emotion out of his comments yesterday, they would get past his personal offensive line on occasion.

"It is a situation that's simple," he said. "The Jets felt like they needed to go and get Brett Favre to be their quarterback and they felt like I wasn't the guy. It's really simple."

Pennington harbors no ill will toward Favre. And he said the Jets were respectful and thoughtful to give him his release.

"If you take this business personally, you're going to get your feelings hurt every day," he said. "I have a lot of respect for Brett and what he's been able to do in this league. He's a championship quarterback. For those of us who haven't won a championship, that's what we're striving to accomplish."

*


While Jets special teams coach Mike Westhoff, who rejoined the Jets earlier this week, was recovering from his latest leg surgery, he observed several Dolphins workouts. Miami coach Tony Sparano was less than thrilled to learn that Westhoff is still associated with the Jets. He said he would not have let Westhoff attend his practices.

lenn.robbins@nypost.com