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Looking like a long season for Brett and the Jets
"I rolled my ankle up," he had said. "Early in the third quarter."
By then, the game wasn't even close. In fact — with the score 38-14 before Favre took the field in the second half — it had ceased to matter as a competitive proposition.
But watching him hobble toward the visitors' locker room, you couldn't help but feel for the guy. X-rays would reveal an unbroken left ankle. Beyond that, who knows how the Jets will characterize it on the injury report? Or how, just a few weeks from his 39th birthday, Favre's famous recuperative powers will be tested.
Favre had been asked, yet again, about his grasp of the Jets' playbook. How much he knew three Sundays into the regular season was anyone's guess. More certain is this bitterly acquired knowledge, learned and re-learned by generations of Jet quarterbacks: it hurts more when you lose. That premature fable, instantly packaged and marketed as "Broadway Brett," has now been exposed as wishful thinking.
Being an American icon affords him no exemption here. He knew that much, too. "There's no excuses for me tonight," he said. "Can't say I'm still learning the offense."
NFL Week 17
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Week 17 action
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Vikings 20, Giants 19 -- Recap | Box
Panthers 33, Saints 31 -- Recap | Box
Packers 31, Lions 21 -- Recap | Box
Falcons 31, Rams 27 -- Recap | Box
Texans 31, Bears 24 -- Recap | Box
Patriots 13, Bills 0 -- Recap | Box
Colts 23, Titans 0 -- Recap | Box
Steelers 31, Browns 0 -- Recap | Box
Raiders 31, Bucs 24 -- Recap | Box
Bengals 16, Chiefs 6 -- Recap | Box
Eagles 44, Cowboys 6 -- Recap | Box
Dolphins 24, Jets 17 -- Recap | Box
49ers 27, Redskins 24 -- Recap | Box
Ravens 27, Jaguars 7 -- Recap | Box
Cardinals 34, 'Hawks 24 -- Recap | Box
Chargers 52, Broncos 21 -- Recap | Box
Analysis
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Photos
Like the final score, the line on Brett Favre in his first Monday night game as a Jet is deceptive: 30-of-42 for 271 yards, three touchdowns, two interceptions, one bad ankle. He was lucky, very lucky, he didn't finish with four interceptions.
There was a play in the first half that saw Chargers cornerback Antonio Cromartie drop a ball that hit him right in the hands, what should have been a sure touchdown. Later, in the third quarter, on a fourth down from the San Diego nine-yard line, Favre threw for his tight end, Dustin Keller, only to find Clinton Hart, the Chargers' strong safety, right on his jersey numbers. Hart dropped the ball, too.
"He may have run a little deeper than I thought," said Favre, speaking of Keller's route. "I'm not saying he's wrong and I'm right. I made numerous, numerous mistakes."
So much for all the talk (engendered by Favre himself) that the famous quarterback left the Packers for another shot at the game's greatest glory. The Jets — an interesting team, if nothing else — are better off than they were last season. But he has to be wondering what he got himself into. Maybe he should know his offense and his receivers by now, but the fact is, he does not.
Consider his second interception. The game was still relatively close, 24-14. On a third and nine from his own 30, Favre's intended receiver was the very able Jericho Cotchery, then headed up the sideline. But Cotchery pulled up short, looking for the ball, while Favre threw long — into the waiting arms of safety Eric Weddle.
"It was just a misread on my part," said Cotchery.
"I thought that Jericho was going to run up the boundary," said Favre, who enjoys a reputation for candor in all things not involving the Green Bay Packers front office. "I had Chansi Stuckey wide open. The blame is on me, bad play on my part."
It's worth mentioning that Favre found a rhythm in the third quarter. Behind by 24 points, he started throwing short, to either flat. He used both receivers and backs. "I'd like to say there's a silver lining in this game," said Favre. "We found something that we can go back to that's pretty productive."
Silver lining? He sure sounded like a Jet quarterback now. The Jets scored 29 points, a number that owes much to San Diego's deficient special-teams coverage and utter lack of killer instinct (not to mention an early pick thrown by Philip Rivers and returned for a touchdown). Still, the Chargers put up 48, giving them a margin of victory more than double the nine-point spread.
Favre says he likes the talent around him. He likes the line that protects him. He likes the receivers, Cotchery and Laveranues Coles. "Thomas Jones," he said, "is a heck of a runner." What's more, he adds, "This team has good character."
Unfortunately, good luck trumps good character. And Favre's good fortune seems to have ebbed. Among the finest plays of the previous season was his shovel pass for a first down against the Seahawks in the playoffs. He threw it as he fell, already in the lineman's grasp.
Favre tried it again Monday night. This time, Jyles Tucker, a linebacker, put him down for a loss of 12 yards. The ball squibbed away after the play was called dead.
The score was 38-14. A year ago, he felt like a young man. Now he was limping off the field, old and luckless in another shade of green.
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