Brett Favre

In recent weeks, as Brett Favre’s infamous penchant for interceptions became even more pronounced, speculation grew in contrarian circles that the Jets may have made a mistake in acquiring him, that the Dolphins had ultimately been the grand-prize winners in the Brett Favre sweepstakes, and that the Jets would have been better served had they held fast to the steady but unspectacular hand of Chad Pennington rather than leave their fortunes prone to the often-schizophrenic whims of a 39-year-old quarterback who, they said, had selfishly come back to play out the string for no other reason than to shame his former team for not bending to his every want.  read more »

There are some well-known guarantees in life: death, taxes, the sun’s rise in the East. And then there are those less-momentous but nevertheless predictable events. Under this second heading we may well file the annual self-destruction of the New York Jets, who yesterday cast prosperity aside en route to losing a nearly unlosable game to an Oakland Raider franchise so backward and beset by its own mismanagement that it had replaced the Jets, if only for a time, as the resident laughingstock of the AFC.

In a manner eerily reminiscent of similar episodes in the past, the Jets entered the game with high hopes fueled by two consecutive victories and a professed belief in the growing chemistry of the team.  read more »

The first quarter of the Great Brett Favre Experiment drew to a close with team headed into a bye week at 2-2. And if, as head coach Eric Mangini maintains, the bye is reserved for unsparing honesty and brutal self-assessment, then this is the prefect time to offer some suggestions as the team readies itself for the remaining 12-game push.

Commit to a throw-first offense.  read more »

Lingering doubts about the Brett Favre acquisition were silenced yesterday afternoon amid a record-breaking barrage of touchdown passes, as the resurgent New York Jets defeated the Arizona Cardinals by a score of 56-35 at the New Jersey Meadowlands. Capitalizing on an uncharacteristically aggressive game plan, Favre connected on a career-best six touchdown passes, propelling the franchise to its greatest offensive output in 23 years and pulling the team’s season back from the brink of oblivion. In many ways, yesterday’s game was a microcosm of a storied career marked by headstrong misadventure and stunning, overwhelming redemption, all within the span of minutes.

On the team’s second drive, and after an uninspired three-and-out to start the game, Favre took the snap on third and one from the Cardinals’ 48.  read more »

Observer Beijing correspondent Tom Scocca, via IM, on what this might have looked like if Sarah Palin had stuck with sports TV:

tomscocca: COURIC: "Governor Palin, do the Jets have a chance in the AFC East?"

PALIN: "The Jets, well, in what respect? In respect to playing football? With the east? It's important to remember that they're in the American--the American Conference, and, um, not only that but in the East, and one thing I know is that in America, in the Americans, you can do anything if you stay with it, as I, as I see the Jets--you know, New York! It's a big city and a city that can make champions, in anything, let alone--you know, football, Katie.

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Yesterday, after a summer spent pumping iron and running laps, the fat kid with glasses returned to school a slimmer, more muscled challenger to his fair-haired tormentors. There would be no more spit balls in his hair now. No more “kick me” signs on his back or hours spent trying to escape the inside of a gym locker. No, the order of things would be different this time.

The bullies would be vanquished; the triumphant nerd, carried shoulder high by his adoring peers and then set down before the girl who never knew his name. All that lay between him and his new identity was the small matter of doing it, of meeting the varsity quarterback in the alley after school and letting him know there was a new world order.  read more »

Brett Favre is the new quarterback of the New York Jets.

By yesterday morning, the initial hype and speculation surrounding a potential Favre trade to the Jets had long since given way to shrugging resignation that he would be dealt elsewhere, most likely to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Perhaps, then, it was the sheer surprise of the midnight announcement that struck me most. Or perhaps it was my sudden appreciation that years of futility had rendered me so unwilling to believe in the first place. In either event, there was no mistaking the momentous thing that had just occurred: The Jets had engineered the biggest, most publicized trade in the history of New York football, acquiring Brett Favre from the Green Bay Packers in return for a conditional draft choice.  read more »