BRETT Favre’s interest in New York has come two touchdowns down, with 45 seconds remaining, too little, already too late.
VACCARO: THIS IS SUPER – AND MAYBE SUPER
SERBY: BROADWAY BRETT HAS GREAT SOUND
FAVRE JOINING UP WITH GANG GREEN
COMPLETE TANNENBAUM TRANSCRIPT
REPORT: SPECIFICS OF THE TRADE
He is 38 years old. He had no initial interest in playing in New York after, just five months before, calling a press conference to announce that he knew he still could play but just didn’t want to anymore. In the midst of an unbecoming stalemate with the Packers, Favre apparently weighed their $25 million offer to retire for a second time. This should sincerely frighten a team wanting to make a commitment to the aging legend (due to make $12.7 million this season), one year after a 4-12 debacle.
The Packers were one ugly and – probably tell-tale – Favre overtime interception away from the Super Bowl in a 23-20 overtime loss to the Giants, a lot closer than were the Jets. It has become obvious that Mike McCarthy and Ted Thompson didn’t believe Favre, off that second half against the Giants, was any longer capable of finishing the big job. Otherwise, why would the Packers want to turn away the franchise icon, and alienate the fans who worshipped him, to go to the almost totally untested Aaron Rodgers?
If Green Bay, which knows Favre best, has come to the conclusion after all this greatness, that he has become a dead end, shouldn’t the Jets have taken the hint?
They have a third-year kid, Kellen Clemens, with a big arm. If his head for the position proves not as promising as the arm, then it should have been back to Chad Pennington and the draft board in April for another quarterback of the future.
The Jets spent $141 million on two badly needed veteran offensive linemen and some guys who can play the defense Mangini believes in. If Pennington could win 10 games, including one over Favre 38-10 in Green Bay, with that motley Jets crew of 2006, he could have done it again this year with two healthy ankles and four games with Buffalo and Miami.
He was not likely to add significant mph to his throwing arm at age 32, not after two shoulder surgeries. But at least Pennington is not 38, and coming in broken-hearted after being turned away from the place he could no wrong. Favre has less than a month to learn a new offense, while nursing a twisted arm suffered while condescending to come to New York.
Clemens is 25, and if the Jets really want to do more than just piece together a few decent years, he should have been given a better look. Eight starts and a 60.7 passer rating last season only scared the Jets into keeping Pennington, because they know they could do a lot worse.
We’re just not convinced they are doing better.
It’s not that the cost of a conditional draft choice is unreasonable. It’s where are the Jets in two years? There was arm enough left in Favre last year to win 13 games, and a playoff contest. But after all he has been through, all he has put himself through, does he have enough heart left for the game to make this more than just a late, wild, swing by the Jets for some attention?