First practice a mental, physical test for Favre ... Jets training camp crowd swells for new QB

First practice a mental, physical test for Favre ... Jets training camp crowd swells for new QB

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August 9, 2008

First practice a mental, physical test for Favre ... Jets training camp crowd swells for new QB

By Rob Demovsky
rdemovsk@greenbaypressgazette.com
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. — Brett Favre’s first act in a New York Jets uniform was nothing more than taking a snap from Nick Mangold.
The 18th-year NFL quarterback and his new center, a third-year pro from Ohio State, repeated the drill over and over at the beginning of Saturday’s practice. Elsewhere on the field, the other 78 players and coaches went about their pre-practice routine, but make no mistake about it — all eyes in the overflow crowd were on Favre and Mangold.

“Oh, they weren’t on me,” Mangold said. “But it’s neat seeing all these people out here. It’s exciting.”

Jets’ officials estimated the crowd at Hofstra University’s practice field swelled to 10,500. For a normal Saturday training camp practice, the Jets typically attract about 2,500 to their remote Long Island location.

There was nothing normal about this.

Not for the Jets, who often play second fiddle in their own city to the reigning Super Bowl champion New York Giants.

Not for Favre, who donned something other than Green Bay Packers’ colors for the first time in more than 16 years.

Favre’s red, do-not-hit-the-quarterback No. 4 practice jersey was the same, but there he was wearing a white helmet with the Jets’ logo emblazoned on the side and white pants with green stripes.

“There were some times in practice today,” a sweat-soaked Favre said following the workout, “I wondered if I made the right move. But I knew it would be rough today.”

Only minutes after Jets coach Eric Mangini said Favre would start Saturday’s exhibition game against the Washington Redskins, Favre began practice with a series of individual drills. When the Jets went to team (11-on-11) periods, Favre took the first six snaps of each series. Still, he threw only nine passes during team periods, completing six of them. He did not take any snaps during a move-the-ball, live period at the end.

Earlier, during a 7-on-7 period, Favre completed three of his first four passes, but on his final throw, linebacker Matt Chatham intercepted a pass intended for tight end Chris Baker.

The crowd booed, but the sense was the jeers were directed at Chatham — not Favre.

Favre, who hadn’t taken a rep in an NFL practice since late January and last lined up with professional players on Jan. 20 in the NFC title game against the Giants, admitted he has a ways to go to get into football shape. Mangini said he didn’t know what Favre weighed in at, but he was listed at 222 pounds on the roster.

“My arm feels fine,” Favre said. “It’ll be tired tomorrow; it will be sore. I’ve been throwing (to high school kids in Mississippi), but there’s no substitute for getting the pads on. It’s the first time I put the pads on since the Giants game. It was warm, and I didn’t want to look too bad, so I tried to put as much into it, and I’ll pay for it tomorrow.”

Those who have seen Favre throughout his career would have been able to recognize he was feeling his way through the nearly two-hour practice and not slinging balls of fire. Yet Favre’s backup quarterback Kellen Clemens said Favre’s arm strength “is everything that you heard it would be and probably more,” and receiver Jerricho Cotchery said “all the rumors about him throwing hard, they’re true.”

But Bubba Franks — Favre’s teammate in Green Bay from 2000 to 2007 who signed with the Jets in the offseason — knew better.

“I think he was probably trying to feel his way out and get the receivers used to catching a ball from him,” Franks said. “But I don’t think he let it go yet. You’ve seen him just like I’ve seen him — they can go.”

Favre has barely a month to get ready for the regular-season opener on Sept. 7 against the Miami Dolphins. His opposing quarterback that day, Chad Pennington, probably will know the nuances of the Jets’ offense better than Favre. Pennington spent his first eight NFL seasons with the Jets but was released on Thursday, a day after the Jets traded for Favre, and signed with the Dolphins the next day.

“I’d be foolish to think that opening day I’d know this offense like I’ve known the offense I was in in the past,” Favre said. “I’ve always felt like within any offense or defense throughout the NFL, there’s way too much volume. Coaches have too much free time. All I’m saying with that is you don’t have to have 1,000 plays to be successful. You have to run five or 10 of them very well.

“We’ll condense it down. They’re throwing everything at me right now, and it’s a little overwhelming if you let it be. I was really surprised that I was as effective as I was. I’m not saying that was good, but I was able to take the snap, call the play. We were able to break the huddle, and I was able to complete passes in some sort of rhythm.”

Inevitably, questions for Favre turned to his decision to retire in March, then unretire and leave the Packers in a messy breakup.

“I never at any point felt like I never wanted to play,” Favre said. “March 3, when I made that announcement (to the team), I was not committed 100 percent. They wanted an answer at that time. No one held a gun to my head, but I was honest. At that time I was not 100 percent committed. I knew that a month later, two months later, I may be. I didn’t know, but I knew there was a good chance I would want to play again.”

When asked what made him decide to return, Favre said: “Just time.”

Favre stopped short of predicting how things will turn out.

“I hope at the end of this season that I’ll feel like I made the right decision, that people throughout the NFL world will feel like I made the right decision,” Favre said. “At this point, I think it was the right decision.”