Favre Will Be Good for New York
Jets Acquire Future Hall of Famer, Dump Pennington
Brett Favre is now a member of the Jets after being traded by his beloved Green Bay Packers for a conditional draft pick. So how will Favre fare with his new team? Is he going to do as well as Joe Montana did with the Kansas City Chiefs, or as poorly as Joe Namath did with the Los Angeles Rams? Here are the factors to take into consideration:
Favre's New Receiving Corps
Favre may never have gotten Randy Moss in Green Bay like he pushed for, but he had a great group of receivers to work with last year. Greg Jennings was a premier playmaker (12 TD), Donald Driver was a dependable go-to guy in crucial situations (82 receptions for 1,048 yards) and youngsters James Jones and Donald Lee were above-average third and fourth options.
But the Jets receivers have some numbers of their own, and they compiled them with the weak-armed Pennington as the primary quarterback, not Favre. Laveranues Coles has three 1,000-yard campaigns to his credit, and there is no reason he cannot be as productive as Driver with Favre throwing him the ball. Jerricho Cotchery had 164 catches for 2,091 yards over the past two seasons. Imagine what this overachiever could have done with Favre gunning the ball to him? A 90-catch, 1,200-yard, six-score season could be on the horizon for him. Plus, the Jets drafted pass-catching tight end Dustin Keller in the first round, and Favre loves tossing to his tight ends. Keller could turn out to be a speedier version of Bubba Franks. And guess what? Franks is with the Jets, too, giving Favre back his favorite touchdown target inside the red zone.
The Jets' Running Game
Favre was afforded the luxury of one of the best running attacks in the NFC once tailback terror Ryan Grant popped out of oblivion during the second half of last season. That gave Favre more time to throw and gave his receivers more room to run routes whenever he would play-action fake. Well, the Jets spent a Bill Gates-like amount of money to retool a porous offensive line in the offseason, and that should translate into a 1,000-yard bounce-back season for Thomas Jones and another underrated but outstanding year for change-up back Leon Washington. The Jets running game could be the most improved in the NFL if everything falls into place, and Favre will help keep defenses from stacking up against the run, opening extra running lanes for Jones and Washington to dart through.
The Jets' Offensive Line
The Packers have one of the better lines in the NFL, so Favre normally had plenty of time to throw and a solid running game to take the pressure off of him. This offseason the Jets upgraded their O-line with free-agent additions Alan Faneca and Damien Woody. Combine them with former first-rounders Nick Mangold and D-Brickashaw Ferguson (now entering their third years) and bullish blocking fullback Tony Richardson and Favre might never get touched. Pass protection should be the least of Favre’s worries.
The New Jersey Weather
You have heard the horror stories about Giants Stadium. The winds there take lightly thrown passes and cause them to float like helium balloons. That is why Pennington had so much trouble late in his Jets tenure, because he could not cut through the gusts with his passes because of his infamous lack of arm strength. No such problems for Favre, though. The man played for 16 years in Green Bay. If you can throw there, you can throw anywhere. Playing at Giants Stadium will be like playing in Hawaii for No. 4.
So the supporting cast around Favre on offense will be arguably as good with the Jets as it was with the Packers, and the East Coast weather should not faze him. Favre is as media-savvy as they come, so the New York press will not get under his skin, either. It sure sounds like the Jets have a chance at a wild card spot with Favre at the helm.
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