Favre makes debut as Jets face Dolphins
editor1 |Sep 07,2008
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NY Jets AT Miami, 1:00pm EDT
MIAMI (Ticker) -- The Cheeseheads are heartbroken, the New York
Jets are thrilled and the NFL may never be the same.
Future Hall of Famer Brett Favre, once considered a Green Bay
Packer for life and now "Broadway Brett", makes his debut for
the Jets on Sunday against the Miami Dolphins.
It was once believed unthinkable that Favre, who spent the
previous 16 seasons in Green Bay, could play for anyone but the
Packers. However, Green Bay management refused to give into
Favre's demands after he un-retired, deciding it was time to
move in a different direction.
Following a tumultuous summer of posturing from both sides, the
Packers traded Favre to the Jets for a conditional pick in next
year's draft.
While Green Bay has turned over the reins to Favre's understudy,
Aaron Rodgers, the Jets hope Favre can inject some life into a
struggling franchise that routinely plays second fiddle in New
York to the Giants. That is especially true this season with
the Giants beginning defense of their Super Bowl title.
Coming off a dismal 4-12 season, the Jets are expecting the
38-year-old Favre to transform them into a playoff team.
However, he is joining a division, the AFC East, that has been
dominated in recent years by Tom Brady and the New England
Patriots.
Favre's biggest challenges during the preseason were learning
the Jets' offense and getting on the same page with coach Eric
Mangini.
"I hope that I play at the level that I've always played at,"
Favre said during his introductory news conference. "There's no
guarantees, there's never been any guarantees for me."
Favre showed last season, however, that he could still play at a
high level, even at his advanced age. He enjoyed one of the best
years of his career, passing for more than 4,100 yards in
leading the Packers to a 13-3 record and the NFC championship
game.
During the year, Favre became the winningest quarterback in NFL
history and also broke Dan Marino's record for career passing
yards.
While Favre has joined a new team, his consecutive games streak
is intact. On Sunday, he will extend another one of his NFL
marks by starting his 276th straight game.
In an ironic twist, New York will be facing a familiar face in
Chad Pennington, its starting quarterback for most of the past
eight seasons, who was released after Favre was acquired. The
Jets know Pennington, who posted a 32-29 record as the their
starter, would love to beat his former team.
After being let go by the Jets, Pennington quickly signed with
the Dolphins, who were looking for an experienced quarterback to
provide some veteran leadership.
Often hampered by injuries, Pennington overcame two rotator-cuff
surgeries to lead the Jets to a 10-6 record and a playoff berth
in 2006, when he was named the NFL's Comeback Player of the
Year.
"He's a winner," New York safety Kerry Rhodes said. "When he's
in and when he's healthy, he's a productive quarterback in this
league, so facing him is going to be tough. We know he can make
all the reads, we know he's familiar with our system. He knows
what we like to do and we know what he likes to do. It's going
to be a chess match. It's going to be fun."
New Miami coach Tony Sparano, a former assistant head coach in
Dallas, inherits a team that went 1-15 last season and
threatened to become the first squad in NFL history to go 0-16.
After starting 0-13, Miami earned its only win with a 22-16
overtime victory over the Baltimore Ravens.
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