Can Favre Turn Jets Fans Around?

By Paulie Knep
Love of Sports Correspondent

The New York Jets capped off an active offseason in August by acquiring the NFL’s all-time leader in touchdown passes, one Brett Favre.

With the league’s most popular player moving to the largest media market in the country, the hype machine kicked into full gear.

“Favre the Magnificent” was displayed on the front page of every New York newspaper and the subject of countless radio talk shows. Sportswriters anointed him the greatest Jets quarterback since Joe Namath and predicted that he’d instantly transform the moribund franchise into a Super Bowl contender.

Jets fans donned their #4 jerseys with cautious optimism, as their team kicked off the season last week against the Miami Dolphins. Early in the game, Favre reared back and launched a 56-yard bomb to Jerricho Cotchery for a touchdown. Jets fans, tired of watching the vertically-challenged Chad Pennington check down to his running back, rejoiced at the site of the team’s new passing attack. The Jets beat the Dolphins 20-16 and the notion of Favre as savior gathered more steam.

However, it doesn’t take an election year for Jets fans to realize that things aren’t always as they seem. They’ve been fed so many servings of false hope over the years that not even a helping of Favre pie can make them salivate over talk of the Super Bowl. Jets owner Woody Johnson isn’t running for office, though he is attempting to implement an unpopular policy. The Jets are moving into a new stadium in 2010, and in addition to soaring ticket prices, the team’s asking fans to pay a licensing fee of up to $20,000 for the right to buy season tickets. Johnson hoped that acquiring Favre would seduce fans into quietly accepting the fees.

The trade was more than just a public relations move. Favre adds durability and a deep threat to the backfield, two qualities the Jets haven’t had in a quarterback in a long time and is an enhancement from last season’s starters, Pennington and Kellen Clemens. In addition to acquiring Favre, the Jets upgraded their offensive line and defensive front seven and expected to significantly improve upon last season’s 4-12 record.

The balance of power in the AFC East shifted last week when New England’s star quarterback Tom Brady was lost for the season with a knee injury. The Patriots turned over the signal calling duties to Matt Cassel, a fourth-year quarterback who hadn’t started a game since high school, for their matchup against the Jets at Giant Stadium this past Sunday. The revamped Jets had an opportunity to knock the defending AFC champs off their pedestal.

As the game unfolded, the Jets looked like … well, the same old Jets. They were out-coached, out-executed and out-worked on their way to a 19-10 loss.

Favre had a mediocre game. The poor play of his teammates, atrocious play calling and daunting Patriots defense didn’t help. Still, through two games it’s clear that the soon-to-be 39-year-old isn’t the same quarterback that won three MVP awards in the late 90’s.

He had a great season in Green Bay last year, though as his replacement Aaron Rodgers has demonstrated over the past two weeks, a stellar offensive line, strong running game and numerous receiving options can do wonders for a signal caller. The truth is, Favre’s closer to the quarterback who threw 38 touchdowns and 47 interceptions in 2005 and 2006 combined than the MVP candidate of 2007.

The old gunslinger’s arm isn’t nearly as strong as it was ten years ago, rendering his notoriously high-risk passes even more dangerous than in the past. Favre put his whole body into that 56-yard heave to Cotchery. On Monday night, Tony Romo and Donovan McNabb tossed the ball just as far, with minimal effort.

More discouraging than the Jets’ performance, was the atmosphere at Giants Stadium. Fans were excited for Favre’s first home game and there was a hint of optimism in the air - though just a hint. Cynicism spawned from years of disappointment lingered close beneath the surface.

The fans cheered as the Jets took the field, but didn’t erupt with the enthusiasm of a crowd expecting their team to knock off the defending conference champions. When the Patriots had the ball, they weren’t met with a deafening roar, but rather a skeptical din.

When the Jets missed a 30-yard field goal and the penalties began to mount, the crowd didn’t attempt to rally the men in green. They groaned, as Favre-mania gave way to an amalgam of dreadful memories of Joe Walton, Bruce Coslet, Blair Thomas, Rich Kotite, Dwayne Robertson, Kyle Brady and Browning Nagle… on and on and on.

When the Jets scored a touchdown early in the fourth quarter to cut the deficit to six, the crowd showed little enthusiasm. Not even the desperate pleading of unofficial mascot “Fireman Ed” could bring them to their feet. They knew how this game would end. They’d seen it before.

With five minutes remaining and the Jets trailing by nine, half of the fans had already shuffled out of the stadium. It was a far cry from the crowds at Lambeau Field, who showered Favre with unrestrained adulation, and held out for a miracle until the final whistle blew.

The Jets aren’t as bad as they appeared on Sunday. There’s a long list of teams who’ve been befuddled by Belichick’s defensive schemes. They have an easy schedule, and with a little luck, could win nine or ten games. Still, even with the mighty Favre at the helm, they’re an average team that will once again be without a quarterback when he retires after this season. 

Jets fans were excited about the acquisition of Favre, because after years of futility they were desperate for something to be excited about. But don’t expect them to be so enamored with the gunslinger’s glitz and glamour that they’ll quietly fork over those outrageous licensing fees to support a lowly franchise.