Posts tagged BrettFavre at FanHouse

Training camps are underway, the NFL season is a month off, and to get you ready for 2008, FanHouse previews all 32 teams, "heat index" style. We'll rate each club in 10 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.

Quarterback: Chad Pennington enters 2008 trying to prove yet again that he -- wait, what? Who? Really? Didn't he retire? Oh. I see. It doesn't seem like Brett Favre wants to play in New York this year, he's basically said so much in the most diplomatic way possible, which means this is the year where Favre stops having fun. This is the year he stops looking like a kid again, to support the cliche. And it can be argued that that magic has perpetuated itself, and has been the reason Favre is still considered -- rightfully or not -- one of the best quarterbacks in the league. Without it, I can imagine 2008 being a disaster for Favre -- bad play and missed games. And then the New York media jumps in and the misery just compounds. That's how I see 2008 rolling. Oh, plus, they don't have a decent backup quarterback. Heat Index: 6

As I mentioned earlier, the Giants have far more questions than answers to the season-ending injury to Osi Umenyiora. One of those questions is whether or not the Giants will call Michael Strahan and lure him out of retirement.

If Strahan wants to come back, and I think he would for the right money seeing as how he would have taken $8 million to return this season, he'll probably be asking for something similar to the $12 million Brett Favre is getting from the Jets. Luckily, the Giants have enough cap room to afford that type of hit. But then there's the question of how quickly Strahan could be ready to play with meaningful games coming up quickly.

But that's assuming he wants to play. And that's assuming the Giants want him to play. Though it seems like a no-brainer, since Strahan will eventually get into shape and provide the talent and experience of an All Pro, there has been no contact between the two sides. Yet.

"I haven't heard from anybody on 92. As far as I'm concerned, he's working for Fox," said Agnone, who also represents Umenyiora. "If something comes into play, we'll talk about it. Until that point, anything else is speculation."

Tom Coughlin concurs on the matter. That being said, I have a hard time believing the Giants' decision makers wake up tomorrow morning, pinch themselves to make sure it wasn't just a bad dream, look at what their options are and decide calling Strahan and offering him whatever he wants isn't the only viable move to make. And I'd be surprised if Strahan doesn't take the offer. Whether Strahan could match Umenyiora's production is unknown, but bringing back the legend would certainly be better from a personnel and marketing standpoint than going into the season with what they have now.

Training camps are underway, the NFL season is a month off, and to get you ready for 2008, FanHouse previews all 32 teams, "heat index" style. We'll rate each club in 10 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.

Quarterback: Who would have thought a year ago that the perception of Eli Manning would have changed so drastically? That's what happens when you win a Super Bowl. But can you really expect Manning to be as precise as he was during that improbable championship run? Either the light finally went on for Manning, or he simply found a zone. Or a combination of the two. Last year was a step forward, for sure, but I expect Eli Manning v.2008 to resemble something in between the lows and highs of the two Eli Mannings circa 2007. Still, that's good enough to win games. What isn't good enough to win games is David Carr, the team's new backup, so Manning better stay upright for all 16. Heat Index: 7

Running back: The Giants found out exactly how critical depth at running back is, and they also found out that they luckily have it. Great contributions came from Brandon Jacobs, Ahmad Bradshaw, Derrick Ward, and Reuben Droughns. Danny Ware will likely take Droughns' place this year, but the team is still set in the backfield. Jacobs' combination of speed and power is pretty unstoppable, and while punishing backs don't typically have long shelf lives, Jacobs is in his prime now if he stays healthy this year. Heat Index: 8

You may have thought that the clause the Packers threw into their Brave Favre deal would ensure he never became a Viking. The Jets would have to give the Packers three first round picks if the deal Favre to Minnesota, which seems like a pretty big bit of insurance that Favre will never wear purple.

But according to Pro Football Talk, don't be so sure.

The Jets apparently reworked Favre's deal when they acquired him. He doesn't have to make appearances for the team, and he also wouldn't have to give back any of his bonus money if he retires after the season.

Though Brett Favre hasn't felt shy about speaking on his behalf, we still don't know exactly what Laveranues Coles thinks about the team's decision to release Chad Pennington. That's because Coles hasn't said anything. And in the process, a lot of things have been said about him and his motivations.

But Pennington says that Coles' refusal to speak is not born out of anger or petulance, that he's simply misunderstood.

"He's an extremely loyal guy. That's what has made him great in the league, and it's taken him a long way in life.

... But once the games start and the whistle blows, he'll play hard for the Jets. I don't think anybody can ever question that."
...
"[Coles' silent treatment] is not something that I would make too big a deal of."

By all accounts the only people Coles isn't speaking to is the media (despite reports that he briefly left the team's hotel in Cleveland a couple of weeks ago in anger). And Pennington's right -- Coles will not let his play diminish because his feelings are hurt.

Though you have to wonder if he wishes he didn't sign a new deal earlier this offseason which precludes him from trying to force his way to Miami.

Brett Favre had a splendid start to his Jets career, but he's still less than two weeks into his re-un-retirement and he'll readily admit that he's nowhere near knowing this offense. That's kind of an issue since the regular season starts Sept. 7, but less of one than if, say, Kellen Clemens were having similar problems (in addition to all the other ones).

Whatever, Favre had a face-to-face with Jets head coach Eric Mangini about how to make the book learnin' as painless as possible given the time crunch:

"I had a long talk with Eric," Favre said on 1050 ESPN Radio. "I don't want to think, I want to react. There's got to be some middle ground there. That's what we're trying to find. I'm trying to get as much digested as possible. "A lot of times you can make this as complicated as you want to."

Favre indicated that the goal is to "simplify" things and "use the guys to the best of our ability."

According to the New York Post's Mark Cannizzaro, Favre admitted that the Jets offense is "totally different" than the Packers' system, and that "there's a tall mountain in front" of him in terms of the job ahead, adding, "I'm up to the challenge and I hope this thing works out."

Last night, in the minutes before the Giants put the smackdown on the Browns, ESPN's Chris Mortensen "reported" that the Dolphins might start the season without their 2005 first-round pick, running back Ronnie Brown. I say "reported" not to point out that Mortensen has a spotty track record when it comes to breaking stories, but because the Miami Herald's Armando Salguero has a theory as to what's really going on.

After hearing Mortensen on Monday Night Countdown's "Sink or Swim" segment, here's what Salguero wrote on his Dolphins in Depth blog:

Mortensen was asked about Ricky Williams and while talking about how he would "swim," he went on to say that the Dolphins are so pleased with Williams he "would not be surprised if Ronnie Brown sinks," to the point where "he is playing with another team this season."

Mortensen's reason for Brown being out of here is that the player is "struggling" this preseason. Wow. ...

I would think if Mort, an outstanding reporter by any measure one uses, had the story nailed, he would have come stronger than he just did. I think it would have been his lead comment, not following the Williams sink or swim bunk.

The good vibes can only last in the New York/New Jersey media markets for so long before it's time to bicker and complain -- we're fickle like that. So after Brett Favre threw a touchdown in his first quarter of his debut with the Jets, it was only a matter of time before fans somewhat moved on.

In this case, they're arguing about who should take over if/when the marathon of games Favre has played over the years catch up to his 38-year-old body and he inevitably misses one or more.

The natural answer would be Kellen Clemens, the second-round pick from 2006. But Clemens looked bad last season as a starter and has been outplayed so far this training camp and preseason by Brett Ratliff. On Saturday night, Clemens went 5-for-12 for 63 yards, and Ratliff went 13-for-19 for for 148 yards, leading the team on a drive that ended with a field goal.

But fans looking at Ratliff as the future are being shortsighted. Not to say Clemens is the better quarterback, simply that it's too early to tell. Ratliff was playing against the bottom of the barrel. Clemens has talent, it just needs to be developed. It's myopic to forget that last year fans were begging for him as they are for Ratliff now. Last season was not a good barometer nor opportunity to develop his skills. Those wishing for Clemens to be exiled might be calling for the same to happen to Ratliff a year from now.

Peter King IS VERY HAPPY. Between high-fiving himself* over his good fortune (Brett Favre's a Jet?!? Woo-hoo!), he also had time to cover other developing NFL stories. Chief among them: how long will Colts' quarterback Peyton Manning really be out?

Initial reports had his knee surgery keeping him on the sidelines during the preseason but returning for Week 1 of the regular season. FanHouse's medical staff was skeptical, and King, forever the optimist, hints that Manning might not be ready for the Bears on Sept. 7.

Manning had the infected bursa sac near his left knee removed July 14, and he hasn't practiced in the five weeks since. It is one of the cloudiest injuries in sports. I am writing about it because I think there's a chance -- oh, maybe a 30, 35 percent chance if I had to guess -- that the removal of the infected bursa sac could prevent Manning from playing in the Colts' opening game...

Colts center Jeff Saturday told King it would "take a broken leg to keep him out," which indicates he'll be playing. But if it could result in long-term damage, it might be Jim Sorgi in three weeks.

Derek Jeter and the New York Yankees go together like lamb and tuna fish. Or perhaps you prefer spaghetti and meatball. Or even Brett Favre and Green Bay. But as Joel Sherman pointed out in the New York Post on Sunday, the idea that Jeter might somehow not be a Yankee for life is suddenly not that crazy.

Because Jeter is no more associated with the Yankees than Favre was with the Packers. If that marriage can end in such a nasty divorce, don't we at least have to consider that it can happen with Jeter and the Yanks - at least this version of the Yanks?

The involved parties, as you would expect, treated the subject [of Jeter's expiring contract] like plutonium. Jeter told The Post's George King that he did not follow the Favre situation "very closely" and that he hasn't thought about his next contract. Sure he hasn't. Jeter's long-time agent, Casey Close, refused to discuss the matter, saying, "It is far too premature to answer that."

Yankees GM Brian Cashman said, "Who is to predict how things take place? We have problems in the present to deal with. Trying to anticipate the future is a waste of time and energy right now."

Um, call me crazy, but I'm fairly certain Cashman has been urging the Yankees ownership to do nothing but think of the future as he's attempted to wean them off of throwing long-term money at unproven free agents and over-the-hill veterans.