Favre saga has parallels to Montana
The aged star quarterback was told the starting job was no longer his. He demanded a trade, went so far as to try to orchestrate his own deal, and eventually was moved to a 4-12 team needful of a savior.
Brett Favre? Yes. But also Joe Montana. And if history repeats, then the New York Jets just became a player in the AFC East.
The Kansas City Chiefs were coming off a 4-12 campaign when they acquired Montana, 35, from San Francisco in April 1993. The next year they won 11 regular-season games and two more in the playoffs before falling to the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship Game. The following season they again made the postseason under Montana’s leadership. The turnaround was profound.
Can Favre do the same for the Jets? Certainly. To a degree.
And might the acquisition amount to nothing more than a marketing ploy that activates the fan base of a stagnant franchise that’s soon to pitch seat licenses for its new stadium? Yes, it could be that, too.
A few factors weigh against the Jets if they’re looking for Favre to do for them what Montana did for the Chiefs. For one, Favre’s 38, and the effects of age have a way of showing up unannounced. And while Favre is coming off a brilliant year that nearly landed the Green Bay Packers in the Super Bowl, there’s no denying that his previous two seasons were colossal busts. Then again, elbow surgery and a lengthy rehabilitation limited Montana to one appearance in the two seasons before his trade. Uncertainties abounded. But there’s a difference.
Montana’s greatest gifts were his command of the offense and his poise under pressure. His calm was contagious, a stabilizing force. Conversely, Favre’s game is built around his rifle arm and his endearingly stubborn insistence that he can throw any pass in one window and out the other of a speeding car. New Yorkers will adore his swashbuckling style, but how well will Favre acclimate in a city where expectations run amok? His protracted divorce from the Packers doubtlessly has him determined to prove they should have welcomed him back. Will this quest for redemption result in Favre returning to his erratic, overzealous ways of 2005 and ’06?
On the plus side, the acquisition gives the Jets a sense of belief that neither quarterbacks Chad Pennington nor Kellen Clemens could and erases all doubts over who the starter should be. Pennington was released Thursday. Wideouts Jerricho Cotchery and Laveranues Coles just became all the more dangerous, and Favre’s ability to air it out should create more running room for running back Thomas Jones. The offense has an identity for the first time since running back Curtis Martin was its focal point, assuming Favre can get a quick handle on Eric Mangini’s exhaustive playbook.
Yes, the Jets are better, but how much so? Good enough to unseat the New England Patriots in the AFC East? Not even close. Good enough to land one of the two wild-card playoff spots? Can’t see it. Good enough to overtake the Bills for second place in the division? I’ll get back to you when we find out what transpires with Jason Peters. But they should be more competitive, and infinitely more fun to watch.
While the Jets will draw scrutiny this year, so will the Packers. When the 49ers snubbed Montana they had Steve Young, the league’s MVP, to fall back on. Even then, management made a last-ditch attempt to retain Montana by offering to designate him as their starting QB heading into training camp. Montana decided the wounds were too deep.
The Packers offered no such olive branch. And now Aaron Rodgers, with 59 career pass attempts to his name, becomes their version of Steve Young.
