It took only six weeks into the regular season, but Brett Favre today fielded his first question about whether he’ll come back to play next season.
“I haven’t thought about next year, honestly,” Favre said. “I really am excited about being here. For me, I’m taking it game by game. I don’t see how you can look at it any differently.
“When I was young, in my third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth year, you’re always thinking past that,” he went on. “You’re always thinking about the next contract, can I get to the Pro Bowl. You’re always thinking about the Super Bowl. It seems like, as a young player, you’re always thinking more individual things.
“Records and all those things never really meant a whole lot to me. I guess some people say, ‘That’s easy for you to say, you have ’em all.’
“So for me, it’s hard to explain the situation I’m in. Sometimes I often wonder, ‘What the heck are you doing? You got it all. Why continue to put yourself through it?’ Well, I love to play the game. It’s a different situation here in New York, but I’m really excited about it.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen in the end. The only thing I can control is this week and the type of leadership they brought me here to show. I think I’m doing a good job of that.
“We’ll take it week-to-week. At the end of the season, I’ll take a look at (things). I’ll assess how I played this year and talk with the Jets and we’ll see from there. I think it’s way premature to even think about next season.”
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With the Jets heading to Oakland this week to play the Raiders, Favre was compelling today in recollecting his remarkable performance with the Packers there in 2003, the day after his father, Irvin, died suddenly of an apparent heart attack.
Favre threw for 311 yards and four TDs _ in the first half alone _ in the Packers’ 44-7 win that memorable Monay night.
“One of the things I remember about that game in particular was Oakland fans are not the politest fans in the NFL, but I remember getting a standing ovation when I was introduced,” Favre recalled. “When the offense was introduced that night, I didn’t know what to expect. Believe me, I didn’t expect them to give that type of ovation.
“I can’t tell you how many signs (of support) were in that stadium. The people were very respectful.”
Favre, who was urged on by family and friends to play the game, would complete 22-of-30 passes for 399 yards and four TDs in a 44-7 Packers win that night.
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Jets S Eric Smith, activated after serving a one-game suspension, returned to practice today and will likely start Sunday in Oakland despite the fact that Abram Elam (6 tackles) played well against the Bengals. Eric Mangini has hinted that both might play in a platoon-type arrangement.
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Mangini named his “players of the week” for the Bengals game _ LT D’Brickashaw Ferguson on offense, DE Shaun Ellis on defense, Wallace Wright on special teams and WR David Clowney for practice.
… The Jets signed OL Kyle DeVan to the practice squad. The team will practice tomorrow and Friday before flying to Oakland Friday.
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Raiders interim head coach Tom Cable was refreshingly honest when asked what went wrong in last Sunday’s 34-3 loss to the Saints: “Too many incompletions and not enough effort defensively.”