Jets and Favre Revisited

After watching the Jets almost lose to Buffalo on Sunday, and seeing them win one out of their last three games during which our savior Brett Favre threw for a grand total of one touchdown and four interceptions, I felt compelled to revisit a post I made in August, part of which follows:

August 27, 2008

Okay, don't get me wrong, I will still root for the Jets and wish them well, but the concept of being a fan, while waning for years, is now pretty much gone.

To have stuck with the Jets since they played at Shea Stadium hasn't been easy. But stick I did. I will have to admit though that when they played the Vikings in the play-offs a few years back my loyalties were indeed torn. I am originally from Minnesota and grew up with the Purple People Eaters.

Now this year the Jets have brought in an aging quarterback from the Vikings arch-rivals, the Packers. Whoo Whoo, the New York papers are going crazy. He will be the salvation of the Jets. Hell, he might even get them into the playoffs this year. Ah, so what. Didn't they make the playoffs in 2002 and then blow out Indianapolis in the first round with Chad Pennington. Oh, Chad also led the league in passer rating and completions percentage that year. And then in 2006 Chad got us into the playoffs again. But we sent him to Miami so maybe Favre can lead us to the playoffs this year. Am I missing something here? It wouldn't surprise me if the Dolphins have a better season than the Jets. Okay, so I am a bit bitter.

Well, so far this year the Jets and the Dolphins have the same 9 and 5 record. Big difference is that last year the Dolphins only won one game. Guess Chad has helped them a bit more than Brett has helped the Jets.

Oh, and guess who is having the better year at quarterback this year? According to ESPN's latest ratings, Chad is currently the number four rated quarterback in the NFL with a 95.1 rating. Brett, well he is number 15 with an 86.5 rating. Ah, but Brett can really wing that ball, can't he? Funny then that Chad averages over a yard more per attempt despite having a slightly lower completion percentage. And Chad has thrown 11 fewer interceptions.

Watch it all come down to the final game of the season to determine whether it is the Jets or the Dolphins who make the play-offs. If it ends up being the Dolphins watch everyone who touted getting rid of Pennington and bringing in Favre as the smartest move since the Yankees picked up Babe Ruth scramble for the exits.

I said all along that bringing in Favre had less to do with winning games and getting into the play-offs than in generating some buzz and semi-justifying the huge Personal Seating License fees they are going to be charging. And, of course, all of the brain-dead sportswriters around here bought right into it. I notice, however, they are already starting to jump ship. None more so than Tim Smith of the New York Daily News who today proclaimed:

IT'S A GUARANTEE: JETS WILL FUMBLE
A lock to run out of miracles and fall short of playoff berth.

Don't get me wrong, I still think the Jets have a decent shot at the play-offs. I just think they would have had as good a shot if they had kept Chad. And a lot better shot if they hadn't handed Chad over to Miami.

I am still a bit bitter.