FJM Style: Learn to Love Him!!
Despair! It’s the inevitable contrarian with the Worst Case Scenario column to make you even more miserable.
Filip Bondy of the Daily News wrote today about how the Jets and Favre might be stuck with each other but let’s look at the heart of his column, FJM style:
The unraveling was painful to watch, sure. But Favre’s biceps tendon apparently was torn, and nobody was forcing Mangini to keep the guy out there, throwing downfield.
It was a “damned if you do” situation for Mangini but he should have had the stones to head it off at the pass rather than scream obscenties from the sideline as he watched Favre sink the ship for him. Mangini was somewhat blindsided, or he would have sent us a message like Lane Kiffin was kind enough to with his 76 Yard Kick decision.
It would have been a bloody coup to bench Favre, and let’s be honest, Woody was looking for any reason to fire Mangini as it was … what with Woody’s “decision tree” and all.
For Mangini to have benched Favre, the hue and cry for Mangini’s noggin among fans would have been even more amplified. Mangini seemingly hoped to have Favre hoist himself on his own petard, but what Mangini wasn’t planning on was being hoisted himself from a management that cut his legs out from under him in midst hoist.
Favre tried his hardest,
Seriously?
Tried his hardest to throw the ball to opponents? Tried his hardest to look stupefied on the sideline? Tried his hardest to make us feel sorry for an injury that he told us wasn’t an excuse? Tried his hardest to tell his team that he didn’t give a crap in the CBS miked pre-game huddle before the Dolphins game? Tried his hardest to create the “distant” nature around him and shroud himself from his teammates? Tried his hardest to be petty about buying into Mangini’s system after the team went out of their way to revive his career? Need I go on?
and here’s the truth that you don’t want to hear: The Jets probably can’t do better right now. Favre is their best bet for 2009, until they maneuver themselves out of this high-stakes gamble that they lost in 2008.
False. I don’t call 24 turnovers from “one player in 53″ the best they can do. The Jets took the ball away 30 times in 2008, that was good enough for fourth in the league. How many times did they give it away? 31, good enough for fourth worst in the league. Of those 31 giveaways, Favre threw 22 INTs and lost two fumbles, so that’s 24/31 giveaways for which Favre was directly responsible.
You can cry foul on that one. Any QB is going to create turnovers, because he touches the ball so much. But how did Brett perform so badly and Bondy still thinks he’s the best option?
Rookie QB Joe Flacco who was playing against teams like Monmouth and William and Mary just a year ago, started 16 games like Favre and accounted for just 14 turnovers. Rookie QB Matt Ryan? 12. Kerry Collins? 8. Chad? 8. OK, maybe not the best examples. But even David Garrard, who had a lackluster season, allowed only 16 turnovers, eight less than Favre.
Don’t kid yourself. If the Jets thought Kellen Clemens was a starter, he’d be starting.
Clemens didn’t have a great camp last summer, and that was a big part of the reason the team went for Favre in the first place. I don’t know what the future holds for the kid, but his 2007 numbers have to be taken with a grain of salt compared to what he had around him. With a better line and running game, Clemens would be improved, just like Chad would have been. Clemens had a ton of picks in 2007, but could it possibly have been worse than Favre was in 2008? At least you could have dictated to the kid what to do.
If they thought they could get a younger, stronger, cheaper version of Favre, they would have done that.
It doesn’t exist. Favre is one of a kind, we get it. But no feet-on-the-ground team wants anyone who will turn the ball over as much as he does. Smart teams want a QB who knows that interceptions kill teams, and learn from their mistakes.
Almost anything is better than Favre. The uninspired play of a middling QB like Garard would be better suited to the team, and would have allowed the defense to do it’s job and snuck a couple more wins out of the season. Half Favre’s 24 turnovers (12) puts the Jets into the elite class (+11) of the 2008 NFL, with only Miami (+17) Tennessee (+14) and Baltimore (+13) with a better differential.
But what am I saying? Favre is the best guy for the Jets, right Filip? Favre was at his best when he stuck within the “game manager role” during the season. It was the time of the Jets wildest successes, but we had to let Favre be Favre, and as he has shown throughout his career he refuses to learn from costly, even ball-kickingly painful mistakes.
14 Responses to FJM Style: Learn to Love Him!!
-
section133 says:
This is shaping up to be a great 2009-2010 season (sarcasam). I really thought when woody canned Mangini he had some great plan in place, obviously that was not the case at all.
Favre cant come back, with how this season went and players obviously not appreciating him internally it would be a mess.
If this was a public company and woody was CEO, he would have been fired a long time ago. He is clueless on how to run a franchise organization.
-
Harlan Lachman says:
Bassett, I read this late after work so I missed the sarcasm at first.
Very solid article with the facts to back it up. Thanks for the clear reasoning. Let’s hope Tannenbaum and Woody read your blog.
BTW, would it be a kick in the teeth if the browns hire mangini and he pulls a Bellichek in reverse (building a Champion upon going to Cle as opposed to leaving)?
h
-
Hangar says:
Bassett
You it it right on the head….
a failed bit now time to move on. Let him go, get yourself a new coach and put this thing together. We still have a decent team here and with the right leaders they can do something….
The East division will be up for grabs next year…Miami will not go 11-5 (schedule will kill them), Brady a question mark…
Woody and Mr T can still come out of this mess looking good. -
Bent says: junior – if Favre returns, it wouldn’t really be cap hell. I would define cap hell as having to release a bunch of key guys just to get under the cap. That’s unlikely to be necessary, as they can save enough money to get under the cap by releasing or not re-signing some of the more expendable members of the team.
However, if he does come back, then it likely you’ll see the Jets not being able to afford any big names.
If he doesn’t come back (or restructures, as unlikely as I personally think that is), then it would make things easier, but either way they should get by without losing many key guys (if any).
-
Nikolas says:
Basset/ Junior/section133/
Very Good points, but what is it that we can do?
Maybe we should strike? -
The problem is that no good and proven coach wants to play under this front office. They are a joke around the league. No Cowher, no Sanahan,….now we have to pray for a new “mangini”
-
Nikolas
I think about this all the time.. Im a younger guy (24) and really enjoy the jets and hate to see how obviously horrible this org. is run. I dont think that striking would accomplish anything unfortunately because:A) Woody would have no reason to change anything without consequence.
B) The number of fans that would strike going to games would not be that great. Anyone who did give up seats, there would be someone waiting in line to take them.
C) the NFL can careless how a team is run as long as the bills are paid at the end of the month.To TJB.
It would be great to get a blog going about ideas to turn the Jets around as an organization. To say that this season (with so much at stake) and the last week has frustrated me is under statement. Just an idea. -
Jdogsofla says:
What’s wrong with Ratliff? Besides the fact that they are afraid to give him a chance. He has a year under his belt. He soaked up everything he could from Favre. Get him a great QB coach. And see where we go from there. Look at this year’s rookies. Look at what the dolphins did with Marino. It’s worth a shot.
-
subwayfare says:
“I don’t call 24 turnovers from “one player in 53″ the best they can do…Favre threw 22 INTs and lost two fumbles, so that’s 24/31 giveaways for which Favre was directly responsible.”
Joe Namath threw 27 interceptions in 1966 and 28 in 1967. Was he also not doing the best he could do? Would you have cut him before the SB season? (in which he still threw more INT’s than TDs)
I don’t think the 13 million $ cap numbers is worth it, and from the way he looked by season’s end, he might be totally out of gas, physically. But the media pile-on, extrapolating every small bit of leaked or anonymous information into a narrative about Favre essentially waking up every morning and conjuring up ways to sabotage the Jets is getting a little creepy.
I’ve got some news for you, it’s less Brett Favre (who will retire if he has any sense left at all) chasing potential coaches away than it is the hysterical media salivating over the next victim.
-
junior says:
Bottom line he threw 6 td’s against zona who is terrible so what does that really say about favre’s numbers
-
JD says:
This Favre bashing seems like backbiting. I hope he retires based on his play this year but where was the fingerpointing in the locker room after the San Francisco game? Favre had 522 pass attempts this through 16 games. Kurt Warner Drew Brees Peyton Manning, Aaron Rogers Donovan McNabb Jay Cutler
-
and David Garrard were the only QBs with more attempts. The ball had to be taken out of Favre’s hands by handing it off or passing to T.J. or Leon but it wasn’t and Mangini was fired for it and as it turns out there was no succession plan. Please no B. Schott as HC.
-
Joe B. says:
I’m with JD. Favre has to take a lot of the blame for his bad decisions, but why on earth were we throwing the ball so often? We only got blown out twice this season (@ SD, v. DEN). Someone has to answer for a team with the best one-two punch in the AFC at running back abandoning the run so consistently.
The jets are in bigger trouble then they think…
If Favre does come back we are looking at being in cap
HELL. I for one do not believe he will be back next season due to them parting ways by he either retire or he is released.
The front office either is looking very bad right now or they have something up there sleeve. I personally believe the earlier.
Then we still need a coach,woody knows that he needs to make a splash so he can get his psl’s. This has the makings for a disaster. How is this man so bad at his business!!!
If i was trying to basically strong arm the fans into paying for psl’s I would think to say ok lets go get a head coach who is a Proven winner and basically let him put a who’s who on the staff so we can get a tradition of winning ways around here and Then when i send the bill to the fans maybe they’ll actually open the envelope instead of throwing it out.
WHO EVER OUR NEXT COACH IS GET RID OF FAVRE ASAP There is no need to bring him back.