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Favre nervous about how move to Jets will turn out

Bob Glauber
September 4, 2008

FLORHAM PARK, N.J.

If you are a Jets fan worried about whether Brett Favre will live up to the massive expectations, you are not alone.

Favre is just as worried.

That's right, the swashbuckling quarterback who has delivered so many incredible moments over the years is scared to death this thing might not work out.

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"What drives me is fear of failure," Favre said yesterday, four days before he debuts with the Jets against the Dolphins in Miami. "That goes for each season and each game. As much success as I've had in my career, I've never gone into the next game or the next season and say, 'Whew. I've been playing well. That will continue.' "

And there you have it: Favre's on-field brilliance and bravado are in many ways the byproducts of an insecurity so deeply rooted that he cannot look at his Hall of Fame body of work and automatically assume it will continue. We have seen this before from players of similar stature, but to witness Favre openly admit he is scared about how this situation will play out is as compelling as watching one of his 50-yard passes fall into a receiver's arms on the dead run.

"I've been around other players who have had a lot of success throughout their careers," Favre said. "For the most part, I get the same response from those guys [about fear]. There's this fear of not being at the top of your game week in and week out. The fear of someone taking your job, or not playing up to the standards you've set."

Add to that pressure the fact that Favre, after a protracted divorce from the Packers, is with a new team. And then there's this: Teammates have selected Favre as an offensive captain. For the 38-year-old quarterback, the honor was both heartwarming and disconcerting.

"I felt a little uncomfortable," he said. "I'm honored, but I felt like I needed to earn it. I don't want it to be based on past performance or longevity, although those things are important. What's important is how I do here and carry myself as a teammate."

How this will all turn out, no one really knows. Not coach Eric Mangini. Or general manager Mike Tannenbaum. And especially not Favre. It could be the best thing to happen to the Jets since Joe Namath. Or the worst thing since ... since ... oh, just pick your most painful moment in the Jets' tortured post-Namath history. Given the expectations this season, a Favre flop would trump all.

The story will begin to unfold Sunday. Favre insists it will not be about him vs. the spurned quarterback he replaced; Chad Pennington also shot down the notion of a grudge match. But let's be real here: This is about as compelling a Week 1 confrontation as you could want. And Pennington, for all his insistence that he is taking the long view on the season, is surely churning with emotion as he prepares to play the team that dumped him.

"When you have a game like this," Pennington said, "it's strictly about execution and knowing your responsibilities and knowing what you need to do."

Yeah, right.

Favre might have preferred being in Pennington's situation, which would have been the case had Favre wound up with Minnesota and faced Green Bay on Monday night. But the Packers knew enough not to let him back into the division. So all things considered, Favre will accept the alternative.

"Maybe I would feel differently if I was playing against the Packers," Favre admitted. "But this is what I came back for: to play. I'm excited about this opportunity."

And very nervous, too.

"I still believe I can play at a high level," he said, "but there's that fear that I won't. The question is: What do I do about it? I do everything I can in the classroom and still get motivated by that [fear] factor. That's how I challenge myself every week."

With success or failure uncertain, this much we do know: No matter how it turns out, the ride will be exhilarating. Favre's fears only add to the drama.

"The Jets feel like they've made the right move, and I feel like I made the right move," Favre said. "But there are no guarantees."

And if his fears - and those of Jets fans - are realized?

"If it doesn't work out," Favre said, "I go back to Mississippi and let everyone else talk about me."

Related topic galleries: New York Jets, Chad Pennington, Eric Mangini, Miami Dolphins, Brett Favre, Football, Joe Namath

Copyright © 2008, Newsday Inc.

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