Glauber: Should vets like Favre skip preseason?

Will there be more Brett Favre's?

The saga of Brett Favre is its own unique story, one that’s been going on the last three years. But look at it in another way, and perhaps there is something to be gained for other older players.

Could it be that aging veterans who still want to play, yet don’t want to go through the rigors of the offseason like Favre, might have a place in the NFL moving forward?

“I think you have to make a decision as an organization,” Redskins coach Mike Shanahan said. “Minnesota made that decision. They believe Brett Favre is the difference between getting to the Super Bowl and not getting there, and they felt comfortable with that.”

I asked Shanahan if, in retrospect, he might have considered a similar arrangement for John Elway after he had won two straight Super Bowls for the Broncos. Elway had said upon retiring after the 1998 season that he loved the idea of playing in the games, but felt he couldn’t take the year-round training involved with preparing to play.

“Knowing John, he’s going to be all in,” Shanahan said. “Being the leader of that team and living in town, there’s no way you’re going to have the chance to win the Super Bowl if he’s the quarterback and he’s not working out with the players. He set the tempo. With Brett being in Mississippi, it’s different than being in Minnesota. Each situation is different.”

Reid energized by young Iggles

His quarterback has never been a full-time starter. His tailback is in his second season. His top two receivers have played a combined three NFL seasons. A team in transition? You got that right. But for longtime Eagles coach Andy Reid, it has been a uniquely energizing experience so far.

“That’s the exciting part of this,” he said. “We’re in this thing as coaches, and really as teachers. All these kids have more to learn, and it gives an opportunity to teach them.”

With quarterback Kevin Kolb, tailback LeSean McCoy and receivers DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin, Reid has a far younger nucleus to work with than the days when Donovan McNabb and Brian Westbrook made the offense go.

“Even with the great veterans like the Donovans and Westbrooks, the guys that aren’t here, they want you to find what can make them even greater than what they are from a coaching standpoint,” Reid said. “But those are little things. With the guys we’ve got now, these are big things. So that’s a fun thing from a coaching standpoint.”

Jenkins: One year at a time

Jets defensive tackle Kris Jenkins, who seriously contemplated retirement in the offseason, now says he’ll revisit his situation after each season. At age 31 and coming off knee surgery, he said it’s pointless to think long term any more.

“I have a love that trumps football, and that’s my wife and kid,” he said. “A huge part of this football thing is leaving with my body intact. So I’m going to take this a year at a time.” Best case scenario: He plays until he’s 35.

“If I can have a 15-year career,” he said, “that would be perfect. But I’m not going a year over 15. As a defensive lineman, that’s just too much of a pounding to take.”

Give Blount a pass . . . this time

Titans rookie running back LeGarrette Blount, who punched a Boise State player during a postgame brawl last September while playing at Oregon, was involved in another punching incident this week in practice. After a play in which Blount had his helmet knocked off, he was shoved by several defensive players, and he slugged defensive end Eric Bakhtiari.

Unlike the Boise State incident, Bakhtiari had his helmet on, and Blount’s punch hit him in the facemask. Coach Jeff Fisher defended Blount, even taking the blame for not calling the play dead earlier. Not only that, but several teammates defended Blount, and Blount himself claimed that his helmet was ripped off purposely on consecutive plays.

“I got into a situation where the defense pushed me too far,” he said. If it’s not Blount, it’s just another training camp skirmish. But because of his history, more attention is drawn to it.

Ironman in the middle

Center Casey Wiegmann, who is back with Kansas City after playing the last two seasons with the Broncos, is shooting for a remarkable milestone this year. With 143 consecutive starts at center since 2001, it’s the longest active streak by an NFL offensive lineman. And he has taken an eye-opening 9,078 consecutive snaps. His goal: to reach 10,000 straight snaps, which would likely come in the 14th or 15th game of the season.

But to get there, he’ll have to win the starting job at center. He’s vying with Rudy Niswanger for the No. 1 spot.