"The other day, the three interceptions really
hurt us. I mean, that's just reality," Jones told the radio station. "If I were
to sit here and say, 'Oh, man, it's OK,' that's not reality. ... I don't like
it, I know everybody else on the team doesn't like it. If somebody is not
playing well, they need to come out of the game," Jones told Hot 97 FM. "You're
jeopardizing the whole team because you're having a bad day. To me, that's not
fair to everybody else. You're not the only one on the team. So when you get to
the wire and somebody is just giving the game up, I mean, it's just not
[fair]."
Then, an anonymous Jets player discusses the team's attitude towards Favre as well as Favre's own distant attitude:
"A veteran Jets player, quoted anonymously by
Newsday, described Favre as a "distant" teammate who, when at the Jets' practice
facility, spent his down time away from teammates in an office specially
designated for him. 'There was a lot of resentment in the room about him. He
never socialized with us, never went to dinner with anyone,' the player told
Newsday."
And another:
"Later on Thursday, the Newark Star-Ledger quoted
an unnamed player as saying 'it's the quarterback throwing the ball all over the
place. And he didn't suffer any repercussions. He kept doing it. People said
[coach] Eric [Mangini] called him out in meetings. I didn't see it. Eric treated
him like he was Brett Favre. A lot of guys didn't like it.'"
First, let's talk about Jones' comments: who goes to Hot 97 for a football interview? Who asked the questions, DJ Kay Slay?
Seriously, though, Jones has a point: a guy who plays as badly as Favre did should at least be chastised if not benched. However, the Jets would've been in an untenable situation had they benched Favre; starting a guy who hasn't played a down all year--Kellen Clemens--would not have gone well, either. Let's make no mistake, though: Favre's poor play did hurt the Jets, and his poor play during the entire month of December cost the Jets a playoff spot. The fact that Thomas Jones is saying this is important, too; he's not some backup player looking for some media attention, he's the Jets' best player on offense and a Pro-Bowl caliber tailback. As one of the leaders of the team, the fact that he came out and said this is a big deal because it says that he--as well as other players--felt as though Favre hurt them more than he helped them down the stretch. As for the anonymous players, I'll say this: I'm not a fan of anonymous player reports. I think they create dissension amongst the team and can divide the locker room. However, is anyone really surprised by the comments? Favre's been distant and anti-social for years now; remember his less-than-selfless attitude towards Aaron Rodgers while he was still in Green Bay and how it wasn't his job to make sure Rodgers got any better? It shouldn't be a shock that Favre was detached from the team, or that he didn't socialize with any of the other players. Additionally, it shouldn't be a surprise that a coach was overshadowed by the mystique that is Brett Favre: the gunslinging risk-taker who can pass a team out of a game just as quickly as he can win a game for one. It's the same mystique that's caused the media to gloss over Favre's horrendous yearly performances for four out of the past five years, and the same one that's caused the media to dismiss his leading the league in interception thrown for the second time in three years. Seriously, if any other quarterback in the league played as badly as Favre has, do you think they'd be getting a free pass? If Michael Vick threw almost 100 interceptions in a four year span like Favre has, do you really think those "he just wins" arguments would get any real traction? Hell no. So why all the slack for #4? If the guy's playing badly, then call it for what it is. He threw 22 picks this year, and the Jets missed the playoffs. What more do you need to say that the guy had a bad year?
As for Mangini, if he was overwhelmed by Favre's stature, then he should have been let go; that dynamic is eerily reminiscent of the one that's going on in Dallas, where coach Wade Phillips is being bossed around by two personalities in Tony Romo and Terrell Owens. If the coach can't control the players, then he's useless; if there's no accountability for the players, then what the hell is the coach doing? If Mangini didn't have a leash in Favre, then why bring the guy in? More to the point, why bring in Favre? And this media obssession with the guy has got to stop. There's simply no excuse for trying to justify a guy leading the league in interceptions like Favre has for two out of the past three years. Poor play is poor play, no matter who the player is. Period.
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