Projo Sports Blog

By Roderick Boone
Newsday

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Brett Favre was the last player out of the tunnel, the final one to be introduced to an enthusiastic Meadowlands crowd that was frothing with anticipation.

Fireworks emanated from a pair of makeshift stands draped in black cloth, shooting high into the sky and well above the upper reaches of Giants Stadium as Favre sprinted toward midfield.

By the time the game was over, though, whoever conjured up the idea of those pregame pyrotechnics probably would have been better served replacing the fireworks with sparklers. You know, the ones that look good at first when you light them - until they flame out and leave you begging for a little more.

Pretty much like Favre and the Jets on Sunday.

Favre's first official home game as a Jet was more of a dud. The future Hall of Fame quarterback completed 18 of 26 passes for 181 yards, but had a crucial third-quarter interception and appeared to never get completely in sync with the rest of the Jets' offense, which appeared to be a tad on the conservative side at times.

"I looked at the pictures on the sidelines and there were some opportunities for some big plays," Favre said. "And that's all it's about for me. So it can go both ways. You know, we didn't score enough points, obviously, and someone is to blame on it and I think that goes to our whole offense because there were plays to be made. They just weren't made."

Not by the Jets, anyway. The Patriots made more than a few, and they came up with a huge one against Favre early in the third quarter that swung any momentum the Jets might've been gaining.

After forcing the Patriots to go three-and-out on their first drive of the second half, the Jets got the ball back on their 23-yard line. On the fifth play of the drive, Favre dropped back and threw left looking for tight end Chris Baker. Brandon Meriweather cut in front of the underthrown pass and picked Favre off.

"Maybe I got a little greedy," Favre said. "I could have dumped it on the flat. I think if I had made the throw I wanted to, there's no guarantee it would have been caught. But it would have made a much better opportunity. I just underthrew him. I saw the guy and misjudged him. I just made a bad throw."

Jets coach Eric Mangini said: "Interceptions are going to happen throughout the course of the game. And with Brett, he's going to make some outstanding plays down the field and there are going to be some he'd like to have back."

The Patriots cashed the turnover in with a six-play, 31-yard drive that was punctuated by a 1-yard Sammy Morris touchdown run, putting the Patriots ahead 13-3 with 6:20 remaining in the third. They scored six more points the rest of the way and held off the Jets' offense.

"It's disappointing, but I know what I have to do and hopefully the rest of our team knows and wants to get better," Favre said. "Because it can be as long and as short as we want to make it. It's two games. Were 1-1 and there's a long way to go. The more you lose, the longer it gets. And I'm not here to lose."

 Tags  Brett Favre New England Patriots New York Jets

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