12/28 — The Jets' Meadowlands locker had the hushed tones of a funeral parlor, and in a way it was. The players are all still very much alive, but they won't be kicking — or catching or throwing or running or blocking — into the postseason because the collective Jets body came to rest in Week 17 at the Meadowlands with its fourth loss in five games and its playoff opportunities deceased.

Then there was another undercurrent of a team on the move, which every NFL team that doesn't reach the postseason is at this time. But the biggest name in the room is Brett Favre and no one is really sure if the Hall of Fame quarterback-to-be will be a Jet next season or on his way to retirement.

There was still a sense of a man about to retire. As Favre talked at his locker with radio analyst Marty Lyons before addressing the reporters at large, he held a toothbrush in his right hand. That's a sure sign of someone about to leave a hotel room or a town.

All right, maybe that's forced, but as Favre finished the interview to head off and brush his teeth, he and coordinator Brian Schottenheimer clapped each other on the back, and tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson joined in the pressing of the flesh on his way back to his locker.

Yet despite these signs, there was less of a sense of finality today at the interview room podium than there was the day before Christmas at the podium in the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center. Asked point-blank if he's undecided about playing next year, Favre said:

"I am. The obvious choice would be a quick decision based on what happened. It's a hasty, irrational decision based on what's happened. I'll go home and get away for a week or so — we haven't really talked about it — and make the right decision."

He didn't know the exact timeline by when this decision would be made, whether it would be before or after the Feb. 8 Pro Bowl, for which he has been selected.

Nor did head coach Eric Mangini have a schedule in place for "The Talks."

"We'll talk about it when we talk about it," Mangini said, "and he'll decide when he decides."

Favre did confirm that his shoulder has "been better" and that he will get an MRI on Monday at his season-ending physical, and that what these medical reports indicate might be a reason to hang up the pads with the yellow lining for good.

"I know my body," he said. "I don't know as much as an orthopedist but I know it didn't feel like it should, I do know that. Whether or not it would require surgery, that is something else I would have to weigh, whether or not, first of all, I would want surgery, second of all, if I need it, would I play or not? I'm 39. I don't want to have a bunch of surgeries to continue playing."

OK, so that's a strike against returning. But a vote for coming back, for Year No. 18, when No. 4 would turn 40, comes with the topic of "unfinished business."

"There was a point where everyone expected us to continue on," Favre said. "Whether or not that weighs in my decision, I'm sure it does to a certain degree. I do feel like there's unfinished business. There's a lot of potential. I know that word was one of those words. When you talk about potential, you go 'Oh, boy.' but there is a lot of potential on this team."

That's the problem for Favre. There's no calling for any mulligans or do-overs for this season just completed, but let's say that his health is fine and he commits to the full off-season ...

"If he wants to come back and is ready to come back and put in the time for the whole year, that's fine with me," safety Kerry Rhodes said. "That's with any player. You want that, to have the sense of everybody being together."

And it's easy to forget that the good times this season were very good, when Favre was completing 70 percent of his passes, not throwing picks at a league-leading pace, and the offense, defense and special teams were piling up points at the second-best rate in the NFL.

"People look for excuses right now," Leon Washington said. "And I'm sure Brett would be the one who wouldn't make excuses for himself. He's not that type of player. Even though Brett was hurt late, I feel like we still had opportunities to go out and win football games. That's the bottom line. We didn't take advantage of our opportunities."

"Did he make us better? Definitely," said guard Alan Faneca. "He came in and changed our offense and made us do some things that we weren't able to do. I think he did a lot of positive things."

That was a sentiment echoed by Mangini during his disappointed postgame remarks.

"Brett's a Hall of Fame player," the coach said. "He's got great energy. He's a great professional. He brought all of those things to the team. I think a lot of people learned things from him. I think we're a better team for him being here. I appreciate the relationship we had and the one he had with the team."

Everyone has opinions on what Favre should do, but what he will do will be influenced by only a few folks — him, his family, the Jets leadership. If there is to be a Jet Favre II, so be it. The graybearded gunslinger didn't tip his hand more than what he said above, but he seems genuinely sincere about his experience here and that could be another element in his decision.

"I had a blast working with these guys," he said. "It was a lot of fun. It's disappointing where we are now, but I wouldn't trade it for anything."

Another Mark for Leon

Washington had mixed emotions at having to answer a question about setting another franchise record today — most all-purpose yards in a season — when his team lost a game and lost the playoffs. But Washington showed himself to be a man of football substance with his answer about what eclipsing Bruce Harper's 30-year-old record means to him.

"Certain things in life you want to accomplish as a football player," he said. "I'm a person who's concerned about how I'm perceived. A lot of people in this sport, the game of football, the NFL, play this game well. With that being said, with the record I got today, I think it says Leon Washington of the New York Jets, he plays the game hard, tough, physical, he always plays the game with a lot of emotion and 110 percent."

Washington, who could become a free agent after next season, wasn't promising anything but he did say, "In my opinion, I'd love to be a Jet for a long time. I like it here."