Transcript of Jets QB Brett Favre's weekly news conference before Wednesday's midday practice:
On saying the Jets were a "work-in-progress" during the first part of the season and where he feels the team is now…
Still working. Believe me, we can get a lot better. We will continue. You don't always have to get better statistically to get better as a team. More than anything, offensively speaking, it's Schotty [OC Brian Schottenheimer] getting more familiar with what I feel more comfortable with.
Several of the plays we ran the other night, in particular to Dustin [Keller] early, I hit him on a quick seam on the first drive and on the last drive of the game. Those were some plays I felt more comfortable with that we hadn't had in. That goes for the running game as well. We install all these runs, as we do passes, and you whittle them down as the week progresses. As the game progresses, you go, "This play seems to be working better than these."
More than anything, that's what we're working towards. It's really impressive how quickly we've fell into that. That's the key in this league is how quickly you adjust. Up to this point we've adjusted fairly well.
On if the third-and-15 to Keller was one of the plays he spoke to Schottenheimer about …
Yeah, it's a play I feel more familiar with. I talked with Dustin throughout the week on how to run it and how I felt comfortable reading it. The first one kind of surprised him a little bit. He caught it, but it surprised him. The second one didn't. So whether or not that play works this week, I have no idea, but that's what we're trying to work towards.
On what the victory over New England did for the team's psyche…
Time will tell, first of all, but there's no doubt that when we walked into the locker room after the game, we were on cloud nine. I don't know if that's because we beat the Patriots or we had five days off or a combination of both [smiles].
This team is a veteran team. Regardless of if some of the guys were here last year or not really doesn't matter. The most important thing is we have guys who understand what we're capable of doing. Before the game I thought our psyche was pretty good. Guys felt like we could really beat this football team. Whether or not there were some guys who had some doubt, I would say that there probably were some guys, and that's understandable based on what had happened in the past, but no one let onto that.
As each game is over, you're starting to see more and more confidence from a team standpoint. We can be pretty good. That game, more than any game this year, probably did more for us in those respects than any game throughout the year.
Once again, time will tell. We're playing the best team in football right now. It will be a tough test for us. Not any tougher than what we faced last week based on what's happened here in the past. First and foremost, the most important thing is that you have confidence you can win every game. No matter who you're playing or where you're playing them, it can be done.
We'll be fine. If we do that and we lose the game, so be it, then they're the better football team. We have to go in with confidence and know that you have to play a very sound football game. We did that the other night and we should be able to do that every week.
On what it says about himself and QB Kerry Collins playing at this level at their age…
There's not a lot of good quarterbacks, younger quarterbacks, out there [laughter]. Well, it's been done before. It's being done now. Kurt Warner is doing it as well. For the most part I don't think there's any substitute for age and experience. The bottom line is being productive and winning football games, however that may be.
They went with Kerry for different reasons. He obviously is not near the athlete that Vince [Young] is, but he's managing his team very well. They're playing outstanding defense. Their offensive line is playing as well as any in the league. They're not asking him to do as much, but when called upon, he's played extremely well.
It's a little bit different than our situation here. They're asking me, maybe, to do a little bit more, but it can be done. It's being done now. It's been done in the past, and it will continue in years to come with other guys. Sometimes you kind of find your place when you're 35. Who knows? It may not be with the team you were drafted by. Strange things have happened.
He's playing extremely well and has that team rolling. I don't think it's a knock on young guys at all. It's about winning.
On at 39 how he appreciates facing an undefeated Titans team…
I appreciate every game. If you talk with Kerry, if you talk with Kurt, older guys, you realize that you're playing game to game. Your focus is so much different than it was as a younger player. You just appreciate the moment a lot more because you realize it won't be there forever.
This game could be my last. When you're 22 years old, you're looking for that new contract, you're looking for commercials, you're looking for whatever. You just always say you're on scholarship still. As you get older, all you want to do is win, get by and go on to the next game and win.
It's amazing how you change. I hear people talk about going back to school after they've been out of college for a long time, how much better they are at studying or doing their work. To me it's no different in pro football.
On if he looks at this game being his last…
You have to seize the moment, whatever that may be. Whether it's taking in the crowd, whether you take in a rivalry, whatever it may be, really appreciate it. I'd like to say I've seen it all and done it all, but that's not true. A big win like we had Thursday night, I think, "Man, it just doesn't get any better than this.' Then you play next week against a team that's undefeated. You never know. Enjoy it while you can and obviously be productive at the same time.
On if he sees any of himself in Collins…
I see a little bit of gray on his face [smiles]. I don't know if there's much of a comparison either way. He's doing a great job. I can remember playing against Kerry in the championship game in 1996. Here we are facing off again. I mean, it's rare. I give him a lot of credit.
On what type of measuring stick the Titans game will be…
Every week for us is a measuring stick. From a media standpoint that would be the case. More importantly, for us as a team, it's way more important than any other pricetag that anyone could put it on because of what has transpired here throughout the off-season, what has happened in the past and the position we're in at this point.
It seems like every week the games get bigger and bigger. That's what happens when you win — you put yourself in this position. It's a measuring stick for us to find out who we are and what we're capable of doing.
On the most consecutive wins he had in Green Bay to start a season…
I don't know [four in 1998 and 2007]. I know there's been numerous times where we won 13 games when we lost our first game. I don't think we ever went 10-0, but we had successful years. I don't know if being 10-0 or 9-1 is an advantage one way or the other.
I know that now there's a lot of pressure on them, maybe not so much from themselves but from everyone else, to continue this. There's a watch, an undefeated watch. In the past when that has been the case and a team finally lost a game, you use that as "OK, finally we're over and done with that, now we can just go on and play." I'm sure that's what Jeff [Fisher] is telling his team: "One way or the other, we're fine."
It's an asset in some respects, and then again it can work against you. Being undefeated is such a good thing, but then all of a sudden it's like that becomes the total focus. Obviously Jeff has done a great job managing that team and keeping their focus on the most important thing, and that's winning games. I don't know how many games I won in a row. What they're doing is outstanding.
On if he felt more marked the year after winning a Super Bowl…
Absolutely. The Giants are probably feeling that as well, but they're playing outstanding. Whoever you play, you're going to get their best, no doubt about it. With each win that Tennessee has, they're probably seeing that more and more.
There may have been teams or players initially, when they saw that Tennessee was on their schedule, "OK, this is one we could win." They're not saying that any more. That's a lot of respect given to the Titans, but also you have to come in and play your best. I'm speaking on the Titans' behalf, as they should always, as any team should, because you're going to face that team's best each week.
On how hard it is to imagine not playing football at this time next year…
I haven't even thought about it. I thought last year was probably, maybe not from a statistic standpoint, but probably the best year I ever played based on how young we were and how we played the previous couple of years. That was a dilemma I faced at the end of the season. I knew I was playing at a high level.
At 38, I know what everyone else is thinking — "At some point he's got to fall off." I agree. At some point. I don't know when that point will be. I played last week like I expect to play, I played at a high level. But that's what they brought me in here to do. I expect to play like that every week, and hope to.
I have people, friends, family who ask me all the time about next year. The answer I give them, which is the honest answer, is I really don't know. I really don't know and to be totally honest with you, I really don't care. What I care about is trying to beat Tennessee. I don't see how anyone, aside from [the media], can focus on next year when what we're trying to do right now is win and do something this year.
I'm 39 years old. I know that the better days are behind me, for the most part. There won't be 16 or 17 more years. I'm trying to enjoy and help this team win now. Mike Tannenbaum and I talked about that at the start of this year, when I first came. He mentioned one time about maybe the prospects of coming back next year. I said, "You may not want me back. Let me do what I can do now. Maybe that's not good enough. I don't know, but you brought me in here to win now and help this team, however that may be. Let me do that to the best of my ability and then focus on next year when the season's over." Which I hope is later rather than sooner.
On what he thinks the team takes from his exuberance on the field...
I don't know. That's a question they're probably better suited to answer. I hope they take you can have fun and win at the same time. I can only speak from experience. This is 18 years. Believe me, there's nothing fun about meetings. There's not a whole lot of fun in practice. There's not a whole lot of fun in losing. But you can make it as easy or as hard as you want to make it. I try to make it as easy.
Fortunately for me, because you can get the wrong impression from me if you don't know me, or at least early in my career, that I don't take it as serious as maybe the next guy. That's totally wrong. My way of handling adversity is to joke, is to be loose about it. It's never been, not at any point in my career, taken lightly: "He took that play off" or "We lost, and he pulls a joke. Maybe he doesn't care." That's not true.
No one is as competitive as me. I firmly believe that today. No one has as much fun as me. I've had more people tell me that throughout my career: "Man, we love to watch you play, your enthusiasm" and stuff like that. It's not fabricated. I love to play the game. There's nothing like throwing a touchdown pass. There's nothing like going into Foxboro and beating them when no one gave us a chance. There's nothing like going to play the undefeated team in football right now. All eyes will be on us.
I hope we win the football game. I'm going to do everything I can, but I'm going to have fun in the process. I hope that's what guys take from me is that you can still do your job and have fun. The bottom line is, as we all sit in this room, at one point or another we've all said, "Boy, I wish I had the energy that kid had." If you're chasing your kids around the house, whatever, "Let's go play one more time," you go, "Ohhh."
Believe me, I'm no different. I'm 39 years old. I'm out there running around sometimes and I'm going, "Whew, I need to take a break." It's still fun. We lose sight of that so many times.
On his thoughts on New Jersey…
It's about what I thought it would be. It's been a lot of fun, to be honest with you. I spend most of my time here [at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center]. Probably if I was here 10 years, I probably would spend maybe a little bit less time. Being that I'm trying to, once again, it's a work in progress, trying to learn this offense, learn my teammates, that's more or less what I'm trying to do right now.
On what concerns him about Tennessee's defense…
They're pretty good up front. Their back end is good. Their front guys, every time you turn on tape, they're just running guys over. They're very active. [Albert] Haynesworth is playing unbelievable. To say we're going to block him, I'm sure a lot of teams have said that. We got to find a way to run the ball effective, slow down their pass rush and be able to deal with their back end.
