FAVRE WATCH 2009 COMMENCES

The annual effort to divine the future intentions of Brett Favre doesn’t officially begin until Favre broaches the subject with Al Jones of the Biloxi Sun Herald. And Favre has. Earlier today, Favre “spent a few minutes” with Jones, addressing several topics relating to his recently-completed season with the Jets. As to whether Favre will be back in 2009, the jury once again is out. “I feel the same way as last year,’’ Favre said. “I will take some time and make my decision.” Last year, no one realized before July that Favre’s decision-making process had a Door No. 3. This year, although neither Favre nor the Jets have broached the topic, the possibility of Favre playing in 2009 for a team other than the Jets needs to be considered seriously. Especially since Favre “feel[s] the same way as last year.” We continue to believe that Favre and the Jets will shift around the pawns, bishops, and rooks regarding whether he “retires,” or whether the Jets release him. Either way, the Jets need to clear his $13 million salary by the start of the 2009 league year. The Jets surely prefer the retirement route. Though, in theory, Favre could unretire in July and thrust the team into the seventh level of salary cap hell, Favre knows that his legacy wouldn’t survive a second effort to strong-arm his way out of town. So we think he’ll ask for an unconditional release before the date on which the Jets must be in compliance with the 2009 cap, and if the team won’t release him, then Favre will defer his retirement decision until after the bean counters’ annual day of reckoning has come and gone. The options for the Jets will be to clear $13 million by releasing Favre, or to dump a bunch of other players to make room for Favre’s salary -- only to have Favre thereafter retire. Our guess? Favre will “retire” from the Jets, but he’ll have in his back pocket the ability to unretire and join the team of his choosing. Most likely, a team that plays the Packers twice per year. Meanwhile, Favre responded to inflammatory comments from running back Thomas Jones, the team’s 2008 MVP. Jones sharply criticized Favre during a radio interview last week, and then later tried to backtrack. " I have not seen the comments,’’ Favre told Jones. “To be honest, I am not worried about the comments, either. Was Thomas backed into a corner or in a bad mood when he said those things? I don’t know but ripping Thomas is not my nature. “The bottom line is I didn’t play well in the final five games. It starts with me and it should. I am not ripping Thomas because that is not my nature. My expectations of myself are high and the only one that I let down was myself.’’ Favre also addressed criticism from unnamed players that he was distant and aloof. “I am not going to let one or two guys ruin a career for me or the relationship I had with my teammates,’’ Favre said. “If you poll my past teammates, I bet 90 percent would say they enjoyed playing with me. I am not so insecure as to let the comments bother me.’’ But it’s more than just comments from unnamed players. Boxing trainer Teddy Atlas, a “special assistant” to and good friend of former Jets coach Eric Mangini, also has unloaded on Favre. “I think Brett Favre basically is a selfish guy,” Atlas told the New York Post, echoing comments he made to Max Kellerman on ESPN 1050 in New York. “Brett Favre goes out there with his gray hair, his Wranglers and gets up when he gets hit. I understand why people like that. But there’s another side. He’s a selfish guy.” Regardless of where Favre lands in 2009, it’s fairly safe to say that it won’t be with the Browns.