Favre makes everyone around him better

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There was Brett Favre, embarking on his 18th NFL season, making his 276th consecutive start at quarterback, playing football the way he always has.Like a boy in his backyard.Improvising.Thinking on the run.Making something of nothing."There are times when he creates," New York Jets coach Eric Mangini was saying Sunday at Dolphin Stadium, "and other people have to respond to that creation."Sometimes, it's an ad-libbed scramble for a first down.Sometimes, it's a fourth-down pass that Favre -- while being hit -- throws up for grabs in the end zone because the team's kicker injured his leg and a field goal isn't an option.Sometimes, it's the way Favre, still learning his new team's playbook, calls plays."I can't even describe the way he calls plays," Jets right tackle Damien Woody said, chuckling to himself. "But we just roll with it. We figure it's easier for us to adjust to him than for him to adjust to all of us."So when Favre scrambles, his linemen stay with their blocks.When Favre throws the ball up for grabs, his receivers go up and grab it.And when Favre struggles to come up with the correct terminology in the huddle and the play clock is ticking and he frantically blurts out, "Same play," everyone runs the same play."A couple of times," Favre admitted, "I just winged it."Favre grinned.At least for this week, winging it worked.Favre threw two touchdown passes as the Jets built a 13-point, third-quarter lead, then fended off a fourth-quarter rally to beat the Dolphins 20-14 in the much-anticipated opening of the Bill Parcells Era in South Florida.With Parcells in the front office and new coach Tony Sparano on the sideline, the Dolphins are starting over. And it will be at least a couple of years before they're ready to make noise in the AFC East.But they played hard. They played tough. They didn't quit.Chad Pennington, whom the Jets released after acquiring Favre from Green Bay last month, overcame a slow start to pass for 251 yards and two touchdowns. But his last pass, with 10 seconds remaining and the Dolphins at the New York 18, was intercepted in the end zone."Chad managed the game fine; he did a nice job that way," Sparano said. "He gave us a chance to win at the end."But, in the end, he lost.And that's exactly why the Jets jumped at the chance to get Favre.Not only has Favre passed for more yards and touchdowns than any quarterback in NFL history, but he also has won more games."He's a big threat behind the center," said Jets receiver Jerricho Cotchery, who was on the receiving end of Favre's first touchdown pass, a 56-yard bomb on the first play of the team's second possession."We have a lot of weapons on offense and he's spreading the ball around. We're able to take advantage of all our weapons."Simply put: Favre makes everyone around him a better player.And he makes the Jets a better team.Maybe a playoff team.That likely depends on Favre -- on how quickly he masters the playbook and develops a better feel for his receivers."I'd be lying if I stood here and told you that I feel real confident in the passing offense right now," said Favre, who completed an efficient-but-unspectacular 15 of 22 passes for 194 yards. "That's on my end. . . . . We made some mistakes that I think were a result of the newness, but it's a win."Mostly, though, it was a win because Favre not only made the plays that needed to be made, but he also made the Jets believe those plays could be made.Take, for example, Favre's scrambling, heave-and-hope touchdown pass to Chansi Stuckey on fourth-and-13 in the second quarter."I saw him," Favre said, "but I didn't think he had a chance in hell of catching it."Stuckey, though, kept working to get open at the goal line."Somehow, I knew he was going to get the ball off," Stuckey said of the pass that became his first NFL reception. "It felt like it took forever to come down, but he gave us a chance to make a play."That's what Favre does.Still." ... I wasn't nervous. I just wanted to make sure I played well enough for four quarters to give us a chance to win,'' he said. "I didn't want to lose the game for us."Instead, he won it.He won it by playing football the way he always has.And having fun doing it."It was ugly at times, but a win is a win and it never gets old," Favre said.(Ray McNulty is sports columnist for Scripps Treasure Coast (Fla.) Newspapers, The Stuart News, Fort Pierce Tribune and Vero Beach Press Journal. Contact him at ray.mcnulty@scripps.com or on the Web at www.tcpalm.com.)