CaliforniaCheez
10-30-2007, 08:21 AM
Super showing ends in revenge
Payback is a Brett.
Ten seasons after, Brett Favre finally settled an old score. His passing was such sweet sorrow on Monday night.
Favre single-armedly beat the Broncos in this Very Important Game before the largest football crowd in Colorado history.
On the first play of overtime, he deep-sixed the Broncos.
The last momentous pass Favre threw against the Broncos was on fourth down from the Denver 31-yard line with less than a minute to play in San Diego on Jan. 25, 1998. The throw was knocked down by John Mobley, and the Broncos won (their first) Super Bowl XXXII over Favre and Green Bay 31-24 - and kept the Packers from repeating as champions.
The Fab Favre was in all his vevre Monday night.
The No. 1 touchdown thrower of all time heaved two thermal-nuclear missiles - one for a 79-yard TD, the other for the 82-yard victory TD.
The old quarterback will not pass this way again, but he said hello and goodbye to@Mile High stadium in a manner that reminded 77,160 and a worldwide audience of another quarterback who used to toil here.
The Broncos lose, but WOW! Someday we'll tell the grandkids: "In Denver I saw Elway, and I saw Favre, and I've been to the mountaintop."
Not only did Favre javelin-hurl that second touchdown pass, it happened in 16 seconds of overtime.
Fait accompli, Brett.
Thank goodness the Nuggets and the Avalanche won't be losing in Denver tonight. That would be a little more than we could accept in this Dusty Old Cowtown in three nights.
Give us a break.
The Broncos did tie the game at 13 on the final play of the fourth quarter as the field goal team did its last-second fire drill - Son of Toro, Toro, Toro - and Jason Elam kicked from 21 yards away.
But, c'mon, Broncos. You were at the 4-yard line with 25 seconds to go and should have scored a winning touchdown in two plays. But they tried that stupid fade route, and Jay Cutler tried to run the middle. Unlike in that Super Bowl, the Green Bay coach didn't tell his team to lay down and let the Broncos in.
The Broncos' Red Zone Nation was not proud.
It just seemed greasy (not Griese) when the Broncos had to go to OT with Favre on the other side.
The Packers won the toss, which was a harbinger of bad things about to come. Favre set up at his 18.
Earlier, he'd worked up Champ Bailey on a 79-yard connection with James Jones.
Now, it's Dré Bly's and Greg Jennings' turn.
On first down Favre went long. He describes: "It was just a double-go. Actually, we had three guys (who were targets) ... It was more designed for cover two," a zone defense with two deep safeties and five other defenders responsible for an area of the field. "We had practiced all week that if we played this against a single safety look, we would check out (change) to a different play.
"It was the first time we ran (the play) in the game," and Favre decided before the snap he was going to throw deep no matter what. "In overtime, you may only get the ball once. It's sort of do-or-die."
The ball sailed, and, according to Favre, "Bly had good coverage until the play. The ball stayed up there a long time."
Favre dopped back to his own 10 and fired the ball 53 yards. Jennings made the photo-perfect, over-the-shoulder, on-the-run catch at the Denver 37. Jennings and Bly "were tugging for about 10 yards, and I was trying to get his hands off me," Jennings said. "Once I got his hands off, initially (initially?) I look up at the ball and thought 'I'm not going to get the ball.' I kept running, and the ball just landed in my hands. After that, it was just history."
The Broncos were history.
And Favre made history with his first and second touchdown passes ever in Denver (although he had only played here once before - 1999), just one of three NFL cities (Pittsburgh and Baltimore) where he'd never achieved the feat.
"A quarterback like Brett Favre has been doing this his whole career. This was a tough one to take," said young Cutler, who is trying to be like the old guys. He flipped one 5-yard touchdown pass in the opening quarter.
But, on Sunday night, vengeance and the stage were Brett Favre's.
************************************************** ***********
If you want to tell Woody something:
Woody Paige: 303-954-1095 or wpaige@denverpost.com
Payback is a Brett.
Ten seasons after, Brett Favre finally settled an old score. His passing was such sweet sorrow on Monday night.
Favre single-armedly beat the Broncos in this Very Important Game before the largest football crowd in Colorado history.
On the first play of overtime, he deep-sixed the Broncos.
The last momentous pass Favre threw against the Broncos was on fourth down from the Denver 31-yard line with less than a minute to play in San Diego on Jan. 25, 1998. The throw was knocked down by John Mobley, and the Broncos won (their first) Super Bowl XXXII over Favre and Green Bay 31-24 - and kept the Packers from repeating as champions.
The Fab Favre was in all his vevre Monday night.
The No. 1 touchdown thrower of all time heaved two thermal-nuclear missiles - one for a 79-yard TD, the other for the 82-yard victory TD.
The old quarterback will not pass this way again, but he said hello and goodbye to@Mile High stadium in a manner that reminded 77,160 and a worldwide audience of another quarterback who used to toil here.
The Broncos lose, but WOW! Someday we'll tell the grandkids: "In Denver I saw Elway, and I saw Favre, and I've been to the mountaintop."
Not only did Favre javelin-hurl that second touchdown pass, it happened in 16 seconds of overtime.
Fait accompli, Brett.
Thank goodness the Nuggets and the Avalanche won't be losing in Denver tonight. That would be a little more than we could accept in this Dusty Old Cowtown in three nights.
Give us a break.
The Broncos did tie the game at 13 on the final play of the fourth quarter as the field goal team did its last-second fire drill - Son of Toro, Toro, Toro - and Jason Elam kicked from 21 yards away.
But, c'mon, Broncos. You were at the 4-yard line with 25 seconds to go and should have scored a winning touchdown in two plays. But they tried that stupid fade route, and Jay Cutler tried to run the middle. Unlike in that Super Bowl, the Green Bay coach didn't tell his team to lay down and let the Broncos in.
The Broncos' Red Zone Nation was not proud.
It just seemed greasy (not Griese) when the Broncos had to go to OT with Favre on the other side.
The Packers won the toss, which was a harbinger of bad things about to come. Favre set up at his 18.
Earlier, he'd worked up Champ Bailey on a 79-yard connection with James Jones.
Now, it's Dré Bly's and Greg Jennings' turn.
On first down Favre went long. He describes: "It was just a double-go. Actually, we had three guys (who were targets) ... It was more designed for cover two," a zone defense with two deep safeties and five other defenders responsible for an area of the field. "We had practiced all week that if we played this against a single safety look, we would check out (change) to a different play.
"It was the first time we ran (the play) in the game," and Favre decided before the snap he was going to throw deep no matter what. "In overtime, you may only get the ball once. It's sort of do-or-die."
The ball sailed, and, according to Favre, "Bly had good coverage until the play. The ball stayed up there a long time."
Favre dopped back to his own 10 and fired the ball 53 yards. Jennings made the photo-perfect, over-the-shoulder, on-the-run catch at the Denver 37. Jennings and Bly "were tugging for about 10 yards, and I was trying to get his hands off me," Jennings said. "Once I got his hands off, initially (initially?) I look up at the ball and thought 'I'm not going to get the ball.' I kept running, and the ball just landed in my hands. After that, it was just history."
The Broncos were history.
And Favre made history with his first and second touchdown passes ever in Denver (although he had only played here once before - 1999), just one of three NFL cities (Pittsburgh and Baltimore) where he'd never achieved the feat.
"A quarterback like Brett Favre has been doing this his whole career. This was a tough one to take," said young Cutler, who is trying to be like the old guys. He flipped one 5-yard touchdown pass in the opening quarter.
But, on Sunday night, vengeance and the stage were Brett Favre's.
************************************************** ***********
If you want to tell Woody something:
Woody Paige: 303-954-1095 or wpaige@denverpost.com