Old mate Franks offers Favre helping hand

HEMPSTEAD - When Brett Favre arrived in Hempstead, most of the Jets didn't know what to expect. All but Bubba Franks.

The tight end had spent his career with Green Bay catching the tight spirals launched by Favre, and he had been a little bit wary in practice and afterward. Ever since his old teammate arrived, however, Franks has played better on the field, and has been smiling a lot more off it.

"I'm definitely more comfortable now, now that I know who's throwing the ball at me," Franks said. "He's been the only guy who's ever thrown the ball at me for eight years; let's go ahead and make it a ninth."

Franks was one of the Jets' offseason acquisitions, having been drafted by Green Bay in the first round of the 2000 draft. Favre was a veteran of the league even then, and Franks said he looked up to the quarterback to help him get used to his new team.

Now he is returning the favor. The two have lockers next door to each other, and Franks has been learning the Jets' offense since April in the offseason training opportunities and minicamp. In a game of communication, Franks can translate terms and plays, kind of a Berlitz course for football.

"If he has any questions, he knows who to ask," Franks said.

Targets such as rookie tight end Dustin Keller have been talking about how Favre's presence has changed the nature of the offense, even when it comes to being aware of the ball. When the play calls for one receiver, Favre can go to plan B without even looking.

"If you're not looking, you may get hit in the head," wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery said.

"There's no such thing as a decoy route, not as long as you have Brett back there," Franks said. "It's like I tell the guys: Even when you're covered, you're not really covered. If you have two hands and two arms, you're not really covered 'cause he's going to hit one of them. If you can see him, he can see you."

Favre didn't see Kerry Rhodes, however, and the lanky safety popped up and snatched one of Favre's passes, a 40-yarder intended for David Clowney, out of the sky with one hand. It was the first 11-on-11 interception for Favre in his four practices with the Jets.

That's the downside of improvisation. But yesterday's practice featured more penalty laps than touchdown passes, a day after Favre's penalty run with center Nick Mangold found its way onto YouTube.

But even with the errors taken into account, the Jets see the Favre effect as something beyond mere stats.

"Brett breathes great emotions going into the locker room," Frank said. "That lifts up the whole team. You can see how much energy there was today. The fans got involved, which makes practice a lot easier. I think that will help with the guys learning to know him, just from his energy and his practice methods."

(lohud.com)