Favre Blames His Bad Thumb

Brett Favre knows the precise play that sent his season into a tailspin.

The Packers were running a sprint right option--a play in which the quarterback rolls right and throws a square out to the slot receiver or a pass in the flat to the halfback.

In this case, Favre completed a pass to Bill Schroeder during the Packers’ Aug. 23 exhibition game against Denver in Madison, Wis. But he also banged his right thumb on the helmet of blitzing linebacker John Mobley.

“That was the play that ruined my season,” Favre said in an interview reported in Sunday’s Green Bay Press-Gazette. “I hate to even say that, because it sounds like you’re making excuses, but had I had a normal hand, had I not got hurt, we’re probably 10-4, 9-5, and we’re in the playoffs.”

Instead, the Packers slipped to 7-8 with Sunday’s 29-10 loss to Tampa Bay and have only a longshot chance at postseason play going into the regular-season finale against Arizona at Lambeau Field next Sunday.

Favre said in hindsight he probably should have given more thought to sitting out and letting the thumb heal.

He rattled off at least a half-dozen game-turning plays in which he missed open receivers or was intercepted because he couldn’t make throws he was accustomed to making.

“Once I got hurt, I should’ve changed the way I approached the game,” he said. “My reads were fine, but I couldn’t make throws I normally make. When I needed to alter the way I play, I didn’t.

“As a veteran, I should’ve been smarter, but that’s part of my makeup. I’m not going to let anything dictate to me. Maybe I should’ve pulled back.”

By the time Favre decided to play within his limitations, the thumb had healed so much that Favre could start firing passes like he had in past seasons.

“I kept shooting 1/8passes 3/8 when I was hurt, and then when I got more conservative my hand started feeling better, so I went back to shooting it again. That’s been my year.”

Favre went into Sunday’s game as the NFC’s 12th-ranked passer with a 74.9 rating, with 295 completions (57.5%) for 3,546 yards, 19 touchdowns and 20 interceptions.

“It’s amazing it’s not worse,” he said.

Asked whether his former coach, Mike Holmgren, could have reined him in and forced him to play within himself, Favre said, “Maybe so.” Holmgren left after last season to become coach and general manager at Seattle.

OH, YOU MEAN THAT ORLANDO BROWN

How do you lose track of a 6-foot-7, 350-pound hospital patient?

The Cleveland Browns don’t have an answer.

Orlando Brown, hospitalized after being struck in the eye by a weighted penalty flag thrown by a referee last Sunday, was released from the Cleveland Clinic on Friday night so he could be with his family for the Christmas holiday.

But Brown’s release was never reported by the Browns, who declined to discuss several issues related to their player’s situation last week.

On Thursday, the Browns, who didn’t allow a team doctor to give any updates on Brown’s medical condition during the week, said they expected him to remain in the hospital through the weekend. But when the mammoth offensive tackle walked out the door, only a police officer would confirm on record that Brown had gone home.

When asked Sunday, team officials didn’t have an explanation why the team didn’t release a statement in conjunction with Brown’s release.

THEY NEED TO CUT THIS OUT

While the NFL was banning the throat-slash gesture, the league was marketing a game in which players from all 31 teams are depicted drawing their hands across their throats.

The game, “NFL Fever 2000,” is produced by Microsoft and carries the league logo.

“The gesture was approved 1/8for the game 3/8 prior to it being banned by the league,” said Chris Widmaier, the NFL’s director of corporate communication. “It will be removed in the future.”

Some players called the league hypocritical for marketing the computer game.

Jet star Keyshawn Johnson said the league needs to take action.

“I would think they would pull it off the shelves,” Johnson said. “They have to because if not, they’re contradicting themselves on what this league should be.

“They’re criticizing us for our actions. Yet they have a game with those actions in it. You can’t have both. Make up your mind. I would think more kids play video games than watch NFL games.”

MARINO’S FINAL HOME GAME?

Dan Marino would love to end his career as John Elway did, winning a Super Bowl. Such a closing act, however unlikely, remains possible.

The Miami Dolphins play the New York Jets tonight with a postseason berth on the line for the Dolphins.

Overshadowed by the Dolphins’ woes and playoff possibilities is the fact this could be Marino’s final game in Miami.

“Hopefully it’s not, but you never know what life brings you,” Marino said.

During the off-season, Miami will face one of its toughest decisions in franchise history. Will the Dolphins enter the 2000 season with a 39-year-old quarterback who missed six games with a shoulder injury, or will they sideline the NFL’s career passing leader in favor of Damon Huard?

So if this is Marino’s final season, how would he like to go out?

“Winning the Super Bowl, that’s obvious,” Marino said.

THIS COACH CLASS IS OK

Jevon Kearse and Edgerrin James are playing at an all-pro level as rookies, and there are more behind them. But the first-year coaches are almost all having good seasons too.

In order of record:

1. Gunther Cunningham, Kansas City (9-6). Seemed over his head early, but Chiefs are playing as they did (until last season) under Marty Schottenheimer. Does that mean they will fold in the playoffs if they make it?

2. Brian Billick, Baltimore (8-7). Biggest mistake was thinking Scott Mitchell might be the answer at quarterback. It turns out that Tony Banks is.

3. Mike Riley, San Diego (7-8). Earns points for winning three in a row after six-game losing streak.

4. Dick Jauron, Chicago (6-9). Considering the lack of talent, he has done well.

5. Andy Reid, Philadelphia (4-11). Did as much as he could with limited roster.

6. Chris Palmer, Cleveland (2-14). An expansion team that’s a long-term project. But even for an expansion team, the Browns seem woefully inept at times.

--Compiled by Houston Mitchell

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Rookie Sensations

Colt running back Edgerrin James has moved into the top five all-time in rushing yards by a rookie and total touchdowns by a rookie:

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Player (Team) Year Yards Eric Dickerson (Rams) 1983 1,808 George Rogers (Saints) 1981 1,674 Ottis Anderson (Cardinals) 1979 1,605 Edgerrin James (Colts) 1999 1,503 Curtis Martin (Patriots) 1995 1,487

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Player (Team) Year Touchdowns Gale Sayers (Bears) 1965 22 Eric Dickerson (Rams) 1983 20 Randy Moss (Vikings) 1998 17 Fred Taylor (Jaguars) 1998 17 Edgerrin James (Colts) 1999 17

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