Favre feeling fit, focused
NERDMANN
PACKERS: Favre feeling fit, focused
00:00 am 8/03/05
Jason Wilde Wisconsin State Journal
GREEN BAY - The day after the Green Bay Packers' playoff loss to Minnesota,
Brett Favre walked into quarterbacks coach Darrell Bevell's office and sat
down.
Favre didn't know at the time whether he'd be back for his 15th NFL season,
but he knew this: If he did, he had to change.
"I said, 'You know, Darrell, if I decide to come back, I feel like the last
two or three years, I cheated myself - which obviously ends up cheating your
teammates - as far as being in the best shape physically and mentally that
you can possibly be in,' " Favre recalled Tuesday.
"I just felt like the last few years, I worked out (in the offseason), but I
didn't put in as much effort. ... It was easier to wake up in the morning
and say, 'I'll do it tomorrow.' "
And that bothered Favre. After all, he remembered those guys who'd come to
training camp out of shape and use the six weeks of practices to round into
form. He hated that.
"And I felt like I was turning into one of those guys," Favre said.
But now, almost seven months after that conversation with Bevell, Favre
enters the 2005 season looking nothing like one of those guys - because of
the offseason workouts with a personal trainer that reshaped him physically,
and the time away from football that recharged him mentally.
During his first interview session of training camp, Favre made no bold
predictions about the Packers' fortunes like he did last year - "I'm not
going to say, 'Super Bowl or bust,' " he said - but he did make a promise.
"I don't know what this season will hold for us," he said. "But I'm fully
committed to this team."
That wasn't always the case last season, but more on Favre's inner
transformation later. It is Favre's exterior that is most noticeably
different - he arrived at camp a chiseled 217 pounds, his lightest reporting
weight since 1999 - and in a way, it's one of the reasons why he is in
better mental shape as well.
After he decided in March to return, Favre admitted to coach Mike Sherman
that he needed someone to help him with his offseason workouts. Sherman
conferred with strength coach Barry Rubin, who recommended Ken Croner, a
trainer at Athletes' Performance in Tempe, Ariz.
Workout warrior
Croner, who'd met Favre while working for the Packers during training camp
in 2003, arrived at Favre's offseason home in Hattiesburg, Miss., on April
25 to launch a five-week, five-day-a-week regimen. Every morning, Croner
would put Favre through a 50-minute workout tailored to improve his
conditioning, posture, flexibility, balance and strength.
"I was hoping Ken would come down with the flu and wouldn't show up," said
Favre, who was excused from both offseason minicamps by Sherman. "Of course,
he showed up every day."
Croner said the workouts focused on Favre's lower body two days a week and
his upper body two days, with Wednesdays serving as a recovery day. His
heart rate was constantly monitored, and while Croner used all kinds of
contraptions - medicine balls, a weight vest, bungee cords, stretch ropes,
foam rolls - Favre did no traditional weightlifting.
"We wanted to make it specific to his needs, specific to football," said
Croner, who watched game film of Favre to determine which exercises to use.
"We'd do upper-body, med-ball throws, forcing him to use his overall
stability. We worked a lot on his posture and improving his movement skills.
There was no distance running; everything we did was short and based on his
movement as a quarterback."
On May 28, Croner returned to Arizona, leaving Favre with a six-week workout
plan to do on his own.
"What we did those five weeks was plant the grass seeds," Croner said. "He
still had to water the grass while I was gone."
Piece of mind
When Croner returned July 10 with a three-week throwing and exercise plan to
prepare Favre for training camp, he found that Favre's lawn care had been
excellent. And Croner said Favre's physical improvement is directly linked
to his better mental outlook.
"When you work out, it mentally makes you feel better," Croner said. "Going
through this program, he's come into camp in great shape, and he's put
himself in a position to succeed."
Favre did say that one of the goals of the program was "to ease my mind,
where I don't feel like I could have made that play or I could have done
this or that." That apparently has worked, in addition to potentially
extending his career.
But Favre's mind is also at ease because he has finally recovered from an
overwhelming 11-month period in which his father died of a heart attack; his
brother-in-law died in an ATV accident; and his wife, Deanna, was diagnosed
with breast cancer the day after a 48-27 blowout loss to Tennessee at
Lambeau Field dropped the Packers to 1-4 on the 2004 season.
At that point, Favre admitted, he wasn't as focused on football as he had
been.
"To give you an exact percentage (of) how much I was committed, I don't
know. I was as committed as I could be," said Favre, who still threw for
4,088 yards and 30 touchdowns last season. "I tried my best.
"A lot like my physical regimen this offseason, (the mental outlook) needed
to be upgraded. At times last year, and the previous year as well after Dad
passed away, I didn't focus on football as much as I did before."
While his family tragedies have altered his priorities, Favre said he has
rediscovered that focus.
"Times have changed for me, and I do have a family and other things to deal
with, but I do still love this game," said Favre, adding that the 2005
season won't necessarily be his last. "There were some days where I
questioned that. Now, hopefully everything goes according to plan.
"I do feel better mentally. I do feel better physically. I'm going to do my
best to try to be the best leader I can. This offseason, I said some things
(about wide receiver Javon Walker's threat to hold out) that some people
agreed with and others didn't. I was doing what I felt needed to be done.
And that's what I'm going to try to do from here on."
Notes: Favre in Franks' corner
As critical as Brett Favre was of Javon Walker's offseason threats to hold
out, the Green Bay Packers quarterback didn't have a cross word to say about
unsigned tight end Bubba Franks' absence from training camp.
"Bubba's situation is obviously different," Favre said Tuesday, the fifth
day of camp Franks has missed.
Franks has yet to sign the one-year, $2.095 million guaranteed
transition-tag tender because he wants the security of a long-term contract.
The Packers want to sign him as well - the sides have talked about three- to
five-year deals - but Franks is looking for more than the $2.5 million per
year average the Packers are offering.
"There are ongoing conversations and both sides are trying," Packers general
manager Ted Thompson said of Franks, who completed his five-year, $6.45
million rookie contract last year. "But there's some differences there.
We're working at it.
"He's a professional and I'm sure that it's not going to take him that long
to get ready. But I think all of us would feel a lot better if we had all of
our players in camp."
Favre said Franks "is kind of my Chmura now," referring to former go-to
tight end Mark Chmura, and urged the club to retain him.
"I've worked with him for a long time and know him," Favre said. "There are
a lot of things that Bubba does extremely well and some things maybe not as
well as other guys in this league. But he's ours. And I hope we get him
back."
Live action
The Packers added a scoreboard to Clarke Hinkle Field, and it was used for
the first time Tuesday when the team went through its first unscripted
11-on-11 period of camp at the end of the morning practice.
Favre rallied the first-string offense from seven points down in an
imaginary fourth quarter to a three-point victory, but it wasn't always
pretty.
Playing in 90-plus degree heat, the No. 1 offense's first possession ended
with a Favre incompletion intended for Donald Driver, but the No. 1 defense
forced the No. 2 offense to punt, and Favre threw a 10-yard touchdown pass
to Robert Ferguson on a fourth-and-5 to tie the score.
The No. 1 defense got the ball back again from the No. 3 offense inside
midfield with 19 seconds left, and after a 9-yard completion to Driver and a
spike to stop the clock with 2 seconds left, Ryan Longwell kicked a 51-yard
field goal to "win" the game.
"Did we execute? I don't think we executed the way we want to execute,"
offensive coordinator Tom Rossley said. "But for the first go-round, the
conditions and all, they fought and battled."
Rodgers rebounds
The only quarterback who didn't get to run a series in the morning was
rookie Aaron Rodgers, and he was visibly disappointed.
But with Favre taking the afternoon off, Rodgers got to run with the No. 1
offense and directed a final drive in which he completed seven of 12 passes,
capping it with a 20-yard touchdown to Driver on a fourth-and-10.
"That drive, probably was the best moment of camp for me so far," Rodgers
said.
Extra points
Friday's Family Night Scrimmage against Buffalo will be shown live on the
NFL Network. ... Coach Mike Sherman said disgruntled nose tackle Grady
Jackson won't begin practicing until after the scrimmage.
Camp at a glance
* Play of the day: Uh-oh. Here we go again. After a fantastic display -
albeit with the wind - early in the morning practice, punter B.J. Sander was
not very good in the 11-on-11 scrimmage. Punting twice from deep in his own
territory against the wind, he shanked the first off the side of his foot
about 25 yards - he got a good roll and ended up with a 42-yarder - and then
hit a less-than-acceptable 33-yarder on the second. Asked about the
performance, general manager Ted Thompson replied, "We wouldn't want that to
happen in a game, if that's what you're asking. ... Are we completely
satisfied at the punting position? We don't know that yet."
* Injury report: HB Ahman Green (back) was held out of practice again. CB
Chris Day (Achilles'), S Nick Collins (chest), WR Terrence Murphy (hip
flexor) and LBs Kurt Campbell (calf) and Nick Barnett (ankle) all left the
morning practice with injuries and sat out in the afternoon. CBs Joey Thomas
(calf) and Leigh Torrance (groin) and RB Chaz Williams (ankle) returned. TE
David Martin (groin), RBs Chris Robertson (kneecap) and Walter Williams
(ankle), WR Sam Breeden (hip flexor), LB Brady Poppinga (hamstring) and CB
Jason Horton (shoulder) sat out both practices. WR Andrae Thurman (thumb)
was limited.
* Today's schedule: The Packers will practice in pads at 8:45 a.m., then
hold a special teams-only practice at 2:15 p.m.
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Contact Jason Wilde at jwi...@madison.com or 252-6176.