Favre meeds D'Brick Wall

http://www.nypost.com/seven/08212008/sports/jets/favre_needs_dbrick_wall_125348.htm

It is every Jets New York Jets fans worst nightmare. Here comes Osi Umenyiora Osi Umenyiora , steaming around the corner on the left side, eager to meet Justin Tuck Justin Tuck , rampaging around the right side, for the express purpose of meeting at the quarterback.

The stakes have been higher for a Jets offensive line only once before against the Giants, when Joe Namath was its crown jewel.

The best-case scenario for Brett Favre is to play no less than one half Saturday night, and get out of Giants Stadium alive and in one piece.

The worst-case scenario is the unthinkable.

The last defense Jets fans wanted to see is the defense that hounded and harassed Tom Brady in Super Bowl XLII and knocked Derek Anderson out of Monday night's game with a concussion.

The Jets need to build a D'Brick wall in front of Favre, and are counting on a bigger, stronger, wiser D'Brickashaw Ferguson to take a Lambeau Leap toward a franchise left tackle. The Jets made him the fourth pick in the 2006 draft to keep pass rushers like Umenyiora off the quarterback.

"A talented guy, Pro Bowler, Super Bowl champ - definitely has the accolades, so its definitely gonna be a great competition," Ferguson said. "They have a lot of threats, and this is gonna be a very competitive game."

He was asked his thoughts on keeping his new quarterback healthy.

"I try to keep all quarterbacks who are behind me healthy," Ferguson said, "but obviously you want to keep that guy healthy as well."

Ferguson, whose arms are clearly more pumped, was asked what the biggest difference in him will be this season.

"My whole goal is to make sure that I execute my assignments to the best of my abilities, and that means blocking my guy or creating holes or creating pass protection, so my role is to make sure that goes smoothly as possible," he said. "If that means giving more time to the quarterback or giving better holes to the running back, then that's how I kinda grade myself."

The arrival of a nasty, battle-hardened gamer like LG Alan Faneca should pay immediate dividends for both Ferguson and center Nick Mangold.

"He's been definitely a help," Ferguson said.

The Jets would not have been able to convince Favre to sign on if they hadn't bolstered their offensive line in the offseason with Faneca and RT Damien Woody.

"I think we do have a good chemistry, but I think the real tell-tale sign of that will be seen throughout each game," Ferguson said.

Eric Mangini on Favre: "He got the guys out of curfew [Tuesday] night because he could answer a question on what our team's core values [trust, communicate, focus, finish] were. I thought I had him. I don't know how he pulled that one out. Room exploded. We did a modified name game, and he was able to name the number I asked for. So he was playing for the group and he won. What did he win? Hour off the meeting and no curfew," Mangini said.

WR Brad Smith never thought a year ago at the end of training camp he would be catching passes from Favre: "It's still hard to believe. It's a cool deal. He's one of the best ever. The way he's down to earth and the way he communicates with you, you can see why he's successful. I'm just trying to pick up stuff from him while we have him."

Shaun Ellis on the last training camp day at Hofstra: "They are true fans, they'll follow us wherever we go [Florham Park, N.J.]."

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