Flair Country
11-30-2007, 04:35 PM
IRVING, Texas -- You have likely never heard of him but you will over the next few days. The name is Jones. Nathan Jones. He is the man who has given the Green Bay Packers quite a scare by smashing and subsequently hurting one of the most indestructible athletes ever.
Jones is 5-feet-10 inches and barely weighs 180 pounds but his hit on Adamantium Man, Brett Favre, he of the 269 regular and postseason consecutive starts -- a record for quarterbacks -- might prove to be gargantuan.
In the second quarter of the biggest game seen by the fewest people, Jones broke free on a blitz, a blitz that caught the normally all-seeing Favre totally by surprise. Jones grabbed Favre and slammed him into the ground and in the massive tangle of bodies and violence Favre separated his left shoulder and his throwing elbow.
"There aren't too many times in my career," Favre said of his 17 years in the NFL, "when a guy came free and I didn't see him coming."
The helmet of Jones had hit Favre's elbow leading to the loss of sensation in his last two fingers. Favre compared it to having his funny bone smashed with a hammer which might, you know, suck really bad.
Understandably, Favre left the game in the second quarter, grabbing his various extremities, wincing in obvious pain. He never returned and the question now is: when will he come back?
"I anticipate being fine," he said. "I hope I am."
The storylines emerging from the definitive and statement-like 37-27 victory by Dallas over Green Bay are numerous. The Cowboys clinched a playoff spot, they are obliterating team offensive records and in the process, quarterback Tony Romo is proving to be the best quarterback in football not named Tom Brady.
Dallas is likely headed to the Super Bowl and if you don't believe that then you don't know football or you're a New York Giants fan. Despite being beaten by New England, they are still one of only several teams with the offensive firepower and diversity to give the Patriots a serious run.
All of that is true but on this night at Texas Stadium, all eyes were on Favre. At least the handful of eyes that could get the NFL Network.
After the loss, Favre put the best face on his situation by saying he could have played with the shoulder but the elbow might have been more problematic. "You can shoot up and play with the shoulder," Favre explained.
But as optimistic as Favre was even he admitted: "I'm not getting any younger. It takes a little bit longer to recover."
Favre has slightly more time than normal to do just that since the Packers don't play again until Dec. 6 when they face Oakland at home. Chances are Favre's impressive streak will continue.
"No, I think it's a great chance he will be ready against Oakland," said coach Mike McCarthy.
They think but no one is guaranteeing anything.
How impressive is Favre's streak? Favre has never missed a game due to injury and his streak dates back 15 years. The last quarterback to start a Packers game besides Favre was Don Majkowski on Sept. 20, 1992. Favre also explained it's only the second separated shoulder of his long NFL career.
Favre leaving a game because of injury is the equivalent of Britney and Lindsey having a beer while sitting on the hood of a UFO.
The team that didn't have any problems with an injured quarterback was Dallas. Romo was simply brilliant throwing for 309 yards and four touchdowns to finish with a rating of 123.5.
"I don't know if he's the next 'American Idol' but he played really well and answered the bell," said Cowboys coach Wade Phillips.
This game perfectly illustrated why the Cowboys are 11-1 and the best team -- by far -- in the conference. Wide receiver Terrell Owens had seven catches for 156 yards and 1 score (he also had a handful of drops for the first time all season).
Owens ran free in the first half but the Packers were able to slow him in the second. Then, Dallas simply switched to running back Marion Barber (81 rushing yards), wide receiver Patrick Crayton (two touchdown catches) and tight end Jason Witten (six catches for 67 yards). The Dallas defense is not great but it's good enough.
"I said this last week, this win doesn't put us in the Super Bowl and a loss here wouldn't have knocked us out of it," said Romo. "Obviously, does it help our chances? Let's say we had a 50 percent chance of going to the Super Bowl. Maybe now it's 52 percent because maybe we get to play a home game against this team again if we see them."
Sorry Tony, but your chances of reaching Super Bowl are better than 52 percent. If the Cowboys were a stock, they'd be one of the hottest on Wall Street.
As for Favre, everyone will be watching closely to see if history is made.
Just not the kind of history Favre would ever want.
CBS Sports
Jones is 5-feet-10 inches and barely weighs 180 pounds but his hit on Adamantium Man, Brett Favre, he of the 269 regular and postseason consecutive starts -- a record for quarterbacks -- might prove to be gargantuan.
In the second quarter of the biggest game seen by the fewest people, Jones broke free on a blitz, a blitz that caught the normally all-seeing Favre totally by surprise. Jones grabbed Favre and slammed him into the ground and in the massive tangle of bodies and violence Favre separated his left shoulder and his throwing elbow.
"There aren't too many times in my career," Favre said of his 17 years in the NFL, "when a guy came free and I didn't see him coming."
The helmet of Jones had hit Favre's elbow leading to the loss of sensation in his last two fingers. Favre compared it to having his funny bone smashed with a hammer which might, you know, suck really bad.
Understandably, Favre left the game in the second quarter, grabbing his various extremities, wincing in obvious pain. He never returned and the question now is: when will he come back?
"I anticipate being fine," he said. "I hope I am."
The storylines emerging from the definitive and statement-like 37-27 victory by Dallas over Green Bay are numerous. The Cowboys clinched a playoff spot, they are obliterating team offensive records and in the process, quarterback Tony Romo is proving to be the best quarterback in football not named Tom Brady.
Dallas is likely headed to the Super Bowl and if you don't believe that then you don't know football or you're a New York Giants fan. Despite being beaten by New England, they are still one of only several teams with the offensive firepower and diversity to give the Patriots a serious run.
All of that is true but on this night at Texas Stadium, all eyes were on Favre. At least the handful of eyes that could get the NFL Network.
After the loss, Favre put the best face on his situation by saying he could have played with the shoulder but the elbow might have been more problematic. "You can shoot up and play with the shoulder," Favre explained.
But as optimistic as Favre was even he admitted: "I'm not getting any younger. It takes a little bit longer to recover."
Favre has slightly more time than normal to do just that since the Packers don't play again until Dec. 6 when they face Oakland at home. Chances are Favre's impressive streak will continue.
"No, I think it's a great chance he will be ready against Oakland," said coach Mike McCarthy.
They think but no one is guaranteeing anything.
How impressive is Favre's streak? Favre has never missed a game due to injury and his streak dates back 15 years. The last quarterback to start a Packers game besides Favre was Don Majkowski on Sept. 20, 1992. Favre also explained it's only the second separated shoulder of his long NFL career.
Favre leaving a game because of injury is the equivalent of Britney and Lindsey having a beer while sitting on the hood of a UFO.
The team that didn't have any problems with an injured quarterback was Dallas. Romo was simply brilliant throwing for 309 yards and four touchdowns to finish with a rating of 123.5.
"I don't know if he's the next 'American Idol' but he played really well and answered the bell," said Cowboys coach Wade Phillips.
This game perfectly illustrated why the Cowboys are 11-1 and the best team -- by far -- in the conference. Wide receiver Terrell Owens had seven catches for 156 yards and 1 score (he also had a handful of drops for the first time all season).
Owens ran free in the first half but the Packers were able to slow him in the second. Then, Dallas simply switched to running back Marion Barber (81 rushing yards), wide receiver Patrick Crayton (two touchdown catches) and tight end Jason Witten (six catches for 67 yards). The Dallas defense is not great but it's good enough.
"I said this last week, this win doesn't put us in the Super Bowl and a loss here wouldn't have knocked us out of it," said Romo. "Obviously, does it help our chances? Let's say we had a 50 percent chance of going to the Super Bowl. Maybe now it's 52 percent because maybe we get to play a home game against this team again if we see them."
Sorry Tony, but your chances of reaching Super Bowl are better than 52 percent. If the Cowboys were a stock, they'd be one of the hottest on Wall Street.
As for Favre, everyone will be watching closely to see if history is made.
Just not the kind of history Favre would ever want.
CBS Sports