Favre not concerned about teammates' comments

Jan 8, 2009 - 4:14 PM OAK GROVE, Mississippi (Ticker) -- Brett Favre is taking the high road and not responding to critical comments by a few of his New York Jets teammates.

A major reason why the Jets collapsed down the stretch to miss the playoffs, Favre told the Biloxi Sun Herald that he was not going to worry about comments made by running back Thomas Jones, or an observation by another teammate that said the future Hall of Fame quarterback distanced himself from the rest of the Jets.

"As far as Thomas, I have not seen the comments," Favre said. "To be honest, I am not worried about the comments, either. Was Thomas backed into a corner or in a bad mood when he said those things? I don't know, but ripping Thomas is not my nature."

Another teammate said Favre distanced from teammates, something the attention-seeking Favre denied.

"I am not going to let one or two guys ruin a career for me or the relationship I had with my teammates," Favre said. "If you poll my teammates, I bet 90 percent would say they enjoyed playing with me.

"I am not insecure to let the comments bother me."

Shortly after the Jets finished their regular season, Jones questioned in a radio interview if Favre should have been benched for his play down the stretch.

"If somebody is not playing well, they need to come out of the game," Jones told Hot 97 FM. "You're not jeopardizing the whole team because you're having a bad day. To me, that's not fair to everybody else."

Favre did put the blame on himself for his woeful play down the stretch.

"The bottom like is I didn't play well in the final five games," Favre said. "It starts with me and should. My expectations of myself are high and the only that I let down was myself."

After an 8-3 start, the Jets lost four of their last five games to miss the playoffs. Favre was one of the main culprits as he threw two touchdowns and nine of his league-leading 22 interceptions over that span.

"I wished I had played better in the last five games," Favre said. "I knew what I was up against when I got to New York.

"When I got traded, I thought it was worth a try. I gave it my all. It just didn't work out."

Favre also said he has yet to make a decision on whether to return for a 19th season.

"I feel the same way as last year," he said. "I will take some time and make my decision. I do know that I enjoy being at home."