| | | | | | | |  Friday, November 1, 2002
Packers' hopes hinge on Favre's knee
By Melissa Stark
Special to ABC Sports Online
The big question for Monday night's game between the Dolphins and Packers is will Brett Favre play? From all accounts, it looks like he will definitely start to extend his streak to 165 games.
But it remains to be seen how effective he will be. The Packers have fitted him for a brace, but since injuring his knee two weeks ago, he has not practiced and been limited to just throwing on the sidelines. This is new to him. He has admitted that his mobility and his lateral movement will be restricted, although he probably will not wear the brace during the game.
|  | | Favre has not done much since injuring his knee against the Redskins. |
He definitely benefited from having the bye last week, but he said he could have played if they had a game. He took the time during the bye to go hunting. Outside of that, he kept ice on his injured knee, and spent three hours of medical and physical therapy each day.
In fact, Mike Sherman joked that he hoped he was going hunting in the snow, so that he'd keep the knee on ice.
Nonetheless, talking to different people around the league, they say an injured Favre is better than two-thirds of the quarterbacks in the league.
The Packers offensive line faces the big challenge this week of protecting him. Left tackle Chad Clifton could be back from a sprained knee. If he's not, they would have to reshuffle with Mike Flanagan replacing him.
Favre is so important to the Packers. The Packers live and die by this guy. He takes a lot of hits and we saw that four weeks against the Bears, but it was such a strange sight when he got hurt. He cried when they carted him off. And during Sherman's press conference the next day, it was carried live by every television station in the state.
Before Favre got hurt, most of the injuries were limited to the defense, which has been without five starters. Safety Antuan Edwards and defensive end Vonnie Holliday have been out for four weeks, cornerback Mike McKenzie has missed three straight and safety Darren Sharper has been out two games. Defensive end Joe Johnson is out for the season with a torn triceps. The good news is that Holliday is practicing and should return to the lineup on Monday.
As for the Dolphins, it remains to be seen how Ray Lucas bounces back from his performance against Buffalo two weeks ago (13-for-33 for 165 yards, 1 TD, 4 INT, 2 fumbles). He said he watched the film six times. Having the bye week allowed him to get away from it, but it kept him from going back out there right away.
The Dolphins are just 21st in the league in passing. It remains to be seen how quickly Cris Carter can get acclimated into the offense. The Dolphins are hoping he can improve the passing game. He and Chris Chambers have already gotten along well. Chambers is helping him get learn the offense, while Carter is helping Chambers learn what has made him the league's second most prolific receiver in history.
He is a veteran guy who can help them with leadership. He's in shape, but he is also the first to point out there is a difference between staying in shape and being in game-shape.
The player who has made the biggest impact for Miami this season is Ricky Williams. But Monday night will be a chilling reception for him. He said he's never played in freezing weather before. Ever. Meanwhile, Favre is 31-0 when it's below 34 degrees at Lambeau Field, and it should be in the 30s this Monday.
He hopes to make it 32 straight as long as his knee cooperates.
Melissa Stark is Monday Night Football's sideline reporter and a regular contributor to ABC Sports Online.
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The Packers know how important Brett Favre is to the Packers.