Sean Payton's message on Brett Favre resonated with New Orleans Saints

SmashMouth · 09-09-2010, 07:12 AM

Before the New Orleans Saints met the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC championship game last January, Sean Payton praised Brett Favre.

Eliot Kamenitz/The Times-Picayune
New Orleans Saints Coach Sean Payton delivered a message to his team before the NFC championship game that's still applicable today.
"From afar, really, I've been a big fan and he's had a great career, " Payton told the national media during the week before the game. "He's been a fantastic player. To see what he's doing right now at this point in his career is really unprecedented in the success he's having and the season he's having. ... He's an amazing talent."

Privately, though, Payton's message was different.
On the Saturday before the game, he met with the players and focused his message on the Vikings' three-time MVP quarterback.
"When you get older in life, you tend to get very careful, and a little more fearful," Payton said, according to players and staffers who were there. "You start thinking about your own mortality. If it rains outside you might not go to the store, especially at night. You figure you'll just wait it out. You might have somewhere to go and you tell yourself I don't want to go there. You don't want to get in a wreck.
"If you keep hitting him (on Sunday) he'll make a mistake. If we keep putting pressure on him (Sunday night) he'll start being careful, he'll start doing anything he can to avoid getting hit and he'll make a mistake. I promise you, if we hit him for four quarters, he'll turn into that old man who's scared of the rain."

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09-09-2010, 07:12 AM	#1
SmashMouth I donated, did you? Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Mandeville, LA Posts: 38,477 Blog Entries: 29	Sean Payton's message on Brett Favre resonated with New Orleans Saints Before the New Orleans Saints met the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC championship game last January, Sean Payton praised Brett Favre. Eliot Kamenitz/The Times-Picayune New Orleans Saints Coach Sean Payton delivered a message to his team before the NFC championship game that's still applicable today. "From afar, really, I've been a big fan and he's had a great career, " Payton told the national media during the week before the game. "He's been a fantastic player. To see what he's doing right now at this point in his career is really unprecedented in the success he's having and the season he's having. ... He's an amazing talent." Privately, though, Payton's message was different. On the Saturday before the game, he met with the players and focused his message on the Vikings' three-time MVP quarterback. "When you get older in life, you tend to get very careful, and a little more fearful," Payton said, according to players and staffers who were there. "You start thinking about your own mortality. If it rains outside you might not go to the store, especially at night. You figure you'll just wait it out. You might have somewhere to go and you tell yourself I don't want to go there. You don't want to get in a wreck. "If you keep hitting him (on Sunday) he'll make a mistake. If we keep putting pressure on him (Sunday night) he'll start being careful, he'll start doing anything he can to avoid getting hit and he'll make a mistake. I promise you, if we hit him for four quarters, he'll turn into that old man who's scared of the rain." read more Attached Thumbnails