Favre offers Steelers an age-old problem

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Nearly all the players in the Pittsburgh locker room can remember a Brett Favre highlight or big pass he completed when they were youngsters.

Some wore his No. 4 jersey. Some are so young they can’t remember him breaking into the NFL in 1991, when linebacker LaMarr Woodley was 6. Only one member of the Steelers defense was on the team the last time Favre played in Pittsburgh 11 years ago.

“I was a kid watching him,” Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said Thursday. “I’ve always been a big fan.”

While Favre already has retired and returned a couple times, the Steelers are very aware the three-time NFL MVP can beat them if they let him on Sunday. Favre threw for 278 yards and three touchdowns as Minnesota beat Baltimore 33-31 last week, proving again that age is just a number.

Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau realized that when he flipped on a video and saw a Favre pass travel 63 yards.

“He throws it plenty far enough,” LeBeau said. “I suppose when was 21 he could throw it a little farther, but 63 yards in the air, that’s far enough.”

Enough for the Steelers (4-2) to know what they’re facing Sunday in the Vikings (6-0) and their 40-year-old quarterback.

“Whoever gave you that information [that Favre is done] is a doofus,” Steelers safety Ryan Clark said. “They weren’t watching this guy. He starts out 8-3 and is doing really well with the Jets last year and it’s documented now that he had arm problems. It wasn’t that he was old, the guy had an injury. He’s a Hall of Famer, and he’s playing like it.”

Favre had a torn biceps muscle last season and needed arthroscopic surgery in May on his throwing arm. So far it’s holding up, and the Steelers now find themselves going against a quarterback most have seen only on TV — and, for some of them, a long time ago.

“You don’t get in awe, but you know he’s capable of doing things other guys can’t do,” cornerback Deshea Townsend said. “When you’re out there playing against him, you better make sure you cover those traps because he can find it.”

The last time Favre played in Pittsburgh, cornerback Deshea Townsend, now 34, was a 23-year-old rookie.

“You want to go out there and try to confuse him, make him think a little bit before he throws the ball, but one thing about him is he’s seen so many defenses,” Townsend said. “You’ve got to think about his career and all the defenses he’s seen. You might make him think, go into his mental playbook a little deeper, but you’re not going to confuse him.”