Brett Favre’s Ankle Will Not Be Overshadowed

With so much talk about Dwight Freeney’s ankle this week, there was no chance we would get all the way to Sunday without something leaking out about how banged up Brett Favre was after the NFC Championship game. ↵↵“You want to see a bad ankle? We’ll show you a bad ankle.”↵

↵↵I’m assuming that’s how the conversation went between Favre’s agent Bus Cook and Clarion Ledger writer Rick Cleveland. Cleveland, whose blog covers “All things Mississippi…and some beyond,” was talking with Cook about Colts DT – and Mississippi native – Antonio Johnson when he asked about the health of Favre. ↵

↵↵⇥“Beat up,” Bus answered. “You should see the photos of his ankle and his hamstring the day after the game.”↵⇥↵⇥I said I’d like to do just that. Cook e-mailed them. Brace yourself.↵⇥

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↵It is pretty gruesome. In fact, it’s probably a good thing the Saints beat the Vikings or we’d be dealing with never-ending stories about the ankles of two huge stars in the Super Bowl. Frankly, I’m not sure America is ready for that much below-the-calf speculation. Obviously Cleveland is in the pro-Favre camp, as his next line reads:↵↵⇥That he even finished the game is testament to why he is football’s all-time iron man, the toughest football player I’ve ever seen. Now I ask you: How many guys would have played with that?↵↵My guess, in the NFC title game, would be all of them. But Favre did have a hammy problem, too (that photo, linked through, is pretty nasty as well). So he’s got Freeney totally beat on injuries this week. Of course, Freeney actually needs to play on Sunday, while Favre’s only appearance during the Super Bowl will be in an ad for Hyundai, so it seems all the media attention is focused on the right ankle.↵