Favre Strong Out of Blocks

GREEN BAY, Wis. —  You know Brett Favre’s feeling like his old self when he puts a textbook block on Alonzo Spellman with the game already in hand.

“I told Alonzo after I cut him that I thought he was Terry Fair,” Favre said after the Green Bay Packers’ 28-6 victory over the Detroit Lions on Sunday.

Favre blocked Spellman--six inches taller and 100 pounds heavier than Fair--after a shovel pass to William Henderson on a play that would go 26 yards in the closing minutes.

“I think his knee went all the way through my back,” said Favre, who also had a great block on linebacker Allen Aldridge on a reverse in the first half.

And what did Spellman say when he got up?

“He showed a lot of class. He said, ‘You’re a great player and I enjoy watching you and playing against you,’ ” Favre said. “I was afraid he was going to say, ‘Meet me in the alley out back.’ ”

But Favre and the Packers had taken the fight out of the Lions early.

Favre threw a touchdown pass and Ahman Green had two long touchdown runs as the Packers scored on their first three possessions.

Favre finished 22 for 28 for 260 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. He connected with eight receivers.

“He’s definitely one of the best and his play hasn’t dropped off at all,” Lion safety Lamar Campbell said. “Not at all.”

While Favre effectively ran the Packers’ West Coast offense, his Detroit counterpart Charlie Batch struggled with it in Marty Mornhinweg’s debut as Lion coach.

Batch was 20 for 39 for 276 yards, but had no touchdown passes, was intercepted twice by Darren Sharper and was sacked seven times--three by Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila.

The Packers needed only 10 plays to take a 21-0 lead.

Bill Schroeder grabbed a 23-yard touchdown pass from Favre in between scoring runs of 31 and 87 yards by Green.

“I was surprised early how we played,” Mornhinweg said. “All of a sudden it was 21-0. The one thing I told the team: ‘In this league, it’s not where you start, it’s where you finish.’ By all accounts we can get better in every phase. We will make some big plays in the future.”

The Lions, meanwhile, were missing three starters from their secondary: cornerback Bryant Westbrook (Achilles’) and safeties Kurt Schulz (back) and Ron Rice (toe). Yet, it was Fair who missed a tackle at the line on Green’s 31-yard touchdown burst.

Green carried 17 times for 157 yards, four yards shy of his career high. But his day wasn’t all good. He fumbled three times, losing one of them, and dropped two passes.

“If I could just get him to catch those easy ones, he could be very dominating,” Favre said.

The Packers led, 21-6, at the half after Batch threw a pass intended for Herman Moore in the end zone that was intercepted by Sharper.