Sack exchange

When NFL fans think of Brett Favre serving up a "self-sack," they might think of alleged racy text messages he sent while a member of the New York Jets in 2008.

But for football purists, a Favre "self-sack" conjures up memories of the 2001 regular season finale when Favre's Green Bay Packers took on the New York Giants. In that contest, Giants' defender Michael Strahan needed only one quarterback sack to get to 22.5 on the season, eclipsing the nearly two-decade old single season record of 22 set by the New York Jets' Mark Gastineau in 1984.

Strahan did indeed usurp Gastineau on this play with just under three minutes remaining in the game:

In the aftermath of that game, many (including Gastineau, who was present at Giants Stadium that day) ascertained that Favre did indeed give himself up in order for Strahan to get the record. While Gastineau graciously congratulated Strahan afterward, he later revealed that he's never stopped believing that Strahan's record is forever tainted. 

In 2023, Gastineau had an opportunity to confront Favre to let him know he's *still* not over it. 

Given that Gastineau-Favre exchange was first seen by the general public just this week, there's been a lot of reaction to that uncomfortable encounter. As such, Favre himself chose to address the matter. 

I want to clear the air on the footage released showing a small dustup between myself and Mark Gastineau, the former New York Jet.

Back in 2002, when Michael Strahan sacked me at the end of a game that we had wrapped up, I was in no way trying to hurt Mark Gastineau.

I was trying to close out a game and squeeze the last bit of fun out of a hard-fought game.

I booted out of a run thinking it would be wide open, saw Strahan standing there and ducked down.

The game was over.

There was no need for me to do anything spectacular.

It probably wasn’t Michael’s best sack or tackle for loss.

In a different game or situation, I would have made a bigger effort to avoid the sack or TFL.

But at no point was I thinking about hurting Gastineau. Maybe it crossed my mind to help Strahan. I didn’t think it through. That wasn’t my forte at the time.

I just wanted to have fun and compete. In retrospect, I understand how Gastineau feels. We played a brutal game. Gastineau played during an era where guys didn’t make generational wealth.

I see now how being the Sack King would elevate his value at card shows, strengthen his case for the Hall of Fame, increase his demand as a public speaker.

I had no way of knowing that then. I realize now the potential financial implications because football is far more business-oriented than when me or Mark played.

There was no malice on my part.

Mark was a great player.

My understanding is he’s a great guy and a fun teammate, a guy who played with the kind of joy and passion I tried to mimic. I understand his frustration, but I’m not his enemy.

A while back, he saw me at a card show and got his frustration off his chest.

It’s not the kind of moment that should be filmed and released. It was a private moment of frustration between two old football warriors.

I have a great deal of respect for Mark.

I hope one day he joins me in the Hall of Fame.

He earned it. Look at his numbers.

He eclipsed 20 sacks twice and had 19 in another year!

Mark definitely left an indelible mark on the game.

I hope this controversy brings attention to just how great Mark Gastineau was.

He belongs in Canton.

I remember watching that Packers-Giants tilt given the magnitude of the record at stake. Favre and Strahan were the ultimate competitors, so I figured Strahan was going to have to work doubly hard to get just one sack that day. And sure enough, Favre successfully dodged Strahan's many attempts to get a sack, including getting hit many times just as he released the ball. So I was quite taken aback when it appeared Favre "took a dive" late in the game. Also, the play call made no sense since the Packers were up two scores (34-25) with under three minutes remaining and the Giants having all three timeouts plus the two-minute warning. Why would Favre risk throwing an incompletion to stop the clock and spare the opponent from burning their timeouts? Quite simply, he appeared to have other motives. 

With the ESPN 30 for 30 special New York Sack Exchange debuting this Friday, it explores the 1980s era of Jets football and how prolific they were in getting to the quarterback. Of the clips I've seen thus far, Gastineau seems to believe that he'd be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame were he still in possession of that single season record. That seems to be a bit of a stretch since there a many HOF eligible defensive players who have more (unofficial) career sacks than Gastineau but have yet to receive their calls.

From a human standpoint, I'm hoping Gastineau can find some peace, especially since he himself is dealing with some obvious physical maladies due to his decade long NFL career. 

-------------------------------------------------------