American Football: Favre shows durability as deft touch lifts Green Bay

Two young quarterbacks made their first starts over the weekend, but the man who sets the standard others can only aspire to continued to confirm that he is the master of his craft. Brett Favre, of the Green Bay Packers, showed his characteristic deftness of touch and established some new milestones as he guided his team to a comfortable 28-10 triumph over the New England Patriots.

The Patriots, winners of last year's Super Bowl, never threatened to contain him. Favre threw touchdown passes to William Henderson, Ahman Green and Bubba Franks as he moved the ball at will against one of the League's better defenses. He has now thrown 301 career touchdown passes, moving him into third on the all-time list behind Fran Tarkenton and Dan Marino, but, typically, that feat was deemed almost unworthy of acknowledgement.

"It means I'm playing and producing, and we're winning, and that's about it," he said of his achievement. Since arriving in Green Bay 10 years ago, Favre has become one of the finest quarterbacks ever to play the game, but his most remarkable quality is his durability. The quarterback is the most vulnerable player on the field, the target of every defensive player, and their rate of injury is high. Favre, however, has not missed a game since 1992, and against the Patriots he made his 163rd consecutive start, an all-time record for quarterbacks.

In contrast, Marc Bulger, of the St Louis Rams, and Patrick Ramsey, of the Washington Redskins, had their first career starts on Sunday, and enjoyed mixed fortunes.

The Rams, pre-season Super Bowl favourites, had lost all five of their previous games, and with two veteran quarterbacks, Kurt Warner and Jamie Martin, injured, their prospects looked bleak against the free-scoring Oakland Raiders.

Bulger had never thrown a pass in the NFL, but showed tremendous composure in completing his first three attempts, culminating in a touchdown pass to Isaac Bruce. When he repeated the trick with another scoring pass to Torry Holt, the Rams were 14 points to the good, and the Raiders' unbeaten record was about to be broken.

Helped by the running of Marshall Faulk, who gained 158 yards on 26 carries, Bulger survived some fearsome Raiders hitting to complete 14 of his 21 passes for three touchdowns and no interceptions as the Rams finally picked up their first win of the year, 28-13. With Warner out for at least another month with a broken finger, Bulger should have plenty of chances to show that he is not a one-game wonder.

In his side's 43-27 defeat against New Orleans, Ramsey could do little right in the first quarter, throwing three interceptions. After gifting the Saints a 20-point start, however, Ramsey started to settle, scoring on a touchdown run himself, then tossing a 62-yard scoring pass to Kenny Watson.

Both Bulger and Ramsey offered glimpses of a promising future, but greatness can only be achieved over a period of time, and measured against the brilliance of Favre, most are found wanting.