EXTENSIVE Jets News For Sunday

[SoFlaJets]

NFL has Favre where it wants him

[SoFlaJets]

Giants feel forgotten even after winning Super Bowl last season

BY RALPH VACCHIANO

DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

Saturday, August 9th 2008, 9:01 PM

ALBANY - Remember the good old days, when athletes had to actually accomplish something for their city before they were honored at City Hall?

The Giants do. In fact, it was only six months ago that they were honored there and presented the keys to the city of New York. They owned the town back then, thanks to their remarkable run to the Super Bowl XLII title.

Of course, that was B.F. - Before Favre.

Now, while they toil away in anonymity 2-1/2 hours away, it's Brett Favre who is on the back pages, not Eli Manning. And it was Favre, not the Super Bowl champions, who was sitting next to Mayor Bloomberg on Friday, getting a Broadway sign, a MetroCard, cheesecakes and a key ring that he can someday use for the key to the city he'll earn if he leads the Jets to victory in Super Bowl XLIII.

"The guy got introduced like he was the President," said linebacker Antonio Pierce. "He got the Broadway sign. He's on the paper every day. It must be nice for him."

"I'm not surprised at all," added running back Brandon Jacobs. "No one cares about us. Let's call it what it is."

What it is, is yet another opportunity for the Giants to feel like the most overlooked, underappreciated and disrespected Super Bowl champions in the history of the NFL. On the one hand, they're happy Favre mania has captured the media's attention and taken some of the focus off them. On the other, their egos are bruised just a bit. After all, they're the ones with the Super Bowl rings.

Shouldn't somebody be paying attention to them?

"That's good for the Jets," Pierce said. "Now they've got the expectations. And there'll probably be less media in our locker room. That's better for us."

"In New York, the Giants have always been the team," added center Shaun O'Hara. "I don't think that's going to change. But it's nice for the Jets to get some good publicity. It seems like things are positive now for them, which is good."

Actually, the consensus among the Giants was that it was a great thing for the Jets. From what the Giants remembered of Favre from the NFC Championship Game in January, he was still a dangerous quarterback. And they're glad he's out of the NFC.

"I'm glad he didn't go to Minnesota or Tampa, somebody we'd have to face," Pierce said. "I didn't see no reason for him to retire, besides playing the game 17-plus years. He hadn't lost a step. His arm, his throws, everything was the same."

Of course, now nothing is the same for Favre, and no one knows that better than the Giants, who in recent years have seen both the best and worst of the big city. Pierce said dealing with the media will be one of Favre's biggest challenges because "he's not going to control it."

And Jacobs said the switch might end up being a big mistake for Favre, because he's leaving a pretty good team behind.

"I just don't think him leaving the Packers, going to the Jets, was a great thing because you never know with them," Jacobs said. "Great quarterback. I just don't know if that was a smooth idea. I'm not saying he's going to do something bad, because I don't really know what the Jets got this year. But I think he had a pretty good thing with the Packers."

Now, though, Favre has got a lot more - like $4 on his MetroCard, a street sign, and free dessert provided by the mayor.

"But he did not get the key to the city," Pierce said. "So that was good."

[SoFlaJets]

Jets owner Woody Johnson is much more involved this off-season

BY RICH CIMINI

DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

Sunday, August 10th 2008, 7:36 AM

Until this week, Eric Mangini and Mike Tannenbaum weren't big-splash kind of guys. You're talking about a couple of football geeks that used their first two draft picks on offensive linemen (boring!), that passed on a couple of big-name quarterbacks over the years, that spent $140 million this past offseason on linemen and linebackers.

Belying their relative inexperience, the Jets' coach and GM showed patience, adhering to a methodical plan. They were building the team, brick by D'Brickashaw Ferguson. Then, quicker than you could spell Hattiesburg, Miss., Tannenbaum was on a private jet to pick up Brett Favre, the ultimate hired gunslinger. Suddenly, the Jets resembled a team that was ad libbing instead of reading from the script.

Personally, I like the Favre trade, but methinks there is a back story. I believe Woody Johnson, a background owner for most of his eight seasons, stepped out of character and got more involved than most people think. The Jets went from not interested to very interested, a peculiar 180.

I don't think Johnson delivered a "Get Brett" edict to his football people, but this has the look of an owner-driven move. Not that there's anything wrong with that; after all, Johnson paid $630 million for the team and he has the right to ask, "Why aren't we in the Favre mix?"

From a business standpoint, it's easy to see why Johnson wanted Favre. The Jets are moving into a new stadium in a couple of years and they have luxury suites to fill and corporate sponsorships to hawk. Favre never will play in the new stadium, set to open in 2010, but he immediately improves the name brand.

There's also the matter of seat licenses for the $1.6 billion stadium. The pricing plan is scheduled to be mailed out in a couple of weeks, and you can bet the PSL-loathing fans will be more apt to write big checks now that they're basking in the Favre euphoria.

Before Favre, there was no electricity around the team, probably because the underwhelming prospects at quarterback served as a buzz kill. They made some solid offseason additions, but who buys a ticket to see a new left guard?

Obviously, Mangini doesn't care about box office and marketing. His job is to win, and he likes to operate in a tightly controlled, circus-free atmosphere, coaching a team of blue-collar types. Now he has Ringling Bros. and a player bigger than the team, maybe bigger than the league. I can't imagine he's going to love the Favre show.

But Mangini is not the boss, and my hunch is the boss caught a serious case of Favre-itis. Johnson usually isn't a publicity hound, but he has been out front on this one, having appeared in news conferences in Morristown, N.J., Cleveland and City Hall. At the latter stop, where Favre was feted by Mayor Bloomberg, Johnson compared it to an Elvis sighting.

For the Jets' sake, it had better be Presley, not Grbac.

[SoFlaJets]

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[SoFlaJets]

Jets WR Laveranues Coles still miffed over Chad Pennington sack

BY RICH CIMINI

DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

Saturday, August 9th 2008, 10:55 PM

Laveranues Coles, apparently still simmering over the release of close friend Chad Pennington, declined interview requests yesterday.

"I just need some time," Coles told a member of the Jets' public-relations staff.

Coles was said to be very upset Wednesday night, when the team learned that Pennington would be released to make room for Brett Favre.

Coles, hampered by a leg injury, didn't play in Thursday night's preseason opener against the Browns and he wasn't able to complete Saturday's practice.

Toward the end of practice, Coles stood alone on the sideline, away from his teammates - unusual for him. Clearly, something is bugging him.

FISH STORY: Based on history, the Favre-Pennington showdown in Week 1 could be a mismatch - in favor of Pennington, who signed Friday with the Dolphins.

Favre is 0-2 against Pennington, having been outscored, 80-27, in those two Jets-Packers games.

"I'd just like to beat the guy for a change," Favre said with a laugh.

Favre had nothing but praise for Pennington, saying, "The knock on him was that his arm wasn't that strong. So what? I can throw it through a wall, but I don't win every game I play in. It doesn't matter. He's very effective."

Predictably, Eric Mangini downplayed the anticipated showdown in Miami. "He's a good player, and we're going to face a lot of good players, and he's definitely got some insight into the things we do," Mangini said. "But we're a very game plan-specific team."

Safety Kerry Rhodes said Pennington-to-Miami is "an interesting twist," adding, "There's going to be a lot of excitement and a lot of comparisons."

KASSELL OUT: LB Brad Kassell, a key backup on defense and an important special-teams player, suffered a serious knee injury in Thursday night's game and will require season-ending surgery. He was placed on injured reserve. To fill Kassell's roster spot, the Jets signed first-year LB Blair Phillips.Kassell was going to be used in a rotation with starters Eric Barton and David Harris at inside linebacker. The top backup becomes David Bowens, formerly an outside linebacker. Harris (leg) returned to practice after missing more than a week.

A-OK: Backup TE A.J. Schable, who was carried off on a stretcher in Cleveland after a head-to-head collision, will be fine and could return in a few days, Mangini said. Schable suffered a concussion. ... DE Shaun Ellis (hand), TE Bubba Franks (undisclosed) and CB Justin Miller (undisclosed) missed practice. ... Rookie CB Dwight Lowery, coming off a monster debut, saw some work with the first team. ... QB Brett Ratliff, who threw two touchdowns in the opener, got some work with the second team, ahead of Kellen Clemens. ... The Favre hype resulted in a jam-packed news conference for Mangini, who took one look at the crowd and cracked: "Guess word's out on how much better my press conferences are." ... Injured OT Clint Oldenburg was waived, and the Jets signed rookie OT Thaddeus Coleman, who was waived July 31 by the Cardinals.

[SoFlaJets]

Nothing like training camp in New York with Brett Favre on field

Saturday, August 9th 2008, 10:03 PM

He came from Oceanside Saturday to the Jets' practice field at Hofstra, came wearing the Brett Favre Jets jersey he had bought the day before, one of the jerseys the Jets and Reebok are selling every few seconds now worldwide. But really Roger Leider, here watching a football practice on a Saturday afternoon with his 8-year-old daughter, had come here from the upper deck at Shea Stadium, where he was there for the last day of Jets football, a Jets-Steelers game 25 years ago. He came to this field Saturday and this practice along with more than 10,000 others at Hofstra because the Jets had given him what sports has to eventually give Roger Leider and all like him, and that is hope.

"If you are a Jets fan," Leider said, "you feel like this is the biggest thing in 40 years."

Then Favre was running onto the field in a red practice jersey, and they all stood and cheered at Hofstra, made this remarkable sound for a training camp Saturday, all the people who filled the stands and the ones all the way at the end of the back field, behind the "Capital One Bank Jets Training Camp" banner.

A few minutes later, warming up with the Jets and as a Jet, running toward those stands, Favre waved at the people in the stands in front of him and they went a little crazy all over again and what you had to remind yourself in that moment was that it was still only the 9th of August and the opener against the Dolphins - the Dolphins of Bill Parcells and Chad Pennington - was four weeks away.

In all the years of the Jets, all the training camps they have ever had, there had never been a day anything like this, one that felt this much like some kind of county fair or something out of "Friday Night Lights," cars parked everywhere, green jerseys everywhere, not just with Favre's name on them, but Joe Namath's, too. There were even some cheeseheads mixed in. Ten thousand and counting Saturday to see Brett Favre on a practice field as a Jet. More than 100 media credentials distributed.

Jason Sabella of Levittown paid $44 for his Favre jersey Saturday morning. He is 31 and said he was a diehard Jets fan, said he has always taken the good with the bad, said that with the Jets that has usually meant bad. Just not this week, not Saturday, when he looked out on the field and it was official that Brett Favre was a Jet now.

"You wanted them to step up to the plate and they did," Jason Sabella said. "You wanted them to make the big splash and they did." Sabella smiled and said, "He put us on the back of the papers this week. He put us on the front page."

Jet fans have always been made to feel as if they were rooting for the JV team around here, even though Namath's Jets won a Super Bowl long before the Giants ever did. Then it wasn't just that the Giants won the last Super Bowl, it was the way they won it, and the team they won it against, and Jets fans felt as if their team was more the JV team than ever.

Only now there was Favre on this field, running through drills with the rest of the Jets, getting cheered every time he threw a ball and sometimes when he handed one off. There were even mock good-spirited boos when a Jets receiver would occasionally drop a ball. Never a preseason day like this, maybe not anywhere.

The Jets left Shea to become a tenant of the Giants and they never made it back to the Super Bowl after Super Bowl III. They didn't win that AFC Championship Game in the mud against the Dolphins and Vinny Testaverde couldn't beat John Elway in Denver. Seat licensing prices are coming soon to rock the world of Jets fans and soon they will be leaving this training center and Long Island for good to go practice in Jersey.

Jets fans have waited a long time for another championship, longer than fans of any New York team. They have had to put up with a lot. Woody Johnson and Mike Tannenbaum had to give them Brett Favre, even if it is only for a season or two, had to give them this shot.

Before practice Saturday, Eric Mangini stood in an amazingly crowded interview room, and talked about the way Favre's talent and flair and daring and moxie changes everything for the Jets.

"He can make some things happen that might not have been possible," Mangini said.

So they played "Glory Days" for a little while Saturday when Favre was on the field in a green-and-white helmet. Favre on the field as a Jet. Mangini had talked about how Favre is trying to fit in, play by the same team rules as everybody else, and that is what you have always heard about Favre, that he is a good team man in addition to being one of the great quarterbacks of all time.

"One of the guys," Mangini had said.

And not like any guy he has ever had, one of the handful of biggest stars in sports, playing for Mangini's team now, playing for the Jets, playing here. At about 1:52, Favre dropped back and fired a dart to Laveranues Coles, a spiral that must have sounded like a siren going off, and they cheered again, and it was like all these cheers were the start of the football season, one that was supposed to be the sole property of the football Giants.

The Springsteen music wasn't the soundtrack Saturday at Hofstra. The soundtrack was these cheers. The pro football season was at Hofstra Saturday the way hope was, right there in front of you the way No.4 was. No.4 of the Jets

[SoFlaJets]

Brett Favre looks more rusty than trusty after first practice with Jets

Saturday, August 9th 2008, 9:34 PM

There was more energy and there were more fans at Brett Favre's first training camp practice with the Jets than at some of those dreary December bitterly cold home games during another four-win season.

When he starts against the Redskins Saturday night, Favre will be much better than he was Saturday. He looked like a 38-year-old quarterback wearing pads for the first time since the NFC Championship Game in January and who had pretty much rolled out of bed, out of retirement and onto the practice field not knowing a soul.

Rusty would be one way to describe his day. He felt "like a rookie." Guaranteed he will hit a receiver in stride with one of his off-the-radar-gun fastballs in the next couple of days. He just couldn't do it Saturday, although Jerricho Cotchery surely earned Favre's trust with a highlight film one-handed catch. "There were times in practice I was wondering if I made the right move," Favre said. "I knew it would be rough."

He actually wondered about his decision more than once Saturday, which has to be a little disconcerting to the Jets. After all, he did retire in March saying he knew he could still play, but he was just mentally tired. He now says he was being pressed for a decision by the Packers. He said he knew there was a good chance one month later that he would change his mind. The Jets turned out to be a marriage of convenience. Favre wanted to play and the Packers didn't want him back. They wouldn't cut him and refused to trade him to the Packers or Bears, his teams of choice. The Jets were no better than his fourth or fifth choice, depending on where the Bucs ranked on his wish list.

It's fair to wonder how quickly Favre can give his heart to the Jets after 16 years in Green Bay. It's like being married for 16 years and then getting married the next day to a girl you don't even know. "To be totally honest with you, I didn't know the Jets were 4-12 last year until I got up here," Favre said.

No one was happier Saturday than Woody Johnson, who obviously knows how bad his team was last year. The euphoria created by the trade for Favre could lessen the sticker shock Jets fans will feel when they get their PSL bill in the mail later this month.

"It was never part of any discussions I had," said Johnson, who somehow maintained a straight face and should have taken the opportunity to circulate among the fans - instead of watching from across the field from the VIP section - and personally hand out his PSL forms.

But Saturday was really all about Favre. On Wednesday, he called Alan Faneca, whom the Jets signed as a free agent in March and made the highest-paid guard in NFL history. Favre picked his brain about the Jets. They did not know each other. Faneca's reaction when Favre was on the other end? "I was surprised," he said.

He says he did not try to recruit Favre. "I was just trying to be informative," he said. "Just answering questions he had about the team."

When Favre was asked how he would script what happens this season, he said, "I and this team would come out being victorious. I hope at the end of the season, I really do, that I feel like I made the right decision. I hope that the Jets fans, the people throughout the NFL world, feel like I made the right decision. At this point, I think it was the right decision. I'd love to win the Super Bowl. I'd love to have gone and won it last year. I could say that for a lot of years. My intentions are to help this team win. I can't make any guarantees. I'm not going to make any guarantees. All I can say is I'll do my best. Hopefully, that is enough. Whatever happens, happens."

The fans, many dressed in hot-off-the-presses No. 4 jerseys and some even wearing cheeseheads, didn't care that the best of Brett hasn't shown up yet. They were mesmerized by their new rock star quarterback who was born to pass. But if Favre can't shake off the rust, can't pick up the offense in less than one month before he faces Chad Pennington and the Dolphins and the Jets are just the Jets, at least their fans always will have Saturday. It was one of the most electric days ever at an NFL training camp when 10,500 fans showed up - more than four times the usual Saturday gathering at Hofstra - with a severe case of Favre mania. If this is the best it gets this season, then at least the Jets had their Super Bowl. "It looks like everybody has got a smile on his face," Johnson said. "Every player looks happy."

Bringing in Favre was the right football move. But adding the popular Favre brand will be a big boost to Johnson's business. As much as everybody says the bottom line is winning, the bottom line is really the bottom financial line. Favre will help sell PSLs - and luxury boxes with a top annual price of $1 million for every event at the new stadium. As repulsive as PSLs are to the fans, the Giants and Jets are hitting the market at the right time despite the economy: The Giants just won the Super Bowl and the Jets just added a super hero legend.

Favre was "overly excited" for his first practice, the way he's been for some big games when he's been wild with his throws. If he felt that way Saturday, imagine how he'll be for the home opener against the Patriots.

[SoFlaJets]

as I'm doing these articles it strikes me as funny that now, guys like Myers and Lupica are forced to pay attention to the Jets and write 2 page stuff...HAAAAA...you guys still friggin SUCK!!!!

[SoFlaJets]

Brett Favre has Jets scrambling to protect fingers with hard throws

BY ANDY MARTINO

DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

Saturday, August 9th 2008, 8:45 PM

Jerricho Cotchery grew up watching Brett Favre on television, so he is naturally thrilled to catch passes from the future Hall-of-Famer. But he is also afraid for his hands.

"Hey, he can zip it," Cotchery said, smiling, after his first practice with Favre. "It takes a little time to get adjusted."

The wide receiver had surgery on a broken finger last December. Tight end Bubba Franks, who played with Favre for eight seasons, warned Cotchery to expect the QB's passes to sting. So Cotchery arrived at Hofstra University early Saturday to do strength exercises on his fingers.

It was just one of many adjustments that Favre and the Jets receivers are scrambling to make after last week's trade.

"It's all brand new," said Eric Mangini. "(Favre) is trying to learn everybody's name. He is trying to figure out where the cafeteria is and the dorm rooms. ... Everybody will help him along with the process."

Favre also acknowledged the challenges. "Being in the same system and the same place for so long, you get used to a routine," he said. "You get used to guys."

Cotchery stressed the importance of communication as Favre and his receivers try to develop chemistry. Favre approached Cotchery on the sidelines during last Friday's preseason game in Cleveland, asking him what routes he prefers and how he likes to run them.

"I think we're going to be fine because he already opened up the lines of communication," Cotchery said. He added that the experience of playing with Favre Saturday impressed him in ways that he did not expect.

"He has a lot more touch than people think," he said. "He can make all kinds of different throws."

The receiver also enjoyed the Favre-related increase in fan interest. More than 10,000 fans attended Saturday's practice, compared to the approximately 2,500 who typically turn out.

"It was a great feeling to come out for practice today," said Cotchery. "At this point in training camp, everyone is like, 'Man, it's hot out here.' But practice went by so fast today just because of the fans."

In addition to helping Cotchery, Franks has served as a translator between the quarterback and his new receivers. He also facilitated a conversation between backup quarterback Kellen Clemens and Favre, bridging the gap between Packer and Jet terminology.

Franks downplayed his importance.

"Today, he was pretty good out there, and Brett's a quick learner," he said. "He's not going to need much. It's pretty much the same stuff, just worded different."

[SoFlaJets]

Cheers For Favre on Day 1

by: Brian Bohl | Senior Writer - NY Sports Day | Sunday, August 10, 2008

HEMPSTEAD, NY - In two months, the world

[SoFlaJets]

2007 model Favre a great deal, but Jets could also have a clunker

By Ron Higgins

Sunday, August 10, 2008

For every New York Jets fan ecstatic that his team now has "Broadway Brett" Favre, there's the Jets fan that has a skeptical eye. He's the fan who knows that before Favre's 2007 roll-back-the-clock performance ( 4,155 yards, 28 touchdowns and 15 interceptions), that in 2005-2006 he threw a combined 38 TDs and 47 interceptions. ...

SoFla notes; so in other words since Favre's a Jet he's gonna suck OK..we get it...screw you all

[SoFlaJets]

Favremania sweeps Jets Nation Sunday, August 10, 2008 BY J.P. PELZMANSTAFF WRITER

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. - Quarterback competition was the catchphrase of the first two weeks of the Jets' camp.

On Saturday, the theme was a quarterback's coronation.

Legendary quarterback Brett Favre practiced for the first time since being acquired by the Jets from Green Bay on Wednesday, and he received a huge ovation from a packed house when he took the field at the Jets' Hofstra University facility.

The fans cheered when he began practicing taking snaps from center Nick Mangold. They cheered when he completed his first pass, even though nobody was defending on the play.

His new teammates couldn't help but notice the buzz in the stands.

"It was a great feeling to come out to practice," wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery said. "At this point in time in camp everyone is like, 'It's hot out here.' As soon as we step out here [saturday], the stands are filled. It creates a new energy for the team. Practice went by so fast just off of the excitement we got off of the fans."

"It's exciting," Favre said of the atmosphere. "That's how it felt all week. Really, I'm a rookie again. I don't know if that's good or bad."

He meant that he's a rookie in terms of the system he must learn, after spending 16 years as a Packer. But he knows he won't feel like a rookie physically when he wakes up today.

"There were some times in practice I was wondering if I made the right move," Favre said with a smile, referring to how sore he figures to be today. "I knew it would be rough. ... For me, I'm a few weeks behind as far as practice is concerned.

"I'm also 38 years old, so I'm a little bit behind there too. My arm feels fine. It will be tired [today]; it will be sore because there's no substitute for actually getting in a game-type situation [and] putting the pads on."

Still, he was able to air it out, often showing his trademark velocity.

"The rumors about him throwing hard, yeah, they're true," Cotchery said with a smile. "It takes a little time to get adjusted but I think we'll be fine as receivers. Once you get adjusted to the balls with more zip, you'll be fine. ... I see why he's so great - he has a lot more touch than people would think. He can make all types of throws."

Cotchery, in fact, said he did some finger-strengthening exercises Saturday morning to get ready for practicing with Favre.

Everyone on the offense will have to adjust, even the linemen.

"There's definitely a heightened sense of awareness for everybody to get on the same page," left guard Alan Faneca. "Everything from the grand scheme of a play, to the snap count, to the little nuances of what kind of defenses we're trying to get certain plays" against.

Or Mangold said with a smile when asked about working on snaps with his new quarterback, "How do you tell Brett Favre to adapt to you?"

Still, despite the reverence many of his new teammates have for him, coach Eric Mangini made it clear that Favre just wants to be one of the guys.

Mangini said Favre will start Saturday's preseason game versus Washington and that he didn't think Favre "would allow anybody to call him Mr. Favre, or he would give them a really hard time if they did. No, his goal and our goal and my goal is for him to just fit in like anybody else.

"And it is different. I'm not saying it's not. But he's part of the team, and that's what he wants. That's what we want."

Favre admitted that he doesn't think he'll have every nuance of the offense figured out by Sept. 7 against Miami, but indicated he doesn't have to.

"I've always felt like in any offense or defense throughout the NFL, there's way too much volume," Favre said with a smile. "The coaches have way too much free time. All I'm saying with that is you don't have to have 1,000 plays to be successful. You have to run five or 10 of them very well.

"I was really surprised that today I was as effective as I was," he added. "I'm not saying that I was good. I'm just saying that I was able to take a snap, call a play, we were able to break a huddle and I was able to complete passes in some sort of rhythm."

[SoFlaJets]

Giants happy to let spotlight shine on Favre Sunday, August 10, 2008 BY VINNY DITRANISTAFF WRITER

ALBANY, N.Y. - It was a quiet Saturday afternoon at the University at Albany. The usual number of media hung around the Colonial Quad, looking to ask the Giants about their rather non-descript first exhibition game two nights before.

There was no mad rush of cameras or overflow of reporters to chronicle the events of the day. Suddenly, the reigning Super Bowl champions are the other NFL team in town, the one that does not have Brett Favre at quarterback.

"Good for them," linebacker Antonio Pierce said of the Jets. "Now they have the reputation, and that probably means less media in our locker room. That's probably better for us."

"I'm not surprised at all," running back Brandon Jacobs said of the lack of attention the Giants are receiving. "No one cares about us at all. Let's call it what it is. It's good all the attention has gone the other way because we really don't like it.

"So, you know, Brett Favre going to the Jets, it can be pretty positive for us. All you guys are going to pay attention to them now."

Favre was topic du jour Saturday, even at Giants camp. His arrival in New York was the tip of an iceberg that began forming in frozen Lambeau Field last January, when the Giants defeated Favre and the Packers in the NFC Championship Game.

"Actually, we had a chance to visit with Brett at the ESPY's," said center Shaun O'Hara said. "I certainly have a lot of respect for him and all he's done as a player and the way he's played the game. I know our matchup with him in the championship game was a big game. I think that had a lot to do with his coming back, not wanting to have his last pass ..."

Intercepted by Corey Webster. That would have been Favre's final throw if he had gone through with his decision to retire. But now he's not only back but sharing the same stadium with the reigning Super Bowl champions.

"The guy was introduced like he was the President, he got the Broadway sign, he was in the paper every day," Pierce said of the greeting Favre received Friday from Mayor Michael Bloomberg. "Now he has to deal with it. I think he's going to realize the media is a little different than it is in Green Bay. He can't control it."

"It was quite a warm welcome," added O'Hara. "But I think everyone knows in New York it doesn't last long."

And Jacobs for one is not sure Favre made the right call in holding out for a trade.

"It's a risky business," he said. "To be honest with you, people don't care about you as a person. They just want to know 'What have you done for me lately?' With Brett Favre, he has done very well for the Packers. I just don't think him leaving the Packers was a great thing, because you never know with [the Jets].

"Great quarterback, great quarterback. I just don't know if that was a smooth idea for Brett Favre."

"He certainly brings a lot to a team," countered O'Hara. "I've been watching him for a number of years. He's really an icon in the game. He's almost the Michael Jordan of the NFL right now.

"My only reference to what has happened is Michael Jordan. Everyone thought he'd always be a Bull. Then he retired, and came back, and retired again and ended up coming back with the Wizards. To see him in a different uniform than the Bulls was different. But Brett's still wearing green."

"He hasn't lost a step in his arm, his throws, everything is the same," said Pierce. "He was still having fun, and the week before [the championship game] he was out there throwing snowballs. He wasn't too frustrated with football or distracted. I think the Jets have a good quarterback on their hands."

[SoFlaJets]

Clemens adjusts

Until Saturday, Kellen Clemens was splitting the first-team snaps at quarterback in practice.

That has changed now that Brett Favre is on the scene, and Clemens has gone from competing for a starting job to backing up a legend.

"All of my preparation was going toward winning that battle and then hopefully being the starting quarterback in '08," Clemens said. "The positive that I can take out of it is the opportunity to learn from Brett Favre."

Favre vs. Chad?

Miami signed Chad Pennington on Friday, which could set up an opening day matchup between the Jets and their former quarterback when they visit Miami on Sept. 7. Favre recalled that the Packers lost both games against the Jets that Pennington started.

"I have nothing but the highest regard for Chad," Favre said, adding Pennington is an "extremely bright guy. ... [He's a] high-character guy, a lot of class. I'd just like to beat the guy for a change."

Briefs

Wide receiver Laveranues Coles declined to speak with reporters Saturday when approached by a Jets official. Coles is close friends with Pennington. ... The Jets placed LB Brad Kassell (knee) on injured reserve. He was injured in the win over Cleveland on Thursday. ... Starting LB David Harris (leg) returned to practice for the first time since July 27. Defensive end Shaun Ellis (hand) and tight end Bubba Franks (undisclosed) sat out.

[SoFlaJets]

JACOBS: BRETT TO JETS MAY NOT WORK

By PAUL SCHWARTZ

August 10, 2008

ALBANY - The Super Bowl champions went back to work yesterday, far from the hubbub of Brett Favre mania on Long Island. The length and happiness of the shotgun marriage of Favre and the JetsNew York Jets is up for debate, and at least one member of the GiantsNew York Giants is wondering about this strange pairing.

"I just don't think him leaving the Packers and going to the Jets was a great thing because you never know with them," running back Brandon JacobsBrandon Jacobs said. "Great quarterback, I just don't know if that was a smooth idea."

For the Jets or Favre?

"For Brett Favre," Jacobs said.

Why is that?

"Not saying he's going to something bad, because I really don't know what the Jets got this year, but I think he had a pretty good thing with the Packers," Jacobs said. "But if they didn't want him back, they didn't want him back."

This particular Giants team has turned perceived slights into raging inferno motivation, which is why the Cowboys hysteria for this upcoming season plays right into the Giants hands. Rarely, though, do the Giants take a back seat in their own area and never when they are coming off such a glorious and unexpected roll to a championship.

Well, almost never. Favre getting traded to the Jets caused (and continues to create) such reverberations that the aftershock can even be felt about 170 miles away in the New York State capital. The Giants say they have only casual interest, but they certainly don't mind being pushed into the unfamiliar position as the "other" team, at least for now.

"That's good for them, now they got the expectations, so that's probably less media in our locker room and that's probably better for us," linebacker Antonio Pierce said.

The Giants did notice how Favre received the red-carpet treatment upon his arrival, including an elaborate City Hall welcome by Mayor Bloomberg.

"The guy got introduced like he was the president," Pierce said. "He got the Broadway sign. Now they got to deal with it. I think he's going to realize the media's a little different in Green Bay. He's not going to control it."

Center Shaun O'Hara, a native of New Jersey, noticed Favre's kingly welcome but said, "I think everybody knows in New York that doesn't last long, you have to produce. That's why it's such a great city to play for."

The first culture shock for Favre after so many years in Green Bay will be the cost of living.

"Get an E-Z Pass as soon as possible," said O'Hara, who volunteered to help ease the transition for the veteran quarterback.

"I know our offensive line, we've talked, we'd be happy to take Brett out and show him all the fine restaurants, as long as he pays for the bill," O'Hara said

[SoFlaJets]

PENNINGTON ADDS NEW TWIST TO OLD RIVALRY

By MARK CANNIZZARO

August 10, 2008

There's already a buzz around the JetsNew York Jets about having to face Chad PenningtonChad Pennington , their former quarterback who's now with the Dolphins, in the season opener Sept. 7 in Miami.

"It's an interesting twist," Jets safety Kerry RhodesKerry Rhodes said. "He's been the guy here for eight years and now he's going to a rival team in Miami.

"There's going to be a lot of excitement going into that first game, with a lot of comparisons. It's going to be fun to be a part of."

Coach Eric Mangini typically downplayed the showdown.

"Well, he's a good player and we're going to face a lot of good players," Mangini said. "He's definitely got some insight into the things we do, but we're a very gameplan-specific team.

"Players go to different places all the time and there's definitely an element you have got to be more conscious of - code words and things like that."

Brett Favre, when asked about facing Pennington right away, said, "Well, every time I've faced Chad I've lost. I'd just like to beat the guy for a change."

Indeed, in a 38-10 Jets win over the Packers in 2006, Pennington was 25-of-35 for 263 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. And, in a 42-17 Jets win over the Packers in 2002, he was 17-of-24 for 196 yards and four TDs.

"He's always played extremely well [against the Packers]," Favre said. "I hope this time is different. I have nothing but the highest regard for Chad. He's an extremely bright guy.

"The knock on him was his arm wasn't that strong. So what? I can throw it through a wall but I don't win every game I play in. It doesn't matter. He was very effective."

*

Jets LB Matt Chatham had a moment in yesterday's practice, picking off a Favre pass in an 11-on-11 drill. Rhodes joked later that "it didn't count, because it was just practice."

*

The Jets yesterday placed LB Brad Kassell on injured reserve with a right knee injury. They signed T Thaddeus Coleman to replace his spot on the roster.

*

Mangini said TE A.J. Schable, who had a scary helmet-to-helmet collision covering a kickoff in Thursday's game, "is going to be fine."

Schable was taken off the field immobilized in a stretcher and taken to a nearby hospital for ob servation.

[SoFlaJets]

BROADWAY WHOA

SIGN OF THE TIMES: Mayor Bloomberg (left) presents new Jets QB Brett Favre with a "Broadway" sign on Friday at City Hall.

Posted: 3:44 am

August 10, 2008

* I just read about Mayor Bloomberg giving new JetsNew York Jets quarterback Brett Favre a "Broadway" street sign. That is an insult to the legacy of the Jets and "Broadway Joe" Namath. Namath was a New York legend and icon, and should be remembered for his skill and talents, not only as a football player, but as a New Yorker. He was the epitome of cool, he was a true man's man, and he played every game like his life was on the line. Favre is a great player and will be remembered in football history for his achievements, but I'm sure he would want to have his own nickname, not one borrowed from one of football's other greats. Broadway Brett? Come on, Mr. Mayor, what were you thinking?

FRANK BENNARDELLO

Deerfield Beach, Fla.

* We can add Brett Favre to the pathetically long list of professional sports egomaniacs who didn't know when enough was enough. It seems these types can't accept when their time has passed and can't survive even a few weeks out of the limelight. My question is: What are the Jets thinking? Instead of building for the future, they chose to grab a few headlines. Are they really naive enough to think Favre can win them a Super Bowl this season? It's another example of the incredibly poor management that has kept them out of the big game for 39 years. The boo-birds should be out by mid-October

STEVE BORRELLI

Raritan, N.J.

* I thought he was better than this, but apparently Brett Favre is just like most every other professional athlete who remains in the game strictly for the money. He's going to spin it that he loves to compete and wants to win another Super Bowl. But with the Jets? Please. Between the Packers and the Jets, who has a better roster of football players? The Packers, of course, and if Favre couldn't get that team to the Super Bowl last season, what are the chances he's going to accomplish that with the Jets? He's now further tarnishing his image.

LOUIE REY

East Meadow, N.Y.

Favre out!

* The acquisition of Brett Favre was a steal for the Jets. The future Hall of Famer is pure and simple a winner. He turned the Packers, after a quarter century of futility, into one of the premier franchises in the NFL. He led a very young and inexperienced team to the NFC Championship game last season after going out on a limb a short two seasons ago by declaring it was the best talent he had ever been associated with. He is bringing those same leadership qualities to the Jets on the heels of a Pro Bowl-caliber season. Expect a repeat performance in the Meadowlands.

LANCE BARNETT

Austin, Texas

* Congratulations, Jets, on receiving one of the greatest players in the NFL. Brett Favre is a straight talker and walks the walk. My young kids are bummed that he is no longer going to be playing in Green Bay. Give him a chance and he will impress you too. Go Jets, from a lifelong Packers fan.

KURT ANDERSON

Kaukauna, Wis.

Chad job, Jets

* While the Jets' world continues to swoon over Brett Favre, does anyone give a damn about Chad PenningtonChad Pennington , who was kicked in the rear like a dog getting ready to soil the street? As a non-Jets fan, my only hope is that the Dolphins, who signed Pennington, beat the Jets to keep them from the playoffs.

JAMES PANZO

Brooklyn

[SoFlaJets]

FANS FLOCK FROM FAVRE AND NEAR

HUGE CROWD WATCHES BRETT'S FIRST PRACTICE

By MARK CANNIZZARO

At 1:20 yesterday afternoon, Elvis entered the playing field wearing a JetsNew York Jets uniform for the first time.

When Brett Favre appeared wearing his red No. 4 quarterback jersey, the fans overflowing the grandstands and swelling around the practice field cheered loudly with a standing ovation.

Never before has a Jets training camp session had this kind of buzz. Team officials estimated that there were 10,500 in attendance, an absurd number by comparison to what usually turns out for these practices, which usually attract about a quarter of that.

"This is a lot of people . . . even for New York," Kellen ClemensKellen Clemens said.

As Favre began taking snap drills with the other quarterbacks, Bruce Springsteen's "Glory Days" blared from the sound system speakers.

The Jets hope this is the beginning of glory days for their franchise, which is coming off a 4-12 season and desperate to get back to the postseason.

Favre received gasps and wild cheers for merely completing passes to his receivers during drills that included no one playing defense. When he completed a deep pass over the middle to Jerricho CotcheryJerricho Cotchery , who made a one-handed snare in an 11-on-11 drill, the fans erupted. They even cheered Favre for throwing the ball out of bounds when there was no receiver open.

Favre, who hadn't worn full pads since the Packers' NFC Championship loss to the Giants last January, looked remarkably sharp during his reps. He never really let the ball fly, perhaps saving himself, but he looked as prepared as a player who had been in camp all summer.

Clemens, Favre's backup, was impressed.

"The arm strength is everything you heard it would be and probably more," Clemens said. "And as the season goes on, you'll probably see more eye-opening things from him."

Favre, conceding he "didn't want to look bad," said he went after it perhaps a bit more than he should have for a first day.

"I was probably overly excited as I started practice, and I'm going to pay for that (today)," he said. "I'm really a rookie. I don't know if that's good or bad. I'm not going to tell you that I've got this offense down and I'm not going to tell you that I knoww everyone in the locker room.

"I'm two weeks behind in camp. And I'm 38 years old, which puts me behind."

He'll catch up by starting in Saturday's preseason game against the Redskins at Giants Stadium, a game that will be nationally televised.

The consensus among Jets players is that Favre appears to be picking up the offense well in a short time.

"He's a really smart guy; he's picking up on it real fast," Clemens said.

"There is definitely a heightened sense of awareness from everyone to get o n the same page as him," said left guard Alan Faneca, who was part of the recruiting process, speaking to Favre the day he signed to give him a newcomer's perspective on the team.

Safety Kerry Rhodes said the presence of Favre and the huge crowd that came to see him "gave us a certain energy that, if it's going to be like this the whole year, is definitely a plus."

Even Eric Mangini, as he surveyed the overcrowded press room, seemed to get some energy from the vibe.

"Guess word's out how much better my press conferences are," he quipped.

Turning more serious, Mangini spoke about some things he told the team, about not expecting Favre to be wearing a Superman cape.

"You can add one person, but there's no magic formula; there's no magic dust," Mangini said. "It's going to take a team effort. And, (Favre) won't be playing the kickoff team. He won't be on kickoff return. He's not going to stop the run."

Mangini is trying to retain as much normalcy around his team despite the circus that has followed Favre here.

"He's under the same rules as the rest of the team, and that's what he wants," Mangini said. "That's what I liked about him when I talked to him early in the process. He's not looking to be any different than any of the other guys.

"I recognize that it is different. It is unique. But he's unique in that sense too. He's a regular guy."

[SoFlaJets]

JETS WRS GET READY FOR FASTBALLS

By DAN MARTIN

Posted: 3:44 am

August 10, 2008

Bubba Franks had a simple piece of advice for his fellow receivers after Brett Favre was traded to the JetsNew York Jets .

"Bubba talked about how we had to get our hands right," Jerricho CotcheryJerricho Cotchery said. "He said, 'Better get your hands ready,' so I did. I went into weight room and did a little finger-strengthening exercise to get ready for practice."

And the new Jets quarterback did not disappoint in his first practice with the team.

"He can zip it, now," Cotchery said. "He can zip it."

And there's only one way to get used to it.

"Just [by] catching balls from him, period," Cotchery said. "You can't simulate what he does. One thing I would say is that I see why he's great. He has a lot more touch than people think."

Franks, who played with Favre in Green Bay for his entire career until signing with the Jets during the offseason, said Cotchery and Co. haven't even seen him at full strength.

"I don't think his arm's warmed up yet," the veteran tight end said. "I think he's trying to feel his way and hasn't let it out."When he does, everyone will know.

"It's a different ball," Franks said of Favre's fastball. "Totally different."

Particularly when you're used to the accurate - but famously soft-tossing - Chad PenningtonChad Pennington . Cotchery could already see the difference.

"All the rumors about him throwing hard are true," Cotchery said. "It will take a little time to get adjusted, but we'll be fine."

The first signs of progress could already be seen yesterday in front of the many fans at Hofstra.

While early on, Favre routinely overthrew receivers downfield and his short passes were dropped after being fired into receivers' chests, later on, they had more success. Cotchery snared a 40-yarder that settled into his fingertips.

That didn't surprise Franks.

"He looked pretty good," Franks said. "Brett's a quick learner and football is football, no matter how you draw it up."

[SoFlaJets]

FANS FEELING EU-4-IA

Posted: 3:44 am

August 10, 2008

There was no other place in the world JetsNew York Jets fans would rather have been yesterday than this little slice of heaven outside old Weeb Ewbank Hall, because early in the afternoon on the first day of the rest of his Hall of Fame football life, Brett Favre, their dream quarterback, stepped into the Jets huddle and, just like that, turned a 100-yard patch of grass into their field of dreams.

Four decades after their one and only Super Bowl championship, four decades after Broadway Joe, there was No. 4.

Eu-4-ia.

Old and young, male and female, they couldn't take their eyes off the graybeard in the red No. 4 jersey and white Jets helmet, couldn't close their awestruck mouths when one of his signature missiles whistled through the summer heat and smacked into the hands of receivers whose hands are going to be calloused.

Favre is the Pied Piper of Hofstra, and soon of Florham Park, and wherever he goes it will look and sound like Jets Stadium. The place had more of a buzz yesterday than so many of the meaningless December games the Jets have played for too long. Favre played 16 years for the Packers, and these fans will be happy if Favre plays only 16 games for them, because they expect those 16 will lead to a 17th, and maybe even beyond.

The audacity of hope, inside Jetville, of all places.

You saw "Jett Favre" T-shirts everywhere, you saw No. 4 Packers jerseys, you saw cheeseheads in the overflowing bleachers, you even saw the letters "AVRE" taped to the F on the back of Jets fans like Andrew Hinrichs. "It was a [Glenn] Foley jersey," the boy said sheepishly.

Jets ticket manager Bob Parente looked up and around at apoplectic Jets Nation yesterday and said: "I don't have the real number, but they're saying it's just under 10,000." Later, team officials put the estimate at 10,500.

The first Favre rifle, a slant to Laveranues ColesLaveranues Coles , drew a roar. And on and on it went. The one interception won't cost him the start against the Redskins on Saturday night.

"The arm strength is everything you heard it would be, and probably more," Kellen ClemensKellen Clemens said.

Favre said: "I didn't want to look too bad, so I tried to put as much into it as I could, and I'll pay for it tomorrow, but I'll be OK."

The riverboat gambler in Favre in a white Jets helmet allows the imagination to run wild, to see all the possibilities. They shouted "Brett!" when he limbered up near the bleachers and he waved at his green-and-white cult followers.

"He'll toss a ball 60 yards down the field with three defenders on a single receiver, but if there's a slight chance of the guy catching it, he'll do it . . . he'll take the risk but, he wants the reward," Rob Meyer said. Meyer was going to buy a season ticket from a friend for $1,000 - but that was before the Favre trade. "Bumped the price up 500 more, but I still bought 'em anyways," Meyer said.

Bill Manning was clad in a Namath No. 12 jersey.

"I'm an original season-ticket holder from the Titans in 1962," Manning said. "The old Shea . . . I remember the little Jet on the field way back when. I've had this jersey for 20 years."

His 11-year-old daughter Alex was wearing another one of those taped "AVRE" Foley jerseys.

"Decided to save money for the personal seat licenses by doing it this way," Manning cracked.

Manning was asked why he is so excited about Favre. "I'm looking forward to seeing the ball being passed downfield - something that we've been lacking for the past couple of years," he said.

P.J. Merante, wearing a Nugent No. 1 jersey, climbed atop a buddy's shoulders a la Fireman Ed and led a "J-E-T-S, JETS JETS JETS" cheer. "Brett Favre's the truth!" Merante said.

ESPN Radio preempted its Cardinals-Cubs coverage for Favre's post-practice press conference.

"This is monumental for us," executive producer Pete Silverman said.

4 New York. 4 the NFL. 4 everyone.

[SoFlaJets]

Favre hopes he can finally beat Pennington

Bob Glauber

August 10, 2008

Chad Pennington received a vote of confidence from a rather surprising source yesterday afternoon. Moments after Brett Favre's first practice in a Jets uniform, on the same field where Pennington toiled diligently for the previous eight seasons, it was Favre himself who gushed about the player he will now replace.

When I asked Favre what it would be like to face his predecessor on Opening Day when the Jets meet Pennington's Dolphins in Miami on Sept. 7, Favre couldn't have been more complimentary.

"Every time I've faced Chad, I've lost," Favre said after a two-hour workout before an estimated 10,500 fans, quadruple the usual size of a training camp crowd at Hofstra. "He's played extremely well. Hopefully, it turns out different."

Favre has faced Pennington's Jets twice before and lost both times.

With a Jets playoff berth on the line in the 2002 regular-season finale, the Jets smoked Green Bay, 42-17, at the Meadowlands. Pennington threw four touchdown passes; Favre had only one touchdown pass and an interception.

And in 2006, Pennington's Jets destroyed the Packers in Green Bay, 38-10, with Pennington throwing for 263 yards, two TDs and two interceptions. Favre threw for 214 yards, one TD and two INTs.

Favre even defended Pennington's questionable arm strength, something routinely brought up by his biggest detractors.

"So what?" Favre said of Pennington's knock as a weak-armed passer. "I can throw it through a wall, but I don't win every game I've ever played in. He's very effective. I haven't seen one person say anything negative about him. He's a high-character guy. A lot of class. I'd just like to beat him."

He likely will get that chance four weeks from today. The Jets will be in Miami and Pennington, who signed a two-year, $11.5-million contract with the Dolphins just a day after being released by the Jets, is likely to be Miami's starter.

Favre can only hope he's ready by then. The challenge of getting up to speed with a new team, a new coaching staff and a new offensive system is no small task, even for a future Hall of Fame quarterback.

Put it this way: Favre was delighted yesterday that he was actually able to call the right plays in practice.

"They're throwing everything at me, and I'm trying to digest it," he said. "It's a little overwhelming. I was really surprised I was as effective as I was. I was able to call a play, break the huddle and I was able to complete passes."

He was not kidding.

Learning an NFL offense is complicated enough. Learning it on the fly with the regular season only a month away is ridiculous.

That's why it's impossible to say just yet whether this thing will work out for Favre and for the Jets, whose alliance very well may last for only a year. There are simply no guarantees beyond that.

But oh, how deliciously intriguing that year will be. Especially now that Pennington has landed in Miami.

The drama will only increase from there. In Week 2, the Jets play the Patriots at the Meadowlands, a year after the Spygate scandal began to unravel when the Patriots were caught taping the Jets' defensive signals in Week 1 last season. Then the Jets are at AFC West powerhouse San Diego in Week 3.

With only a rudimentary working knowledge of the Jets' offense, Favre had better hope things turn out better in reality than they look on paper.

Favre certainly performed up to the high expectations of the fans, who filled the stands and stood four and five rows deep on the sideline yesterday. But even that wasn't easy.

"I was probably overly excited the first part of practice, and I'm going to pay for it tomorrow," Favre said. "I feel rough ... I'm two weeks behind as far as practice is concerned. I'm also 38 years old, so I'm behind there."

There also were some moments of self-doubt. "There were times in practice I was wondering if I made the right move," he said. In the end, he can only hope he didn't make a mistake by coming back.

"I hope at the end of the season that I feel like I made the right decision and Jets fans and people throughout the NFL world think I made the right decision," he said. "At this point, I think it was the right decision ... All I can say is I'll do my best, and hopefully that's enough."

He's not the only one hoping that's enough. The 10,500 fans who showed up and the millions more who will watch him this season hope so, too.

Starting on Opening Day.

Against the man he replaced.

[SoFlaJets]

Might be a stretch that Favre, Jets will be great

Shaun Powell

August 10, 2008

He jogged onto the practice field yesterday while Springsteen's "Glory Days" pumped through the speakers, and that was the first uh-oh sign on this historic afternoon, because that song is a wail about a once-great player opining about the long-gone good old days. Therefore, does this mean Brett Favre left his 350-yard, five-TD, gunslinging games in Green Bay?

There were an estimated 10,000 fans roped around the practice field outside Weeb Ewbank Hall, cheering every move, among them a few fans wearing foam cheeseheads. Some people just can't leave well enough alone.

And then Favre's first official pass as a member of the Jets was a 3-yarder to Chris Baker. Chad Pennington could've done that.

Sprinkled throughout the rest of his first session with his new teammates were a few throws too high, some too far left, others far right. Overall, not bad, but is this what all the fuss was about?

"Really, to be honest," the weary and slightly overwhelmed quarterback confessed two hours later, "I'm a rookie."

That better not be true, or else we're about to see the Favre who played for the Falcons.

On a gorgeous late summer day, the new guy in town was somewhat less than perfect, definitely was not in ideal football shape, admitted he has some catching up to do and had the audacity to beg for understanding by saying: "This is the first time I put on pads since the Giants game."

What, making excuses already?

Where were the 85-yard heaves off the wrong foot but into the right hands? What about the scrambles, leaving linebackers eating the dirt, followed by a bullet throw for a first down? And why didn't he make a big throw, then run downfield like a kid to give the receiver a huge hug and a passionate pat on the helmet?

Why wasn't there any of that from a player who, based on all the breathless round-the-clock TV reports, will enter the Hall of Fame one day?

Oh, wait. This is August. This is training camp.

And Favre is 38 years old.

That's something to remember as we go forward, not only for the next few weeks but the next few months. The anticipation around here regarding Favre is steeper than your food bill and almost as outrageous. Yes, you could understand why the crowd went three-deep and the media were giving him the Obama treatment once again. Favre coming to New York is a delicious merging of superstar and The Big City, a concoction too irresistible to resist. But like anything else, it can be a bit much.

"No, I don't know what he had for breakfast," said coach Eric Mangini, eyes rolling.

Right now, the hysteria surrounding Favre is comical and rather innocent. Somewhere, Joe Namath is wondering why he never got this much press when he wore a full-length fur on the sideline. Fans are smitten and the media are gushing. Even teammates are pinching themselves, to an extent.

"One day, he's not here," said lineman Alan Faneca, "the next day, there's a Hall of Famer in our locker room."

Yes, it's all fun and games now. But remember, this is New York, a city that sometimes takes itself too seriously. Once the initial noise dies down and the season starts, will folks around here keep their expectations at a reasonable level?

That will be as interesting as Favre himself, because there are two main principles in this shotgun marriage: the quarterback and the setting, and whether they can coexist.

On one hand, New York gets a bad rap when it comes to being too tough and irrational. This ain't Philly, first of all.

And second, folks around here don't get enough credit for being smarter than that. Other than a few radio hosts, and certain writers in the tabloids, and a handful of fans, the majority of people do keep a healthy perspective and will understand that Favre lacks, as Mangini said, "magic formula and magic dust."

He's aging, his best days are behind him, and although he still can play at a fairly entertaining level, this isn't 1995 anymore. Probably not even 2007, a surprisingly solid season for Favre.

He has a new coach, system, teammates and surroundings, and although he's a veteran and therefore will adapt quicker than most, it might be a stretch to believe Favre and the Jets are destined for greatness.

Heck, truth be told, a team coming off 4-12 and a quarterback nearing 40 will settle for goodness. Will everyone else?

The best thing about yesterday is that, after a tiring first practice, Favre didn't revert to early summer and start waffling again about retirement. He just said the obvious.

"It's going to take some time."

Well, he'd better hurry. New York has him on the clock.

[SoFlaJets]

Favre thrown right to work by Jets

BY ERIK BOLAND | erik.boland@newsday.com

August 10, 2008

Sweat still dripping from his forehead and the memories of too many mistakes for his liking still fresh in his mind, Brett Favre said he felt like "a rookie."

No matter.

A little more than two hours before that, Jets coach Eric Mangini said without qualification that not only will his 38-year-old "rookie" play in the next preseason game against the Redskins at the Meadowlands, he will start it.

"Yes," Mangini said simply when asked if Favre will start Saturday.

Favre, of course, is not a rookie in any other sense than he is one with the Jets. The Packers great has a new offensive system to learn from unfamiliar coaches, all with brand-new teammates.

Listening to Favre, the old line from "Smokey and the Bandit" came to mind: We've got a long way to go and a short time to get there.

"I'm not going to sit here and tell you that I have this offense down, that I know every guy in the locker room, that they know me or the routine," Favre said. "I'm just kind of following. That's different."

A perfect synopsis for seeing Favre wearing a No. 4 Jets jersey and hurling passes with the powerful right arm that has allowed him to personalize most of the league's career passing records. His style, however, has at times been one of improvisation, going against what coaches had called. Mangini, who has the reputation, fair or not, of being a bit of a controlling coach, insisted that won't be a problem.

"He does some things on instinct," Mangini said. "There are some things, as a coach, you don't want to coach him out of a good play. You don't want to outcoach a guy's instincts."

But improvising anything is about the furthest thing from Favre's mind. Learning a new offense is paramount, and although his arm strength wowed the crowd - actually, just about everything Favre did wowed the crowd - he said he felt overwhelmed much of the afternoon.

"There were some times in practice today I was wondering if I made the right move," Favre said with a smile. "I knew it would be rough today; I would try to go through every rep and learn the offense in one day. The bottom line is it's still football. This is the tough stuff you have to go through."

But it wasn't always tough, which Favre later acknowledged. He threw several impressive ropes, a sharp contrast to the passes of Chad Pennington and even third-year quarterback Kellen Clemens, who also has a strong-arm reputation. Favre's passes just look and feel different.

"All of the rumors about him throwing hard, they're true," said receiver Jerricho Cotchery, who one-handed a Favre pass in an 11-on-11 drill for a 25-yard pickup.

Cotchery, who along with Chris Baker caught the majority of Favre's passes yesterday, said there is more to the quarterback than his arm.

"He has a lot more touch than people would think on the ball," Cotchery said. "He can make all types of throws. That's why he is who he is."

Favre's first practice with the Jets was the expected circus. A crowd of 10,500, the largest ever to see a Jets practice at Hofstra, showed up in regular-season form. They came wearing No. 4 jerseys, both the new ones (green and white) and the old (green and gold) and started a handful of "J-E-T-S, Jets! Jets! Jets!" chants.

Favre's first snap as a Jet was a handoff to Thomas Jones in a running back drill. His first pass was a 5-yarder to Chris Baker in a tight end drill. Both elicited cheers.

As did almost everything Favre did, including when he threw a pass away into the sideline when no one was open during an 11-on-11 drill. Fans playfully booed when linebacker Matt Chatham tipped and intercepted a Favre pass during a 7-on-7 drill.

"I'm not surprised by the response of the fans; it's great," Favre said.

Expectations are soaring for this team, though Favre's main concern is what's immediately ahead of him, meaning today's two-a-day practice. He spoke in general terms about the upcoming season.

"I'd love to win the Super Bowl. I would have loved to have gone and won it last year," said Favre, whose Packers lost last season's NFC Championship Game to the Giants in overtime. "I could say that for a lot of years. As I said yesterday and the day before, my intentions are to help this team win. I can't make any guarantees; I'm not going to make any guarantees. All I can say is I'll do my best, and hopefully, that's enough."

Just having Favre is enough for Mangini, who said Favre will be properly prepared not only for Saturday's game but for the Sept. 7 opener in Miami.

"He's been working incredibly hard," Mangini said. "Obviously, he has a busy schedule. Him, [quarterbacks coach] Brian Daboll and [offensive coordinator] Brian Schottenheimer have been spending a lot of time together and we'll take it in chunks. I think it's very realistic for him to be able to learn what he needs to know."

NO. 4

[SoFlaJets]

Mangini admits obvious: Pennington a unique foe

BY ERIK BOLAND | erik.boland@newsday.com

August 10, 2008

Eric Mangini started down the road of "he's just another player and players move around all the time in this league" but caught himself.

The Jets coach must have realized it couldn't possibly pass the sniff test and he acknowledged the obvious - that Chad Pennington signing with the Dolphins on Friday night created a somewhat unique situation for the Jets when they play at Miami in their season opener Sept. 7.

Said Mangini, "He's definitely got some insight in the things that we do."

But Mangini quickly reverted to form. "But we're a very game plan-specific team," he said. "And the things they present offensively are going to be, I imagine, different than what we've seen in the past. And in terms of what they're doing defensively, it's the first game of the season. Some of that's touch and go, anyways, because you don't know what to expect out of the box."

Schable update

Tight end A.J. Schable, who was carried off the field in Cleveland on a stretcher after a collision covering a kickoff early in the fourth quarter, "is going to be fine," Mangini said and added: "We're going to monitor him the next couple days to make sure that everything is progressing the way we need it to progress, but that was really good news."

Jet streams

Mangini said before practice that linebacker Brad Kassell had been put on injured reserve. Kassell, a special teams star for the Jets in 2007, hurt his knee attempting to sack Brady Quinn during Thursday's exhibition game ... The Jets signed OL Thaddeus Coleman, a rookie free agent from Mississippi Valley State, in a corresponding roster move ... OL Clint Oldenburg was waived/injured with a knee injury. If he clears waivers, the Jets can re-sign him and place him on the injured reserve list, as was the case two weeks ago with Danny Woodhead. To fill Oldenburg's roster position, the Jets signed Blair Phillips, a linebacker from Oregon ... LB David Harris, after missing a week of practice with a leg injury, practiced. Among those sitting out yesterday's practice were WR Marcus Henry (undisclosed), LB Jason Trusnik (foot), DE Shaun Ellis (hand) and TE Bubba Franks (undisclosed) ... WR David Clowney, who caught two long touchdowns Thursday night, had a 60-yard touchdown yesterday on an end-around.

[SoFlaJets]

Disappointed Clemens saying all the right things

BY ERIK BOLAND | erik.boland@newsday.com

August 10, 2008

Kellen Clemens didn't take the move personally.

Looking at the situation objectively, had he been in Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum's shoes, Clemens said he would have made the same decision: Get Brett Favre.

"I look at it like they had the opportunity to get a guy on their team who is a three-time MVP, the all-time leading passer, is a Super Bowl champion, and just playing with him one day, a pretty damn good guy," Clemens said in an interview after yesterday's practice at Hofstra, where Favre made his debut wearing green and white. "If I was the GM and a player, I probably still would have pulled that trigger."

Not that Clemens isn't resolute about becoming a starter in the NFL. The third-year quarterback from Oregon went 3-5 last season and was in a close competition this year with Chad Pennington for the starter's job. Pennington took the lead early in the competition but Clemens had come on strong of late. But all of that became irrelevant at about 11:30 p.m. Wednesday when Tannenbaum completed the trade with the Packers for Favre.

Pennington was released the next day - he signed Friday night with the Dolphins, whom the Jets play in Week 1 - and Clemens automatically became a backup, barring an injury to Favre.

Clemens, though still competitive, is OK with that.

"Having the opportunity to learn from a guy who's a future Hall of Famer, done the things he's done, won the Super Bowl, MVP awards and numerous records, it's just a great opportunity," Clemens said. "I'm going to do my best to make the most of it."

Clemens did say there was a degree of shock involved in learning of the deal - just as the rest of the team did - in a hotel room in Cleveland on the eve of the Jets' preseason opener against the Browns.

"You prepare and you have the mind-set coming into camp that there's a battle brewing," Clemens said. "All of my preparation was going toward winning that battle and then hopefully being the starting quarterback in '08."

But before completing what might have naturally come next - i.e. being disappointed - Clemens changed course.

"It is what it is," he said. "The positive that I can take out of it is the opportunity to learn from Brett Favre. The guys who have done it, who have played behind him and learned from him - the Matt Hasselbecks and now Aaron Rodgers of the world - are in a great position. I am going to try to make the most of it."

And because of that, Clemens said, he isn't looking at this season as a wasted year. The 25-year-old said he still can develop as a quarterback in 2008 - just not in the way he expected.

"The progress, it just takes a different form," Clemens said. "Now I'm not making the progress of 'Hey, I'm on the field,' but I'm making progress that's very unique in that I'm learning from Brett Favre. So it takes a different form, but I don't think it's a setback by any means."

[SoFlaJets]

Jets fans haven't reacted like this since Namath

BY CHRIS MASCARO | chris.mascaro@newsday.com

August 10, 2008

When Brett Favre stepped on the Jets' practice field at Hofstra yesterday afternoon, he not only brought his future Hall of Fame cache, he supplied a large helping of hope for a success-starved fan base.

That feeling was palpable among the standing-room-only crowd, an estimated training camp-record 10,500 Gang Green supporters, many of whom wore Favre's No. 4 jersey.

To say expectations are high for Favre would be an understatement.

"My first thought was Super Bowl," fan Dan Maloy said of his reaction to hearing the news about the Jets' acquisition of Favre.

Welcome to New York, Brett.

The crowd cheered wildly as Favre whipped passes across the field to his new teammates, and groaned when the receivers dropped them.

T.J. Johnson of Babylon said nobody can blame the fans for being overly excited about Favre's arrival. After all, they haven't had a player of this magnitude to root for since Joe Namath shocked the football world in Super Bowl III. "Forty years later, we finally got the quarterback we deserve," said Johnson, who was wearing a Namath throwback. "It's like having a rock star out here."

Johnson, who has been coming to Jets camps for more than 20 years, said yesterday's crowd was the largest he had ever seen. Quarterback Kellen Clemens agreed. "This is a lot of people," he said. "Even in New York."

Probably no other training camp has scores of television, radio and print reporters swarming to get a glimpse of a practice. Or bleachers so full you could barely move.

"It immediately legitimizes the franchise," said Sylas Pratt, a Jet fan and an assistant coach of the Nassau Community College football team who was outfitted with a foam cheesehead. "Now we get to see [Laveranues] Coles and [Jerricho] Cotchery go downtown."

Favre likely will make more plays downfield than Jets fans are used to. But how will they react to interceptions?

"We know he's going to take some chances," Pratt said. "That comes with Brett. He's exactly what we need."

Although fans were excited about Favre, they haven't forgotten Chad Pennington's years in green. The arrival of Favre late Wednesday prompted the inevitable release of Chad Pennington the next day. Though many fans were grateful for Pennington's eight years of service with the Jets, they widely recognized the clear upgrade.

"It's sad to see Pennington go; he gave us some good years," said Jason Sabella of Levittown. "But you can't pass up a legend like Brett Favre."

And yesterday's practice - which included "Jett Favre" T-shirts and a few "J-E-T-S, Jets! Jets! Jets!" chants - was nothing short of a hero's welcome.

"I'm not surprised by the response from the fans," Favre said. "So far it's been great here."

[SoFlaJets]

ESPN covers Favre sideline to sideline

Neil Best

August 10, 2008

At least ESPN was able to laugh at itself.

On Tuesday night's "SportsCenter," anchor Steve Levy referred to the show as "FavreCenter."

The next night, Scott Van Pelt suggested the "Madden Curse" that allegedly strikes players featured on the cover of the video game had bypassed Brett Favre and afflicted ESPN's staff instead.

Finally, by Friday it mostly was over. The Bristol Stompers gratefully handed off old No. 4 to the New York media.

But it was a remarkable stretch that started July 3 with ESPN reporting Favre's "itch" to unretire and ended near midnight Wednesday with Jay Glazer of Fox reporting that the small-town star was headed to Big Town.

Along the way, the most visible, influential sports news entity in America was held hostage - or held itself hostage - to the saga of the NFL's most notoriously indecisive diva.

There has been nothing quite like it in recent memory that did not involve Terrell Owens.

"These stories are always somewhat frustrating," said Vince Doria, ESPN 's senior VP and director of news, "because you believe they're big stories and believe people are interested, but they go long periods of time without a lot of things apparently happening."

Doria spoke Wednesday afternoon, when it still appeared Favre would end up in Tampa, a day after it appeared he would remain in Green Bay and hours before he became a Jet.

Doria was aware of the charges of ESPN overkill but said, "It's easy to sit back and laugh about it, but at some point you have to accept what it is and try to keep people as informed as we can, even if the information is incremental."

So was ESPN at fault? Yes and no. It is not fair to expect the network to show the restraint of channels not devoted to sports, and it's not fair to assume everyone watches everything.

"Viewers tend to be more patient than the media is in waiting for a resolution," Doria said. "The people that tend to watch it for 2½ hours tend to be us and you ."

Favre also is largely responsible, given his usual Hamlet act and his failure to turn off his phone when ESPN pals, led by Chris Mortensen, come calling or texting.

The quarterback demonstrated his unpredictability when he bypassed ESPN and landed on Fox News, of all places, for his first extensive comments.

Evidently, host Greta Van Susteren is a friend of Favre's wife, Deanna.

The biggest problem with the blanket coverage by ESPN was not the tonnage per se, but the fact that filling that much time with that many journalists inevitably leads to confusing, at times conflicting, information in the fog of bore.

"Last year, we all covered Michael Vick perfectly; I think it was terrible how this was covered," Glazer said, referring collectively to the national media. "So much misinformation was reported as information, and it drove me crazy."

Glazer was the first to report that the team and Favre had agreed to part ways, and to report the deal with the Jets. It is widely assumed among fellow football reporters that he has strong connections in the Packers' front office, which apparently was a more reliable pipeline than Favre's camp.

"I said to my office, 'Look, you can run anything past me you want, but nine out of 10 things out there are false,"' Glazer said. "And I'm not chasing down what the guy had for breakfast."

'SportsCenter' set to expand

Doria said Monday's "SportsCenter" special on Favre, during which not much happened, doubled the usual rating for its time slot. "People's appetite for live coverage about a big event, even if the news is slow to develop, can't be overestimated," he said.

That is part of the thinking behind tomorrow's debut of a vastly expanded "SportsCenter," with six live hours weekdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Hannah Storm and Josh Elliott anchor the 9-noon slot.

ESPN's original plan was even more ambitious: to go live from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. But the network opted to continue repeating the previous night's late "SportsCenter" in that slot.

Executive VP Norby Williamson said because the 6-to-9 shows were going to focus on looking back, anyway, it was not worth creating new shows for that period. "Assessing it, we said, 'Look, let's concentrate where we can make the biggest impact," he said.

After five years on CBS News' "Early Show," Storm is back in sports, where her audience will be vastly different.

"I've still been pretty visible," she said. "Maybe not to the male college audience; they may have to get reacquainted with me a little bit ... Some people that never watch morning television, they didn't realize I left [sports], which is really funny and says a lot about the way people watch television."

[SoFlaJets]

Rude Awakening: Favre may face bleak season as quarterback of Jets

By Dan Pompei

CHICAGO TRIBUNE

08/10/2008

Years ago, the joke around the NFL was that the cruelest way for a team to get revenge on a player was to send him to Green Bay, the Siberia of the NFL.

Green Bay isn't considered Siberia anymore, but for Brett Favre's purposes, New York might be. After Favre turned a cold cheek to the Packers' $25 million goodbye kiss, the Packers traded Favre on Wednesday night to what could be a cold, barren place for him.

"To a certain degree, I don't know what I'm getting into," Favre said Thursday at his introductory news conference before his new team, the New York Jets, played an exhibition against the Browns in Cleveland.

The Packers achieved what seemed to be their objective: getting Favre to go away. Far, far away.

Favre isn't playing where he wanted most to play

[SoFlaJets]

Day 2 of the Favre Era dawns

A dramatic headline for no reason whatsoever.

Before getting to a couple of questions posted by commenters yesterday, I neglected to mention Eric Mangini's outstanding opening line from Saturday's press conference. Several other bloggers - including Cimini and Pelzman, which really irritates me - already posted this and I'm disappointed in myself for not relaying it in a timely fashion. Feel I've let the team down but all any of us can do is move on to the next blog post.

So Mangini walks into the media room at Hofstra yesterday, looks at the unprecedented number of media shoe-horned into the room and says, "I guess the word's out on how much better my press conferences are. Good to see."

Mangini has had his share of one-liners this training camp and that one was among the best.

A few of you, including Jay $ and skyman96, asked about the receivers. My very unofficial depth chart is as follows: Cotchery, Coles, Stuckey, Smith, Clowney (moving up) and Wallace Wright. That's hardly set in stone and there's no question Clowney is rapidly moving up the charts. Sixth-round pick Marcus Henry has missed the last few practices - along with the first preseason game - and I suspect he could be stashed on IR at some point. A hunch that, like the rest of them, I can change at any time and still say "I told you so." Sort of like "I don't see the Jets getting Favre." Yeah, nice call by me. And it's on record in soooo many places, including, as some of you keep reminding me, video. Oops. But what can you do?

Back on topic: as of now, I see four tight ends - Baker, Keller, Franks and Pociask - being kept. No one asked, I'm just throwing that in.

Back to something that was asked: commenter flgreen asked about the battle for the No. 3 quarterback spot and I can report that one isn't even close. Brett Ratliff, Brett Ratliff, Brett Ratliff. All you need to know about that one is Erik Ainge only played briefly toward the end of Thursday's game and just handed the ball off when he was in. I recall two good throws he's made all of training camp: a nice slant to Chansi Stuckey and the 43-yard Hail Mary TD to Wallace Wright. This isn't to hammer Ainge, and to be fair he hasn't gotten that many opportunities in camp, but the bottom line is when he has had those chances, not much has happened. Ratliff has made some mistakes but there's been far more good than bad. And there's no question, as several of you who have been out here have said, Ratliff has a gun. I wouldn't go so far as to say he's outperformed Clemens, but Ratliff has been one of the surprises of camp.

All right, a pair of practices today; 8:45 a.m. and 5:45 p.m. Both are open to the public. We'll be back here around 12:30 or so after Mangini talks and player availability. You will not hear from Favre today.

Another good crowd outside it looks like, though not quite as much media today as yesterday when everyone but Matt Lauer showed up. And he probably would have, too, if he wasn't in Beijing. Long Island television legend Carl Reuter, however, just walked in, which more than makes up for Lauer's absence.

[SoFlaJets]

wow-everybody's talkin' bout us...

[Maxman]

Brett Favre looks more rusty than trusty after first practice with Jets

Saturday, August 9th 2008, 9:34 PM

There was more energy and there were more fans at Brett Favre's first training camp practice with the Jets than at some of those dreary December bitterly cold home games during another four-win season.

When he starts against the Redskins Saturday night, Favre will be much better than he was Saturday. He looked like a 38-year-old quarterback wearing pads for the first time since the NFC Championship Game in January and who had pretty much rolled out of bed, out of retirement and onto the practice field not knowing a soul.

Rusty would be one way to describe his day. He felt "like a rookie." Guaranteed he will hit a receiver in stride with one of his off-the-radar-gun fastballs in the next couple of days. He just couldn't do it Saturday, although Jerricho Cotchery surely earned Favre's trust with a highlight film one-handed catch. "There were times in practice I was wondering if I made the right move," Favre said. "I knew it would be rough."

He actually wondered about his decision more than once Saturday, which has to be a little disconcerting to the Jets. After all, he did retire in March saying he knew he could still play, but he was just mentally tired. He now says he was being pressed for a decision by the Packers. He said he knew there was a good chance one month later that he would change his mind. The Jets turned out to be a marriage of convenience. Favre wanted to play and the Packers didn't want him back. They wouldn't cut him and refused to trade him to the Packers or Bears, his teams of choice. The Jets were no better than his fourth or fifth choice, depending on where the Bucs ranked on his wish list.

It's fair to wonder how quickly Favre can give his heart to the Jets after 16 years in Green Bay. It's like being married for 16 years and then getting married the next day to a girl you don't even know. "To be totally honest with you, I didn't know the Jets were 4-12 last year until I got up here," Favre said.

No one was happier Saturday than Woody Johnson, who obviously knows how bad his team was last year. The euphoria created by the trade for Favre could lessen the sticker shock Jets fans will feel when they get their PSL bill in the mail later this month.

"It was never part of any discussions I had," said Johnson, who somehow maintained a straight face and should have taken the opportunity to circulate among the fans - instead of watching from across the field from the VIP section - and personally hand out his PSL forms.

But Saturday was really all about Favre. On Wednesday, he called Alan Faneca, whom the Jets signed as a free agent in March and made the highest-paid guard in NFL history. Favre picked his brain about the Jets. They did not know each other. Faneca's reaction when Favre was on the other end? "I was surprised," he said.

He says he did not try to recruit Favre. "I was just trying to be informative," he said. "Just answering questions he had about the team."

When Favre was asked how he would script what happens this season, he said, "I and this team would come out being victorious. I hope at the end of the season, I really do, that I feel like I made the right decision. I hope that the Jets fans, the people throughout the NFL world, feel like I made the right decision. At this point, I think it was the right decision. I'd love to win the Super Bowl. I'd love to have gone and won it last year. I could say that for a lot of years. My intentions are to help this team win. I can't make any guarantees. I'm not going to make any guarantees. All I can say is I'll do my best. Hopefully, that is enough. Whatever happens, happens."

The fans, many dressed in hot-off-the-presses No. 4 jerseys and some even wearing cheeseheads, didn't care that the best of Brett hasn't shown up yet. They were mesmerized by their new rock star quarterback who was born to pass. But if Favre can't shake off the rust, can't pick up the offense in less than one month before he faces Chad Pennington and the Dolphins and the Jets are just the Jets, at least their fans always will have Saturday. It was one of the most electric days ever at an NFL training camp when 10,500 fans showed up - more than four times the usual Saturday gathering at Hofstra - with a severe case of Favre mania. If this is the best it gets this season, then at least the Jets had their Super Bowl. "It looks like everybody has got a smile on his face," Johnson said. "Every player looks happy."

Bringing in Favre was the right football move. But adding the popular Favre brand will be a big boost to Johnson's business. As much as everybody says the bottom line is winning, the bottom line is really the bottom financial line. Favre will help sell PSLs - and luxury boxes with a top annual price of $1 million for every event at the new stadium. As repulsive as PSLs are to the fans, the Giants and Jets are hitting the market at the right time despite the economy: The Giants just won the Super Bowl and the Jets just added a super hero legend.

Favre was "overly excited" for his first practice, the way he's been for some big games when he's been wild with his throws. If he felt that way Saturday, imagine how he'll be for the home opener against the Patriots.

Who wrote this?

Brett didn't look rusty. Maybe it is because I am comparing him to Kellen and not grading him on a Hall Of Fame curve. But Favre looked good, and he did hit the receivers in stride.

Not sure if this was a Gary Myers article or not. But he was on the sidelines and he was looking grumpy. Like and I really at Jets camp?

[SoFlaJets]

Who wrote this?

Brett didn't look rusty. Maybe it is because I am comparing him to Kellen and not grading him on a Hall Of Fame curve. But Favre looked good, and he did hit the receivers in stride.

Not sure if this was a Gary Myers article or not. But he was on the sidelines and he was looking grumpy. Like and I really at Jets camp?

DING DING DING!!!!! I had to go back and look Max but yea it was Gary Myers...these guys are cracking me up, we all knew they hated the Jets and now to see them forced to cover us....is great...it must be like they are in Sportswriters' hell....I can't wait for Peter King MMQB

[Maxman]

DING DING DING!!!!! I had to go back and look Max but yea it was Gary Myers...these guys are cracking me up, we all knew they hated the Jets and now to see them forced to cover us....is great...it must be like they are in Sportswriters' hell....I can't wait for Peter King MMQB

I went in fully expecting to see Brett Favre look rusty and out of shape. I saw neither.

You want to knock Brett? He dogged the stretching. He did his own thing. But after 17 years of injury free football I will defer to him on that one.

Maybe I am wrong but I just didn't walk away thinking he was rusty. (And Gary Myers did look cranky. He walked in front of me with a few other reporters. And Myers looked like that was the last place in the world he wanted to be).