NY Jets articles- JETS WIN! 9/8/08

[Kentucky Jet]

Favre Outduels Pennington In Jets' 20-14 Win BY ERIK BOLAND erik.boland@newsday.com

9:42 PM EDT, September 7, 2008

MIAMI - The unrelenting hype and hope for the season opener came down to this question:

Could the quarterback the Jets cut loose to make room for his ballyhooed replacement hand the only franchise he'd ever known an embarrassing defeat?

Cornerback Darrelle Revis made sure the answer was no, intercepting Chad Pennington's pass in the end zone with 5 seconds left to seal a 20-14 victory over the Dolphins and make Brett Favre a winner in his Jets debut.

"It was a good start," Favre said. "It was shaky but it was a good start and it was a win. You can never question a win."

Favre, starting his 254th consecutive game, was rusty at times but still pulled off enough plays to show the striking difference between himself and Pennington, who did nothing Sunday to shed the unwanted tag of "game manager," the NFL euphemism for "Don't screw things up."

Pennington's numbers (26-for-43 for 251 yards, two touchdowns, one interception) in some ways looked better than Favre's (15-for-22, 194 yards, two TDs), but anyone watching the game came away with a similar thought, one Jets fans haven't had about one of their quarterbacks in years.

"He's a playmaker," said Jets tackle Damien Woody, a former Lion who signed as a free agent this offseason. "I played in the same division as the guy for four years, so I've seen all the things he's capable of, so he was just being himself. Just Brett being Brett out there."

The record will show Favre completed his first regular-season pass as a Jet -- a 5-yarder to Laveranues Coles -- and even picked up a first down with a 3-yard scramble on a third-and-2, but the Jets' first drive soon stalled.

Favre's next drive, however, lasted one play, a case, as Woody might say, of Brett being Brett.

On first-and-10 from the 44, Favre play-actioned to Thomas Jones, who had 101 yards and a TD on 22 carries, and dropped back. He fired deep down the left sideline to Jerricho Cotchery, the first receiver with whom Favre established an on-field rapport after arriving in New York. After breaking free from cornerback Andre Goodman at the line, Cotchery made the catch at the 7 and scored easily for a 7-0 lead with 8:42 left in the first quarter.

"I thought I overthrew him," Favre said. "Not that I underestimate his speed, but he's a deceptive player. He's always around the ball and making plays. He's got deceptive speed and I hope he keeps deceiving people."

Favre's second TD came on a play that deceived no one. With the Jets shorthanded because of a thigh injury to Mike Nugent -- who missed a 32-yard field-goal try late in the first quarter -- the Jets went for it on fourth-and-13 from Miami's 22 with 7:02 left in the half.

On what turned out to be the game's strangest play, Favre, after escaping the grasp of Randy Starks, lofted an up-for-grabs ball toward the middle. Chansi Stuckey went high and came down with it in the end zone for a 13-7 lead. Nugent stayed on the sideline as Favre's conversion pass for Leon Washington fell incomplete.

"Somehow, he maneuvered and was able to get the ball off," said Stuckey, who had two catches for 37 yards. "It seemed like it was up there forever."

"I tried to throw it to where someone was, just give someone a chance," Favre said before laughing. "I didn't think he had a chance in hell of catching it."

It stayed 13-7 for a while as the Jets' rebuilt 3-4 defense made things miserable for Pennington. With 359-pound nose tackle Kris Jenkins anchoring the line and linebackers Bryan Thomas and Calvin Pace providing pressure, the Dolphins struggled. They gained only 49 yards on 17 carries, and Pennington was sacked four times.

But, after the Jets built the lead to 20-7 on Jones' 6-yard run with 1:08 left in the third (Nugent hit the extra point), Pennington led a late rally. His 11-yard pass to David Martin made it 20-14 with 3:27 left and, after the Jets ran the ball three straight times to get the Dolphins to exhaust their timeouts, Miami took over at its 39 with 1:43 left. With mostly short passes, Pennington moved inside the red zone. The drama finally ended when Revis positioned himself in the back of the end zone in front of Ted Ginn -- who was called for offensive pass interference -- on third-and-10 from the 18. When Revis landed on his back with the ball, the Jets' sideline could exhale.

"I've said from Day 1 that I know that I've made the right decision," Favre said. "I enjoy these guys. There's no guarantee what's going to happen for the rest of the year but we're 1-0 and I'm excited about the opportunity, not only for today but for the remainder of the year."

[Kentucky Jet]

Chad Pennington comes close but can't cut it against Jets

BY OHM YOUNGMISUK

DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

Sunday, September 7th 2008, 9:50 PM

MIAMI - Chad Pennington knew it was going to come down to the final two minutes and one drive. On Friday, he told his teammates as much when the team practiced its two-minute drill.

So there was Pennington yesterday staring at a six-point deficit, 1:43 left on the clock, the ball at his own 39 and the dream scenario he craved - a chance to beat his former team on a last-minute drive.

PHOTO GALLERY: FAVRE'S VICTORIOUS DEBUT

Pennington did what he does best - dinking and dunking the defense. He completed five straight short passes to move the Dolphins to the Jets' 18-yard line with 23 seconds left and no timeouts. But with a chance to stick it to his old team and bosses, Pennington came up short. After two incompletions, Pennington lofted a pass for Ted Ginn Jr. in the right corner of the end zone. But cornerback Darrelle Revis had perfect position, boxing out Ginn and intercepting the pass to seal the Jets' season-opening 20-14 victory.

When asked where he was hurting the most physically after a day on which he was hit often by the Jets' much-improved pass rush, Pennington pointed to the middle of his chest.

"Right here, in my heart," he said. "My pride is hurt."

It's been an ego-bruising 2008 for Pennington, who after eight seasons with the Jets was released right after the Brett Favre trade. Pennington signed with the division-rival Dolphins and was hoping to exact revenge in what was a heart-tugging game for the veteran.

Before kickoff, Pennington said he was overwhelmed just trying to greet all of his old friends. "It's been a whirlwind," said Pennington, who still lives in a hotel here. "Crazy, to say the least. Try to say hi and shake hands with 75 to 80 different people."

Pennington was 26-for-43 for 251 yards, working with an inexperienced receiving corps. And the QB, never much of a risk-taker, watched his legendary successor score a fluke TD on a 22-yard desperation heave to Chansi Stuckey on fourth-and-13 in the second quarter. "That is Favre," Pennington said. "Typical Favre fashion. That is why he is who he is."

In the end, Pennington tried as well to make something happen instead of throwing the ball away. But his floater, unlike Favre's ball in the first half, fell into the wrong hands.

"It was a game of errors, so from my standpoint it's disappointing," Pennington said. "Typical Dolphins-Jets game ... it came down to the end."

[Kentucky Jet]

CHAD HAD HIS CHANCE

By MIKE VACCARO

Posted: 4:47 am

September 8, 2008

MIAMI - The ball was in the air and the crowd was on its feet, and on the opposing team's sideline the legendary quarterback could barely stand to watch, because he didn't want to find out quite so early in the game what it feels like to lose one of these copyrighted spike-to-the-teeth games.

But even as everyone else dreamed for the best and feared for the worst, Chad PenningtonChad Pennington knew he needed a little help from the angels. It had been third down, 13 seconds left in the game, 18 yards away from the end zone, and he'd surveyed his checklist and knew he had two options.

"You either have a chance to make the play," he said, "or throw it away and live to see fourth down, which is the same as third down. That's where we were."

He'd opted to try to make the play, spotted Ted Ginn Jr. in the back of the end zone.

"I just had to put air on it and try to get the jump ball type of throw," he said.

But as soon as he lofted it, he had an altogether different wish.

"Knock it down."

Ginn couldn't do that. Darrelle RevisDarrelle Revis made the interception (with Ginn hanging all over him) and so Pennington wasn't going to get his revenge victory, wasn't going to haunt the JetsNew York Jets , was instead going to walk off the field a 20-14 loser after facing the team with which he'd spent the first eight years of his career.

"I give the guys on the other side credit," said Pennington, who shook off a slow start (misfiring on five of his first six throws) to complete 26 of 43 passes for 251 yards and two touchdowns. "I think it was a game of errors. They made fewer errors than we did."

Right to the end, his new teammates felt the way his old teammates always did: that if Pennington has the ball in his hands in the dying moments of a game, there is always a chance for something special.

"In a situation like that, the leadership kind of forges everything else," Miami running back Ronnie Brown said.

michael.vaccaro@nypost.com

[Kentucky Jet]

NUGENT'S INJURY ALMOST PAINFUL

By MARK CANNIZZARO

MIKE NUGENT

Hurt left thigh.

Posted: 4:47 am

September 8, 2008

MIAMI - The JNew York Jets nearly lost yesterday's game because they couldn't kick an extra point.

Kicker Mike Nugent hurt his left thigh on a kickoff in the first quarter and was unable to kick for the rest of the first half.

That left backup QB Kellen Clemens doing some practice kicks into the net on the sideline. It, too, forced the Jets to relinquish valuable field position, go for a fourth down and try a two-point conversion that failed.

They ended up surviving the calamity, and Nugent actually kicked a PAT and a kickoff after the Jets' only score in the second half.

The Jets realized they were in trouble when Nugent, who had made all eight of his field-goal attempts here entering the game, missed a 32-yard FG well right and limped off the field.

That's when Clemens began practicing.

"Brian Daboll [the Jets QBs coach] asked me on the sideline, 'Hey, can you kick?' " Brett Favre said. "It was right after Mike had missed that kick and I said, 'I can't even kick that well.' We never talked about it again."

The Jets had no prognosis on Nugent's condition or whether they'll have to bring another kicker.

*

Laveranues Coles, who was upset at Chad Pennington being released, yesterday ended his media boycott.

"I just kind of kept to myself and I wanted to wait until this day to finally let it pass us and let it be something that's in the rearview mirror," Coles, who had one catch for five yards, said. "Now it's come and gone and I can return to being me."

Coles said he was the first person Pennington spoke to when he learned he was being released.

"When you develop a special relationship like I had with Chad, of course it's something you take kind of personal," Coles said.

Coles made it clear he has never had a problem with Favre, saying, "There's been no quarrels between Brett and I at all. There has never been since day one."

[Kentucky Jet]

BRETT IMPRESSIVE AS TEAM SURVIVES SCARE

By MARK CANNIZZARO

OPENING STATEMENT: Brett Favre celebrates after throwing a second-quarter touchdown pass to Chansi Stuckey during the Jets' 20-14 win over the Dolphins yesterday. Favre threw for 194 yards and two TDs in his Jets debut.Posted: 4:47 am

September 8, 2008

MIAMI - The drama you anticipated dripping from this delicious match-up between the Brett Favre JetsNew York Jets and the Chad PenningtonChad Pennington Dolphins did not disappoint yesterday.

In the end, it delivered about everything you could have asked for in the Jets' stressful 20-14 season-opening victory at Dolphin Stadium.

You had Favre dramatics: two touchdown passes, including a long bomb and a Hail Mary heave.

You had a bizarre scenario that left the Jets without a kicker in the first half when Mike NugentMike Nugent hurt his left thigh and was unable even to attempt an extra point or a kickoff.

You had Jets running back Thomas Jones running for 101 yards and equaling his 2007 rushing TD total with a six-yard scoring run that provided the winning points.

And finally, you had Pennington, the former Jet of the last eight seasons and a master of the two-minute drill, with the ball and 1:43 remaining and no timeouts, 61 tantalizing yards away from the dream of his life - exacting revenge on the team that discarded him in the middle of the night a month ago in Cleveland.

Pennington, who threw for 163 yards in a frantic fourth-quarter comeback bid, nearly willed his new team to victory - a win that would have been crushing to the Jets.

"It was a stressful one," Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum said.

Watching Pennington (26-of-43, 251 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT) drive the Dolphins toward the end zone in the final moments? "It was hard; it was really hard," Tannenbaum said.

At the end of this eventful afternoon in the sweltering south Florida sun, though, Pennington's final pass - intended for Ted Ginn Jr. and thrown from the Jets' 18-yard line - landed in the arms of Jets' cornerback Darrelle Revis, who brilliantly boxed out Ginn and picked it off in the right corner of the end zone with five seconds remaining.

"All week, I was looking forward to the finish," Eric Mangini said afterward. "And I was proud of the finish we had."

Jets linebacker David Bowens said of Pennington and the two-minute drill, "It's his thing. That made it stressful."

Jets defensive end Shaun Ellis added, "He knows our operation and we knew he was going to come back and make a strong push."

In the end, though, the Jets' push was stronger.

They ran the ball well and stopped the Miami rushing attack, holding the Dolphins to 49 yards and a 2.9-yard average. They got lucky, too, when Favre and second-year wide receiver Chansi Stuckey, making his NFL debut, did their Eli Manning to David Tyree impression in the second quarter.

Forced to go for it on fourth-and-14 from the Miami 22 because Nugent was too hurt to try a field goal, Favre escaped a sack with Dolphins' linebacker Joey Porter draped all over him and heaved the ball high into the air toward the end zone.

Stuckey made an improbable leaping catch at the goal line and fell forward into the end zone to give the Jets a 13-7 lead.

"I just tried to throw it to where someone was, try to give someone a chance," Favre (15-of-22, 194 yards, 2 TDs) said. "I saw (Stuckey). I didn't think he had a chance in hell of catching it."

Nor did the Dolphins.

"That's all luck," Porter said with disgust. "You don't practice, 'Close my eyes and throw up a Hail Mary.'" With Nugent hurting, the Jets went for two after the Stuckey touchdown and failed. Earlier, Favre had given the Jets a 7-0 lead on a 56-yard scoring strike to Jerricho Cotchery.

"We're having a lot of fun out there right now," Cotchery said.

After Patriots quarterback Tom Brady injured his knee during the Pats' 17-10 win over the Chiefs, the Jets, who opened as 3-point favorites over their rivals, have a better chance to keep the fun going.

mark.cannizzaro@nypost.com

Jets: 20

Dolphins: 14

[Kentucky Jet]

Reversal of 4-tunes in AFCE

EAST

TALE OF TWO TOMS: Thomas Jones rushed for 101 yards in the Jets' 20-14 win over the Dolphins yesterday.

Posted: 4:47 am

September 8, 2008

MIAMI - At the end of the day, at the end of the beginning of the Jet Favre Era, there was only one word to sum up the stunning, seismic developments in the AFC East:

Un4gettable.

Brett Favre made two Un4gettable throws early, and coach Eric Mangini made one Un4gettable gaffe late that almost made JetsNew York Jets 20, Chad PenningtonChad Pennington Dolphins 14 not quite as Un4gettable as the Mud Bowl, but much too close.

But the bigger picture is this: The presence of Favre in green and white, throwing lasers with the game on the line when Mangini decides to let him, combined with the catastrophic knee injury suffered in Foxboro yesterday by Tom Brady, suddenly fills a titillated Jet Nation with legitimate hope that this can now be an Un4gettable season.

According to yahoo.com, Brady suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee and is out for the season.

Favre, his weathered, unburned face flushed with triumph, was kneeling on the final play of the game only minutes before someone informed him that Brady had been helped off the field following a hit to the knee by Chiefs safety Bernard Pollard midway through the first quarter of a 17-10 New England victory.

"That's terrible; terrible," Favre said. "I guess it's an ACL or something. They've always overcome injuries and things like that, but that's pretty difficult, with Tom Brady."

So starting Sunday, in their home opener, the Jets trot out Favre, who only figures to get better once he absorbs more of the playbook and gets his timing down with Laveranues ColesLaveranues Coles , while Bill Belichick trots out Matt Cassel, Brady's backup the last three years.

"Historically, those guys, they never had to plug anyone in at quarterback, but they've been doing a great job of plugging guys year in and year out and able to be successful," Jerricho Cotchery said.

Too bad Belichick played his hand a year ago, because if ever there would have been a time for Spygate from him, it would be now.

"They still have a lot of talent on that team; I know Coach Belichick - they'll work through it and they'll get it right if he has a bad injury," Damien Woody said.

The balance of power has changed in the AFC and the Belichick-Brady dynasty is in mortal jeopardy.

Favre's 56-yard TD bomb to Cotchery - think Namath-to-Maynard - reminded you of the possibilities.

"He throws a great deep ball; coach has been telling us 'Just run!'" Cotchery said.

"I thought I overthrew it; he's got deceptive speed," Favre said.

Then, because placekicker Mike Nugent was rendered temporarily unavailable when he sustained a thigh injury on the kickoff, Mangini went for it fourth-and-13 at the Miami 22: Jets 7, Dolphins 7. Here Favre (15-22, 194 yards, 2 TDs) the fearless, improvisational gunslinger, strutted his stuff.

"Got a little pressure; tried to throw it where someone was, just give someone a chance. I'm thinking, 'OK, you don't want to take a sack, this is one time where if you throw a pick, so be it,'" Favre said. "You gotta take a shot, more or less."

Favre bought himself a precious split second and was hit as he threw. The ball landed in the arms of wide receiver Chansi Stuckey.

"Somehow he maneuvered and was able to get the ball off; it seemed like it was floating forever," Stuckey said.

When Herman Edwards - er, Mangini - took the ball out of his Hall of Fame quarterback's hands to let Thomas Jones (22-101-1) run on third-and-7 from his 21, it forced the Jets to barely survive a Pennington scare from his 39 with 1:43 and no timeouts left to the Gang Green 18, before Darrelle Revis' end zone pick.

"It's difficult marching the ball downfield with no timeouts and under two minutes to go," Mangini said.

Favre played the good soldier. "The way our offensive line was blocking, we should get the first down," he said.

Favre, his head still spinning with terminology, kept the huddle loosey-goosey and calm. "A couple of times I just winged it and I said, 'Hey guys, same play,'" Favre said.

Now Bring On the Pats!

"We'll get more information when their injury report comes out on Wednesday (yeah, right)," Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum said. "They're still the Patriots."

Not without Brady, they're not.

Un4gettable day. Un4gettable season?

steve.serby@nypost.com

[Kentucky Jet]

MANGINI NEARLY ALLOWED CHAD TO GET HIS REVENGE

Posted: 4:47 am

September 8, 2008

MIAMI - We had seen this same picture so many times before: the sad eyes, the soft voice, the dress shirt (sans tie) and the pleated trousers and the baseball cap perched on his drip-drying hair, a Dolphins logo on the front this time instead of the JetsNew York Jets .

"My heart hurts," Chad PenningtonChad Pennington said. "I hate losing that much."

A half hour had passed since Pennington's final pass of the afternoon - a familiar floater with more zest than zip on it - settled in Darrelle RevisDarrelle Revis ' arms instead of Ted Ginn Jr.'s, wrapping up a 20-14 Jets victory.

He talked about Friday's practice, about how he had guaranteed his teammates this game would come down to a two-minute drill.

"And wouldn't you know it," Pennington said. "Last play of practice, we scored."And wouldn't you know it, the Jets would do everything in their power to allow Pennington to have a crack at the one thing he always did so well, moving a team without a huddle, freed to push the Dolphins toward the goal unburdened by anything but a savvy that has served him so well for so long.

Terrifying every Jets fan in existence along the way.

That he didn't repeat his Friday finish is only a small part of the story from where the Jets sit this morning. That he was allowed to push green disciples everywhere to their medicine cabinets to start mainlining Maalox is a big part.

Because there seemed to be one person at Dolphins Stadium who forgot that it wasn't Pennington, wearing No. 10, lining up behind center for the Jets yesterday, but a fellow in a No. 4 jersey named Favre.

That was Eric Mangini. And he coached the last 9

[Kentucky Jet]

Laveranues Coles stayed quiet to respect Chad Pennington

BY RICH CIMINI and OHM YOUNGMISUK

DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITERS

Sunday, September 7th 2008, 9:55 PM

MIAMI - Laveranues Coles ended his month-long media silence Sunday and admitted that he had stayed quiet out of respect for his best friend Chad Pennington.

"I felt it was the right thing to do," Coles said after the Jets' 20-14 win over Pennington's Dolphins. "No matter what I said, I was going to be wrong. If I praised Chad too much, I'd be the bad guy, not happy that Brett (Favre) is here. If I praise Brett too much, I'm not a true friend to Chad. I kept my mouth closed. I wanted to wait until this day when it's in the rearview mirror. Now I can return to being me."

PHOTO GALLERY: FAVRE'S VICTORIOUS DEBUT

And the Jets will need Coles to get back to being Coles again. Coles caught Favre's first pass as Jet on a quick five-yard out pattern by the left sideline. But that was Coles' only catch of the day as he rotated in and out of the game, perhaps due to the hamstring injury that kept him out all of preseason.

Coles did draw a pass interference flag on cornerback Andre Goodman in the third quarter that helped the Jets score their final touchdown. That penalty cost the Dolphins 24 yards, moving the Jets to the Miami 31. Five plays later, Thomas Jones scored his first touchdown of the season and the Jets went up 20-7.

Perhaps it was fitting that Coles didn't factor too much into this game against his best friend, one whom he says he has a "special relationship" with.

Coles said his relationship with Favre is still developing. The two played their first game together yesterday.

"It's different," Coles said. "It is one of those situations where Brett is Brett. I don't know what you want me to say."

Coles clarified that there was no friction between himself and Favre due to Pennington's release.

"There has never been a problem since Day 1," Coles said.

Coles and Pennington have known each other since the day they were drafted together in 2000.

When Pennington learned that Favre had been traded to the Jets while the team was in a hotel in Cleveland during the preseason, he rushed over to Coles' room to break the news.

"Of course it becomes something you take personal," Coles said. "I was the first room he went to after he got the news. To be woken up in the middle of the night, get news like that ... you put yourself in his position and it's sad because you say, 'This could happen to me.' Who's to say it won't happen to me?"

Coles is ready to move on and he says Pennington has already done just that.

"He is happy to be somewhere where he is wanted," Coles said.

[Kentucky Jet]

Mike Nugent injury kick-starts search

BY RICH CIMINI

DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

Sunday, September 7th 2008, 10:20 PM

MIAMI - The Jets could be in the market for a kicker. Jay Feely, anyone?

Mike Nugent strained a muscle in his right thigh on the opening kickoff in Sunday's 20-14 win over the Dolphins, throwing the Jets' kicking game into chaos. He returned in the third quarter for a successful extra point, but his absence changed the complexion of the game.

Clearly hurting, Nugent missed a 32-yard field goal in the first quarter. In the second quarter, the Jets eschewed a 40-yard attempt and wound up scoring on Brett Favre's fourth-down pass to Chansi Stuckey. But Eric Mangini went for a two-point conversion (failed) because he didn't think Nugent could make the PAT.

The Jets seemed caught off guard, with no contingency plan for a PAT. On the sideline, backup QB Kellen Clemens, S Kerry Rhodes and P Ben Graham took practice kicks into the net. Actually, Graham worked on a drop kick. Even Favre was asked if he was capable of making a kick. No, he said.

Mangini never went to the bullpen.

"It's rare that you have a quality backup kicker in that situation," he said.

When a reporter suggested that it was easy to kick a PAT, that a 12-year-old from a Punt, Pass & Kick competition could do the job, Mangini cracked, "Maybe I'll work out some of those 12-year-olds. Maybe they could do better."

Graham handled kickoffs, but he was told to kick squibs. Clemens almost took the third-quarter PAT, but he was called back at the last second.

"I held the single-season record for most PATs in high school," Clemens said. "We scored a lot, but I was only around 50%."

Feely, a former Giant, was cut recently by the Chiefs and Dolphins. He's probably the most accomplished free-agent kicker.

FIGHTIN' WORDS: Jets assistant DL coach Bryan Cox and Dolphins loudmouth Joey Porter had a shouting match in the pregame warmups. Cox, a former Dolphin, had to be restrained from going after Porter. Afterward, several Jets said Porter angered Cox by interfering with Nugent during a kicking warmup.

FOR STARTERS: Aside from Favre, several players enjoyed successful Jets debuts:

Rookie CB Dwight Lowery had a fantastic debut, with three pass breakups, including back-to-back stops at the goal line on a critical fourth-quarter series. He was victimized on an 11-yard scoring pass to TE David Martin. Lowery started for CB Justin Miller (toe/foot), who was inactive.

TAKE TWO: OLB Bryan Thomas had two sacks, nearly equaling his 2007 production (2-1/2 sacks). ... Mangini improved to 5-0 lifetime against the Dolphins. ... Favre's 56-yard TD pass to Jerricho Cotchery was longer than all but one pass play last season, a 57-yarder from Chad Pennington to Laveranues Coles. ... The heat index at kickoff was 97, about 120 degrees warmer than the wind chill for Favre's previous start the NFC Championship Game in Green Bay.

[Kentucky Jet]

Brett Favre brings his magic to the Jets.

MIAMI - He keeps reminding us there is no way we can be sure how this adventure ends, but now at least we know how Brett Favre starts with the Jets. He begins with a crazy, magical, pivotal touchdown pass, a Hail Brett to Chansi Stuckey, on fourth-and-13 from the Miami 22-yard line.

That ball, we are quite certain, would have fallen incomplete or into the arms of some Dolphin defensive back if it had not been thrown by Favre. He should have been intercepted, or he might have been sacked. But since this was Favre, Miami defensive end Randy Starks missed the tackle and linebacker Joey Porter was pulling down the quarterback, just too late.

PHOTO GALLERY: FAVRE'S VICTORIOUS DEBUT

Favre aimed in the general direction of his two crossing ends, Stuckey being the primary, vague target. The football took it from there, wobbling with its own built-in compass.

"Come down, ball," Favre said he was thinking. He described the pass as more like a shotput than a spiral.

"I can't believe it went as far as it did," he said. "We got a little pressure. I tried to throw it where someone was, give him a chance. I didn't think we had a chance in hell to catch it."

The ball went just far enough, of course.

"Seemed like the whole game, like it's still floating now," Stuckey said. "I was waiting to get hit, but nobody hit me."

It was Stuckey's first NFL catch, ever. A fluke. A broken play. Sorcery. But that second-quarter pass stole a football game against a division rival on the road, on a day when the field goal kicker couldn't kick anymore and the Jets' coach had no backup plan.

This was the sort of scrambling ad-lib that can win the Super Bowl. Our memories are short in New York, but we still remember Eli Manning to David Tyree. This looked a lot like that play, only without the trophy.

Favre has a long way to go before he reaches those heights in New York, but he has a quarterback rating of 125.9, on 15-for-22, 194 yards and two touchdowns. He also has this other thing going for him: He is already a rock star.

Ninety minutes after he helped to win this opener, he was sitting in a golf cart in the tunnel leading out of the stadium with his wife, Deanna. He was getting his photo taken with any passerby who asked, and there were plenty. Then Favre made his way to the Jets' bus, while a lineup of adoring fans cheered him wildly.

The end of a good day, not quite perfect. Favre made his share of mistakes, as the Jets tried to give this game away late. He missed Laveranues Coles on one throw that should have been a touchdown and he fumbled away the ball deep in Miami territory. Then Mangini didn't trust his new right arm enough to call for a pass on third-and-7, inside two minutes.

Favre still doesn't know all the plays. Sometimes, baffled by the new system and uniform, he goes into a huddle and tells his new teammates, "Same play, guys."

"I'd be lying if I said I was real confident in our passing game right now," Favre said.

He will be very sore today. The football dug deep into his ribs on one tackle and then he was roughed up pretty bad on another play by Matt Roth. Roth claimed that Favre faked him into the late hit. Favre said he didn't have the ball, looked square into Roth's eyes and had no intention of tricking anybody into a roughing penalty.

Favre will put up with the pain. It was all worth it. He was happy with his second wind of a career, with his new team. He didn't appear disoriented without the big "G" on the helmet.

He still knows his roots. At one point, Favre glanced at the scoreboard and saw that the Packers will be playing the Vikings tomorrow night.

"I didn't dwell on that," Favre said. "I'm over that. It wasn't like I was supposed to be there."

He remembered that the last time he played in a real game, it felt 120 degrees colder. He was in Miami now, a world away. Favre has had some difficult openers in the past. Considering the circumstances this time, he did just fine. He made the big plays, the ones they brought him to New York to make.

He nailed Jerricho Cotchery in stride on a 56-yard touchdown pass, and he threw the Hail Brett exactly where it needed to go.

"A good start. Shaky, but it's a win," he said. "A win is a win. They never get old."

Neither does the quarterback.

fjbondy@netscape.net

[Kentucky Jet]

Suddenly, Jets have edge on Patriots & AFC East

Sunday, September 7th 2008, 11:06 PM

MIAMI - Brett Favre was firing his first touchdown pass for the Jets at just about the same time Tom Brady was being helped off the field in Foxborough with a left knee injury that looked serious right from the moment of impact.

Now next Sunday's much-anticipated Favre vs. Brady showdown of Hall of Famers at Giants Stadium will be Favre vs. Matt Cassel, a virtual unknown. For the first time since Brady started winning Super Bowls in 2001, the Jets have the edge at quarterback.

PHOTO GALLERY: FAVRE'S VICTORIOUS DEBUT

One month ago, the Jets had Chad Pennington and Kellen Clemens fighting it out in a controversy that lacked any buzz and was controversial only because Eric Mangini was going to have to pick one of them.

Now they have Favre.

Sunday, the Patriots had Brady, winner of three Super Bowls rings and owner of a 16-0 regular season.

Now they have Cassel.

That's a drastic shift of power, with several reports last night saying that Brady is out for the year with a torn ACL. The Patriots not only have taken a big step back toward the Jets in the AFC East, the balance of power may be on the verge of shifting in the Border War.

The Jets just became serious players in the division with Brady's streak of 111 consecutive regular-season starts about to end and with Favre extending his amazing streak to 254 in the Jets' 20-14 victory over the Dolphins.

The Jets struggled against a bad Miami team, but as Favre gets more comfortable, the Jets will get better. He was saddened to hear that Brady had been injured.

"That's terrible. I guess it's an ACL or something," he said, adding that he was just speculating. "They've always overcome injuries and things like that, but that's pretty difficult. It's Tom Brady."

With the quarterback standing by his locker after the Jets barely survived the Dolphins, the worst team in the NFL last year, I asked Favre what life for the Patriots will be like without Brady.

"I don't know if there is a better quarterback out there with him healthy," Favre said. "And that goes for anywhere in the league. So that's got to do something. Can they succeed? Sure they can."

Nobody ever wants to see anybody get hurt, but without Brady, the Patriots become beatable. Does Brady's injury provide an opening for the Jets?

"It opens the door for everyone, but they are still the team to beat," Favre said. "Randy Moss had 23 touchdowns last year. There's some quarterbacks who didn't come close to that alone with five receivers."

The Jets already closed the gap on the Patriots going into the season based on two things: New England was not going to be 16-0 again and the Jets were not going to be 4-12 again. And adding Favre was a major talent upgrade for the Jets at the most important position.

Favre's 56-yard touchdown pass to Jerricho Cotchery on the Jets' second possession of the season signaled that the Same Old Jets offense is gone. It came with 8:42 left in the first quarter. The dink-and-dunk attack, when a 15-yard completion was considered an aerial circus, moved down here to Miami along with Pennington.

And then with 7:27 left in the first quarter in New England, everything changed for the Pats when Brady went down screaming in pain on a hit from Chiefs safety Bernard Pollard.

Bill Belichick knows what it's like to have the season end in Week 1. He was on Bill Parcells' staff with the Jets in 1999 when Vinny Testaverde tore his Achilles in the second quarter of the opener.

And when it seemed nothing could ever be worse than the humiliation Belichick suffered in the opener last year when the SpyGate scandal against the Jets was uncovered, losing Brady tops it. The Patriots overcame SpyGate and came within 35 seconds of a perfect 19-0 season.

No Brady means the Patriots will have no chance to win the Super Bowl. This is not the same as Belichick losing Drew Bledsoe to a serious chest injury in the second game of the 2001 season and turning things over to Brady. Belichick was ready to do that anyway.

Once Brady went to the locker room, he never came back to the sidelines. He took the Patriots' season with him.

"I'm sorry," Cotchery said. "That is sad to hear. Anytime you have a guy that goes down, you don't want to hear anything like that. I wish him the best."

Cassel had thrown only 39 passes in his first three seasons before Sunday. He threw only 33 at Southern Cal backing up Carson Palmer and then Matt Leinart, a couple of Heisman Trophy winners. But his first pass Sunday was a 51-yard completion to Randy Moss on a 98-yard drive that ended with a 10-yard TD pass to Moss.

Favre traded in the Packers' rivalries with the Vikings, Bears and Lions for the Jets' rivalry with the Patriots, where the animosity runs deep in every level of the organization.

After getting through the 88-degree day, he didn't have the energy to focus on the Patriots just yet.

"I want to try and enjoy this one first," he said.

The Jets play the Patriots next week.

They have the better quarterback.

The AFC East is theirs for the taking.

gmyers@nydailynews.com

[Kentucky Jet]

News dissects Brett Favre's fabulous debut as Jets' quarterback

BY RICH CIMINI

DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

Monday, September 8th 2008, 12:42 AM

MIAMI - It was the 254th consecutive regular-season start for Brett Favre, and it included the 443rd and 444th touchdown passes in his legendary career. But those numbers don't tell the real story of Sunday's 20-14 Jets win.

For Favre, this was a game unlike any other. This was a new team and a new offense. With only four weeks to learn the plays and prepare for the Dolphins, Favre was the subject of a great experiment. He was on a slide under a high-powered microscope.

Results?

"I thought he did a really good job," Eric Mangini said. "It's really the first time we've been able to work together for four full quarters, and so there were different things that came up during the game ... He responded well to it."

Here's a breakdown of Favre's performance, area by area.

DECISION MAKING

Favre played with the poise of a seasoned veteran, especially on his 22-yard touchdown pass to Chansi Stuckey in the second quarter. On fourth-and-13 - the Jets eschewed a field-goal try because of Mike Nugent's thigh injury - Favre knew there was no harm in taking a shot at the end zone, so he heaved a prayer.

If it had been intercepted, no big deal; the Dolphins probably would've had a touchback. Ever the gunslinger, it was the perfect situation for Favre.

"Obviously, with Mike hurt, that changes everything," said Favre, who avoided a sack on the play. "It was double pressure and I tried to throw it to where somebody was, and just give someone a chance."

In the third quarter, Favre made another smart play. On a second-and-15 from the Jets' 45, he looked to his left and noticed Laveranues Coles in single coverage against cornerback Andre Goodman. His eyes lit up. In their scouting report, the Jets identified Goodman as a player they wanted to attack.

Favre threw a deep fade to Coles, who established good position on Goodman. Result: a 24-yard pass interference penalty on Goodman. Five plays later, Thomas Jones scored on a 6-yard run to give the Jets a 20-7 lead.

Favre made only one made poor decision, resulting in his only turnover. After eluding a sack by Matt Roth, he stepped up in the pocket but failed to protect the ball. Roth hustled back into the play and knocked the ball out of Favre's hand.

ARM STRENGTH

One play said it all: Favre's 56-yard touchdown pass to Jerricho Cotchery. Actually, the ball traveled only 45 yards in the air, but it was a pass that Chad Pennington rarely completed in his years with the Jets.

"Actually, I thought I overthrew him," Favre confessed. "That's one thing I didn't want to do. I didn't have that one first shot and just unleash one and throw it up into the second deck."