Photo of Brett Favre during the first quarter of his first pre-season game with the Jets by Bill Kostroun/AP It was one of those rare instances when a debut actually lived up to the hype. Brett Favre looked like everything the Jets want him to be last night. The problem is, the game didn’t count. But, for fourteen plays, Favre showed why he is a legendary quarterback. He had no problems running the Jets’ offense......

Photograph, above, of Vernon Gholston, 6th NFL Draft pick overall, at Radio City Music Hall by Jason DeCrow/AP; photograph, below, of Jets fans cheering the pick by Julie Jacobson/AP Being the sixth-worst team in the NFL has its advantages come April. The Jets had the sixth pick in this weekend's NFL Draft, and, despite hopes that Arkansas running back Darren McFadden would fall to them, ended up taking talented Ohio State defensive end Vernon......

A timeout and a holding penalty on the Jets couldn't prevent Mike Nugent from hurting the Jets' draft position helping the Jets end a disappointing season with a 13-10 win over Kansas City on Sunday evening at the Meadowlands. A 33-yard make, which set off some premature celebrations, turned into a 43-yard try after Wade Smith got nailed for holding. Nugent made that too, a fitting sendoff for special teams coach Mike Westoff, who told......

While much of the football excitement this weekend surrounds the New York Giants' game versus the New England Patriots tonight, the Jets still have an interesting Week 17 matchup. The game against the Kansas City Chiefs isn't what the NFL had in mind when it drew up its schedule. Both the Jets and Chiefs were playoff teams from a year ago, but the teams have looked awful this season, with young quarterbacks and veterans competing......

Eight of the Jets' 12 losses have come by seven points or fewer. Too many of them have followed the script of Sunday's 10-6 defeat at the hands of the Tennessee Titans in Nashville. Jets fans have to be sick of a banged-up team not expressing confidence in its quarterback -- Chad Pennington wasn't named the starter but played over Kellen Clemens and his sore ribs -- and then going out there and laying......

The Patriots and Jets didn't have the worst weather in the league Sunday, but they still had plenty to complain about. Rain and wind didn't stay the Patriots from improving to 14-0 with a 20-10 win over the Jets in Foxborough, Mass.. It did help the Jets keep the game close and easily cover the record 27-point spread, for those who care about those things. Kellen Clemens' early interception, returned for what WEPN's Bob......

The spread opened at 27 points. It's recently settled at 24 1/2 points, which, if held, would be the largest ever for an NFL game. More went into that spread than a terrible team playing an unbeaten one on the road. The Patriots have been running up the score on opponents all year, and everyone thinks they're doing it to teach the league a lesson after it was exposed -- on the word of jets......

With the Jets 3-10, the best thing that can be said about them is that they're still playing hard. They seemed insulted that people thought the Dolphins could beat them last week, and, despite playing in front of empty seats in a heavy rain Sunday, the Jets fought back before losing to the Browns, 24-18. Kellen Clemens scored the Jets' only touchdown with his quarterback sneak in the fourth quarter, but his inconsistent play and......

As the Jets look ahed to their game Sunday against the Cleveland Browns, they may be hoping that's where they are in a season or two. Cleveland, like the Jets, is coached by a former defensive protege of Patriots Coach Bill Belichick. Romeo Crennell had a rough go of it during the first few seasons, but he now has an offense filled with playmakers like Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow and run by an unheralded......

Maybe the Jets shouldn't have been underdogs against the Dolphins, but no one figured they'd roll as easily as they did in their 40-13 win in Miami on Sunday. Miami remained winless at 0-12 as the Jets improved to 3-9 -- with two of those wins coming against Miami. Playing without Jerricho Cotchery and his finger injury, the Jets did have Laveranues Coles back earlier than expected from a high ankle sprain. He responded......

Bye weeks can do wonders for football teams. Time off certainly helped the Jets. They held their own against the Pittsburgh Steelers and then secured a 19-16 win in overtime after trailing by three with two minutes, 23 seconds to go in regulation. For the second straight game, Kellen Clemens engineered a game-tying drive capped by a Mike Nugent field goal -- although this drive probably should won the game. The Jets finished the job......

Even if a good portion of the announced paid attendance wasn't there to see it, the Jets played an entertaining if not successful football game in their 23-20 overtime loss to the Redskins on Sunday. Kellen Clemens showed flashes of brilliance and moments of poise -- including a drive that culminated with the game-tying field goal with 10 seconds left in regulation -- but the Jets defense didn't hold up its end of the bargain.......

Remember how excited some people got when Roger Clemens announced he was coming back to the Yankees? New Jets starting quarterback Kellen Clemens -- no relation, but like Roger's kids, his name does start with "K" -- won't get as much attention, but he still has quite a following. Weeks of calls for Chad Pennington to sit in favor of Clemens didn't persuade Coach Eric Mangini, but a 1-7 start has been enough for him......

What better symbol for the Jets' season than cornerback's Darrelle Revis' collision with safety Abram Elam? Revis, going for an interception against Buffalo's Lee Evans, instead got a mouthful of his teammate and a great view at the Bills receiver's march to the end zone. That score clinched Buffalo's 13-3 win in the Meadowlands on Sunday. The Jets have now lost twice to the Bills and have fallen to 1-7. Their only win came against......

If they want to, the Jets can trace the morphing of their season from disappointing to disastrous from their Week 4 loss in Buffalo on Sept. 30. Before that, their only defeats came against the Patriots and the Ravens. Those are nothing to be ashamed of. But now the team hasn't won since a Week 3 squeaker against the Dolphins, and, let's face it, everybody's beating Miami these days. The Jets will try it all......

Chad Pennington gets all the attention, but the Jets' problems run deeper than the quarterback position. Eric Mangini said as much during an unusually open news conference following the latest Jets debacle, a 38-31 loss at Cincinnati on Sunday. Pennington looked fine in the first half, throwing two touchdowns to Lavaranues Coles. In the second half, the rest of the team's wheels fell off at once. Kenny Watson tore up the Jets' rush defense. When......

Chad Pennington couldn't pick a better game to save his starting job. Some have said this could be the quarterback's last chance to make an impression. Given Coach Eric Mangini's loyalty, that may not be the case, but even the Jets offense should find openings against a suspect Bengals defense. Cincinnati has been beset by injuries to its linebacking corps and on offense. Carson Palmer and his wide-receiving duo of Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh......

If a change in clothes doesn't help the Jets, what will? Despite looking snazzy in their New York Titans throwbacks, the Jets looked anything but sharp on the field in a 16-9 loss to the Eagles on Sunday. Some creative playcalling, including a reverse, got the Jets deep inside Eagles territory as the fourth quarter wound down, but Chad Pennington couldn't get the ball to Laveranues Coles on fourth-and-one fade. The whispers are growing louder......

So much for taking advantage of an easy schedule. The Jets were handed a rookie quarterback, a banged up defense and an 0-3 opponent. They took one look at the pile under the Christmas tree, rewrapped the presents and gave them right back. But not before adding a bow to each of them. They now sit at 1-3 instead of 2-2. The season lost a lot of promise Sunday. How could the Jets allow Trent......

After not smiling on the Jets for the first two weeks of the season, the schedule gods dealt an easier hand for Weeks 3 and 4. First came the Dolphins at home, and the Jets cashed in for their first win of the season. Next is a game at Buffalo against the 0-3 Bills. If there is an adjective to describe this game stronger than "winnable" in NFL jargon, it should be applied. "Gimme" works.......

Welcome back, Chad! All those fans who cheered Chad Pennington's departure had nothing to complain about Sunday during the Jets' 31-28 win over Miami. All it takes is a suspect defense for a struggling unit to turn itself around. Pennington threw for two touchdowns and ran for another. Hand out the gold stars to Thomas Jones (110 yards rushing), Jerricho Cotchery (54 yards receiving) and Laveranues Coles (30 yards and a touchdown). For a......

The list of 0-2 teams to win the Super Bowl is a short one, though it does include the 2001 Patriots. No team has won it after losing its first three games. Like it or not, the Jets find themselves on the first list and will try desperately to avoid being placed on the second one when they host Miami this week. Despite reports of limited action in practice this week, Chad Pennington seems guaranteed......

Ready for a quarterback controversy? Kellen Clemens took a while to get his feet under him, but he almost led the Jets back in their 20-13 loss in Baltimore. A drop and a poor throw of his own cost Clemens down the stretch, and the Jets are 0-2. At least they didn't go weakly into the Baltimore night. If not for Justin McCareins' buttery fingers, this game would have gone to overtime. This performance won't......

Thanks to the Patriots' spying, the Jets have enjoyed a week surprisingly free of the questions that normally follow teams that start the season with convincing losses at home. According to The Times, 14 of the 25 questions fielded by Coach Eric Mangini on Wednesday dealt with the alleged filming of the Jets' defensive signals. Rest assured, Eric Mangini's not thinking about the Patriots offense but instead the Ravens defense. So is Kellen Clemens. The......

Yankees 9 Toronto 2: Alex Rodriguez didn’t hit a home run, ending his streak at five-straight games. He did manage two hits, but it was some other Yankees that shouldered the offensive load for a change. Johnny Damon had a great game, going 3-for-5 and making an outstanding catch. Jason Giambi woke his slumbering bat with a grand slam and Jorge Posada added two hits and a home run. Phil Hughes did just enough and......

For much of the first half, things didn't look so bad. The Jets contained the Patriots offense, had scored a touchdown of their own and looked like they would be in position to scare and maybe upset New England. But seconds into the second half, the team trailed by two touchdowns en route to a 38-14 loss at home. Adding injury to insult, the Jets lost Chad Pennington to an ankle injury. He returned......

Life's easier the lower you keep everyone's expectations. Bill Waterson once had Calvin impart that wisdom in the Calvin and Hobbes comic strip, and the Jets are about to find that out as well. Last year, Coach Eric Mangini worked wonders to get the team into the playoffs and created a situation where media and fans will be looking for more. Don't be surprised if the team doesn't improve upon last year's results. Many......

Few teams can shrug off a playoff loss to a bitter rival and immediately accept their season as a success. The Jets may not be able to do that in the wake of their 37-16 loss to the Patriots in an AFC wild-card playoff Sunday, but they have no reason to hang their heads. New York entered this game knowing as an overmatched squad, but it still made New England sweat before being buried......

Beneath the tired storyline of the alleged feud between coaches Eric Mangini and Bill Belichick will be a strategic matchup that will decide the Patriots-Jets wild-card playoff on Sunday. The media cannot get enough of the abbreviated handshake -- some would call it a blow by -- shared by the two men when the Jets downed the Patriots, 17-14, on Nov. 12. The Patriots won the season's first meeting when they held off the......

With their 23-3 win over Oakland, the Jets capped their unpredictable run to the playoffs in a predictable way. Few people expected the Jets to finish at .500 this season, but by the time the Jets beat Miami last week, most had them taking down the Raiders in the season-finale. But give the Jets credit for taking advantage of the win-and-you're-in situation, even if it came against a team that last won on Oct.......