When the New York Jets woke up Friday morning after beating the Patriots in overtime the night before, they probably thought for a moment or two.

“Wait a minute, I went to bed really excited, what was th- Oh yeah!”

You know that feeling, when you wake up and know you have something to be excited about, but since it’s not something physical, you forget for a minute.

That was Kerrry Rhodes Friday morning, and Sean Ellis. Brett Favre had to be feeling good, but it’s a little different for the guys that have been tormented by the Pats for so long.

Yeah, their breakfast probably tasted pretty nice that morning, whether they’re the same old Jets or not, they finally got a giant monkey off their backs, much bigger than Rhodes’ first pick, which came against St. Louis, much bigger than Calvin Pace’s first touchdown, also registered against the lowly Rams.

Coming into this one, it was trendy to doubt New York. Having just beaten the 2-7 Rams, Gang Green was definitely clicking, having won three straight and five of their last six, but as ever, people were still uneasy about New York’s second fiddle.

Whatever doubt was looming over Jets fans had to be at least close to erased when they took the first drive of the game downfield in 10 plays, setting up a 7-yard touchdown pass from Favre to Leon Washington, who was superb as a dual threat. Thomas Jones reached 100 yards, but only because of the extra period. He certainly did it silently, as most of the third-down conversions were made when Favre did what they brought him in to do.

Oh yeah, there was a lot of talk about that too. How this game was the reason Woody Johnson opened up his wallet to the tune of $140 million, or 160, whatever, a big spending spree regardless. Any way you look at it, it paid off as the Jets won despite nearly squandering a 24-6 second-quarter lead.

Matt Cassell did his best Brady impersonation, and it worked when Randy Moss managed to keep his feet inbounds and catch the game-tying touchdown, but in the NFL-and it’s a damn shame-as the overtime coin flip goes so goes the game more often than not.

Favre moved the ball downfield, hitting Laveranues Coles and Dustin Keller en route to Jay Feely’s game-winning 34-yard field goal. Keller was huge, making a big catch on 3rd-and-15 on that very drive, and racking up 87 yards on five catches and a touchdown. Favre has said Keller doesn’t know how good he can be, and I believe him. Keller has been big lately and is going to continue to grow.

Kris Jenkins registered one of the defense’s three sacks. CJ Mosley got another, and the third was shared between Sione Pouha and David Bowens. Okay, so the defense wasn’t huge, but it didn’t have to be. I knew coming into this one that the last team to have possession was going to win. It could be said that New England didn’t lose, they just ran out of time, anybody complain?

Of course they are complaining up in Massachusetts. Who wouldn’t be? The Patriots are suffering from a slew of injuries. The Bill Belichick “plug ‘em in and keep going” winning machine is suffering the kind of setbacks that would adversely affect any team-even these proud Patriots.

Could this be the end of a dynasty? That remains to be seen, but things are certainly changing in the AFC, especially the East division.

My dad-a Jets fan-was saying even after the New England game how he didn’t expect to see the Jets in the Super Bowl. I was quick to point out that he probably wasn’t predicting the Jets to be 7-3 at this point, with sole possession of first place. He laughed and said, “Yeah, they should be 8-2.” It’s what my dad does when I make a good point in sports discussions. Covers it up with a fact, but something that is what it is.

Yeah, that Oakland game… Seems like a while since then, eh?

Wednesday’s practice was closed to the media as the team just did a run-through in sweats.

Around the locker room the mood was light, but there was something in the air, a palpable focus of sorts. While Mangini and the Jets do it week in and week out, it’s pretty hard to downplay this Thursday’s showdown at New England.

Laveranues Coles was his usual self to reporters, being stand-offish and short.

“We won more games, that’s about it,” Coles said when asked how his team has changed since week two. “We’re 6-3.”

While Coles makes a good point, he is certainly downplaying what has happened since September 14. How about the game he and Favre had against Arizona? Or the road win at Buffalo, followed by a no-let up effort against a hapless St. Louis team that Gang Green easily could have overlooked with New England on the hrozion just four short days away?

There is a lot of buzz surrounding this game, and mind you, it is buzzing because of what New York has done since they last played New England. They have put themselves in position to take control of a playground bullied by the Patriots. They have come together, playing more consistently and have begun to form an identity that was clearly lacking against Oakland, Cincinnati, and New England the first time. Hell, even the Kansas City win had critics doubting the “same old” Jets.

But make no mistake about it, they’re not the “same old” Jets. At this point last season, the Jets were 1-8 and on a six-game skid heading into the bye week. The fact that terms like “division lead” and “playoffs” are being thrown around the locker room says a lot, and that isn’t going unnoticed.

A newcomer to the AFC East, Calvin Pace said it’s not just about first place but simply the rivalry in itself, but let’s face it, what is this rivalry without playoff implications? It’s just a throwaway game, something the Jets palyed a lot of last season.

I was talking with some friends about this game against New England, and something I found funny was the way they used Brett Favre as a crux for whatever argument they were trying to make.

When I said about how well Favre has been playing lately since getting more and more comfortable with his new offense, someone said about how many interceptions he has thrown and how prone he is to making mistakes.

Later in the discussion I said about how it’s tough to believe that the Jets are 6-3 right now, playing for the division lead against New England when they finished 4-12 last season. My buddy responded by saying, “Well yeah, I mean they have Favre.” Holy contradiction! It’s funny how while one player can be credited for a team’s success, he can just as easily be blamed for its failure.

Favre is that kind of player, one that can keep you in a game just as easily as he can take you out of one, but let’s face it, who doesn’t want him on their roster? I know I sure do, especially heading into New England Thursday during primetime. You need a quarterback that is used to big games and can handle the pressure. You need a playmaker, one that isn’t afraid of taking chances.

Brett aside though, the new-look Jets have several different weapons that are all a part of this turnaround. When asked about any extra pressure knowing this game is why the Jets brought him here, Favre was comical.

“That may be true,” he said. “Then again, it may not be. That may have been why we brought Kris Jenkins in. Let’s put it off on Kris,” Favre said with his signature smile. It’s that familiar Favre-smile, the one that has likely gotten him out of many-a-jam.

Will he be smiling as he leaves Gillette Stadium, or will he be answering questions about the “same old” Jets? Only time will tell, but you gotta like their chances.

When the Jets acquired Favre, there was a lot of speculation about how many games Gang Green would win. Some analysts went as far as to predict the exact games the Jets would win and lose. Would they start 1-2? 0-3?

There was little confidence in 3-0 after week three, and sure enough New York stands at 1-1 after week two.

So it’s either 1-2 or 2-1. After a tough loss to New England in the home opener, Jets fans need not worry. No need to push the panic button.

Going into week three, a west coast road trip on a Monday night at San Diego, the Jets are in very good shape. While falling 19-10 to the Pats on week two isn’t desirable, Brett Favre engineered a solid drive in the 4th quarter, and Thomas Jones chewed up the ground gaining first down after first down. Sure, there were some miscues, mistakes, but it’s still early.

Other than Kansas City or (insert other laughable team here), there is no better place to be going than San Diego during prime time.

The Tomlinson-less Chargers just dropped not one, but two heart-breakers in weeks one and two. Carolina ripped their hearts out of their chests as time expired in week one, and Denver just beat the Bolts at Mile High courtesy of a cheap call.

The Jets should be licking their chops with an extra day off, a game in prime time, and against a defeated opponent.

Of course, week three could be the week San Diego turns its season around. But while I wouldn’t sleep on the Chargers, take a look around the AFC. Tom Brady goes down, San Diego is 0-2, and Indianapolis looked awful in its opener against Chicago. The NFL-especially the AFC-seems to be experiencing some kind of changing of hte guard.

I don’t know the mentality of the team at this point. After a tough loss, the morale can’t be high, but like Vince Vaughn said in swingers, the Jets are so money and they don’t even know it, baby!

This is a touchy subject, so I’ll tread as lightly as I can.

Laveranues Coles needs to get over it already. Seriously. The veteran wide receiver went days, weeks even, without speaking to the media so as to avoid appearing too upset about the loss of Chad, or too happy about the arrival of Favre. He didn’t want to offend either one by prasing the other too much. He’s talking now, and seems to be the only one in the new Atlantic Health Training Center that isn’t on the Favre bandwagon.

That’s understandable, but c’mon LC. It’s a business. No one said you’re not allowed to still be friends with your former quarterback or that you have to replace him with Favre. That said, Coles has been very professional with the whole situation, regardless of how upset about it he is.

“He’s a total pro. He’s focused on one thing. All he’s worried about is doing as well as he can, helping us win,” Coach Mangini said before the Miami game.

But still, it almost seems as though Coles is being the kid at a junior high dance standing in the corner, refusing to partake in the fun.

“I don’t have a feel for him and he doesn’t have a feel for me,” Coles said regarding his one catch against the Dolphins. “That’s one of those things I’m going to have to deal with. In the past I always knew when the ball was coming, now you don’t really know. It’s totally different for me as a player. It is what it is. He’s getting adjusted and I’m trying to do what I’m supposed to do.”

The New York Post reported Friday that on a play against Miami where Favre overthrew Coles, Favre thought he was going to cut in just a little.

What I don’t understand is when asked about getting in synch from sitting out a lot during training camp and missing all four preseason games, Coles put it back on Favre.

“It didn’t have anything to do with me not being there,” Coles said. “It’s just one of those things whenever you get introduced to a new quarterback you don’t have a feel for each other, period. He is being introduced to a new offense and new players. For me, it’s one of those things where he doesn’t have a feel for me, I don’t have a feel for him. You deal with it.”

Coles (thigh) has been limited in practices, which could and likely does have something to do with him not yet clicking with his new quarterback, something Coles says he’s working with everyday. When asked if he believes it’s a matter of time before he will be on the same page as Favre, Coles said that is “something he’s not really concerned about.”

Am I missing something here? Shouldn’t Coles be concerned about that?

“He has a job to do. I have a job to do and from there it is what it is. You work day-in and day-out and just do what you’re supposed to do,” Coles said.

While it seems like Coles isn’t letting his hard feelings get in the way of his job, he still has hard feelings, which can affect any one in any work environment. He can say what he wants to the media, and I hate to speculate like this, but there has to be something going on in his head that’s preventing him from being totally on board with Favre.

There ya go Jets fans. Ya got him.

In a ridiculous turn of events, the Jets announced Thursday evening before its opening pre-season game at Cleveland that Brett Favre will be a Jet.

He’s the biggest star to wear the New York Green since Joe Willy, and every Jets fan this side of Chad Pennington’s parents have got to be swooning over their newly acquired HOF quarterback.

While I referred to it as a ridiculous turn of events, maybe it wasn’t. Maybe the Jets knew this all along, and were merely being polite to Chad in not releasing anything before it became official. The feeling in the Jets’ media room lately during camp has been that the Favre talk grew hackneyed and that nothing was going to be done. New York papers and blogs were riddled with “Tampa Bay has all but sealed the deal.” And sure enough, I got a text from fellow Jets Insider intern Rich Forestano around midnight Thursday morning, “Favre to Jets.”

I didn’t believe it, but he insisted. I bought four-ironic, I know-newspapers the next morning at the Mineola Train Station to read as much about it as I could, and it got me thinking…

This Favre circus is one of two things, and that’s something we’ll likely never know: We’re the Jets as low-key about this as they portrayed themselves, or did they know something we didn’t? I’ll admit, while nothing is over till it’s over, I-like many others-believed that there was little to no chance of Favre landing in New York. Sure, we were only speculating, but the New York media were sure that Favre wouldn’t end up in The Big Apple.

::SIGH:: But I digress. The fact of the matter is that the Jets are finally “keeping up with the Smith’s,” and New York’s “other team” will finally get its due. Move over Broadway Joe, it’s time for Broadway Brett.

At first I was disappointed. I remember reading either a blog or article that said how Favre didn’t want to be a Jet and that it would take a lot of begging for GM Mike Tannenbaum to lure the legendary QB to New York. I was confident that the Jets were content with Kellen Clemens and Chad Pennington battling for the starting position, and was myself content. Did the Jets sell out?

Obviously not. Not in this day and age, when it’s the job and complete responsibility for a team to get the best players to ultimately be the best team, something along the lines of what Tampa Bay Head Coach John Gruden said to reporters about getting Favre.

Despite what you knew and what you thought you knew prior to Thursday morning, the Jets got Brett Favre. Whether it was a random twist of events at the last moment, or Jets’ brass working diligently behind-the-scenes, Brett Favre will be wearing a new kind of green in 2008.

How will he fare under the big city lights? How will he handle the toughest, most brutal media market in the nation? Is he too old, or does he still have it? Are the Jets a Super Bowl lock? I’d love to speculate here, like everyone else has been doing prior to the Favre move, but what if I’m wrong?

As it stands, a few things are certain. Or are they?

Among the certainties is that the starting quarterback is uncertain. Pennington has to have a leg-up on Clemens, being the training camp interception tally. (Clemens has 8, Pennington just 2). One thing to take from this QB situation is that Mangini will decide when he’s ready. At the rate it’s going, we should know who the starter for Miami will be this September sometime in October. I joked in the press room during Saturday’s Green-White scrimmage that if one of them went down with an broken ankle, Mangini would still probably keep is cards abreast.

Another certainty is that the TE position is stacked, but as it stands, there are uncertainties as well. Bubba Franks-as experienced of a veteran as he is-has not impressed me in training camp thus far. Last week he had a case of the drops, and he’s looked sluggish. Chris Baker is back on the field and I gotta say, he looks a lot better in pads than he did with a baggy gym shirt and shorts and a visor. Dustin Keller has been having a stellar camp, but he’s yet to play a down of NFL ball. I’m optimistic, but I’m just saying…

The offensive line should be much improved, with additions such as Alan Faneca and Damien Woody. And with veteran FB Tony Richardson to lead the way for Thomas Jones and Leon Washington, the running game should definitely be solid this season.

Regarding the running game though, one thing I’m uncertain about is the plethora of running backs on the current roster. In addition to Washington and Jones, there’s Jesse Chatman-undisclosed injury-Musa Smith, who was signed this off-season; Jehuu Caulcrick, a rookie out of Michigan State; and Rodney Kinlaw, who was signed out of Penn State this past weekend. That’s an abundance of running backs, and I’d like to know the Jets’ plan for all of them.

For now, I’m just biding my time before the Cleveland game this Thursday.

Enough about the Brett Favre controversy. In accordance with William Rhoden’s article in the New York Times, the Jets may already have the quarterback they need. Scratch that, they have the quarterback they need. Be it Pennington, Clemens, or even Ratliff, the Jets do not need to blow the dust off Favre and make him QB-1 this season.

Like he’s confidently said, Pennington has experienced success with the Jets.

“I’ve been able to win in the past and now I want to take winning to a different level, and that’s the championship level,” Pennington said the other day.

Bold words coming from a quarterback of a team that hasn’t played at the championship level in four decades. That’s right folks, on the media guides is a 40th Anniversary logo commemorating the Super Bowl III Champions. I love the way teams make good out of dismal championship droughts by calling this the Jets’ 40th Anniversary of a Super Bowl. Wouldn’t a more appropriate way to dub this season be the “Holy Hell, it’s Been 40 Years Since We’ve Won a Super Bowl” season?

I may be going out on a limb with this one, but the Jets are approaching the Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs territory with championship droughts. 40 years? I’m 21, that’s almost two lifetimes as I know it. My dad-a Jets fan himself-was hardly a teenager. But I digress.

The point I’m trying to make is that the Jets have what and who they need to be successful this season. Since this is a blog, I’m gonna go ahead and say that my guy for Gang Green is Pennington. He’s been better from what I’ve seen, is more experienced, and is more confident.

That’s just at quarterback though. Keep in mind some of the off-season moves the Jets have made. Alan Faneca and Damien Woody on the offensive line, TE Bubba Franks and WR Marcus Henry, adding depth, height, youth and experience to an already solid corps of receivers. Defensively, Vernon Gholston was proof that the Jets do have some idea of what the draft is all about, and CB Justin Miller is getting his step back after a shortened season in 2007 thanks to an injury. To help Gholston along at the linebacker position, the Jets acquired Calvin Pace from the Cardinals.

Keep in mind that with everything else going on behind the scenes in Hempstead, this is only a chunk of the iceberg. Maybe I’m being overly optimistic, and I know it’s only July, but I like the Jets’ chances this year.