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Favre makes debut as Jets face Dolphins

Sep 7, 2008 - 12:50 PM NY Jets AT Miami, 1:00pm EDT

MIAMI (Ticker) -- The Cheeseheads are heartbroken, the New York Jets are thrilled and the NFL may never be the same.

Future Hall of Famer Brett Favre, once considered a Green Bay Packer for life and now "Broadway Brett", makes his debut for the Jets on Sunday against the Miami Dolphins.

It was once believed unthinkable that Favre, who spent the previous 16 seasons in Green Bay, could play for anyone but the Packers. However, Green Bay management refused to give into Favre's demands after he un-retired, deciding it was time to move in a different direction.

Following a tumultuous summer of posturing from both sides, the Packers traded Favre to the Jets for a conditional pick in next year's draft.

While Green Bay has turned over the reins to Favre's understudy, Aaron Rodgers, the Jets hope Favre can inject some life into a struggling franchise that routinely plays second fiddle in New York to the Giants. That is especially true this season with the Giants beginning defense of their Super Bowl title.

Coming off a dismal 4-12 season, the Jets are expecting the 38-year-old Favre to transform them into a playoff team. However, he is joining a division, the AFC East, that has been dominated in recent years by Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.

Favre's biggest challenges during the preseason were learning the Jets' offense and getting on the same page with coach Eric Mangini.

"I hope that I play at the level that I've always played at," Favre said during his introductory news conference. "There's no guarantees, there's never been any guarantees for me."

Favre showed last season, however, that he could still play at a high level, even at his advanced age. He enjoyed one of the best years of his career, passing for more than 4,100 yards in leading the Packers to a 13-3 record and the NFC championship game.

During the year, Favre became the winningest quarterback in NFL history and also broke Dan Marino's record for career passing yards.

While Favre has joined a new team, his consecutive games streak is intact. On Sunday, he will extend another one of his NFL marks by starting his 276th straight game.

In an ironic twist, New York will be facing a familiar face in Chad Pennington, its starting quarterback for most of the past eight seasons, who was released after Favre was acquired. The Jets know Pennington, who posted a 32-29 record as the their starter, would love to beat his former team.

After being let go by the Jets, Pennington quickly signed with the Dolphins, who were looking for an experienced quarterback to provide some veteran leadership.

Often hampered by injuries, Pennington overcame two rotator-cuff surgeries to lead the Jets to a 10-6 record and a playoff berth in 2006, when he was named the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year.

"He's a winner," New York safety Kerry Rhodes said. "When he's in and when he's healthy, he's a productive quarterback in this league, so facing him is going to be tough. We know he can make all the reads, we know he's familiar with our system. He knows what we like to do and we know what he likes to do. It's going to be a chess match. It's going to be fun."

New Miami coach Tony Sparano, a former assistant head coach in Dallas, inherits a team that went 1-15 last season and threatened to become the first squad in NFL history to go 0-16. After starting 0-13, Miami earned its only win with a 22-16 overtime victory over the Baltimore Ravens.