Tom E. Curran • E-mail

MIAMI, Fla. - “I’m a Jet,” Brett Favre proclaimed.

Wearing a cutoff green undershirt, his face red from three hours of work in the South Florida sun, Favre stood at the podium in a cramped interview room and uttered those three words that must still cut like a knife to some in Green Bay.

It wasn’t pretty, the 20-14 win Favre’s new team secured over the Dolphins. But the preface to this Book of Brett is over and the first chapter is now written.

“I’m one of 53 on this team and I’m proud of it. I had a great career in Green Bay but that’s over and done with and it’s what I do this year. It was a good start. It was shaky, but it was a good start and it was a win.”

Favre threw two highlight reel touchdowns in his first start — a 56-yard moonball to receiver Jerricho Cotchery off play-action in the first quarter and a 22-yarder desperation fling on fourth-and-13 in the second quarter to Chansi Stuckey.

He finished the day 15 for 22 for 194 yards with the two touchdowns and no picks.

And somewhere in Wisconsin, Ted Thompson shifted uncomfortably. For the Packers in general, Sunday had to be a difficult afternoon.

Thompson, Green Bay's general manager, made sure Favre wouldn’t play for the Packers anymore, shipping the reluctant retiree to the AFC East. What happened in Miami was not a dream scenario for the white-haired, wide-eyed Thompson. Favre looked — for most of the day — very good. And while the Packers didn’t divorce themselves from Favre based on his ability to play on Sundays (his indecision every offseason was why), his performance with the Jets is going to be a very big topic of discussion in Green Bay. Very big.

Especially with the Patriots — the Jets' next opponent — losing Tom Brady in the first week of the season, and the Chargers a stiff wind away from losing linebacker Shawne Merriman, the stars could be aligning (and falling) in Favre’s favor.

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The Colts looked awfully vulnerable in their loss to the Bears, the Chargers threw away a win against the Panthers and the Jaguars were manhandled against the Titans. When one considers that those three contenders struggled and the Patriots may not have Brady, the Jets winning the AFC East isn’t a pipe dream.

True, the Jets won't get to test themselves against some of Sunday's most impressive teams — the Steelers, Cowboys and Eagles all rolled to easy wins — but that may be a boon for a team still learning to use all of its pieces.

The Jets showed Sunday they’re far from a finished product. Beyond Favre, Alan Faneca and Damien Woody are new to the offensive line; Tony Richardson’s a new fullback; Calvin Pace and Kris Jenkins are new to the defense.

“I’d be lying if I stood here and told you that I feel real confident in the passing game right now,” Favre said. “It’s from my end and what I need to study. Getting the play out is the first thing, then you have understanding the concept and the protection changes. They gave us a few protection problems today that really fell back on me. I was more concerned about who was lining up where.”

Asked about missed chances with wideout Laveranues Coles, Favre noted one throw to the end zone that went incomplete.

“That play was a touchdown,” said Favre. “I didn’t think he was going to do something totally different but I thought he was going to cut in just a little. We’ve never ran that play together. I don’t know what’s going to happen next week but you can see where there’s just a couple of plays where you thought that if they just get on the same page, look how good they can be.”

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Ironically, the man Favre replaced in New York — Chad Pennington — validated the Dolphins interest in him. He isn’t flashy. He isn’t a home run hitter. But he’s smart, tough and as close to an on-field point guard as you can get. With just 18 seconds left, he had the Dolphins poised to pull out the win. The Fins weren’t dead until an end-zone pick with 10 seconds left by Darrelle Revis.

As overmatched talent-wise as Miami is, Pennington will keep them in games. Favre, meanwhile, will likely win games for the more-talented Jets.

Jets coach Eric Mangini was asked how he felt on the fourth-down play when Favre seemed to blindly loft the ball toward the end zone.

“Optimism, followed by more optimism, followed by excitement,” he said.

Sounds like that could be a motto.

NFL game stories Quick look at Week 4 games STEELERS 23, RAVENS 20, OT: Baltimore loses first game of season REDSKINS 26, COWBOYS 24: Dallas can't contain Portis in 1st loss BEARS 24, EAGLES 20: Goal-line stand boosts Chicago JETS 56, CARDINALS 35: Favre throws career-high 6 TDs BUCS 30, PACKERS 21: Ryan's 3 FGs lift Tampa CHARGERS 28, RAIDERS 18: San Diego tops rival 10th straight time BILLS 31, RAMS 14: Buffalo 4-0 for first time since 1992 CHIEFS 33, BRONCOS 19: Johnson rushes for 198 yards for K.C. BROWNS 20, BENGALS 12: Anderson throws TD TITANS 30, VIKINGS 17: Tennessee 4-0 for first time ever PANTHERS 24, FALCONS 9: Smith honors Lucas after TD JAGUARS 30, TEXANS 27, OT: Scobey kicks game winner SAINTS 31, 49ERS 17: McAlister scores first TD of year

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