Favre Happy to Be Part of New Gang

CLEVELAND, Aug. 7-- It was a good night to be somewhere other than Cleveland Browns Stadium. The rain fell in torrents. Lightning flashed, causing a first-quarter delay of a meaningless preseason game and chasing home much of an already sparse crowd.

But Brett Favre wanted to be here, wasting no time joining his new team on the day after the New York Jets obtained the quarterback and three-time NFL most valuable player in a late-night trade with the Green Bay Packers that stunned the football world and ended weeks of melodrama.

Favre stood on the sideline in a white cap, a white-and-green Jets shirt and tan shorts to watch the young quarterback who soon will be his understudy, Kellen Clemens, start Thursday night's preseason opener against the Browns. Favre met his new teammates and spoke to his new coach, Eric Mangini, to begin the process of trying to make hurried preparations for the opening regular season game in a month. He threw a few passes on the sideline as the other players warmed up on the field after the hour-long weather delay ended.

He also did his best, at least publicly, to put the bitter ending of his 16-year stay with the Packers behind him.

"Did I ever think this scenario would present itself? No. Am I excited about the opportunity? Yes, I am," Favre said during a pregame news conference just after he arrived in town and met with Mangini. "I had a great career in Green Bay. It goes without saying the things that have happened here this offseason, the last few days, in my opinion are over and done with. I wish them well. I'll use their term: We're moving forward."

The Jets outbid the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the team thought by many people in the league to be the heavy favorite to land Favre, by trading the Packers a fourth-round draft pick that can increase in value, possibly all the way to a first-rounder, depending on what percentage of the offensive snaps Favre takes this season and how successful the Jets are. So instead of being reunited with Buccaneers Coach Jon Gruden, a former Packers assistant, and staying in a West Coast offensive system that's so familiar, Favre comes to an organization with a decided lack of familiar faces and an offense that's new to him.

"I really don't know these guys," Favre said. "They don't know me. I think when they get to know me, they'll like me and like the way I play and figure out that I'll do whatever it takes to win for you."

Favre called it "refreshing" to be with the Jets and said he hoped to undergo a conditioning test Friday, then begin practicing soon after.

The Jets released quarterback Chad Pennington, who had been competing with Clemens for the starting job, to clear salary cap space to accommodate Favre's $12 million salary for this season.

"It's difficult with Chad because Chad kind of came in the same time I did," Jets owner Woody Johnson said. "We owe Chad Pennington a lot of gratitude for his dedication and his dogged, team-oriented persistence. . . . But today we're here to talk about what we're doing going forward."

Said General Manager Mike Tannenbaum: "We thought we were getting good play at the quarterback position. But we felt this was an opportunity to improve upon that."

The Packers were pleased to trade Favre out of the NFC, and to a team they're not scheduled to face this season. Favre said he refused to speak to Tannenbaum until a day or so before the trade was completed, but then Tannenbaum sold him on the idea of being in New York and being with the Jets. Favre said he feels ready to handle all of it.

"Green Bay is a small market, but is there a bigger team?" Favre said. "You know, I've been in front of a lot of media. I've been in big games, won big games. I've had my share of criticism. . . . I'm here for one reason, not to do commercials, Broadway, all those things. I'm here to help the Jets win, and that's why they got me. The sooner I can get to that, the better."

Of course, if Favre wanted to play this season, he had little choice but to warm to the idea of playing for the Jets. The Packers refused to release him or trade him to another NFC North franchise, as he'd wanted. Favre said his desire to play for a division rival of the Packers probably stemmed from "a little bit of vindictive nature, competitive nature, whatever," but he came to realize he would have to consider other options if he was going to end his five-month retirement, as planned, and resume playing.

"I'm not a traitor," Favre said. "I never will be. It's a business. That's the way it works. I gave everything I possibly could give while I was there [in Green Bay], and I don't think people would question that. And I hope that Jets fans see the same thing."

At a news conference earlier Thursday in Green Bay, Packers officials said they were relieved to have some closure but sad to see a player of Favre's stature depart. President Mark Murphy said the Packers still will retire Favre's jersey No. 4 at some point in the future. General Manager Ted Thompson said it was uncomfortable to go down in history as the person who traded Favre out of Green Bay. When the trade paperwork came across his desk, Thompson said, he almost wanted someone else to sign it.

But after telling Packers Coach Mike McCarthy during meetings Monday and Tuesday that he couldn't put the contentiousness of the last few months behind him to play another season in Green Bay, Favre struck a more conciliatory and reflective tone Thursday.

"We're probably both at fault," Favre said. "I'm not gonna sit here and blame it all on one side or the other. A lot of things happened this offseason, a lot of shocking things. We're both at fault. Who's at fault more? It's a matter of opinion. But I really think at this point it's irrelevant. They probably are tired of talking about it. I know it's great for the media. It's a great soap opera, but one that does nothing for the guys in this locker room and it does nothing for the guys in Green Bay. . . . It really serves no purpose to continue talking about it. . . . At some point, it's got to be let go."