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As if football fans needed a television network to confirm it, CBS will present the suddenly compelling showdown between the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins as its top Week 1 game.

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, chairman of the NFL's broadcast committee, noted the decision Tuesday when Boston Globe reporter Christopher L. Gasper caught up with him at a foreclosure prevention workshop at Gillette Stadium.

CBS was expected to highlight the humdrum Kansas City Chiefs in the Patriots' first game since their astonishing Super Bowl loss.

But the Jets-Dolphins story lines are too rich for CBS to ignore. Brett Favre will be making his Jets debut against the man the Jets cut to accommodate him, Chad Pennington.

"He's a great, great player," Kraft said of Favre. "He's a great competitor. I think the Jets got stronger, and I think Miami got stronger getting [Chad] Pennington."

Also, the blanket will be pulled off Dolphins poobah (and former Jets head coach) Bill Parcells' reformation project. Tony Sparano will be coaching his first game.

Dolphins T Jake Long, the No. 1 overall pick, will square off against edge rusher and No. 6 selection Vernon Gholston, renewing their rivalry from when they were at Michigan and Ohio State, respectively.

Jets WR Laveranues Coles has taken Pennington's release badly. Big-ticket free-agent G Alan Faneca will make his Jets debut. OLB Calvin Pace will try to prove his rich contract against a team that went after him hard in free agency. Former Dolphins RB Jesse Chatman is with the Jets now.

Other than that, there won't be much to look at.