Kraft welcomes the Favre factor
FOXBOROUGH - Patriots owner Robert Kraft is taking the big-picture view of Brett Favre's move to the Jets, saying the iconic quarterback's arrival in New York is good for the NFL and the AFC East.
Speaking yesterday at a foreclosure-prevention workshop sponsored by the Patriots Charitable Foundation, Kraft said Favre's addition would only enhance the Patriots' rivalry with the Jets.
"It's good for our fans, and I know that our coaching staff and veteran players love every reason they can to step it up and make a point," said Kraft. "That's what's happening here."
Favre already has had an impact on the way the Jets are perceived by the league's television partners. Kraft, who is chairman of the NFL's Broadcast Committee, said CBS is planning to send its top announcing tandem to Miami for the Jets' season opener Sept. 7 against ex-Jets quarterback Chad Pennington and the Dolphins.
He said the network, which carries AFC games, was "ecstatic" to have Favre as part of its programming.
As for his team facing Favre, Kraft pointed out that the last time the Patriots played a Favre-led team, they won, 35-0, at Green Bay in 2006, a game in which Favre got injured in the first half. But Kraft also harkened back to Super Bowl XXXI, when Favre led the Packers to a 35-21 victory over the Patriots. He remembered Favre hitting Andre Rison for a 54-yard touchdown in the first quarter.
"He's so great," said Kraft. "I think he still has more wins against us; he's one of the few active players who have more wins than losses [against us], so I hope we can straighten that record out.
"He's a great, great player. He's a great competitor. I think the Jets got stronger, and I think Miami got stronger getting Pennington. I've always thought he's great, and he has the highest completion [percentage] of any NFL quarterback."
Kraft was then asked about the future of his own star quarterback, Tom Brady, whose contract is up after the 2010 season.
Redoing Brady's deal seems to make sense since it saddles the Patriots with $14 million in cap charges this season and next, and is now below market compensation in light of the huge deal rookie Matt Ryan, a Boston College product, got from the Atlanta Falcons, which included $34.5 million in bonuses and guarantees.
"I'm going to let the contract discussions go with the people who handle it," said Kraft.
A Sanders sighting
The Patriots got a much-needed boost in the secondary with the return of safety James Sanders, who practiced yesterday for the first time since July 28."James is one of the leaders of the team, so of course any time you have a leader come back, it's a good thing," said safety Brandon Meriweather.
It was also good because the Patriots are hurting for bodies at defensive back. Safeties Rodney Harrison and Antwain Spann both missed yesterday's practice, and the team is particularly short at cornerback, where Jason Webster (out since July 27), Jonathan Wilhite, Mike Richardson, and Lewis Sanders are all sidelined.
"The proud and the few, the few and the proud. It's pretty short back there right now," said cornerback Ellis Hobbs, who started camp on the physically-unable-to-perform list and came off Aug. 2. "The rotation, there is no such thing right now. It's just kind of grit your teeth and grind it out. It makes you better in the end."
Lean Green
Defensive end Jarvis Green, who came off the PUP list Monday and went through his second practice yesterday, said he's not hampered at all by the arthroscopic shoulder surgery he had in the offseason."No, not at all," said Green. "It feels a lot better compared to two years ago when I had my [rotator] cuff surgery. It feels really good right now. It feels really strong. I had a good offseason workout."
Green said he doesn't have a clue whether he'll be able to play Sunday night against the Buccaneers in Tampa, but if he misses that game, he will play in the third preseason game, Aug. 22 against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Green is noticeably lighter than last season. He said he dropped down to 280 pounds, which is 5 pounds below his listed playing weight.
"I just wanted to get a little lighter," said Green. "Usually, when you have surgery, guys tend to eat more and hang around eating bonbons and watching the stories, but coming out I feel a lot better."
Fast learner
Coach Bill Belichick agreed that rookie linebacker Jerod Mayo seems to have picked up the defense quicker than expected. "Jerod is a smart kid and has worked hard," said Belichick. "From day one when we drafted him to rookie minicamp and spring camp, he has done a good job. He is a very mature kid and a hard worker. Football is important to him, and he spends a lot of time on it. He makes a lot of rookie mistakes, but he learns from them and doesn't repeat many of them." . . . Running back Laurence Maroney reported that he felt fine after his first preseason action last Thursday against the Ravens (six carries for 6 yards). "It was definitely good for me to just get back into the swing of things, seeing some looks you normally wouldn't see early," said Maroney. "You think most times in the preseason the defense is going to play base defense. They pulled some stunts and put some tricks in there, and I think it was good for myself to get back into reading things and looking for the holes."The absentees
Among the 17 non-PUP players missing from practice yesterday were defensive lineman Mike Wright, who had practiced for the first time Monday after coming off PUP, running back LaMont Jordan, wide receivers Sam Aiken and Kelley Washington, offensive linemen Matt Light, Russ Hochstein, and Ryan O'Callaghan, and quarterback Matt Gutierrez, who sat out for a second straight day . . . NFL executive vice president of football operations Ray Anderson was at practice.Christopher L. Gasper can be reached at cgasper@globe.com. 