As Brett Favre said yesterday in his conference call with members of the media, one of the major challenges confronting any quarterback in his first NFL start is reading the defenses and making lightning-quick adjustments to pick out the best option on any given play. Favre admitted that he was pretty bad at that aspect of the game when he was starting out, briefly with the Falcons and then with the Packers. With his rocket arm, he felt that he could throw the ball through any coverage: "To me, if a guy was double covered or triple covered it didn't matter."

We're not likely to see that kind of attitude from Matt Cassel on Sunday. But one thing that will be very interesting in the weeks ahead is how Cassel handles pressure from the blitz. Cassel has a line anchored by 2007 Pro Bowlers Matt Light, Logan Mankins and Dan Koppen, but that does not mean that he won't take some shots. In fact, according to research by ESPN, no quarterback was hit more often while throwing over the last two seasons than Tom Brady. The ESPN report states that Brady was hit 86 times in the last two seasons, tied with Carson Palmer for the most of any quarterback. Last season, he was hit while throwing 42 times, second only to Arizona's Kurt Warner.

And yet Brady only took 21 sacks last year, one for every 27.5 attempts, one of the best ratios in the league. (Even better was Favre, who was hit while throwing a healthy 35 times, but took only 15 sacks per 535 pass attempts, or one sack every 35.7 attempts.) Part of the reason he was hit so much, of course, is that defenses understood that the only way to stop the Patriots' offense was to hit Brady early and often. That strategy essentially worked in the Super Bowl, but for most of the season, and indeed throughout his career, Brady handled the pressure very well -- and much more often than not, he got rid of the ball rather than take a big loss of yardage.

It will be interesting to see on Sunday if the strategy changes for teams facing Cassel. The Jets could continue the blitzing theme, trying to test Cassel's untested ability to handle the pressure. Or they could sit back a bit and place more emphasis on confusing the first-time starter with their coverages. Eventually, though, Cassel is going to take face some heat, and how he handles that will probably go a long way toward determining how effectively he can utilize his many offensive weapons.

SEARCHING FOR SLIGHTS: Just as we knew they would, the Patriots are absorbing the vitriol that has been coming their way from fans and commentators celebrating Brady's injury, and they're planning on using it as motivation. (Boston Herald)

SEARCHING FOR SLIGHTS, NEW YORK VERSION: A day after ripping Curt Schilling to shreds for his provocative comments about New York fans, the Daily News turned its attention to Moss for his assertion that the Pats remain the team to beat in the AFC East. Never mind that many of the Jets players have said the same thing this week: The News compares Moss' comments to the exhibition he put on four years ago by pretending to moon the crowd at Lambeau Field.

INTERESTING HOW JOB SECURITY WORKS: The Jets have some interesting options at tight end, with number-one draft pick Dustin Keller a potential star and starter Chris Baker a solid, established guy. But Baker was unhappy with his contract, until he and the Jets agreed to an extension, which gives New York a potential incentive to cut Baker entirely if Keller ends up being as good as they think he can be. (N.Y. Post)

FIGHTING WORDS FROM JESSICA: The other big matchup this week will be in Dallas, when the Cowboys face the Eagles on Monday Night Football. Two years ago at Texas Stadium, the Eagles did a number on Tony Romo and the Cowboys with former Romo girlfriend Carrie Underwood prominently in attendance. Last year, while current girlfriend Jessica Simpson caught the cameras' eyes from a luxury box in Big D, Philly shut down Romo and the 'Boys again. So you wouldn't think that Jessica would be out there taunting the Philly faithful, but that was apparently what she was doing this week. (Truth and Rumors)

WHAT A GUY: Speaking of Romo, not only did he win a football game on Sunday, he performed a good deed. Just after returning from Ohio, and still sporting a bandage on his chin as a result of a shot from Cleveland's Willie McGinest, Romo helped an Irving, Texas, couple change a tire after they ended up with a flat around midnight. (Fort Worth Star-Telegram)

BUCS MAKE A CHANGE: Tampa Bay will go with Brian Griese on Sunday against Atlanta, but not so much because Jeff Garcia sprained his ankle in the season opener as that Garcia wasn't very good in the season opener. It's another indication that Garcia and Jon Gruden, who was interested in getting Brett Favre over the summer, are not on the same page. (projo)

TICKET OUT OF TOWN: That's what a marijuana arrest has turned out to be for Colts starting defensive tackle Ed Johnson. Indianapolis plans to waive Johnson today, one day after his arrest on drug possession charges. Colts president Bill Polian said Johnson was on a short leash because of his past problems -- including allegations of sexual misconduct and of confining a student against that student's will -- while he was at Penn State. (ESPN)

QUICK CORONATION: ESPN'S James Walker takes stock of Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco after one start, and sees parallels with Ben Roethlisberger, another product of a small school (Roethlisberger from Miami of Ohio, Flacco from Delaware).

NOT HIMSELF: Jason Taylor, who had a pretty lousy Redskins debut last week against the Giants, says he is nowhere near healed from the knee injury he suffered in preseason. (Washington Post) Also from D.C., tight end Chris Cooley missed practice for the first time in more than four seasons because of soreness in his quad.

SOLDIERING ON: Hobbled Colts tight end Dallas Clark is hoping that he will be on the field for Indy's tough game at Minnesota on Sunday. The loser in this matchup of teams with preseason Super Bowl hopes will drop to 0-2, so there's a lot on the line.