-If you’re a New York football fan, then the day after another Week 2 disappointment has to take its toll. The NFL season is two weeks old and already both the Giants and Jets have dug themselves an early hole with identical 0-2 starts.

For Big Blue supporters,the frustration has to be boiling over after yet another pathetic display of missed tackles and blown coverages by a defense that has already allowed 80 points in the first two games.It’s the first time in Giants history that’s happened to begin a season. Great job guys!

A week removed from letting Tony Romo account for five touchdowns in a 45-35 loss at Dallas, they allowed a 37 year-old Brett Favre to torch them for 286 yards and three second half scores in a humiliating 35-13 home opening defeat yesterday.

In a game they actually led 10-7, Tom Coughlin’s Giants apparently stayed in the locker room getting outscored 28-3 in the second half. They had no answer for Favre who passed Hall of Famer John Elway to become the winningest QB in league history with his 149th victory.

Just how accurate was the Canton bound Green Bay signal caller? He was 18-of-21 for 147 yards and three TDs in the second half, taking apart a pathetic New York D who need a course in the art of tackling.

As for Favre who led his team to its first 2-0 start in six years, he remained humble about his accomplishment:

“I’m not going to sit here and lie to you. I’m not going to turn it down. I’ve always been about the team. That hasn’t changed. I think it’s unfair that the quarterback gets labeled with wins and loses. I think it’s a team effort.“

The man gets it. Love or hate him, he understands how much it takes to win that many games.

As for the Giants, Eli Manning performed admirably despite a shoulder sprain finishing 16-of-29 for 211 yards with a touchdown and interception before coming out in the fourth quarter when Packers’ rookie back DeShawn Wynn put the contest out of reach with a 38-yard score.

“Physically I’m fine. Mentally, I am upset with the loss and missed opportunities.“

Who could blame him? He’s demonstrated a lot of leadership in the first couple of games but hasn’t been rewarded because of a dreadful D. Aside from that, Eli could’ve had better stats if a couple of his veteran teammates used their heads instead of picking up costly penalties like the ones Jeremy Shockey (5 yards for spike negating first down) and Amani Toomer (15 yards for taunting) had. Both brain locks negated good drives leading to only field goals instead of TDs.

These guys have been in the league long enough. There are no excuses.

As for the embattled coach, he isn’t pushing the panic button yet:

“I think we are a better football team than we have shown. Obviously I don’t have any real grounds for saying that, it is just a belief. I do believe we are all in it together and I do believe we are all embarrassed.“

If they are, they better show it in next week’s crucial divisional meeting at Washington or their season could spiral out of control leading to Coughlin’s dismissal.

-As for the Jets, they at least competed in a tough 20-13 road defeat against Baltimore.

Trailing by 17 in the final quarter, second-year QB Kellen Clemens rallied Gang Green with two scoring drives. Following Mike Nugent’s second FG of the day from 21 got them within 20-6, Clemens drove them down the field throwing his first career TD to tight end Chris Baker from three yards out when the TE was able to get both feet in. Initially ruled incomplete, a video review helped reverse the call to give the Jets life with 3:12 left.

They got the ball back after stopping the Ravens. Clemens, who had struggled the first three quarters in his first career NFL start showed tremendous poise late hooking up with budding wideout Jericho Cotchery for 50 yards which suddenly put the ball at the Baltimore 20 with two minutes remaining.

He nearly completed the comeback with a good throw to an open Justin McCareins but the receiver couldn’t haul it in turning into a goat. It was one he should’ve had and was his second costly drop of the day.

Clemens still got his team all the way to the Raven 7 but on second and goal, his pass for Laveranues Coles was tipped and intercepted by a diving Ray Lewis in the end zone with 64 seconds left to give Baltimore the victory.

The former 2006 second round pick completed 10 of 19 passes for 176 yards in the final quarter after going just nine for 18 for 84 yards through three quarters.

As for being baptized under fire against last year’s No.1 ranked defense with starter Chad Pennington sitting out due to his ankle, Clemens understood what he was up against after being sacked four times and having two balls picked off:

“They were everything that they were chopped up to be, that’s for sure. They’re very talented, they made a lot of plays. They held us pretty much in check for most of the game.“

Regarding the fourth quarter improvement along with the frantic drive which just came up short:

“We needed to score quickly, so we went to the no-huddle and we were fortunate to make some plays. We threw the football and it got us back into the game.”

Pretty expected from a guy who made his first start which had its ups and downs.

Still, if you’re a Jets fan, you had to like what you saw from him under the gun. He showed a lot of poise and his ability to throw the ball down field against an excellent D was encouraging.

So, will he get another start when they host bitter rival Miami next Sunday? Probably not. You have to figure Eric Mangini will give the ball back to Pennington who should return from a week off a little healthier.

It wouldn’t be a fair shake to the gutsy QB who’s been a true leader for his team. Maybe Clemens eventually supplants him as starter. But Pennington wasn’t exactly bad in his first start last week either. So he deserves another chance to get out there, especially in a big spot against the Fins which could determine how their season will play out.

One other plus for the Jets was Cotchery, who finished with seven receptions for a game high 165 yards. A year removed from a career best 82 catches in his second season, the former 2004 fourth round selection out of N.C. State continues to impress. He already has 13 catches in two weeks and might be passing Coles as the team’s best receiver.

So far, Cotchery is proving last year wasn’t a fluke. Along with Coles, it gives the QBs two weapons. If offseason acquisition Thomas Jones (67 rushing yds Sunday) rounds into shape, suddenly the Jets will have a nice balance.

They’ll still need to fare better defensively than they have thus far. Allowing Kyle Boller to go 23-of-35 for 185 yards and two scores plus permitting 97 on the ground from Jet killer Willis McGahee just won’t get the job done.

Neither will the lack of pressure as they recorded no sacks. That must change.

-As for New York’s other team upstate, the Bills haven’t done much better. After losing in heartbreaking fashion a week ago at home on a final second Jason Elam kick, they were routed in Pittsburgh 26-3.

The Bills were outgained 420-223 as third-year QB J.P. Losman again struggled completing 15 passes for just 154 yards while being sacked four times.

Rookie back Marshall Lynch had 64 rushing yards with Losman adding 38 on the ground on only four runs. So he was more effective there.

To their credit, the Buffalo D kept their team in the game for a half bending but not breaking in giving up four Jeff Reed field goals to keep it within reach 12 down at half time.

But after the Bills got a FG of their own from Rian Lindell from 24 out to get within nine, the defense finally caved giving up a TD to Ben Roethlisberger who found Matt Spaeth from a yard out to put Pittsburgh up 19-3.

A Willie Parker 11-yard TD scamper in the fourth quarter put the game out of reach.

Same old Bills as a couple of my buddies would say. You have to wonder when this team is going to give their fans something to get excited about.

With the unbeaten Patriots next coming off a 38-14 blowout of the Chargers in response to Belicheat, some Buffalo fans are already jumping ship and probably ready to take a dip into Niagara Falls.

Can you blame them?

-Biggest surprise yesterday has to be the crazy result at The Dawg Pound with the Browns led by new QB Derek Anderson putting up a ridiculous 51 on the Bengals to win a shootout 51-45.

Are you kidding? The teams combined for 96 points, 12 touchdowns, 56 first downs and 1,085 total yards.

In his first start after Cleveland traded Week 1 starter Charlie Frye to Seattle, Anderson was 20-of-33 for 328 yards and five TDs, which tied the franchise record shared by Frank Ryan, Bill Nelsen, Brian Sipe and Kelly Holcomb.

How absurd was this game? Former Raven Jamal Lewis ran for 215 yards including a 66-yard score. A player thought to be washed up averaged a whopping 7.7 yards-per-carry. Guess D was optional at practice for Marvin Lewis’ squad.

On the Cincinnati side, Carson Palmer threw for 401 yards and six TDs but lost. Chad Johnson caught 11 for 209 and two of those TDs while sidekick T.J. Houshmandzadeh hauled in eight for 69 and two more scores. Rudi Johnson also had 118 yards on the ground.

Despite all that offense, it still wasn’t enough because they turned it over three times and the Cleveland offense was even better.

Both Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow had 100-yard receiving days combining for 14 catches and 246 yards plus three TDs. Joe Jurevicius also had two TDs.

Do you think all this offense might make Bills, Chiefs and Falcons fans just a tad jealous? Don’t answer that.

-Speaking of shocking, what’s up with the Saints? They fell badly at Tampa 31-14 and now are 0-2 to start the season.

Can anyone explain not showing for a divisional opponent they swept last year after having their doors blown off on national TV at Indy? They gave up the first four touchdowns which included two from new Tampa QB Jeff Garcia connecting twice with an uncovered Joey Galloway plus a couple of rushing scores from Carnell Williams.

Meanwhile, the RB combo of Reggie Bush and Deuce McAllister had just 20 total carries for 76 yards and no scores. By comparison, Williams was 24-for-61 with two. Something’s wrong here.

Next week’s home opener against a feisty Titans’ squad which lost only by two to the Colts becomes a must win for Sean Payton’s team before a bye week. It probably won’t be easy.

-What’s wrong with this picture? The Lions and Texans are 2-0. Speaking of the Texans, you think Atlanta wishes they had kept Matt Schaub? He threw for 227 yards and two scores in a 34-21 upset at Carolina. Looks like Andre Johnson (7 catches, 120 yds, 2 TDs) finally has a real QB now that David Carr is holding a clip board for the Panthers. Amazing, isn’t it?

-Derek Jeter has looked pretty banged up lately but was anyone surprised that the Yankee captain delivered the big hit with that three-run home run off Curt Schilling which gave his team a huge win?

The shortstop might be starting to break down but he’s still money when a big game is on the line. Nobody has a better average with runners in scoring position with two outs this season.

-Six errors plus a grand slam to somebody named Greg Dobbs must mean that the Phillies have the Mets’ number. Have you ever seen as sloppy and inconsistent a first place team as Willie Randolph’s club?

They dropped the final eight to Philly but it still probably won’t matter because they’re still four clear in the loss column with two weeks to go. Plus the Phillies turn into pumpkins against other teams which explains why the Mets are in good shape to win their second straight division.

At what point does Randolph finally pull the plug on this Guillermo Mota project? He makes Kyle Farnsworth look like a lock for the Rolaids award. Jorge Sosa also looks about done. Unless their pen straightens out, it will be the Mets’ undoing this October.

The good news for the Mets is they have more talent than any other NL team. With MVP candidate David Wright having his first 30/30 season plus a lineup which features the most dangerous leadoff hitter in Jose Reyes along with Carlos Beltran and Moises Alou, they can score with anyone. You have to still include Carlos Delgado and Paul LoDuca and Luis Castillo are no slouches either.

Randolph has a deep bench too with either Endy Chavez or Lastings Milledge plus Ruben Gotay and Marlon Anderson who morphs into SuperMet when he puts on a Mets uniform. With Pedro pitching well along with Tom Glavine, if El Duque comes back healthy, either he or maybe John Maine will go to the pen which should help.

They only have to be lights out in the playoffs. And you figure the Mets will sharpen up when the second season begins. If they are, they should make the World Series. No ifs ands or buts.

-That bases loaded two out situation Mariano Rivera put himself in up at Fenway against a dangerous hitter in Big Papi who has owned him was pretty dicey. Most closers would’ve faltered and given up the big hit to the big slugger in that spot. Especially with Mo not having his best stuff. But even at his age, he still has the ability to reach back for something extra when he needs it. The guy has ice water in his veins.

-Make me care about OJ.

-Madison Square Garden isn’t looking too good these days especially the longer this embarrassing sexual harassment case goes against former employee Anucha Brown-Sanders which involves Isiah Thomas who can do no wrong in Jim Dolan’s book. Just reading the testimony of Stephon Marbury boast about a sexual encounter he had with a former MSG intern is disturbing.

That’s bad enough but to also see him say he called Brown-Sanders “a bitch” but not something more derogatory is just pathetic. This kind of behavior is acceptable at Dolan’s Garden? Maybe former Rangers City Skater Courtney Prince wasn’t lying about what kind of behavior goes on behind the scenes.

It’s just another disgrace for everyone associated with MSG no matter the end result of this case.

-Having an Outdoor Heritage Game for the first time in the United States is a good idea for the NHL. Especially sticking it up in Buffalo at Ralph Wilson Stadium against Sidney Crosby and the Penguins. However, who was the marketing genius that decided it was smart to stick this exciting NHL event on New Year’s Day on NBC when it’s going to be against big college football Bowl games? Just brilliant.

It was probably the same geniuses who thought it was a great idea to change all the jerseys and charge higher prices to fans when some aren’t as good as the old ones. Only the NHL!