11/28 — Rich Gannon may have been raised in Pennsylvania, but his childhood hero was a Jet.

“I grew up in Philadelphia and my boyhood idol was Joe Namath,” he said this week during an appearance on "Jets Two-Minute Drive" hosted by myself and Randy Lange.

Gannon, who will handle the color commentary of the Jets-Broncos contest alongside Kevin Harlan in the CBS booth, experienced great success late in his career with the Oakland Raiders. He was a four-time Pro Bowl selection from 1999-2002 and led the Raiders to three playoff years including a Super Bowl appearance in ’02.

With Gannon at the controls, the Silver & Black owned a 5-1 mark over the Jets, including a 38-24 AFC Wild Card win in the 2001 postseason and then a 30-10 AFC Divisional romp the following January.

“You want to know why we went 5-1? I never had to go out and play in New York and that was one of the reasons why,” he said.

Jets assistant head coach/offensive line Bill Callahan, who was the Raiders' offensive coordinator/O-line coach from 1999-2001, also had a hand in Gannon’s success.

“I actually talked to Terry Bradway prior to them bringing Bill in and he asked me what I thought of Bill. He was a phenomenally gifted coach and great for me out in Oakland,” Gannon said. “I really got to know Bill when he was the offensive line coach and our offensive coordinator with Jon Gruden. He is a phenomenally gifted guy in terms of putting together a running game and in terms of the protection schemes.”

The Jets have impressed Gannon “the way they’ve quietly gone about their business” and he believes Brett Favre’s transition to a new team and new system has been “remarkable.”

“It’s been really amazing the way he’s played. Not only that, his completion percentage is at an all-time high for him right now," he said. "He’s completing almost 70 percent of his passes, and I think that speaks volumes for not only the work he’s put in but the job they have done as a staff."

Even though the Broncos have a 6-5 mark, Gannon views Denver as explosive and quarterback Jay Cutler makes them a dangerous opponent.

“They have been inconsistent, but they have actually played better against better opponents. We had them a couple of weeks ago in Atlanta and they looked very good,” he said. “They have a very good offense, some good skill people, and their quarterback is an exciting guy to watch. He’s a lot like a young Brett Favre, kind of a gunslinger mentality.”

The early Meadowlands forecast for Sunday calls for temperatures in the low 40s, a 60 percent chance of precipitation and wind gusts at 13 mph. Randy reminded Gannon of his first start against the Jets back on Dec. 11, 1993. Gannon, a Redskin at the time, had difficulty with the Jets and some strong Washington winds in a 3-0 shutout loss.

“It was really bad. Our halfback option pass to Brian Mitchell was like our big play in the game. That was not a good day,” he said. “I only spent one year in Washington. We went 4-12 and they got rid of the head coach and they got rid of all three quarterbacks.”