Moments after the deal was reported, Las Vegas Hilton sports book director Jay Kornegay pulled all of the Jets' betting lines off the board.

"Looking at the Jets' quarterback situation, Favre is going to be a huge upgrade," Kornegay said. "But it's not like they just got Tom Brady or Peyton Manning. Favre is past his prime."

The Jets' regular-season win total was 71/2 (over minus-115), and the Jets were 3-point road favorites over the Miami Dolphins in their Sept. 7 season opener.

Kornegay said he and his staff will debate the impact Favre could have on the Jets before putting betting lines back up today.

Now, the quarterback competition to watch involves the Chicago Bears and a duel between Rex Grossman and Kyle Orton that will be decided in the preseason.

It might seem that NFL games in August are rather meaningless, but Kornegay said preseason football wagering is heating up.

"These guys have not seen an NFL game since February, and with all the information that continues to be available earlier and earlier, people have that itch to wager on football," Kornegay said.

Between today and Monday, there are 16 games on the Week 1 preseason schedule.

One game is drawing a lot of interest today, Kornegay said, and it's the Bears as 31/2-point home favorites over the Kansas City Chiefs.

There are two obvious strategies to betting the preseason -- look for coaches who do or do not put an emphasis on winning, and bet on teams with competitive quarterback situations. Both angles appear to be working in the Bears-Chiefs game.

Orton will start for Chicago and Grossman will enter in relief, and both need to play well. Kansas City's Herman Edwards, 0-4 straight up and against the spread last August, is not a coach who takes the preseason seriously.

Two coaches who normally win in the preseason are Denver's Mike Shanahan and New England's Bill Belichick.

Vegas Insider handicapper Mark Franco said he cares slightly more about coaches than quarterbacks when breaking down preseason games, so he's keeping an eye on Miami Dolphins coach Tony Sparano.

"The Dolphins have a new front office and a new coach, and they want to instill a winning attitude in the team," Franco said.

The Dolphins are 11/2-point home favorites over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Saturday.

The Bucs' regular-season win total is 8, and Kornegay said he might not have adjusted that number if the 38-year-old Favre was traded to Tampa Bay, which has Jeff Garcia as its starter.