EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Officials in the New York-New Jersey area need to issue a public health warning to avoid a widespread outbreak of Favre fever. Symptoms include a tendency to give too much credit to Brett Favre for the Jets' 6-3 start, occasional blindness when Favre throws it straight into a defender's hands, and the delusional belief the Jets can make a deep playoff run this year.

New York's 47-3 win over the Rams, the biggest in franchise history, creates optimal conditions for Favre fever. Like most of their wins, Favre had little to do with the lopsided victory. Favre was fine, completing 14 of 19 passes for 167 yards and one TD, but any Jets quarterback, from Pat Ryan to Glenn Foley could have brought that win home. The Rams couldn't tackle, hold on to the ball, line up onsides or do anything a professional team should be able to do.

Even in the easy win, Favre threw two passes that should have been picks. Luckily for Favre, no Ram on either side of the ball can catch. There's a reason Favre leads the NFL with 12 interceptions and his sloppiness will catch up to him late in the season.

As the Jets enter the national spotlight this week before they face the Patriots on Thursday night, everyone will focus way too much on Favre, and too little on what has really changed in the Meadowlands this year. While the Jets were 1-8 at this point last year, the major difference isn't Favre. Here are the three biggest reasons for the turnaround:

-- The new Sack Exchange: Head coach Eric Mangini and defensive coordinator Bob Sutton have done a great job of creatively rushing the passer out of their 3-4 sets. On several plays, Rams quarterback Marc Bulger had no idea where the pressure would come from. Safety Abram Elam and cornerback Darrelle Revis both have stripped the ball from the quarterback on blitzes the last two weeks. And with the Patriots inability to burn anyone downfield, New York will have a lot of freedom to bring pass-rushers from all over the defense.

-- Thomas the Train: Jets running back Thomas Jones is playing like he was supposed to last season. Jones burned the Rams for 131 yards and three touchdowns and ranks in the top 10 in the NFL with both 750 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns. Give Favre some credit for this, since defense have to give him more respect downfield than Chad Pennington or Kellen Clemens did last year. But the bigger factor is the revamped offensive line and Jones himself running with more confidence. Jones has improved dramatically after the defense first makes contact, and his tough running has fired up the whole offense.

-- A schedule softer than the U.S. economy: Hard to believe the Rams aren't the worst team the Jets have played all season. They've played two one-win teams (Cincinnati and Kansas City), two two-win teams (St. Louis and Oakland). And playing Arizona on the East Coast at 1 p.m. is always an easy win.

Favre has been the NFL's biggest attention magnet for some time and he's an easy storyline coming into the showdown against New England. But if you hear someone talking about No. 4 as a savior in the coming week, don't get too close. Favre fever can strike anywhere. It might seem harmless, but multiple interceptions and an overdose of hype can develop quickly.