Handshake? Who cares about a handshake?

For the first time since Bill Parcells jumped ship from the New England Patriots to the New York Jets, touching off the AFC East's version of a border war, none of the focus leading up to today's game has been on the myriad misdemeanors - real or perceived - the teams have committed against one another in the last decade.

There's been no mention of Bill Belichick's bitter separation from the Jets (and Parcells) to take the head-coaching position in New England.

No mention of Parcells pilfering star running back Curtis Martin from the Pats. No mention of Eric Mangini's split from his professional mentor, Belichick, to take over in New York. No mention of the tampering claims the Patriots made against the Jets during the Deion Branch episode.

And no mention, thankfully, of the events a little more than a year ago that touched off the epic "Videogate."

How will Belichick and Mangini greet at midfield - will it be a firm handshake? An awkward man-hug? A brush-off? - at the game's conclusion hasn't been discussed ad nauseum.

For the first time in quite a while, today's game isn't about what's happened in the past between these two clubs. Or at least not the past that occurred more than, say, five weeks ago.

It's about an aging legend trying to bring his magic to yet another season, though surprisingly with another team, and a young quarterback who was virtually unknown a little more than a week ago.

It's about the balance of power in the AFC East, and whether an injury to one man can shift it from New England to New York.

When Brett Favre was traded from Green Bay to the Jets on Aug. 6, it seemed clear that today's game would be about him, which, it should be noted, is exactly how he probably wanted it. That New York's regular-season home opener, the day No. 4 would don his new duds in front of the home Meadowlands crowd for the first time, would be against the Patriots made it that much more delicious.

(Interestingly, the Jets won't be in their traditional green jerseys and white pants. The team announced at the start of training camp that it would wear the gold and navy uniforms of the old New York Titans to kick off their home slate.)

New England owner Robert Kraft told the media that he welcomed Favre into the division, and said that he's one of the few quarterbacks to own a winning record against his team, something he hopes the Patriots will be able to change.

Patriots players said they're looking forward to the chance to face down a future Hall of Famer.

But today isn't just about Favre anymore. It's also about Matt Cassel, and whether he can emerge from the considerable shadow of one of the league's best players and lead New England.

When Tom Brady's season was ended on a hit to the knee by the Chiefs' Bernard Pollard, the initial reaction was that the New England season, which began with predictions of Super Bowl greatness, was doomed. Cassel had appeared to struggle mightily in the preseason, when he played with many of the starters and failed to put more than two field goals' worth of points on the scoreboard.

Belichick has stated in no uncertain terms that he has confidence in Cassel, and his teammates have backed him up as well.

Now, all that's left is for the fourth-year player to show why they have faith in him, and it starts today, in front of 80,000 fans who want nothing more than to see their new quarterback stake his team to a victory over their hated rival and its new quarterback. That rival, by the way, has claimed the Meadowlands as Gillette Stadium South: the Patriots haven't lost on the Jets turf since Brady took over as starter in 2001.

Beating New England is step one for the Jets if they are to break the Pats' five-year grip on the divisional crown. In reality, the better New York team might be a few hundred miles northwest, in Buffalo, but that's a matter for another time.

Today is about today, and maybe a little bit about tomorrow.

Thank goodness.