GREEN BAY -- While they spoke of "closure" and talked about "moving forward" and putting the "focus on the field," do not allow the Packers' united front convince you that the Brett Favre saga is indeed over now that they've traded the iconic quarterback to the New York Jets for a conditional fourth-round pick.

The truth is, the whole thing's just getting started. It just won't be going on so blatantly right in your own back yard and constantly leading the local newscasts.

Even though Favre and the Packers are separated by an NFL conference (AFC to NFC), half a country (East Coast to Midwest) and divergent lifestyles (big city to small town), you just know everyone in Wisconsin (and wherever else Packer Nation extends) will be monitoring every one of Favre's statistics, victories and defeats and comparing and contrasting them to the success or failure of his replacement, Aaron Rodgers.

It is against that backdrop of reality the Packers' braintrust of general manager Ted Thompson, coach Mike McCarthy and president Mark Murphy set about moving on from one of Wisconsin sports' ugliest moments in history.

It wasn't easy.

"When the trade papers actually came and I was going to sign (them), which would be my job, I almost wanted someone else to sign," Thompson confessed.

But sign them he did, and with the stroke of his pen, Favre's record-setting 16-year run with the Packers was over. That, in turn, led to the obvious first question of Thursday's press conference, of whether Thompson is comfortable with that the idea of being the man who traded Brett Favre, just as Ken Herock and Jerry Glanville were in Atlanta in 1992.

"No," Thompson replied. Then, he added, "I don't think anybody would be comfortable with that. This is in many ways sad that this is where it came to. At the end of the day though, I think all parties involved felt like it was the best solution to a very difficult situation. Hopefully we can do things going forward that maybe people will not remember that, but the answer to your question is no."

By trading Favre to the Jets, the Packers succeeded in getting him out of their division, the NFC North, where archrival Minnesota wanted him desperately; out of their conference, where Favre could've exacted postseason revenge; off their 2008 (and 2009) schedule, since the Packers won't play the Jets until 2010 and won't see them at Lambeau Field until 2014; and out of their hair next offseason after six years of Groundhog Day-like will-he-or-won't-he retirement talk, which now becomes the Jets' problem.

"I feel like we did the best we could for the Packers, given the circumstances," Thompson said.

After Favre's meetings with McCarthy on Monday night and Tuesday morning, and following Favre's meeting with Thompson and others at Favre's Ashwaubenon home Tuesday afternoon, the Packers' trade talks accelerated with the Jets and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Director of football operations John Schneider, the point man on the trade talks, went back and forth with Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum, but most of the conversations Favre had were with Tannenbaum and Jets coach Eric Mangini and Tampa Bay's Bruce Allen and Jonn Gruden. Favre arrived home to Hattiesburg, Miss., Wednesday afternoon, but the deal with the Jets wasn't finalized until 10 p.m.

"Quite frankly, most of the time you're sitting around waiting," Thompson said. "The real conversations were going on between the teams and Brett."

At Buccaneers camp Thursday, Allen denied that his team was that interest in Favre to begin with, although a league source that simply was not true. Essentially, Allen was trying to protect the feelings of the Buccaneers' remaining quarterbacks, especially starter Jeff Garcia. Favre confirmed Friday night he spoke with Gruden.

For Favre, the Packers received a fourth-round pick that would escalate to a third-round pick if Favre plays 50 percent of the Jets' offensive snaps this year; a second-round pick if he plays 70 percent of the Jets' snaps and the team makes the playoffs; and a first-round pick if Favre plays in 80 percent of the snaps and the Jets reach the Super Bowl.

In addition, the Packers would receive three first-round picks from the Jets if New York flips the quarterback to any of the three NFC North teams in a subsequent trade.

The Jets, meanwhile, semi-protected themselves in case Favre re-retires after this season and doesn't play for the Jets in 2009. If the Packers ultimately get a third-round pick from the Jets and Favre doesn't play in '09, the Jets will receive a seventh-round pick in 2010 from the Packers. If the Packers get a second-rounder, the Jets would get a sixth-rounder in '10. And if the Packers get a first-round pick and Favre calls it quits after taking the Jets to the Super Bowl, the Jets would get a fifth-rounder in '10.

"We're just going to take things one year at a time," Tannenbaum said. "We're excited to have Brett on the team for this year."

Murphy called the trade "closure" but "a bittersweet time for the organization." Murphy also said that the club is "anxious to move forward and focus on the field" while mending its fractured relationship with some fans.

"I know as an organization we have taken hits, and it has split our fans," Murphy said. "But it is important as we look to the future that we come together."

Thompson said the organization will examine what went wrong -- the public-relations equivalent of breaking down the film -- but his "first-blush guess" was that the downward spiral of the Packers' relationship with Favre stemmed from a "communication breakdown."

Murphy, meanwhile, acknowledged that the 10-year, $20 million marketing offer the Packers had on the table to Favre ended up being a PR mistake when word got out about it and it was perceived as a bribe.

"I went down there trying to help Brett out of a situation and to help us out of a situation. I entered into discussions of a very private nature, and I thought they were sincere that this was a way to help both sides get out of a very difficult situation," Murphy said. "Obviously as I look back on it, I would do things differently."

McCarthy reiterated his stance repeatedly Thursday that Favre hadn't got past the hurt feelings of the past few months, so while Favre "was welcome to get on the train," he and McCarthy "never really got to that spot because of where Brett was at as far as everything that had happened."

"I was just looking for him to tell me that he was ready to play for the Green Bay Packers, and if we would have gotten to that point, then our conversation would have continued," McCarthy said. "And it did not get to that point. And that's the facts."

Pressed on whether Favre would still be with the Packers had the team simply given him his starting job back, McCarthy finally relented, saying, "He was going to have the opportunity to compete for his spot." But McCarthy wouldn't elaborate.

"It wasn't Brett's fault and it wasn't our fault, but the relationship got to a point where it couldn't go forward," Murphy said. "Don't try to blame either side. It's like a marriage that ends. It happens.. Neither party is at fault, but you move forward.

"Ultimately he decided he wanted to play. But not for Green Bay."

How Favre plays -- and how Rodgers does -- is what Thompson will ultimately be judged on.

"This is a high-risk business. This is the National Football League. We understand that when we sign on," Thompson said. "Does (the trade) put us at risk? There's all kinds of risks in the NFL, there's all kinds of risks in life. You make the best decisions you can based on what you believe is in the best interests of the Green Bay Packers, and you do it firmly and you do it the way a leader is supposed to do it. That's what we try to do every day with every decision we make.

"I think our job is to do what we try to do every day, do the very best we can to put this team in a position to win games and to represent this community and this state and all the Packer fans around the country well. That's all you can do, is try to do your job and do it well."

Meanwhile, Favre officially joined the Jets. Not since Broadway Joe Namath led the J-E-T-S to the Super Bowl III title in 1969 has the franchise had such a star, and Favre confessed the situation will be interesting.

"To a certain degree, I don't really know what I'm getting into," Favre admitted during a pregame news conference in Cleveland, where Favre watched the Jets play the Browns in their exhibition opener Thursday night. "(But) I'm here for one reason. Not to do commercials and Broadway and all those things. I'm here to help the Jets win. And that's why they got me."

And so, just over five months after saying at his tearful March 6 retirement news conference that the stress of high expectations had taken their toll on him, Favre finds himself facing even greater expectations in a city considerably less forgiving than tiny Titletown USA.

"Yeah, Green Bay's a small market, but is there a bigger team? I don't know," said Favre, who retired as the NFL's career leader in passing yards (61,655), touchdowns (442), wins (160) and interceptions (288) and hasn't missed a start in 275 straight games (including playoffs). "I've been in big games. Won big games, lost big games. Had my share of criticism and glory. (But) this is unique. I haven't faced anything like this."

Indeed, in New York, Favre will be the face of a franchise trying to escape the shadow of its Super Bowl XLII-champion brothers-in-law, the New York Giants. There'll undoubtedly be a billboard of Favre in Times Square, and the Jets' sales of personal seat licenses for the new stadium opening in 2010 are expected to soar thanks to his arrival.

"Look, I haven't played in New York for a full season. I'm a south Mississippi boy," Favre said. "I know how tough it can be. And I know how great it can be.

"Am I ready to face it, handle it, deal with it? I think so."

In March, Favre spoke of being at Lambeau Field at 8:30 on Saturday nights, cramming in extra film sessions before the next day's game. Then, he'd go home after those games and fire up his laptop to watch film of the next week's opponents just hours after that week's game had concluded.

"I had so many people saying, `You look like you had a lot of fun out there this year,' and I did. But what they don't see (is), that's (only) three hours during the course of a week," Favre said at the time. "I know I expect a lot out of myself and certain things are expected of me within this organization, and I tried to live up to those all the time. And Brett Favre got hard to live up to."

And now, on the verge of his 39th birthday on Oct. 10, he'll try to do live up to that legend by turning a team that went 4-12 last year -- and whose coach, Eric Mangini, is 15 months younger than him -- into a Super Bowl contender. And he's only got a month of training camp to get ready for the Jets' Sept. 7 regular-season opener at Miami.

"Did I ever think this scenario would present itself? No," Favre said after holding up his new green Jets jersey. "Am I excited about the opportunity? Yes I am."

After the trade was finalized around 10 o'clock Wednesday night, Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum flew to Mississippi with his wife to meet Favre and his wife Deanna Thursday morning.

The two couples then flew to New York, where Favre took in the Jets' new training facility on a helicopter tour before flying to Cleveland to meet up with his new team. Of his four ex-Packers teammates with the Jets -- tight end Bubba Franks, defensive end David Bowens and cornerback Ahmad Carroll and wide receiver David Clowney -- Franks is the only one Favre knows well.

"The last 24 hours have been crazy, really," Favre said. "This whole offseason has been bizarre. But it is what it is. I'm a member of the Jets, I'm excited about it and excited about the opportunity."

That opportunity, of course, means leaving Green Bay behind and trying to get past the acrimonious end to what had previously been a match made in football heaven when in February 1992 the Atlanta Falcons traded the reckless, gunslinging backup quarterback away.

"I had forgotten that I had been traded 17 years ago and what that process was like. It's a little bit different scenario now," said Favre, who last season completed a career-best 66.5 percent of his regular-season passes for 4,155 yards, 28 touchdowns and 15 interceptions for a 95.7 passer rating, his best since 1995. "But I'm really excited. This is refreshing, not that I needed that.

"I'm not a traitor. Never will be. It's business; that's the way it works. I gave everything I could possibly give while I was there and I don't think people would question that. And I hope that the Jets fans see the same thing."

Earlier in the day, Murphy spoke of being "sad to see Brett Favre's career as a Packer end." While Murphy said the Packers "do want to have a long-term relationship with Brett" and that Favre "will always be a Packer," the previously scheduled Sept. 8 retirement of Favre's No. 4 is on indefinite hold but will happen someday.

Thompson, whom Favre criticized publicly several times recently, said, "Despite opinions to the contrary, I like Brett a lot. I'd love to see him have the time of his life. I'm wishing him well. I think all football fans want to see him do well, and we pray he will."

McCarthy, meanwhile, spoke of how he and Favre discussed how the quarterback "wants to come back here, he wants to be welcome back here" and that the two men "talked about him coming back when he does retire and working training camp, just something so he can be part of it. I told him he can help with the quarterbacks, but I don't want any new plays."

That would seem like a long way off, however. While Favre tried to keep the focus on his new team and off his old one, he admitted he wanted to stay in the NFC North out of "a little bit of vindictive nature, or competitive nature," which ultimately "was probably the wrong motive."

As for his divorce from the Packers, Favre said, "The things that happened there this offseason, in my opinion, are over and done with. I wish them well. I'll use their term: `We're moving forward.'

"I'm not going to sit here and blame it all one side or the other. A lot of things happened this offseason, a lot of shocking things. I think we're both at fault. Who's at fault more? It's a matter of opinion. But I really think at this point it's irrelevant.

"I know it's great for the media. It's a great soap opera. But that does nothing for the guys in this locker room or for the coaches, and it does nothing for the guys in Green Bay. That team is going to be good, with or without me. And it really serves no purpose to continue talking about it.

"Once again, I'm here for one reason and that's to help the Jets win. At some point it has to be let go."