• It's premature to draw many conclusions from preseason, but here's one we can safely make: ESPN elevated its Monday night booth by replacing Tony Kornheiser with Jon Gruden, partly because Kornheiser was ill-suited for the job.

But here's what's less clear: Will Gruden simply be good -- which he already is -- or will he be great?

He's capable of the latter, if he commits consistently to saying what he thinks, as NBA analyst Jeff Van Gundy does, with no concern about how it would affect future job interests. (And, yes, Gruden likely will coach again.)

Here's what we like about Gruden: He's prepared, polished, has commanding TV presence, interacts well with Ron Jaworski and weaves in interesting anecdotes.

He shows a sense of humor, calling Jets receiver David Clowney ``Mr. August.''

He interjects relevant stats, such as noting the Ravens ran the ball on first down more than any team in the league last year, and 66 percent of the time in the red zone. He noted, observantly, how ``the Ravens bat down as many balls as any team I've ever seen.''

But Gruden is at his entertaining best when he questions strategy and points out what he doesn't like. One highlight: He asked why Jets coach Rex Ryan did not allow Mark Sanchez to stay in the game for a two-minute drill late in the first half against Baltimore. ``Let Mark Sanchez finish the half!'' he implored.

We want that type of say-what-comes-to-mind candor from Gruden, who so far has praised a lot more than he criticized and resorted to a few too many generalities. (He told us Houston must avoid long-yardage situations on third downs. No kidding.)

Gruden smartly questioned Favre's illegal block against Houston's Eugene Wilson: ``I'm surprised Favre would throw a block with his throwing shoulder. That's not logical.''

But ESPN play-by-play voice Mike Tirico came on much more strongly, saying, ``I don't care if it's Favre or not. That's not cool. You're messing with a guy's career.'' (The NFL subsequently fined Favre $10,000.)

If Gruden felt the same way, he should say it.