NFL opening weekend TV talk:

• 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.

Even if Gruden is somewhat cautious in his candor, he's an upgrade over Kornheiser. But he will take the step from good to great if he consistently says what he thinks and does not worry about offending players he might someday coach.

• ESPN will use vignettes narrated by Frank Gifford to commemorate the 40th season of Monday Night Football. . . . Hired as studio analysts: Michael Irvin (NFL Network) and Tedy Bruschi (ESPN). . . . Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf call Dolphins-Falcons on Sunday on CBS. . . . Channel 4 will carry the Tony Sparano Show at 11 a.m. Sundays.

• Among NBC's changes: Bob Costas will move from the New York studios to the site of the Sunday night game, where he will anchor Football Night in America at 7 p.m. Keith Olbermann, Dan Patrick, Tony Dungy and Rodney Harrison will handle highlights from New York.

``It's a better use of me to have me at the scene of the event,'' Costas said.

Judging from his comments on conference calls, Harrison apparently will say what he thinks. One example: ``Jason Campbell isn't the answer. I keep looking at him and wondering why Washington likes him so much.''

ODDS AND ENDS

Monday's UM-FSU game on ESPN drew 8.4 million viewers, making it the network's second-most viewed regular-season college football game, behind the Hurricanes-Seminoles 2006 meeting (9.1 million).

Miami-Fort Lauderdale's 15.0 rating ranked fourth among 56 major markets, behind Birmingham, Ala., Jacksonville and West Palm Beach.

• Channel 33 plans to add more Lingerie Football League games after last Friday's initial telecast tied for second among all prime-time shows locally among men 25 to 54, behind WWF Smackdown. Next broadcast: Sept. 25.

Talk about a career in decline: Sean Salisbury went from ESPN (which dropped him) to calling Lingerie League games.

• Oops: On his first college football telecast, an ABC graphic identified Matt Millen as ``Mike.''

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