Saturday's Jets News

[SoFlaJets]

Jets counting on Brick, Mangold

Saturday, January 6, 2007

By J.P. PELZMAN

STAFF WRITER

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. -- Pete Kendall, the consensus choice for Jets' MVP (Most Voluble Player), has done his best to counsel fellow offensive linemen D'Brickashaw Ferguson and Nick Mangold on what to expect on and off the field in their rookie seasons in the NFL.

But as much as the eloquent Kendall can try to explain what Sunday will be like, he can't fully prepare them for the atmosphere that will surround the Jets' first-round AFC playoff game at New England.

"There is an added energy, there's no doubt," Kendall said, comparing a postseason game to a regular-season contest. "It seems like there are more peaks during the game. It seems like every third down becomes that much more critical. Every third down, the crowd gets into it that much more."

The Jets will be counting on their two rookie offensive-line starters not to get swept up by that rarefied atmosphere. That would seem somewhat easy for the low-key Ferguson. But even he admits he's facing an unknown.

"This is my first playoff game," the left tackle said. "Some things you've just got to go out there and experience. I'll try to take what I can from the games I've played" this season.

Mangold is listed as questionable with a left thigh injury he suffered while blocking on a field goal against Oakland, but is almost certain to play. He also is unsure about what it will be like on the Gillette Stadium field.

"I have no idea," Mangold admitted. "I didn't know how I was going to react to the home opener, to the first preseason game, to the 16th game. It's just one of those things that happens and you go with it. It's exciting, but I'm not sure what [my] reaction is going to be."

If his first NFL season is any indication, he should handle it quite well. Mangold has done an excellent job anchoring the unit and making the line calls, although he gives Kendall's mentoring a lot of credit.

"Words can't describe how much he's helped out," Mangold said of Kendall. "He helped us as soon as we got here on and off the field. He's been a constant help in every way. There's probably not much that Pete and I haven't talked about. We've covered all different types of ground from everything involving football to everything involving life outside of football."

"He's helped me a lot," said Ferguson, adding that Kendall's advice has been "very beneficial."

Ferguson, playing the toughest position on the line, has had more ups and downs than Mangold, as he has permitted at least one sack in each of the Jets' past four games.

But he blanked New England defensive end Richard Seymour in the Jets' road victory Nov. 12.

"It's been fun to see those guys play and see some of their reactions," Kendall said, although he quickly added, "the funny thing is you don't get much reaction at all out of Nick and marginally more out of D'Brickashaw. They're very even-keel guys.

"Those guys came in pretty much ready to play," the 11th-year veteran added.

"The thing that they have now that they didn't have when this thing kicked off four months ago is they have experience. They've seen quite a bit, [although] not everything they're going to see in their careers. But they've got a good background now."

And a bright future for both. The Jets certainly hope that future is now.

E-mail: pelzman@northjersey.com

[SoFlaJets]

Sunday's games big for fans......

this was a Giants article I don't know why it showed up as one of ours...delete

[SoFlaJets]

Jets' ex-Patriots know the score

By BRIAN HEYMAN

THE JOURNAL NEWS

HEMPSTEAD - Matt Chatham remembers that somber plane ride back from Denver last January. His Patriots postseasons usually ended with the ultimate handoff. Bill Belichick and the players could carry home the Lombardi Trophy, their reward for yet another Super Sunday.

They owned three championships and were a perfect 10-0 in the playoffs in the Belichick era until the Broncos took them out in the second round. Since the Patriots' bar is set rather high, they failed this bar exam.

"There's a goal and anything less than that goal is a disappointment," Chatham said. "I know our offseason there after a loss in the playoffs ... that's as bad a year as when you didn't get in. They have lofty goals and they intend to reach them.

"When you leave losses at New England, the sky is falling. They take it that way. Maybe it's an overreaction or maybe it's not, because at the end of the day, they correct those mistakes and move ahead. I would hate to be in that locker room in this offseason if and when they lose to us."

The Jets will get their shot in Foxborough, Mass., tomorrow when the raging rivalry kicks off again with a wild-card playoff at Gillette Stadium. Despite the well-documented history of hostility, the Jets' organization really aspires to be much like the Patriots' organization, where championships and a character-driven, team-first approach have been general rules.

So the Jets plucked Eric Mangini off Belichick's coaching tree, and the similarities have grown. In many ways it's like looking in a mirror, even if the 12-4 AFC East champs are still deemed to have more talent than the 10-6 Jets. Chatham, Bobby Hamilton and Hank Poteat know the score better than most because those Jets are ex-Patriots. In fact, Poteat has played for both sides this season.

"I understand the personality of that team," said Poteat, a ring winner two seasons ago who has started the last six games at right corner for the Jets. "I understand their personnel and just what Belichick expects out of his players."

Belichick expects what Mangini expects and the players have come to expect.

"It's not fair to make the comparison," said Chatham, the special-teams captain and backup strong-side linebacker, who came over as a free agent after spending six years with New England and winning rings for the 2001, '03 and '04 seasons. "We haven't done a lot of things that they have yet. But I think the expectation levels are similar.

"At least we're trying to get to that point where we expect more of ourselves. This doesn't just mean wins and losses where you go to the playoffs and all those kinds of things. But you expect more out of individuals on a day-to-day basis. It's a little more demanding program than I think you might find other places."

The last time the Jets played at New England back on Nov. 12, they blitzed almost 30 times, battered and confused Tom Brady and delivered a 17-14 season-series-splitting win that really got them rolling toward this January rematch.

But both head coaches, especially considering their defensive backgrounds, have shown the ability to come up with unique schemes and adjustments.

It's a 100-yard chess match between Belichick and Mangini, the mentor and the prot

[SoFlaJets]

Jets' Kendall hears from Patriots fans

By BRIAN HEYMAN

THE JOURNAL NEWS

HEMPSTEAD - Pete Kendall makes the drive every Monday afternoon from Weeb Ewbank Hall to his home in the suburbs south of Boston to see his wife and three kids, then heads back Tuesday night to prep for the Jets' next game. So some radio stations up there can come along for part of the ride.

That's why the 33-year-old guard has an idea what Patriots fans are thinking about the Jets' next game, tomorrow's wild-card playoff matchup at Gillette Stadium.

The Massachusetts native, who grew up following the Patriots, said the fans didn't seem to be sweating over the game after listening to WEEI, which is their version of WFAN.

"The little bit I heard this week, I don't think they're really worried about the team coming up the road," Kendall said. "The people up there have every reason to be confident in their team."

A happy dad: Anthony Clement has two reasons to feel blessed. The right tackle's wife, Fatima, gave birth Tuesday in Phoenix to their third child. It's a boy.

Anthony is 6-foot-8, 320 pounds. Caleb Anthony Clement is 18 inches, 6 pounds, 3 ounces.

"It feels good," Clement said. "I was proud to have him come. I was just a little upset that I didn't have a chance to see him. Hopefully, I'll get a chance to see him next Tuesday when we have a day off or depending on what day we're off, saying that we have a victory on Sunday."

That's the other reason. Clement hasn't experienced a postseason game since the Cardinals went two rounds deep in his rookie season of 1998. And he didn't get to play at all, just watch, because of an injury. Now the ninth-year pro, who went through seven straight losing seasons with Arizona and the 49ers before this 10-6 run with the Jets, is a starter who's actually about to participate.

"It means a lot," Clement said. "... Seeing that it's been so long, it feels good to have another opportunity at the playoffs. Hopefully, we can get something done with it this year. Everyone trusts each other. Everyone believes in each other. This is like a true team."

Another birth announcement: Besides Clement, the Jets' top tight end also has a new son. Chris Baker Jr. joined the world yesterday morning.

Chatham family tragedy: Matt Chatham returned to practice the last two days after three days away in Iowa for a funeral. His 57-year-old father-in-law was killed in a train-yard accident last week. So the Jets' special-teams captain and backup linebacker has been trying to put his sadness aside and get his head back into football. "It's not easy," he said. "Trust me."

[SoFlaJets]

Back-to-back threats for Pats

Dillon, Maroney could present problems for Jets' run defens

BY BOB HERZOG

Newsday Staff Correspondent

January 6, 2007

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - They are similar in the noise they generated for the Patriots' running attack all season and for the silence they generated this week.

Ten-year veteran Corey Dillon (812 yards) made the choice not to talk to the media as he prepared for Sunday's game against the Jets. Rookie Laurence Maroney (745 yards) was ordered by coach Bill Belichick to take the same approach.

"He isn't letting rookies talk this week. He says rookies don't know anything about the playoffs," Maroney said, politely removing his iPod headphones to explain to an out-of-town reporter why he couldn't grant an interview.

Belichick did speak about his two-headed tailback, albeit with his usual amount of coachspeak and reticence.

"Laurence has done a good job in all areas that he's played in. There's still a lot of room for improvement," Belichick said. "He's helped us in the kicking game. He's helped us offensively in the passing game, the running game, pass protection. He is able to do what we need him to do."

Dillon is the NFL's leading active rusher with 11,241 yards. He surpassed O.J. Simpson last week for 14th place on the all-time rushing yardage list.

"He's strong. He's durable. He's tough," Belichick said. "He has good run skills. He's hard to tackle. He's pretty much out there every week."

Quarterback Tom Brady called Dillon, who spent his first seven seasons with the Bengals, "one of the best backs of all time. As tough as can be."

Maroney, a first-round draft choice from Minnesota, is a quicker, more versatile counterpoint. He caught more passes (22 to 15) and is a dangerous returner, ranking second to the Jets' Justin Miller in kickoff return average at 28.0.

Dillon had the second-fewest carries of his career, 199, because Maroney shared the workload with 175 carries. Dillon is a little bigger at 6-1, 225 pounds, but Maroney also is a bruiser at 5-11, 220.

They present a dual challenge for the Jets, who improved considerably down the stretch but still ranked 24th in the league in run defense, allowing an average of 130.3 yards per game.

"They do have a lot of similarities, but at the same time, they are two different backs," linebacker Victor Hobson said. "They are two physical backs who run hard and they can create problems for the defense."

Jonathan Vilma sees them as two of a kind. "I like to say when either one is in, what do they do differently on offense?" the linebacker said. "We're preparing for the same plays. We just have to understand that whatever running back is in, we know they're going to cater to their strengths."

Dillon and Maroney totaled 145 yards in a victory over the Jets on Sept. 17 and 135 yards in a loss on Nov. 12.

"They have the same general schemes," Hobson said. "Of course they run different plays, but it's a simple fact that the guy with the ball is the guy who is going to try to run you over and make plays."

Belichick wouldn't bite when asked if Maroney's emergence has allowed Dillon to stay fresher. "You'd have to ask him," the coach said. Dillon, of course, wasn't talking.

Belichick also wouldn't acknowledge that having two top-flight running backs adds flexibility to his game plan.

"We just run our offense. We don't really care who is in there," he said with a bit of a sneer. "We don't call plays based on 'this guy is in there, we have to run that play; that guy is in there, we're going to run this play.' No. We call the play. Whoever is in there runs it."

Wild-card playoff game

Jets at Patriots

Sunday, 1 p.m.

TV: Ch. 2

Radio: WEPN (1050), WABC (770), WRCN (103.9)

Line: Patriots by 8 1/2

Key matchup

Newsday breaks down a key matchup each day leading to Sunday's game in New England.

Previous matchups

D'Brickshaw Ferguson vs. Richard Seymour. Edge: Patriots

Reche Caldwell vs. Hank Poteat. Edge: Jets

Justin Miller vs. Laurence Maroney. Edge: Jets

Dewayne Robertson vs. Dan Koppen. Edge: Jets

Chad Pennington vs. Tom Brady. Edge: Patriots

Mike Nugent vs. Stephen Gostkowski

Neither one is Adam Vinatieri, so don't think a game-winning 50-yarder is an automatic on either side. Gostkowski had some big shoes to fill - even though kickers wear shoes two to three sizes too small on their working foot - and has delivered consistency. But he is a rookie, and unlike many of his teammates, this will be his first time playing with the season on the line. Nugent hasn't had many pressure kicks in his career, either, but he booted an important game-winner against the Dolphins two weeks ago and has connected on his last 18 attempts. Nugent also made some big field goals when he was a captain at Ohio State, and he doesn't have the shadow of the best pressure kicker of all time hanging over his shoulder. Edge: Jets

[SoFlaJets]

PAT-ENTED PLAN

JETS HAVE ACQUIRED NEW ENGLAND FLAVOR

By MARK CANNIZZARO

INSIDE INFO: Linebacker Matt Chatham is one of several Jets who previously played with the Patriots, and has lived through the culture Eric Mangini is trying to build for Gang Green.

January 6, 2007 -- As the Jets prepare for the biggest game of the Eric Mangini era - tomorrow's wild- card playoff duel with the AFC East- rival Patriots at Gillette Stadium - they have a number of key members in the organization who've been a part of that inner sanctum in New England that helped forge the latest NFL dynasty.

Clearly, one of the methods Jets owner Woody Johnson took when hiring Mangini was this: If you can't beat your toughest rivals, raid them then beat them.

The Jets have done that once this season, beating the Patriots 17-14 on Nov. 12 in Foxborough, Mass., in what was a galvanizing game for their confidence and belief in Mangini's system.

But the compelling question that lingers as the two teams are set to meet with so much more at stake tomorrow is this: Was that Jets' victory enough to truly grab the Patriots' attention and respect?

"I don't know what their perception of us here is," said Jets linebacker Matt Chatham, who spent the previous six seasons with the Patriots.

"I mean, I do," Chatham added after a pause, "but I'm not going to share that."

Another former member of the Patriots who, like Chatham, is now with the Jets, offered this rather vivid explanation of what Chatham referred to so vaguely.

"When I was with New England, the way we always thought of the Jets was that if we kept the game close into the fourth quarter the Jets would always find a way to [screw] it up late in the game," the person, who requested anonymity, told The Post.

That ****y attitude in the New England locker room, however, surely has been dramatically altered with Mangini now in charge of the Jets' sideline.

In fact, in the teams' first meeting, it was the Patriots who were sweating out a 24-17 win after going up 24-0 and seeing the Jets charge back. Then, in the second meeting, the Jets did all the right things on both sides of the ball late in the game to beat the Patriots.

If you're a New Englander, a second loss in three games to the Mangreenies would prove downright unacceptable, not to mention the second loss would come on the Patriots' home turf, where they've never lost a postseason game, and end their season.

"I would hate to be in that locker room in this offseason if and when they lose to us," Chatham said. "You lose in the playoffs in New England and it's like the sky is falling. They take it that way. It's a scenario, thank God, I would not have to live with [should the Jets knock out the Patriots tomorrow].

"There's a goal up there and anything less than reaching that goal is a disappointment. I know an offseason there after a loss in the playoffs - and we didn't have many of them - but that's as bad as a year where you didn't get in. They have lofty goals and they tend to reach them.

"It's just a little bit more of a demanding program than I think you'll find in most other places."

It's a standard Chatham said Mangini is trying to build in the Jets' locker room.

"We're trying to get to that point where we expect more of ourselves," he said. "We have an extreme amount of respect for them, especially because a lot of us in this room know a lot of them in their room and we know how they're preparing right now. We know what they're doing and we know they ratchet it up at this time of year and that puts the onus on us, as well."

Chatham promised that, as intense as that November game might have felt, tomorrow will be markedly different.

"I know up there we always had a different mentality in the postseason," he said. "The Indy-New England games were interesting. [The Colts] might have done some things to us early in the year, but that September Indianapolis game was nothing like a January Indianapolis game."

Asked if, with the departure of some key players and coaches including Mangini, Charlie Weis and Romeo Crennel have dulled the New England mystique, Chatham said, "You can't expect to stay on top forever. But they're about to make another run again . . . maybe. Hopefully we stand in the way of that. What they've done is amazing. We don't know if they're still doing it, but we're here to make sure it doesn't happen again."

mark.cannizzaro@nypost.com

[SoFlaJets]

TOM FOOLERY

JETS' TOUGH TASK TO CONFUSE BRADY AGAIN

By JAY GREENBERG

Tom Brady

January 6, 2007 -- FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - On his butt and 46 yards short, Tom Brady found himself at the gun here Nov. 12. As the Jets celebrated around him, the most renowned winner of these times sat disbelieving, a loser to a coach who knew him so well Brady stunningly didn't know how to counter.

The Jets called 28 blitzes that resulted in four sacks, six hurries and a forced fumble, tricking the Patriots, the NFL's most accomplished tricksters, into a 17-14 loss. Now, Eric Mangini and defensive coordinator Bob Sutton only have to confuse Brady again tomorrow, this time in the playoffs, where he is an incredible 10-1 and where he has the lowest interception percentage (1.36) in NFL history.

"Because they present so many different scheme-type things, it's one of the toughest teams we prepare for all year," Brady said this week. "They are a multiple-front team, with multiple blitzers. Everyone's involved: corners, safeties, linebackers. They obviously have been one of the best defensive teams the second half, so I wouldn't expect that to change."

This time, it's the Patriots who have to come up with the new wrinkle, probably the old one of spreading the field, hopefully to keep blitzing Kerry Rhodes busy in the defensive backfield. Shame on Bill Belichick if the Jets fool the great fooler twice.

In a playoff field littered with neophyte quarterbacks, Chad Pennington, who has two career playoff victories and outplayed Brady in November, creates the Patriots defense's own set of anxieties. Pennington will force Brady to put up points. But this is one of the great postseason performers in NFL history who must be beaten today, after leading an unaccomplished corps of wideouts to a despite-it-all 12-4 record, after not turning the ball over once in the past three games.

"It wasn't 14-2 like some of the best years we've had here, but there are a lot of reasons for that," Brady said. "This is a very difficult offense to understand and the receivers have worked very hard. We put a lot of pressure on those guys.

"Reche [Caldwell] has had a great year, Troy [brown's] done great, Chad Jackson is starting to make some plays, Jabar [Gaffney] has come in midway through the year and done a great job. And it complements what we do with the running game."

Rookie Laurence Maroney spells Corey Dillon to give the Pats their best one-two punch at running back since they won their first of three Super Bowls in 2002. They need it, with Deion Branch in Seattle, with one of the great clutch kickers in history, Adam Vinatieri, in Indianapolis.

"Coaches leave, players leave," Brady said. "When you sign, you're signing up to play and not to coach or to make decisions on personnel. You just try to do your job and be a great leader and set an example for all the players of what it takes to be successful."

He is the best example of what the NFL has had during the era of the salary cap, which, continuing to steal key Patriots, inevitably threatens to make Brady fallible. Last January in Denver, a stunning 100-yard interception return by Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey led to Brady's first playoff loss. The Jets have a better chance against Brady today than anybody had two years ago. But as another playoff test, always the truest test, begins, he remains the Pats' stiff arm against time and the marketplace.

"It's my favorite time of year," he said. "You are so fatigued from 16 games, but definitely get a second wind. It's just a different feeling, different approach, the pressure elevated that much more because you are playing against the best teams, with little margin for error.

"We've been in a bunch of these games and been pretty successful, so I think there's some confidence that we have."

It is sustained, so far, by Brady.

[SoFlaJets]

ERIC THE GREAT GREEN HOPE GREEN GIANT:

From a historicalperspective, the Jets' hiring of EricMangini - here hugging Shaun Ellisafter clinching a playoff spot last week- may be the third most significantprocurement in Jets annals. January 6, 2007 -- THOSE who would rush to can onize - or Cantonize - Eric Mangini are getting a little bit ahead of themselves, and they probably know it. Sixteen games doesn't make a career. Ten victories doesn't make a legend. As good as things have started out for Mangini, the hope for Jets fans has to be that there are better times ahead.

OK. We all can agree on that.

That doesn't minimize the fact that less than a year into his tenure with the Jets, the hiring of Mangini already qualifies as one of the seminal transactions in franchise history, certainly top five, possibly top three. Mangini hasn't driven the Jets to the playoffs by himself. And if there is one thing Bill Belichick has gotten right during his occasional observations about the Jets, it's that they were one kick away from the AFC Championship game two seasons ago.

"This is a good football team with good football players," Belichick is fond of reminding us.

That may be true. But it was a poorly coached football team even during the best of the Herman Edwards years, a team you always felt should be better than its record, better than its performance. Allowing Edwards to seek exile in Kansas City was the first acknowledgment that this was so. Hiring Mangini was the second.

And hiring Mangini is the singular reason why the Jets won 10 games this year, why they never allowed a lack of preseason expectations to impede their progress, and why they have at least a puncher's chance - an analogy boxing buff Mangini surely would go for - when they walk into Gillette Stadium tomorrow afternoon to square off with the Patriots for the right to buy another week of the season.

Mangini is the guy franchises envision every time they conduct one of those cookie-cutter press conferences introducing a fresh name and an unfamiliar face. Sometimes, it works out. Sometimes, you hire a Bill Cowher, or a Mike Shanahan, or a Bill Parcells, lifetime assistant coaches known only to the leatheriest leather heads, and they work out like charms. Sometimes, you hire a Marty Morningweg, or you hire a Bruce Coslet, or you hire a Ray Handley. You don't know what you're getting until you get it.

But you know pretty soon thereafter.

What we know right now is that until something comes along to refute this (which could come as early as next year's schedule, which at first glance is at least 40 percent tougher than this year's), the three more important decisions in the Jets' 47-year history look, this morning, something like this:

1. Signing Joe Namath to a then-unheard-of $400,000 contract in 1965.

2. Luring Bill Parcells from New England in 1997.

3. Opting for Eric Mangini (over the likes of Mike Tice and Jim Haslett) in 2006.

Without Namath, there isn't much Jets history to speak of (not that the Jets and the Packers ever are going to be confused with each other in that department, anyway). Without Parcells, it's possible the deep darkness that engulfed the franchise by the mid-1990s may never have dissipated. Those two, for the foreseeable future, are non-negotiable.

So, for now at least, Mangini's hiring is No. 3. Jets fans have too rarely been able to rally around something to call their own. They play in the Giants' stadium (after spending the previous two decades playing in the Mets' stadium). Their lone championship coach, Weeb Ewbank, is better known for coaching another team, the Johnny Unitas Colts. Parcells always will be primarily linked to the Giants. On and on and on.

Mangini is something Jets fans can call their own, a young coach on the make who will make his reputation, and his bones, with the Jets. For a franchise that has too often been on the defensive, forced to defer to the longer-running show across town, Mangini is someone around which a foundation can be built.

Sixteen games isn't enough to fit him for a bronze bust yet. But it's plenty to allow Jets fans to reap the one commodity that's been in too short supply through the years.

Hope.

michael.vaccaro@nypost.com

[SoFlaJets]

Jets not wary

of Brady past

By PETER BOTTE

DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

At least publicly, Tom Brady's 10-1 playoff record doesn't have the Jets defense running for cover.

"There's no mystique about him. He's a player like anyone else," Jonathan Vilma said. "Granted, he's a good player. He's won a lot of games in the playoffs. We understand that, but it doesn't intimidate us at all."

Kerry Rhodes admitted "it's going to be tough to duplicate" the success the Jets had pressuring Brady in their 17-14 win Nov. 12 in Foxboro, "but we have some things we're going to try to do to get to him."

The Jets blitzed on 27 of 41 pass plays in that meeting, while sacking Brady four times and knocking him down another six. "Tom's as courageous a guy as there is in the NFL. He gets hit and does what he needs to do to shake them off," said Jets special teams captain Matt Chatham. "Everyone in that stadium takes a deep breath every time he goes down.

"But they're tremendous big-game planners. Knowing we did get to him a bit last game, they'll probably come up with something entirely different. That's been their M.O."

Linebacker Victor Hobson, Brady's teammate at Michigan, said the quarterback's "record speaks for itself ... but if we get all caught up in his history, we'll be history."

NO-WIN SITUATION: Chatham won three Super Bowl rings in six seasons spent with Bill Belichick and Brady in New England.

He knows the Patriots expect to win tomorrow and keep winning throughout the NFL playoffs. Or else.

"You leave losses in New England and the sky is falling. They take it that way. Maybe it's an overreaction and maybe not, but I would hate to be in that locker room this offseason if they lose to us," Chatham said before practice yesterday at Hofstra. "There's a goal, and anything less is probably a disappointment. I know offseasons there after a loss in the playoffs, we didn't have many of them, but that's as bad as a year when you didn't get in. They have lofty goals and intend to reach them.

"But it's tough to stay on top forever," Chatham added later, "and we're here to make sure it doesn't happen."

Chatham spoke publicly for the first time since returning Wednesday from Iowa, where he attended a funeral for his father-in-law William Magel, a 57-year-old switchman/conductor killed in a Union Pacific rail yard accident last Thursday. Chatham played last Sunday against Oakland, but missed two days of preparation for the Pats earlier this week. "I had to do that last week and have to do it again this week. Trust me, it's not easy," Chatham said.

ROLLING DYSON?: CB Andre Dyson (sprained knee) remains questionable but saw reps in dime packages yesterday in practice and could be a game-time decision. ... Two Jets practiced after the births of their sons this week: RT Anthony Clement (Caleb) and TE Chris Baker (Chris Jr.).

[SoFlaJets]

Jets: Long road for Poteat finally gets smooth

Saturday, January 06, 2007

BY ELI GELMAN

Star-Ledger Staff

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. -- In six NFL seasons, Hank Poteat has seen his name on the transactions wire enough for a lifetime.

He has been waived seven times, including three this year alone, and has played in just 65 regular-season games. The Jets signed the journeyman cornerback before their preseason finale against the Eagles after he was released by the Patriots. The next day, they cut him.

Poteat's phone rang a few weeks later and he found himself back with the Patriots, only to be sent packing after starting one game.

Give up? Not Poteat.

Jets head coach Eric Mangini, who coached Poteat in New England during the 2005 season, told him to "stay ready" after the Jets released him in September. Sure enough, he got the call to rejoin the team before Week 6.

Going into tomorrow's AFC wild-card game with the Patriots in Foxboro, Mass., Poteat has started six straight games, all on the right side. With the Jets short at cornerback due to veteran Andre Dyson's knee injury, Poteat is expected to start again today.

He might be one of the quietest member of the Jets, but his recent play and his story have touched his teammates and coach.

"He definitely is inspiring," safety Erik Coleman said. "He's a guy who never stopped believing in himself. He didn't believe it when people told him he couldn't play. He just kept fighting and working."

"Hank's a good example of when opportunity comes, being able to take advantage of it," Mangini said. "One of the things I've always liked about Hank is his toughness, his competitiveness and his professionalism and doing things the right way."

Poteat, a member of the 2004 Super Bowl champion Patriots, was drafted by the Steelers in 2000 and played his first three seasons in Pittsburgh. Earlier this season he recalled how devastated he was when the Steelers cut him in training camp in the 2003 season. He learned how fleeting success can be.

"It turned my life around completely," Poteat, 29, said. "You never think you're going to get cut. ... You never believe that's going to be you until it hits you smack in the face. Then you're sitting out watching."

Poteat became, as he puts it, a "student of the game" and paid close attention to how other defensive backs played.

"What could they have done to put themselves in a better situation to make a play?" Poteat said. "When you're in and out of the league, you tend to find some of the things you weren't doing. I just felt I needed to do more than just being an athlete.

"For myself, it means a lot to know that I persevered through all the ups and downs. I never gave in and just continued to work hard. It's truly a blessing for me. I'm happy to be here."

Poteat doesn't say much in meetings but will crack the occasional joke. Coleman believes his best statements have been made on the field.

"He's done a great job of covering receivers, defending the deep ball," Coleman said. "He's a very heady player. He knows what's going on and helps me out on the field with route recognition."

Poteat has also helped some of the younger players, including rookie cornerback Drew Coleman, who is doing his best to emulate him.

"He's always thinking about the next move. That's something I'm trying to learn from him," Drew Coleman said. "Jump on an opponent's next move and try to be one step ahead of him."

So how has young Coleman repaid Poteat for his fine tutelage? By busting his chops every chance he gets. Ever since Poteat told Coleman he got choked up watching the movie "Gridiron Gang" -- about a group of teenagers in a juvenile detention center learning life lessons from playing football -- Coleman constantly reminds him of his soft side.

"I've been making fun of him ever since," Coleman said. "I say, 'Hey, when are we going to watch 'Gridiron Gang' together?'"

Poteat responds, "Forget you."

It's likely the same response Poteat has given to each team to release him along the way.

Eli Gelman may be reached at egelman@starledger.com

[SoFlaJets]

Jets: Can Patriots rookie foot the bill at crunch time?

Saturday, January 06, 2007

BY KEVIN MANAHAN

Star-Ledger Staff

FOXBORO, Mass. -- In this, his rookie season, Stephen Gostkowski still hasn't attempted a last-minute, game-winning or game-tying field goal. And this is the kid who replaced the greatest clutch place-kicker in NFL history. Think he's nervous heading into tomorrow's AFC wild-card game against the Jets? Well, here's what he had to say:

Yeah, it's blank. In the New England Patriots' locker room, rookies aren't allowed to talk to the media in the week leading up to their first playoff game. Want to ask Laurence Maroney about playing behind Corey Dillon? Forget about it. Want to look for fear in any of the eyes of the four other rookies on the roster? Can't do it. Come back next week, if there is one.

The reason for the gag order: "We feel like they haven't done anything in the playoffs yet, so what could they have to talk about?" linebacker Rosevelt Colvin said.

So, Gostkowski, who is not a big talker anyway, remains a mystery heading into tomorrow's playoff game. Few know what's going on in his head, and even fewer know the answer to this question: Can he make a big kick?

For 10 seasons, Adam Vinatieri was almost automatic for the Patriots. A two-time Pro Bowl kicker, he won a pair of Super Bowls with last-minute field goals -- a 48-yarder as time expired to beat the St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI and, two years later, a 41-yarder with four seconds remaining to beat the Carolina Panthers.

And, of course, there is the kick that most regard as the toughest postseason field goal of all time: Vinatieri's last-second, 45-yarder in a blizzard to tie the Oakland Raiders in the 2001 playoffs. He won the game in overtime.

But these are the Patriots, home of the plug-in players. And when Vinatieri was allowed to leave as a free agent after last season, the Patriots drafted Gostkowski, a star at the University of Memphis, in the fourth round. He made 20 of 26 field-goal attempts this season, 13 of his final 15.

But he also had three blocked -- one by the Jets. In his decade with the Patriots, Vinatieri had only three field-goal attempts blocked.

Still, the Patriots spent the week trying to convince people they believe the kid can make the pressure kick.

"If you're on this team, it's because the coaches have confidence in you," Colvin said.

Coach Bill Belichick, who made the decision to let Vinatieri walk, insisted his end-game strategy won't change with Gostkowski. He won't feel the need to get the kid closer for a game-winner. In a back-and-forth with a reporter, Belichick said: "Why wouldn't you get closer no matter who your kicker was? Do you think we want to kick a 50-yard field goal with kicker 'A' and a 30-yarder with kicker 'B?'"

But check the statistics: The Patriots have tried to convert more fourth downs this season -- they're 16-for-20 -- and most would have been in Vinatieri's field-goal range.

"Look, we're trying to make plays regardless of who the kicker is," Belichick said. "We're trying to get the ball as close to the goal line as possible. I don't care who the kicker is. It could be Lou Groza."

Gostkowski is 3-for-5 on kicks over 40 yards, and that includes a 52-yarder. He is 7-for-10 from 30 to 39 yards. He has missed once inside 30 yards.

The field-goal attempt blocked by the Jets would have given the Patriots a 10-point lead and some fourth-quarter breathing room in September. Instead, they had to hold on for a 24-17 triumph.

If the Patriots were spoiled for 10 seasons, they aren't saying. And if they're worried about putting their fate on the instep of an unproven rookie, they won't admit it.

"I have confidence in him," Belichick said. "If I send him out there to do the job, he's going to do it. I have confidence in Stephen or I wouldn't put him out there."

Kevin Manahan may be reached at kmanahan@starledger.com

[SoFlaJets]

you know what Jets fans there are a ton of other articles from the New England papers that we don't really need in this thread if anybody sees anything of interest post it up if you feel it's worthy of discussion

[Green DNA]

"When I was with New England, the way we always thought of the Jets was that if we kept the game close into the fourth quarter the Jets would always find a way to [screw] it up late in the game," the person, who requested anonymity, told The Post.

That ****y attitude in the New England locker room, however, surely has been dramatically altered with Mangini now in charge of the Jets' sideline.

This pretty much says all that needs to be said about the Herm era

[ECURB]

Key matchup

Newsday breaks down a key matchup each day leading to Sunday's game in New England.

Previous matchups

D'Brickshaw Ferguson vs. Richard Seymour. Edge: Patriots

Reche Caldwell vs. Hank Poteat. Edge: Jets

Justin Miller vs. Laurence Maroney. Edge: Jets

Dewayne Robertson vs. Dan Koppen. Edge: Jets

Chad Pennington vs. Tom Brady. Edge: Patriots

Mike Nugent vs. Stephen Gostkowski. Edge: Jets

Nice