JETS NEWS.......8/29

[NIGHT STALKER]

Bob Glauber

FOOTBALL

Curtis, admit it's over

August 29, 2006

There is no use dancing around this one, so we'll come right out and say it: It is time for Curtis Martin to announce his retirement.

Today. Tomorrow. Later this week. Next week. Whenever. As long as it's before the Jets' regular-season opener.

Short of Martin making a miraculous recovery after a problematic rehabilitation from what appeared to be a simple surgical procedure last year - and that doesn't appear possible at this point - there is no other choice but to call it a career after 11 brilliant seasons.

Coach Eric Mangini continues to tell us that Martin is doing whatever the team is asking, but we still don't know exactly what that is. In his one public appearance in training camp, Martin said he continues to hold out hope he'll be able to play again.

But at 33, and with 14,101 yards and 3,518 carries on his NFL odometer, time is running out.

Martin has been one of the great football warriors of our time, playing through myriad injuries and pain that few players would dare endure. Bad ankles. Bad knees. Concussions. Nothing Martin ever had before was able to stop him from playing. Until now.

He had surgery last December to repair a knee injury, but what was supposed to be a recovery that required only several weeks has stretched into several months. And just when, or even if, he'll be able to practice is anyone's guess.

One guy who would love to see Martin return is Dr. David Bindleglass, a die-hard Jets fan. But Bindleglass also knows better than the rest of us that the odds aren't good. When he's not screaming his lungs out at Jets home games, Bindleglass is one of the area's top orthopedic surgeons.

Here's how Bindleglass explains Martin's situation: "The damage is already advanced, and it will only get worse with time. All he can [do] is speed it up. How much playing on it will speed that process is hard to tell, but someday, he will need to have his knee replaced."

Bindleglass has seen the reports of what is commonly referred to as a "bone-on-bone" condition, which he says is essentially arthritis.

"Arthritis means that the cartilage covering the end of the bone wears away so that the ends of the bone rub on each other," he said. "All bones are coated with cartilage where the bones come together to make joints. It's like the end of a drumstick. Basically in Curtis' knee, the cartilage on the end of the bone is wearing, or pretty well worn out. This will continue to affect him substantially. How well he can deal with it is highly individualized. It helps that he is as dedicated and tough as I believe he is."

But even as dedicated and tough as Martin is, he still hasn't made it back to the practice field. This is a player who loves and needs to practice, who considers what happens from Monday through Saturday just as important as what happens on Sunday. Even in preseason games, Martin would run as if it were the Super Bowl. He would spend countless hours during the offseason running steps at his condo in Florida, or running sprints at the Jets' training complex.

But now, not even two years from winning the NFL rushing title, Martin no longer can do any of that, because he isn't physically capable.

Two other great running backs appear to be at the end of their careers - Marshall Faulk of the Rams and Priest Holmes of the Chiefs, who like Martin were born in 1973. Faulk's knees won't let him run the way he used to, and he will almost certainly retire. Holmes hasn't been on the field since suffering a spinal injury last season and was placed on the "physically unable to perform" list yesterday. Holmes, too, is expected to retire.

The last we heard from Martin, he wants to see if he can come back, to see if there is still some life in those legs that once churned through defenses with the speed and power only the great ones possess. But the longer he stays tucked away in the rehab room, the more you wonder whether he is physically able.

Even if he did manage to function enough to play, look what he's coming back to. The Jets are rebuilding, with plenty of issues on both sides of the ball, especially the offense. The line Martin would run behind is working with a rookie left tackle, D'Brickashaw Ferguson, who played so poorly against the Giants on Friday night that he was benched for a spell, then played with the second- and third-stringers. Who knows how much longer Chad Pennington can go with his twice-repaired throwing shoulder? And if rookie quarterback Kellen Clemens is forced to play, defenses will gang up so much against the rush that even a completely healthy Martin couldn't find much running room.

Surely Martin sees all this and wonders what's next. He has been too good a running back and too good a teammate to come back to this. He should know when the time is right to go out.

He should know that time is now.

[NIGHT STALKER]

Clock counting

down on Curtis

BY RICH CIMINI

DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

The clock is ticking on the Curtis Martin decision.

The Jets have until Saturday to determine Martin's status for the season. They have three options: Leave him on the physically-unable-to-perform list (meaning he would have to sit the first six games), put him on the 53-man roster or place him on season-ending injured reserve.

Chances are, Martin, who hasn't practiced all summer, will remain on the PUP list. That will give him more time to rehabilitate his surgically repaired knee and evaluate his options.

Coach Eric Mangini said Martin and C Trey Teague (ankle), also on the PUP list, are "doing well and the status could change between now and opening day for either guy. We're just going to have to see how their progress goes. We still have some time before the opener."

Martin agreed to a recent pay cut, dropping his salary from $2.5 million to $810,000, the veterans' minimum - an indication that he won't be ready to play.

CATCHING ON: Justin McCareins hasn't reclaimed his starting job at wide receiver, but he appears to be back in Mangini's good graces after an encouraging game Friday night against the Giants.

Mangini praised McCareins for his preparation last week, saying, "You saw that translate into the game." McCareins caught an 18-yard pass from Chad Pennington and turned it into a 40-yard gain.

"I've had good weeks of practice throughout my career," McCareins said. "It doesn't mean I'm a different player."

McCareins, who lost his job to Jerricho Cotchery, probably will be the third or fourth receiver on the Jets. He might be attractive to receiver-needy teams such as the Bears, who are sniffing around for a starting wideout and could be willing to make a deal. The Bears have a surplus of defensive linemen, which could interest the Jets.

[NIGHT STALKER]

UNHAPPY CAMPER

MCCAREINS, SEEMINGLY OUT AS STARTER,

HASN'T LOST HIS FOCUS

By MARK CANNIZZARO

August 29, 2006 -- This has been a summer of discontent for Justin McCareins.

He can only hope the fall and winter get better.

McCareins, as has been well-publicized, was banned from Eric Mangini's first training camp practice when he failed a running test.

McCareins took his medicine, walked laps during that first day of practice and passed the running test at dawn the next day. He never moaned about it or made any excuses.

Two people close to McCareins, however, said he had cramps the day of the running test and Mangini made an example out of him.

"That's behind me," McCareins said yesterday. "I put it behind me after the first day. You have to ask (Mangini) what he thinks. I moved on awhile ago and tried to focus on what I'm doing in the present moment."

Since that controversial start to camp, McCareins hasn't exactly appeared to be the first choice as a guest at Mangini's dinner table. The Jets' head coach has gone out of his way to praise Jerricho Cotchery as the team's most impressive player in the offseason program.

Cotchery then began to get more playing time with the first team - at McCareins' expense, of course.

While Mangini hasn't named anyone as starters on the team, Cotchery has started the last two preseason games and worked more often with the first team in practice than McCareins.

All the while, McCareins' name has been the subject of trade rumors.

Through it all, McCareins has continued to grind through training camp, seemingly knowing he's not the head coach's favorite player.

When asked certain questions, McCareins often takes a moment and says, "Let me think about how I can answer that ..."

When asked yesterday if, because of the playing time Cotchery has gotten with the starters, that he "assumes" Cotchery has won the starting job, McCareins said, "I'm not assuming anything. It's not going to help me to assume or hope for anything. I'll let the coaches make their decision and try to prove to the coaches every day that I belong out there."

McCareins made it clear yesterday that he wants to remain the starter he's been since he was traded here two seasons ago.

"It's very important to me and I'm sure everyone else, too," McCareins said. "I don't think guys would be at this level if they didn't want to be a starter or want to be the guy. It's very important to me as a competitor and as a player, but I'm not going to put my personal goals and personal needs in front of my team's."

Mangini, oddly enough, was very complimentary of McCareins yesterday.

"I think Justin's performance (against the Giants) was tied to the week of practice that he had," Mangini said. "I thought he had one of his best weeks of practice last week and you saw that translate into the game."

McCareins seemed bemused by the compliment, insisting that he hasn't changed since the start of training camp.

"I've had some good days of practice throughout camp; I don't feel like I've stepped anything up or anything," McCareins said.

"I've just been out there trying to do the right thing, things the coaches are asking of me. I don't think I've changed into a different player since last week. I'm just approaching it the same way.

"I'll take (Mangini's) compliment; I appreciate his compliment, but it doesn't mean really that much. I appreciate his compliment, but I'm still going to focus and try to improve and do what they ask of me."

McCareins maintains that he's had a good camp despite seemingly losing his starting job.

"I've done well," he said. "I've eliminated a lot of mental errors. I feel like I'm doing a good job catching the ball when I get the opportunities. Hopefully, I can translate that when I get into the regular season."

[NIGHT STALKER]

JETS

McCareins unsure where he stands

Receiver not pleased Mangini hasn't let him know he'll be starting

BY BOB HERZOG

Newsday Staff Writer

August 29, 2006

Justin McCareins wouldn't call the compliment from his coach hollow. Nor would the Jets' wide receiver refer to the kind words from Eric Mangini as faint praise. But his body language said otherwise.

When asked if he agreed with Mangini's assessment that he had "one of his best weeks of practice last week and saw that translate into the game," McCareins shrugged and took a moment before answering.

"I don't look at it like that. It's just practice. I've had good weeks of practice throughout my career. I don't think it means I'm a different player," said McCareins, who has been under the Mangini Microscope since missing the first two camp workouts because he didn't meet team fitness expectations and wound up on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list for two days.

"There are good players around here and you have to perform every day. The coaches demand a lot out of you and you have to be able to handle it. I'm trying to make the most of opportunities that I get."

He did that Friday night against the Giants, catching the game's longest pass, a 40-yarder from Chad Pennington in the second quarter, and an 8-yarder. That he has not been tabbed as the second starting receiver opposite Laveranues Coles after starting all 32 games in his first two seasons as a Jet clearly bothers the six-year veteran.

"It's very important to me. I don't think guys would be at this level if they didn't want to be a starter," said McCareins, who is listed behind Jerricho Cotchery. "It's very important to me as a player and as a competitor, but I'm not going to put personal goals or personal needs in front of the team."

Mangini seems willing to put the early days of camp behind him and judge McCareins on what he's been doing lately.

"He's done a good job and we've talked about a lot of issues," Mangini said. "The important thing is that the things that happen in the past don't affect the things that are happening in the future. The way everybody is being evaluated is what have you done and how have you taken advantage of your opportunities that day."

McCareins, who caught 56 and 43 passes in 2004 and 2005, respectively, admitted that being under such close scrutiny and not having a guaranteed role has taken its toll.

"There's definitely a little bit of stress, but you learn to deal with that," he said. "Especially at this level, the amount of football we've been through in our careers, stress comes with the game. You focus on what you're doing. You don't think about things that are out of your control. There's no point in carrying that stuff around."

One of the things McCareins knows he can't control is Mangini's opinion of his play.

"I feel like I've been doing pretty well. I've eliminated a lot of mental errors I made earlier in the camp," he said. "I feel comfortable with the offense and I feel like I've been doing a good job of catching the ball. Hopefully, I can translate that into the regular season."

How many balls he gets to catch will be determined by his playing time, and that is up to Mangini. McCareins, carefully choosing his words, said, "I'll take his compliments," but didn't seem to think they guaranteed him any sort of promotion in the offensive scheme yet.

"It doesn't mean that much. I appreciate his compliments but I'm still going to focus on trying to improve."

When asked if it's better to be praised rather than criticized by his coach, McCareins shrugged again and said, "It's no difference to me."

[NIGHT STALKER]

Eric not so Jolley over hit

TE's penalty upsets coach

BY RICH CIMINI

DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

A year ago, Doug Jolley questioned his role in the Jets' offense, a public venting that annoyed his coaches.

He's done it again. This time, he held his tongue, but lost his head.

Jolley's unnecessary roughness penalty against the Giants Friday night prompted a harsh rebuke yesterday from Eric Mangini, who usually saves the tough talk for behind closed doors. Not this time.

The tight end's lack of poise - he lowered a shoulder into cornerback Sam Madison after being run out of bounds near the Giants' bench - was "unacceptable," Mangini said.

"If you want to make a statement, make a statement when the ball is in play," Mangini said. "I don't condone those actions. I think that's selfish and it hurts the team. I made that very clear to him."

Perhaps Jolley was simply expressing his inner Raider. Whatever the reason, it's safe to assume he was chewed out for his transgression. If there's one thing Mangini can't stand, it's mental mistakes.

Jolley, acquired last year in a much-criticized trade with the Raiders for a first-round draft pick, may not be a lock to make the team. He has done "some really positive things," according to Mangini, but he's struggling in his new role as an occasional H-back.

With Chris Baker entrenched as the starting tight end, new offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer is using Jolley in the backfield in lieu of a fullback in certain formations, often sending him in motion.

Understandably, Jolley has appeared hesitant at times. In three preseason games, he has surrendered a sack, committed a false start penalty and forced Chad Pennington to burn a timeout because he lined up in the wrong spot.

"It's been a little bit of a learning curve," Mangini said. "But the nice thing with being able to move Doug around like that, it gives you some flexibility in the types of protections you call and also the types of routes you can get involved in."

Jolley is the Jets' most accomplished pass-catching tight end, with 119 receptions in his first four seasons, but he has only one catch for two yards in the preseason. Baker, too, has been an afterthought, with one reception for six yards.

There was a lot of talk in the offseason about the tight ends becoming a bigger part of the passing game, considering Schottenheimer's background. He came from a tight end-friendly offense in San Diego, but the Chargers' tight end is Antonio Gates, arguably the best in the NFL.

The Jets don't have anyone close to that caliber, but Baker, for one, believes he's capable of putting up decent numbers if given the chance.

"I showed a little bit of that last year," said Baker, who caught 18 passes last season before breaking his leg in the eighth game. "I'm not Antonio Gates, but I think I can do a lot of things in the passing game that I haven't done in the past."

After Baker, the Jets have three candidates vying for two roster spots - Jolley, Joel Dreessen and journeyman Walter Rasby, whom they signed last week. Jolley and Dreessen are the favorites, although Jolley might want to refrain from delivering body checks near the bench.

"We talked about it extensively," Mangini said. "I expect that it won't happen again."

[NIGHT STALKER]

Mangini frowning on Jolley's miscues

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

BY COLIN STEPHENSON

Star-Ledger Staff

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. -- Coach Eric Mangini isn't happy with the play of veteran tight end Doug Jolley.

Asked yesterday about Jolley's performance throughout the preseason, Mangini unloaded on the fifth-year pro, ripping him for the unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty he took in Friday's preseason game against the Giants.

"The frustrating thing about the other night -- and we talked about this extensively, and it's really unacceptable -- was the personal foul on the sideline," Mangini said. "There's no need to hit anybody after they're out of bounds. If you want to make a statement, then you make a statement when the ball is in play. I don't condone those actions -- that's selfish, and hurts the team. I made that very clear to him."

Jolley, the 6-4, 250-pounder for whom the Jets traded a second-round pick to the Oakland Raiders before the 2005 season, has had a less than stellar camp.

Asked specifically about Jolley's blocking yesterday, Mangini talked around the question, rather than answer it.

"You know, it's been -- he's been in different roles, because he's played both on the line and in the backfield, and that's been a transition," Mangini said. "The runs are similar, but you're coming at it from a different place -- when you're two or three yards in the backfield -- it's new. So there's been a little bit of a learning curve with that."Mangini was asked what he said to rookie OT D'Brickashaw Ferguson after the first-round pick was flagged for a false start in the first quarter Friday. "I just said to him, 'Five-second rule, Brick. Five-second rule. Forget it. It's in the past -- focus on the next play. That's the most important play,'" Mangini said. Ferguson said he is working to correct his mistakes and is looking forward to Friday's final preseason game against Philadelphia. "Every game to me is important," he said. "It's just a matter of correcting the things that didn't go well and continuing to grow up on the things that did go well."Asked about the likelihood of Curtis Martin being activated off the physically unable to perform list before the Sept. 10 regular-season opener, Mangini offered no new information. "I think that both (Martin) and Trey (Teague) are doing well and the status could change between now and opening day for either guy," the coach said. A decision has to be made on the two players' status before rosters are cut down to the final 53 by 4 p.m. Saturday. If a player remains on the PUP after that, he is ineligible to play for the first six weeks of the season. Newly acquired RB Kevan Barlow, who arrived from San Francisco in a trade last week, changed his jersey number to 32. Barlow wore No. 36 when he first arrived, because DB D.J. Johnson had No. 32 at the time. Johnson was cut on Sunday, so Barlow took the number, which he wore in San Francisco.

[NIGHT STALKER]

Adapting to New Coach

[NIGHT STALKER]

COLES CALLS MANGINI'S

CAMP 'BRUTAL'

By MARK CANNIZZARO

August 29, 2006 -- Laveranues Coles, arguably the Jets' best offensive player, is looking forward to the end of the dog days of camp.

"It's more brutal than other years I've been in the league," Coles said yesterday of Eric Mangini's camp. "Coming in and learning all the little things and trying to be on point about everything has been tough. From weighing in to eating dinner, all the small things you take for granted, (Mangini) has put a lot of emphasis on.

"Before it was one of those things where you just concerned yourself about preparing to play football, but he's come in and put emphasis on the things we take for granted."

Mangini praised No. 1 draft pick D'Brickashaw Ferguson for putting his false start penalties (two last game and one the week before) behind him.

"Brick had a good day of practice," Mangini said. "He understands the mistakes he made and the fact that those are in the past. He was focusing on that in practice and you could see improvement. He's a resilient guy."

Asked what he said to Ferguson after his last penalty, Mangini said, "Five second rule. Forget it and focus on the next play."

Of course, Ferguson had to wait a quarter-and-a-half before his next play because he was benched by Mangini.

Mangini showed not only his compassionate side but his humor yesterday when he began his press conference in a deadpan description of an injury while offering no actual, useable information.

He was speaking of Newark Star-Ledger Jets' beat reporter Dave Hutchinson, who's been in the hospital recently, when he said, "I'm not going to reveal the specifics of his injury, but I spoke to 'Hutch' yesterday and it seemed like he was doing a little bit better. He'll be back sooner rather than later. He sounded upbeat. I know he's working hard and is going to get back as quickly as he can."

[NIGHT STALKER]

Coles keeps quiet, does as he's told

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

BY COLIN STEPHENSON

Star-Ledger Staff

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. -- The presumed starting quarterback is coming off two shoulder surgeries. The Hall of Fame running back doesn't look like he's going to play anytime soon, and the offensive line is counting on rookies at the two most important positions.

There is one sure thing on the Jets' offense in Year One of the Eric Mangini regime: wide receiver Laveranues Coles. But Coles refuses to accept the notion that he is going to have to score a touchdown every time he touches the ball just to keep the Jets competitive this season. Asked if he believes -- as the biggest name on offense -- the pressure is on him to do superhuman things, he downplayed his role as the team's primary playmaker.

"I don't think I have the biggest name on the offense," he said. "I think you have Chad (Pennington), who takes a lot of the pressure. Our quarterback position is one of the things that is being talked about right now. It's just one of those things, you come in and nothing is set in concrete around here. ... So you just go out and try to do what they ask you to do and from there, you just hope you're doing what they ask you to do and just shut up and just try to play."

Coles has certainly done that. With Pennington and backup Jay Fiedler both going down with season-ending injuries last year, and the Jets using five different quarterbacks in 2005, Coles led the team with 73 catches for 845 yards and five touchdowns.

Through three preseason games so far, with Mangini staging a four-way battle to determine who will be the starting quarterback in 2006 (the coach is believed to have settled on Pennington, though he hasn't officially announced it yet) Coles is catching passes from whoever is throwing them. His 12 receptions are twice as many as any other Jet and are tied for second-most in the league, one behind New England tight end Ben Watson.

Asked if he would prefer that Mangini had gone ahead and announced a starting quarterback so that he could have more practice time with that player, Coles admitted he might do things differently if he were in charge. However, as far as developing a chemistry with the quarterbacks, the 28-year-old, seventh-year veteran is ahead of the curve. He broke out as a star in 2002 with the Jets when he posted career highs in receptions (89) and yards (1,264) and that was the year Pennington took over as the Jets' starting quarterback. The next year, when he signed as a free agent with Washington, Coles had his other big season -- 82 catches, 1,204 yards -- and Patrick Ramsey was his quarterback for 11 of the 16 games that year. And of course, Coles worked with Brooks Bollinger last year. That makes rookie Kellen Clemens the only quarterback on the Jets' roster Coles hasn't played with before.

"I think what you try and do as a receiver, you try to be quarterback-friendly for whatever quarterback he has in there," Coles said. "My position is to build trust with any quarterback that's in there and let them know that, you put me on the route and I'm going to do the best I can to get open for you. And that's the one thing you've got to have as a wide receiver whether it's this offense or any offense; you want to have a reputation as a guy that can get open."

With the way the Jets' offense is shaping up, though, Coles might find it harder to get open this year. If whoever replaces Curtis Martin at running back doesn't immediately prove himself to be a threat, and if the other wide receivers -- Justin McCareins, Jerricho Cotchery, etc. -- can't force teams to respect them, it won't take opposing defenses long to figure out that Coles is the one guy they have to defend against.

[NIGHT STALKER]

JETS NOTEBOOK

Ferguson bounces back

BY BOB HERZOG

Newsday Staff Writer

August 29, 2006

After D'Brickashaw Ferguson's first practice since being pulled from Friday night's game for two false-start penalties, the rookie tackle was back in Eric Mangini's good graces.

"Brick had a good day of practice," the coach said yesterday of Sunday's session. "He's a resilient guy and he understands the mistakes he made are in the past and the important thing is not to repeat those. You did see improvement."

Yesterday, Ferguson said, "Whenever you're in error, it's important to correct it, whether it be physical or mental, because it can cause you to lose."

Mangini said his sideline talk with Ferguson Friday night was brief. 'I just said to him, 'Five-second rule, Brick, five-second rule. Forget it. It's in the past; focus on the next play."'

Extra points

If RB Curtis Martin (knee) is still on the PUP list Saturday, he would be ineligible to be placed on the active roster for six weeks. Given that he has yet to practice, that's a likely scenario ... Mangini praised one of his young players for doing "an outstanding job on special teams [against the Giants]. Suddenly, the light looks like it's going on for him." But when pressed to name the player and assess his chances to make the final cut, Mangini insisted on keeping the media in the dark.

[Maxman]

And during his news conference Monday, Mangini did not rule out the possibility that running back Curtis Martin, who missed training camp because he had not recovered from knee surgery, would be able to play against Tennessee in the opener. Martin and tackle Trey Teague are on the physically unable to perform list.

[GreenBeans]

And during his news conference Monday, Mangini did not rule out the possibility that Max, who missed training camp because he was not invited, would be able to play against Tennessee in the opener. Max and tackle Trey Teague are on the physically unable to perform list (errr, that was supposed to be a secret too, Coach).