JETS NEWS for 9/5

[NIGHT STALKER]

NOTEBOOK

Chad's lived through this script before

BY TOM ROCK

Newsday Staff Writer

September 5, 2006

For the second year in a row, Chad Pennington is returning from shoulder surgery to be the Jets' starting quarterback. That means there is plenty to pull from last year's experience.

"It wasn't pretty," he said of the 27-7 loss to the Chiefs in the 2005 opener, "but I learned a lot from that game on how to handle those emotions, coming back from an injury and having to work so hard to get back. I'll really lean upon those experiences."

Pennington said his focus will be on the team's performance and not his own accomplishments. He said he is more mature this year, and that will help him keep his feelings under control. To an extent.

"There will be a few head butts," he said. "Those are just part of the game and bring a little intensity."

With the cuts made to get the roster to 53 players, the rookies were moved into the large locker room at the Jets' facility. They spent training camp in a smaller back room. The NFL equivalent of sitting at the grownups' table created a bit of a stir, especially for Eric Barton.

Rookie cornerback Drew Coleman was assigned the locker next to Barton, but the linebacker was quick to move Coleman one door down, into the vacant locker next to Curtis Martin's. Barton stood on a chair to change the nameplate that hangs above each player's space and even "helped" the rookie by moving his helmet and clothing while Coleman was in the training room.

Jet streams

WR Tim Dwight practiced for the first time in two weeks ... CB David Barrett was lining up with the starting unit, playing opposite Andre Dyson. That could push Justin Miller from a starting job ... Eric Mangini did not announce who will be the second- and third-string quarterbacks, but Patrick Ramsey worked with the offense while rookie Kellen Clemens played linebacker on the scout team, so it's a good bet Ramsey will be the backup ... The Titans have their own quarterback confusion. Their starter Sunday could be either Kerry Collins, Billy Volek or rookie Vince Young. "We're going to look at all three guys," Mangini said of formulating game plans. "They all provide different problems and different strengths, and that's something that we need to examine and be ready for." ... LB Jonathan Vilma, who went to Miami, and RB Leon Washington (Florida State) gave each other verbal jabs hours before last night's game between their alma maters.

[NIGHT STALKER]

Barlow Figures a Way to Learn from Martin

By DAVE CALDWELL

Published: September 5, 2006

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y., Sept. 4

[NIGHT STALKER]

Barlow in running for playing time

Giant 'D' can get tricky

BY DARREN EVERSON

DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

Kevan Barlow is in a tough spot. How does he put the "running" back in his role as running back?

The season starts Sunday, yet Barlow hardly has gotten started with the Jets. Acquired Aug. 20 from San Francisco - with Curtis Martin's continued absence providing a golden opportunity to seize a starting job - Barlow had three carries in the Jets' next preseason game. Then he didn't play at all in the final one.

At least he's stopped putting his foot in his mouth. Three days after the Jets traded for him, Barlow was quoted in the Contra Costa Times comparing 49ers coach Mike Nolan to Adolf Hitler. (Barlow quickly apologized.) Yesterday, when handed multiple opportunities to gripe about his lack of use, Barlow didn't bite.

"Whatever helps the team," he said. "Whoever the running back is, it doesn't matter. As long as it helps us win games, it doesn't matter to me."

So Barlow has a good grasp of company PR policy. But what about the job?

It looks like the Jets will employ a committee, and that Derrick Blaylock will be the titular starter. Blaylock averaged a modest 3.7 yards per carry during the preseason, but he has the advantage of having been with the team since Eric Mangini took over, allowing him to get a better grasp of the playbook. Barlow has been watching and learning since gaining 11 yards on his three carries Aug. 25 against the Giants, when he also fumbled and committed a holding penalty.

Cedric Houston and even Leon Washington, the small but skilled rookie kick returner, also will compete for touches.

"I think he's definitely in the running back mix," Mangini said of Washington.

Mangini wouldn't name a starter yesterday (nor did he identify his No. 2 quarterback), but Barlow said he's "pretty sure Coach has made his decision on who should be the starter." Mangini did indicate that it might not matter much, since personnel packages and game plans can cause second stringers to play more than starters.

Still, given how little Barlow has played, it's an open question how much he can help in Sunday's opener at Tennessee. It isn't up to him, however; asked before practice yesterday if he's ready to contribute, Barlow answered affirmatively before the reporter could finish the question.

"I'm ready to play," Barlow said. "This week is going to be important for me to learn, to go out there and get some mental reps. But I hope I'm ready. I think I'm ready."

HAM IT UP: DE Bobby Hamilton is happy to be back with the Jets, six years after learning the hard way that he was being replaced. Back in 2000, while working out at Hofstra, Hamilton walked into the locker room and saw his jersey number had been given to first-round pick Shaun Ellis. In the interim, Hamilton won two Super Bowl rings with the Patriots and, he said, "showed (the Jets) the mistake they made."

"It's a new beginning; I have a new number," said Hamilton, acquired Friday from Oakland for an undisclosed pick. "I hope I don't come back down here and they take that number."

[NIGHT STALKER]

JETS

Backs ready for whatever

BY TOM ROCK

Newsday Staff Writer

September 5, 2006

Kevan Barlow showed his quickness and anticipation yesterday. Before the questions about his preparedness for Sunday's season opener against the Titans could be fully posed, he hammered them with answers.

"Do you feel like you've learned enough to ... ?"

"Yeah. Yes. Absolutely," he said. "I think I learned enough to try to contribute."

Barlow, who took only three preseason handoffs with the Jets after being traded by the 49ers two weeks ago, expected to come to New York and compete for the starting tailback position. Instead, he's part of a four-headed conglomerate that coach Eric Mangini will use in the backfield ... for the time being.

There will be a starting running back (still unnamed), but his title will be flimsy. The players will rotate in and out depending on situations and matchups.

Mangini called it a "package-based" system, one used by Bill Belichick to handle running backs as well as tight ends and receivers with the Patriots.

"Even though a player may not come out and be listed as the starter, the things that they do well or where they help us in the package, the reps could actually work out to be more," Mangini said of shuffling among Barlow, Derrick Blaylock, Cedric Houston and rookie Leon Washington. "[We'll be] trying to play to our strengths and attack their weaknesses."

For the running backs, that means wait and see. It's a situation with which they should be comfortable by now, as nearly the entire preseason has been spent waiting and seeing.

Blaylock and Houston (and Washington, to some degree) spent most of camp answering questions about how they could replace injured Curtis Martin and watching the Jets maneuver to bring in another set of legs to compete with them. Barlow was on the verge of losing his starting job in San Francisco before being told he would not be traded. Then he was traded.

Now that the games are starting, the ambiguity continues for everyone.

"When you are called on to go in there and play, you just go in there and perform," Blaylock said of how he handles the setup.

Barlow also understands that there will be times four tailbacks will be better than one and that each brings a different dimension to the offense.

"Whatever helps the team," Barlow said. "Whoever the running back is doesn't matter as long as by the end of the day he helps us win games."

The emergence of Washington, a rookie from Florida State, has deepened the position further. Mangini said the niche Washington has created as a special-teams player - he showed darting quickness returning punts and kickoffs, running back one for a touchdown against the Redskins - likely will get him on the 45-man roster for game days. That makes him available to play tailback.

"Sometimes that opportunity looks like it's going to be one thing and then it turns into something else," Mangini said, telling a story about how, when Martin was a rookie in New England, he warned the other running backs that if he ever got into the game, he probably wouldn't leave.

"I'm not saying that's necessarily the case with Leon," Mangini said. "I'm just saying that's a great example of when the opportunity comes, what you do with it and how you take advantage of it."

Washington and Houston split time in Friday's preseason finale. Washington ran for 28 yards on eight carries; Houston had the best individual performance by a back in preseason with 108 yards on 25 carries.

Washington said he is more comfortable with his roles now than when training camp began. "When I first got here, it was like there was no light at the end of the tunnel and everything was thrown at you 1,000 miles per hour," he said.

Now, with the imposing playbook sliced down to a specific game plan against the Titans and a confidence that is growing with familiarity, Washington could be the one to swoop in and start at tailback. Or it could be Barlow. Or Blaylock. Or Houston.

Not that it apparently matters.

[NIGHT STALKER]

JET ROOKIES ON THE SPOT

By MARK CANNIZZARO

September 5, 2006 -- For the rookies on the Jets roster who are expected to play a significant role in 2006, this week is game on. Training camp and the preseason are over and the regular season, which begins for the Jets Sunday in Tennessee, marks the start of real life for the uninitiated.

That goes for first-round picks D'Brickashaw Ferguson, who at left tackle has Chad Pennington's back, and Nick Mangold, who's replacing Pro Bowl center Kevin Mawae. Both have been starters since the day they arrived.

It goes for Leon Washington and Brad Smith, who are going to be immediate contributors on special teams.

It goes for everyone who'll be playing his first NFL game against the Titans.

"They haven't seen NFL football yet," Jets veteran guard Pete Kendall said. "They'll get a big taste of it on Sunday. As far as the intensity level, they will experience a quantum leap. It's new to me every year. I sort of know what to expect, but the speed of the game is still a shock when the season starts."

Eric Mangini yesterday spoke glowingly about the "niche" Washington and Smith, to name a couple of players, have carved out for themselves already as the season opens this weekend. "I am really happy with Leon," Mangini said. "From the day he got here to the preseason, the things that we really pinpointed as problem areas, he's worked on and he's been consistently working on it. And that to me is always going to give a player like Leon or any player a chance to be very successful.

"There's an example of a guy who carved out a real solid role on special teams, which now is going to create some opportunities to go into the game."

Ferguson, aside from his three false start penalties, and Mangold have made steady progress through camp, according to Mangini and Chad Pennington.

"To me, it's not necessarily the mistakes they make, it's what they do with the mistakes they make and how they approach those and how well they learn from those," Mangini said. "And these are two guys that are very smart guys, very conscientious guys, and they are smart enough to get with the veterans and to pick their brain and to attack problems proactively, which I really like."

*

A familiar face will be staring the Jets' defense in the face Sunday in Tennessee. The Titans signed Mawae after the Jets released him in the offseason.

"It's going to be interesting, because we had some fun times in practice," Jets LB Jonathan Vilma said of Mawae. "It'll be a good battle. All the holding he would do in practice would just get me ready for the games, even though I hated it."

*

Veteran DE Bobby Hamilton yesterday expressed a thrill to be back with the team he started his career with 12 years ago.

"I'm excited to be back and ready to get it started," Hamilton said. "I know Eric, I know what he's about and I know what he's trying to get done. When you have a coach like that you will go to battle for him. I'm very excited to be back here with him and try to get this thing moving in the right direction.

*

Newly signed TE Zach Hilton is a guy Mangini said he's had his eye on for a while after having coached against him while Hilton was playing for the Saints.

The 6-8 Hilton, whose only career NFL TD came against the Jets, said yesterday he was surprised to be cut by New Orleans and more surprised the Jets called, adding that he was thrilled to land here.

"Zach is a guy that I had exposure to last year when New England played the Saints," Mangini said. "I thought he did some really positive things. He's a big target. He has had some productive games receiving."

[NIGHT STALKER]

Jets D-linemen rush to learn

Tuesday, September 05, 2006

BY COLIN STEPHENSON

Star-Ledger Staff

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. -- The preseason is over, the regular season begins on Sunday, and Eric Mangini is full bore into his team's preparations for the Tennessee Titans, whom the Jets face this weekend.

"Have they said when they're going to announce their starting quarterback?" Mangini asked reporters at yesterday's morning briefing at the Jets' Hofstra complex.

The answer was no, and that got a wry smile from Mangini, who was no doubt thinking about all the badgering he took from the media all summer about who would be the Jets' starting quarterback.

As he puts together his game plan against Tennessee, Mangini can't be sure whether Billy Volek, Kerry Collins, or rookie Vince Young will line up behind center for the Titans. But not only does the rookie coach have to worry about preparing for any of the three quarterbacks his team could see Sunday, he also has to figure out which defensive linemen he's going to send out to chase them down.

While all NFL teams were working last week on cutting their rosters down from 75 to 53, the Jets were making moves to add players from other teams, and three of those additions were defensive linemen.

First, the Jets got second-year DT C.J. Mosley from Minnesota on Thursday in exchange for quarterback Brooks Bollinger; then they sent an undisclosed draft pick to Oakland on Friday for 35-year-old DE Bobby Hamilton, a former Jet and New England Patriot who is familiar with the 3-4 defense Mangini has installed for this season. Finally, on Sunday, the Jets claimed Rashad Moore off waivers from Oakland.

That means three of the seven defensive linemen on the roster are brand new, and they don't have much time to learn the Jets' system, the plays, or their new teammates. Naturally, the Jets don't believe bringing in so many players so late will cause any problems, chemistry-wise or otherwise.

"It just adds to the depth of the D-line," starting defensive end Shaun Ellis said of the newcomers. "You got a proven veteran in Bobby Hamilton and we got a couple young guys as well. I think it'll be good."

Mangini conceded it is a race, of sorts, to get the newcomers up to speed on the playbook.

"The faster they catch up and the quicker they show us that they can help us win ... the quicker they'll play," Mangini said. "And to me, it's dependent upon them as well as the coaching staff working with them to make sure that they are as prepared as possible."

Mangini clearly is hoping that the 6-5, 285-pound Hamilton, at least, will be able to fit in quickly. Hamilton played for the Jets from 1996-99 -- when the team played a 3-4 defense under Bill Parcells and Al Groh -- and then went to New England and played in the same system under Bill Belichick. He played the past two years in Oakland under defensive coordinator Rob Ryan, who had been the linebackers coach in New England under Belichick.

But the system isn't everything. Mangini signed ex-New England cornerback Hank Poteat on Thursday and cut him Saturday. Poteat had played most of Friday's preseason finale against the Eagles.

"Everybody's saying, 'the system, the system,' ... I know the system, but ... you've still got to work," Hamilton said. "Yes I know it, but I've still got to learn. When you're in this league, you're always learning new things. You can't think you know everything."

Hamilton was asked about the importance -- beyond the nuts and bolts of the schemes and actual plays the Jets will run -- of developing chemistry among the linemen.

"I wish I was here in camp with some of the guys, but I wasn't," he said. "Now, it's time to get ready to play. Who do we play, Tennessee? We've just got to get it started. I can't worry about who's coming in, and transactions and all that. That's over with. It's regular season. And it's time to get ready to get started."

WR/PR Tim Dwight was back at practice after sitting out much of the past two weeks and missing the final two preseason games with a leg injury. ... Mangini still isn't ready to announce the backup QB. But if it means anything, rookie Kellen Clemens stood in at left linebacker on the scout team at the start of practice while starter Chad Pennington ran a couple of plays and Patrick Ramsey stood behind Pennington, watching.

[NIGHT STALKER]

For Jets, Ex-Apprentices Now Piloting the Franchise

By Les Carpenter

Washington Post Staff Writer

Tuesday, September 5, 2006; Page E01

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. -- In the fall of 1994, Eric Mangini and Mike Tannenbaum, armed with prestigious college degrees and mountains of student debt, put their educations to good use running a copy machine in the old Cleveland Browns offices. They did this because they loved football and, being short of any ability to make the NFL as players, realized their only way in was from the bottom.

"Once I got my foot in the door, they were not going to kick me out," Tannenbaum would say years later.

Head coach Mangini, 35, and general manager Mike Tannenbaum, 36, are the youngest duo to run a team in the NFL.

They did not know each other despite the fact they grew up less than two hours apart -- Mangini in Hartford, Conn., and Tannenbaum outside of Boston. But once they converged upon that copy machine, they were destined to be friends, they were so much alike. And as the blue light flashed and the copies piled up in trays, they talked late into the night; two interns lost in the tedium of their tasks, fantasizing about the day they would run a football team of their own.

The machine was called "the Queen Mary."

How could they know just how soon it would propel them to their dream?

Twelve years later they do have a team of their own -- the New York Jets -- and they operate it at an age when most men are only starting to build their names in the league. Mangini, 35, the head coach, is the youngest man currently holding such a position in the NFL. Tannenbaum, 36, is the general manager. In an NFL that puts a high price on dedication, lineage and many years of apprenticeship, having two men in their mid-thirties in charge of a team is not only unusual, it's almost unheard of.

Not that either of them sounds excited about the situation.

"Whether we're trailblazers or not, it's more about taking the opportunity and making the most of it and putting the best Jet team on the field," Tannenbaum said.

"I'd rather be the young guy than described as the old guy," Mangini said.

This is the way of the youngest management team in the NFL. Despite their sterling pedigrees (Mangini has a degree in political science from Wesleyan and Tannenbaum graduated from Tulane's law school) they were raised at the feet of Bill Belichick and Bill Parcells, two coaches who demanded ingenuity, perfection and little communication with the outside world. Talking openly meant revealing snippets of information and eventually those snippets of information could add up to bigger pieces that might make their way to other teams and could be used against them in a game.

In Parcells and Belichick's world, secrecy means winning. And nothing in that universe can be allowed to get in the way of winning.

Which, in part, is probably why Tannenbaum and Mangini are here at such young ages. While in the employ of Parcells and Belichick, they worked hard, brought good ideas and kept out of the public eye. They rarely spoke to reporters, never did television interviews or signed autographs. They just stayed in the office and worked until Tannenbaum was negotiating nearly all of the Jets' contracts as assistant general manager and Mangini was Belichick's defensive coordinator in New England.