JETS NEWS for 9/6

[NIGHT STALKER]

Shoulder to cry on

Emotional Chad: I was devastated by injury

2006 NFL Kickoff

By RICH CIMINI

On Sunday, Chad Pennington will make his 38th career start for the Jets. That's the cold fact, but everybody knows there's more to it than just a number. Truth is, it's a start and a finish, the culmination of a 50-week odyssey that began with tears and turned into clear-eyed determination.

The ordeal almost broke him, nearly crushed the spirit of a player known for his head-butting, high-fiving exuberance. Doctors went into his right shoulder for the second time in less than a year and, in between the "attaboys" during the long rehab, the Jets took most of his salary and lined up possible replacements for his job.

Pennington beat the humiliation and the competition. If there's a moment of reflection in Sunday's season opener in Tennessee, it likely will include a thought or two about last Sept. 26.

That day, Pennington was told he had wrecked his shoulder again, that he was going to need another operation. His mind slipped into a dark, haunting place, where no athlete wants to be.

"The first two weeks after the injury, that was the lowest point of my career," Pennington says. "I had worked so hard to get back as quickly as possible from major surgery. For another major injury to happen, it was devastating.

"It was tough. It took me a good two weeks to get out of the funk and get over the initial shock of being injured again. I remember my wife being totally surprised by my presence, how I was acting. She had never seen me like that before because I'm a positive person. I'm pretty driven. For those two weeks, I had no drive. I had no fire or desire."

That's a stunning admission for Pennington, who usually can find sunshine on the cloudiest of days.

A million-to-one injury had happened for the second time in 11 games, and even though there wasn't as much damage as the rotator-cuff injury from 2004, it spawned legitimate questions about whether he'd regain enough arm strength to compete in the NFL. There is no anecdotal evidence of a quarterback making it back from two shoulder operations.

When the doctors saw the MRI results and broke the news to Pennington, he cried. When he drove to Jets' complex and walked into Herm Edwards' office, he cried again.

"I knew something was wrong, but I thought maybe it wasn't that bad," says Pennington, recalling how he felt after absorbing the hit from Jaguars defensive end Paul Spicer. "Then the reality hit the next day and I basically just broke down, crying.

"You put so much energy and effort into it and, to have to go through it again, it was pretty overwhelming. I got pretty emotional."

On Oct. 6, Pennington underwent arthroscopic surgery.

On Oct. 7, he emerged from his funk, already setting goals for the 2006 season. There were some rough patches along the way: The organization, doubting Pennington's ability to make a comeback, slashed his salary (from $9 million to $3 million), traded for veteran Patrick Ramsey and drafted Kellen Clemens in the second round.

Determined to reclaim his starting job, Pennington was head and surgically repaired shoulder above the field. He still has a long way to go before he can be mentioned as a candidate for the Comeback Player of the Year Award, but his resilience has inspired everyone from his hometown to his locker room. Not that they ever doubted him.

"I'm not surprised at all," says wide receiver Laveranues Coles, one of Pennington's closest friends. "The only people who were skeptical about it were (the media). People were saying he wasn't going to be the same guy and they were questioning whether he was going to be the Chad of old. I never doubted that at all."

Dave Meske, who coached Pennington at The Webb School in Knoxville, Tenn., says: "Chad has been beating the odds his whole life. He beat the odds coming out of high school because he wasn't highly recruited. So this doesn't surprise me. He's just driven. He sets high goals for himself and he pushes himself to that limit."

During his intensive rehab, Pennington added a few pounds of muscle for durability and he took a karate class to improve his hip and lower-body flexibility. Why? Because he wanted to tweak his throwing mechanics, relying more on his lower body in an effort to reduce the stress on his arm and shoulder.

It all sounds good, and he looks good, but that doesn't ensure a successful season. Without Curtis Martin, the Jets' running game is a major concern. Without a running game, Pennington's best skill - his play-action ability - will be neutralized. He doesn't have the arm or the receivers to stretch a defense, so the Jets could be playing offense in a phone booth.

Pennington isn't fretting. His only individual goal is to play a full season for the first time in his career. Over the last three years, his track record is damning.

Total starts: 25.

Missed starts: 23.

Now he sounds like Rocky Balboa before his first fight against Apollo Creed, claiming that all he wants is to go the distance.

"That's my ultimate goal," Pennington says. "Then, after the season, I can say, 'Okay, I made it through a full season and I did what I had to do as a quarterback. Now I'm back.'"

Originally published on September 6, 2006

[NIGHT STALKER]

BEYOND BELIEF

FEW FIGURED CHAD WOULD GET THIS FAR

September 6, 2006 -- BE honest. Whether you're a rabid Jets fan or not, you were not a believer.

You thought the chances of Chad Pennington coming back from his second shoulder surgery in less than a year were as real as Joe Namath returning to lead the Jets to their second NFL title.

You thought you'd sooner see Roger Vick win an NFL rushing title, Browning Nagle become Brett Favre or Rich Kotite back on the Jets sidelines engineering an AFC Championship run than see Pennington play again.

You can fit the number of people who believed Pennington would be the quarterback standing behind center for the Jets in their 2006 opening-day game in Tennessee into one those old-school roadside phone booths.

Be honest: You were not one of those people crammed in the phone booth.

I know you weren't because I listened to your rants on the radio, read your chat-room blogs on the Internet and spoke to you directly. And almost every one of you, many of whom wanted Pennington to make it back, had left him as dead, buried and gone from the Jets.

When Patrick Ramsey was brought in for a sixth-round pick, you figured he automatically bypassed Pennington as the starter. While not entirely enamored of Ramsey's presence, you were certain he would beat out Pennington.

All the while, though, Pennington had other plans, much different plans. He quietly and doggedly willed his way back through hard work.

Herman Edwards used to say it was the little things athletes did away from the spotlight, in the darkness of a lonely gym, that made them special.

In the end, that'll be what brought Pennington all the way back - back to be ready for training camp, to be ready for the first preseason game, to win the starting job in a landslide and to that special place behind center on opening day.

How about this for Chad Pennington?

How about Comeback Player of the Year for Pennington?

Too Pollyanna? Perhaps. But don't rule it out. Pennington was a winning quarterback when he was healthy. And besides, he doesn't have to lead the Jets to the Super Bowl to be recognized for such an award.

If Pennington stays healthy for 16 games (something he's yet to do in his career) and leads the Jets to mere respectability he'll be a leading candidate for Comeback Player of the Year.

Those thoughts, of course, are many carts before horses.

There's work to be done and Pennington will be the first to tell you that while you attempt to romanticize his comeback.

"I guess you could say the feel-good story is kind of over now," Pennington said, trying to deflect the attention from his comeback. "It's about winning games and making sure we're doing everything necessary to help us win."

Asked if he's allowed himself any time to reflect upon how far he's come, Pennington said, "I've already done that. Making it through the first preseason game and being able to play in that was the first part of the reflection process. Now, I'm just focused on performance and doing what I need to do to help this team win."

What Pennington surely did by making it all the way back from the hundreds of hours of rehab, surviving a new coaching regime which came in here playing no favorites, not to mention a third new system in three years, has certainly galvanized his stature as a leader of this team.

You can bet his teammates have noticed how far Pennington has come to get to this point.

"I have a lot of respect for what he's done," linebacker Jonathan Vilma, the leader of the defense, said. "For a guy to come back after two shoulder surgeries, get the starting job with a new coach and a new offense - players respect that."

Veteran guard Pete Kendall said, "I'm happy for Chad to have come back the way he did. It's fantastic that he was merely able to come back and get back to a level to compete for the job. That he won the job is impressive."

[NIGHT STALKER]

JETS PREVIEW

[NIGHT STALKER]

BREAKING IT DOWN

September 6, 2006

Mike Bartolotta QUARTERBACK

It's a fact: Chad Pennington is 21-16 as a starter (.568 pct.), the highest winning percentage in team history among starting QBs.

The key question: It isn't if Pennington will get hurt, but when? Pennington has never played more than 13 games in a season because of injuries to his wrist and throwing shoulder.

The skinny: Two rookies on the offensive line and questions at running back will put a lot of pressure on the quarterback to make plays and not mistakes.

RUNNING BACK

It's a fact: Curtis Martin, the fourth-leading rusher in NFL history, missed all of training camp and begins the season on the physically unable to perform list because he has been slow to recover from knee surgery in December.

The key question: Who will step up in Martin's absence? Pennington has had success with the play-action pass, but that will be rendered useless if his opponent has no reason to respect the running game.

The skinny: The Jets will start the season with a rotation of Kevan Barlow, Cedric Houston, Derrick Blaylock and rookie Leon Washington. Martin is not eligible to return until Week 7 and might retire.

WIDE RECEIVER

It's a fact: The Jets had worked out a contract with Deion Branch but couldn't pry the holdout from the Patriots.

The key question: Who is the deep threat and can Pennington reach him? Keep an eye on rookie Brad Smith.

The skinny: Now that Justin McCareins is out of the coach's doghouse, he, Laveranues Coles and Jerricho Cotchery can go back to being the formidable trio they were last season.

TIGHT END

It's a fact: The Jets traded a No. 1 pick in the 2005 draft for Doug Jolley and a No. 2. The disappointing Jolley was traded last week to Tampa Bay for an undisclosed draft pick.

The key question: Will Chris Baker, an excellent blocker, develop into a threat as a pass-catcher?

The skinny: Baker is the only tight end on the roster who was with the team when camp opened. In the past week, the Jets traded for Sean Ryan and picked up Zachary Hilton off waivers, but the tight end merry-go-round might be a seasonlong ride.

OFFENSIVE LINE

It's a fact: The Jets revamped their line by adding free agents Trey Teague and Anthony Clement and first-round picks D'Brickashaw Ferguson and Nick Mangold.

The key question: How severe will the growing pains be with two rookies starting?

The skinny: Mangold gets the nod at center in part because Teague missed camp with a broken ankle.

DEFENSIVE LINE

It's a fact: The Jets have switched to a 3-4 defense with Shaun Ellis and Kimo von Oelhoffen on the ends and Dewayne Robertson at nose tackle.

The key question: With top pass rusher John Abraham traded to the Falcons, where will the quarterback pressure come from? The Jets hope it's Ellis.

The skinny: The line, 29th in rushing yards allowed, needs to stay healthy because there is not much experience on the bench.

LINEBACKER

It's a fact: Jonathan Vilma led the NFL with 169 tackles as a rookie last season.

The key question: Will Bryan Thomas, a converted defensive end, excel in his hybrid role as a linebacker/defensive end?

The skinny: A young but solid unit will be called on to blitz often should the line have trouble generating pressure.

DEFENSIVE BACK

It's a fact: Safety Kerry Rhodes had a solid rookie season with 105 tackles, one interception and one sack.

The key question: Can the front seven help cut down on the number of tackles the secondary was forced to make last season?

The skinny: The secondary is young and deep and the addition of Andre Dyson (17 interceptions, five TD returns in 72 games) gives the Jets the playmaker they lacked.

SPECIAL TEAMS

It's a fact: Justin Miller (26.3) was a big reason the Jets finished tied for third in the league in average kick return yards at 24.3 last season.

The key question: Is Tim Dwight the answer? Cotchery's 7.9-yard punt return average wasn't good enough so Dwight was brought in, but he might not be ready to go in the opener because of a leg injury. And his 8.5 average with the Patriots wasn't much better.

The skinny: With a lot of new faces and inexperience, special teams will continue to evolve. But special teams coordinator Mike Westhoff was retained by the new regime.

PUNTER

It's a fact: Ben Graham became the first rookie punter to punt for an entire season for the Jets since Greg Gantt punted in all 14 games in 1974.

The key question: If the offense struggles as expected, will Graham reach 100 punts?

The skinny: The former Australian Rules Football player punted 74 times last season for a gross average of 43.7 yards and a net average of 37.9. Both were sixth-best in the AFC.

KICKER

It's a fact: A surprise as a No. 2 pick in 2005, Mike Nugent got off to a rough start by having his first field goal attempt blocked after slipping on his approach.

The key question: If there is a knock on Nugent, it is that he needs to improve the distance on his kickoffs (one touchback last season). He's working on it, but has he improved?

The skinny: A big reason Nugent finished tied for 28th in scoring with 90 points was that he had only 24 extra point attempts (24-for-24).

COACH

It's a fact: Though Eric Mangini has 14 years in the league and was tutored by two future Hall of Fame coaches, he's still a rookie and the second-youngest head coach in NFL history.

The key question: Will a poor start lead to player unrest? Mangini is a disciplinarian and made it clear early that this is his team. But the physically demanding training camp, practices, rules and fines have rubbed several players the wrong way.

The skinny: This is a rebuilding year for the Jets, who will be fortunate to win five games. But Mangini's biggest challenge might be selling his players on a coaching style that won't show immediate dividends in the won-loss column.

[NIGHT STALKER]

JETS PREVIEW '06

Jets running on empty minus old reliable Martin

BY TOM ROCK

Newsday Staff Writer

September 6, 2006

The Jets have been flat-out spoiled for the last eight seasons. While questions have come and gone about quarterbacks, defenses, kickers and even coaches during that span, there was never a doubt about the running game. Never.

That aspect was covered by Curtis Martin. Down after down, game after game, season after season, Martin churned out 10,302 of his 14,101 career rushing yards for the Jets, good enough for fourth place on the NFL's all-time list. He was as dependable as the tides. But now, the tide is changing.

Martin, who underwent surgery on his ailing right knee last December, has yet to fully recover. He expected to return for training camp, but that didn't happen. He hoped to be ready for the beginning of the regular season. No such luck. Now, pinned to the physically-unable-to-perform list with what has been described as a "bone-on-bone" condition in his right knee, Martin must wait six weeks before he is even eligible to practice under the NFL's rules. Whether or not his knee will share that timetable remains to be seen.

"The hardest thing for me this year was not going out there the first day of camp," Martin said. "That prepared me in case I wasn't able to go out for the first game. Having that first quill of not being able to go out there for the first day of camp was like a total perspective shift. That's never happened for me."

Nor, in recent memory, for the Jets, who spent the preseason lining up their backfield options. They ultimately settled on a group of four: Kevan Barlow, Derrick Blaylock, Cedric Houston and rookie Leon Washington.

Barlow, for whom the Jets sent a fourth-round pick to the 49ers, has the best pedigree, having rushed for 1,024 yards while splitting time with Garrison Hearst in 2003. But the next year, when he was named the starter, his production fell from 5.1 yards per carry to 3.4.

Blaylock was a backup to Priest Homes in Kansas City before coming to the Jets last year, when a broken foot limited him to 17 carries in seven games. Houston, a second-year player, became the first back other than Martin to start a game when he filled in for him on Dec. 11. In the final four games he ran for 227 yards and averaged 3.3 yards per carry. Washington was impressive during the preseason, but his jukes and zippy speed seem better suited to special teams than running back at this point in his career.

Someone will be on the field for the first snap, but it looks doubtful the Jets will have a true starter, an every-down back in the mold of, say, Curtis Martin. Jets coach Eric Mangini said he will likely use all four at different points this season.

"I practice every day as if I could be a starter," Blaylock said. "It's every running back's dream to start in the NFL."

Career rushing leaders

Yards Player Seasons Avg. TD

18,355 Emmitt Smith 15 4.2 164

16,726 Walter Payton 13 4.4 110

15,269 Barry Sanders 10 5.0 99

14,101 Curtis Martin 11 4.0 90

13,662 Jerome Bettis 12 3.9 91

13,259 Eric Dickerson 11 4.4 90

12,739 Tony Dorsett 12 4.3 77

12,312 Jim Brown 9 5.2 106

12,279 Marshall Faulk 11 4.3 100

12,243 Marcus Allen 16 4.1 123

[NIGHT STALKER]

Switch to 3-4 pushing out Robertson

September 6, 2006

After spending the preseason trying to wedge their round peg into a square hole, the Jets may be close to abandoning hope that Dewayne Robertson will ever develop into the nose tackle needed to anchor the 3-4 defense.

In the past week, the team has been scurrying to find depth at the position, trading a draft pick to the Raiders for former Jet Bobby Hamilton (who earned two rings in New England), trading odd-man-out quarterback Brooks Bollinger to the Vikings for C.J. Mosley, and signing former Seahawk Rashad Moore, who was waived by the Raiders. The Jets also made a move for Bears lineman Michael Haynes, who went to the Saints because of waiver priorities that follow last spring's draft order.

When Eric Mangini was named coach in January, he brought with him a devotion to the 3-4 and seemed determined to mold the Jets' 4-3 personnel into his philosophy. He has three diamond-studded reasons around his fingers not to move away from his beloved 3-4. But he also needs the players to make it work. That starts with the front line.

When the Jets drafted Robertson with the fourth overall pick in 2003, they thought they had a lineman who could get off the ball quickly and create chaos in the backfield. In three years, that potential to slide into gaps and disrupt never developed and led to only 8.5 career sacks.

Robertson, who was undersize for an NFL nose tackle to begin with, lost weight during the offseason and is playing at about 307 pounds. That's 12 lighter than last season, when he was a defensive tackle trying to slip through mouse holes in the plaster. Now part of his job is to hold up the wall.

"It's not necessarily more physical," Robertson said of his new position, traditionally the most battered and thankless on a football field. "You have to be more cautious and just play your technique and know what you're doing."

The Jets began the preseason with options along the front line. Monsanto Pope retired early in training camp, second-year player Sione Pouha, who came into the season in terrific shape, was injured in the first week, and rookie Tui Alailefaleula suffered a pair of leg injuries that ultimately landed him on IR. That left Ferguson and Kimo von Oelhoffen splitting time between nose tackle and end for most of the summer while Shaun Ellis remained locked in at left end.

"It's really all the same, it's just a different position," said von Oelhoffen, who has picked up the switching between nose and end quicker than Robertson after playing a 3-4 for Pittsburgh in last season's Super Bowl run. "What it comes down to is, number one, technique, and number two, trust. Trust that each player will take care of his responsibilities and you'll do yours."

Recently, Dave Ball has become more prominent along the defensive front. Hamilton, Mosley and Moore, the three last-minute acquisitions, were brought in because Mangini believed they had experience as either the cornerstone of a 3-4 or working within a derivative system that would shorten their Jets learning curve. Moore, at 6-3, 324 pounds, in particular, seems built for nose tackle.

"I liked on tape how stout he was," Mangini said. "He's another big body. He's another guy that has good strength."

In other words, he's another guy who could, in the coming weeks, push Robertson out of the starting lineup.

Sunday

Jets at Tennessee

1 p.m.

TV: Ch. 2

Radio: WEPN (1050), WABC (770)

For starters

Chad Pennington has been a Jet since 2000, but Sunday will be only his third opening-day start. His two previous attempts had mixed results. There was the fumble-plagued 27-7 road loss to the Chiefs last season and a 31-24 win over the Bengals at home in 2004. A look at Pennington's numbers in his first start each of the previous four seasons:

Opponent Passing Yards TD/Int Result

9/11/05 at KC 21-34 264 0/1 L, 27-7

9/12/04 CIN 20-27 224 2/0 W, 31-24

11/2/03 Giants 27-45 281 4/2 L, 31-28 (OT)

10/6/02 KC 22-29 237 2/1 L, 29-25

StoryLines: Mawae on other side

Titans center Kevin Mawae, who was cut by the Jets in March, will start against them Sunday. The Jets' Jonathan Vilma said Mawae taught him many of the nuances of being a successful NFL linebacker. "He showed me not to cheat up because he'd know I'm coming on a blitz," Vilma said, "and not to put pressure on my toes because he'd know I'd be doing a slant or a stunt."

Mawae did keep some secrets to himself. Asked if he was shown how to avoid being held by linemen, Vilma chuckled. "No, he didn't teach me that trick."

He's seen it all

DE Bobby Hamilton won two Super Bowls as a Patriot but was also on the 1-15 Jets in 1996. "In Oakland, I didn't win but nine games the last two years," he said, "and so I'm ready to try to push us in the right direction."

Titan-ic mess

And you thought the Jets' quarterback situation was confounding? At least Chad Pennington was named the starter before the end of preseason. Billy Volek, rookie Vince Young and Kerry Collins continue to jostle for the Titans job, and Jeff Fisher said there is a good chance he won't decide until Sunday, perhaps not until kickoff.

[NIGHT STALKER]

Jets throw

block party

Count on rooks to protect Chad

BY DARREN EVERSON

DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

Chad Pennington isn't the player Jets fans should be worrying about. He knows what he's doing.

The question is whether the people protecting him do.

Rookie linemen plus raucous road crowds often equal trouble. This is the Jets' biggest problem entering Sunday's opener at Tennessee.

Pennington made it through the preseason in one piece, but how long the oft-injured quarterback lasts this season depends on the Jets' offensive line. That line features two freshmen: D'Brickashaw Ferguson at left tackle and Nick Mangold at center.

Ferguson and Mangold have the pedigree, just not the experience. Ferguson, out of Virginia and the fourth player taken in the draft, was considered the top offensive lineman in college football. Mangold, another first rounder (No.29), was a three-year starter at mighty Ohio State. "They'll be fine," Pennington said.

They'll be fine in time, in all likelihood. How good they can reasonably expect to be in their first pro game is another story. Just remember how the Jets' opener went last season. They had four botched exchanges on snaps in a 27-7 loss at Kansas City - and that was with six-time Pro Bowler Kevin Mawae at center. As it happens, the Jets will face Mawae Sunday.

"It'll be a good battle," linebacker Jonathan Vilma said of facing his ex-teammate who was a Jet for eight years. Then he cracked, "The holding he would do (in practice) would get me ready for the games."

It may be difficult to imagine, but as of the opener last season, the Jets were said to have a Super Bowl-caliber roster. They had a future Hall of Famer at running back (Curtis Martin). The only similarity this year is that they're again opening on the road.

"The biggest thing on the road is when a mistake occurs," Pennington said. "There's going to be adversity in the game, and it's how you handle that. Obviously we didn't handle adversity very well last year in that first game. Some of the guys who experienced that first game last year, we can look at that experience and use that to our advantage."

However, some current Jets were still on campus at this time last year. Ferguson and Mangold have impeccable college credentials - Ferguson was a first-team All-American; Mangold didn't allow a sack his senior season - but this level is an adjustment.

Mangold had a quiet preseason, which is good for a lineman, but the Jets got blitzed a lot, a trend that's likely to continue because of their inexperience. It's the center's responsibility to call out blocking schemes.

Ferguson made an outstanding downfield block on Brad Smith's 61-yard touchdown run Aug.19 at Washington - remarkable for a 310-pound lineman - but he also had two false starts in an eight-snap span Aug.25 against the Giants. Eric Mangini benched him for 1-1/2 quarters that game.

"These are two guys that are very smart guys," the coach said. "Very conscientious guys, and they're smart enough to get with the veterans and to pick their brain and to attack problems proactively, which I really like."

The Jets have been prepping for loud road environments all summer, practicing with music blaring. On Sunday, their rookies face the music for real.

"You can always say you're prepared," Mangold said. "When you get there, you'll find out. But what we've been trying to do is get as prepared as we can. Hopefully it works out."

Originally published on September 6, 2006

[NIGHT STALKER]

JETS PREVIEW '06

Building Block

Jets put it all on the line by drafting D'Brickashaw over Leinart, other splashy names

BY TOM ROCK

Newsday Staff Writer

September 6, 2006

Chess masters have been producing and refining their opening moves for centuries. In the game of strategy and stamina, the earliest moves sometimes have the greatest repercussions.

One of the earliest openings, and still one of the most popular, is called Giuoco Piano. Devised in the 15th century, it literally translates to "the quiet game" and eschews flashy arrogance for patient discipline.

When Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum and coach Eric Mangini approached their first NFL draft as ultimate decision-makers, they probably did not reference the famed Encyclopedia of Chess Openings, which catalogs thousands of early maneuvers. But when they used their No. 4 overall pick to take offensive tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson from Virginia - skipping past former Heisman Trophy quarterback Matt Leinart as well as a chance to trade up for Heisman Trophy running back Reggie Bush - the quiet game was in full effect.

Leinart, Bush and the slate of other talented offensive weapons the Jets passed over will likely spend more time on SportsCenter and be taken in more fantasy leagues than the offensive tackle the Jets selected. But by taking Ferguson, the Jets hope they selected a player they can plant on the left side of their line like a sapling and watch it grow into an oak for a decade or so.

They hope they found a player around whom successful offenses can function, a player who could get used to spending the second weekend of February in Hawaii for the Pro Bowl.

The selection of Ferguson was not made to impress fans, draw interest in the franchise or satisfy an immediate need. It was made so that in coming years, when Jets fans and front-office personnel look back on the 2006 draft, they can sum up the experience with one word: Checkmate.

Tannenbaum and Mangini were so focused on rebuilding the team from the offensive line that they produced one of the most compelling first rounds in the history of the draft. Not only did they take Ferguson, but they selected Ohio State center Nick Mangold with the 29th overall pick to became the first NFL team since the 1975 Rams to select two offensive linemen in the same first round of a draft. Only five other teams had done that in NFL history.

"I guess it's a unique situation," Mangold said. "It's nice to see a team invest in offensive linemen."

Veteran guard Pete Kendall also was pleased to see a team put so much emphasis on the offensive line. "Particularly when it's not at my specific position," he said with the looking-over-his-shoulder paranoia that all NFL players live with.

Not even Ferguson, who became a multimillionaire because of the decision, could say for sure that he would have followed the same path.

"There are so many positions on a team that are really important, and I wouldn't just limit it to an offensive line position," Ferguson said when asked whether he would take a tackle and a center in the first round if he were in charge of starting or rebuilding a franchise. "There are so many positions. That's a hard question."

Ferguson hopes he has found his home as the Jets' left tackle, especially given that it is so close to his home in Freeport. The former Red Devil, who won the Thorp Award as the top high school player in Nassau County in 2001, still has a white Freeport jersey with his number 60 hanging in his Jets locker and routinely entertained friends and family during training-camp breaks.

Ferguson could have been a high draft pick had he entered the NFL after his junior year at Virginia. Instead, he stayed with the Cavaliers, where he was a four-year starter under former Jets coach Al Groh.

Even though he stands 6-6 and weighs 312 pounds, Ferguson actually is smallish for a left tackle. He makes up for it with his freaky proportions and stunning athleticism.

With a wingspan of 87 inches, he is wider than most NBA centers are tall. That can make a defensive end's path to the quarterback trickier to navigate than the Oregon Trail. And the quickness in his feet allows Ferguson to make up for his lack of relative size with his ability to get to the proper spot on a field. Even if, as he demonstrated during the preseason, that spot is 25 yards away.

If there was one moment this summer that best exemplified why the Jets chose Ferguson, it was the 61-yard reverse run by Brad Smith for a touchdown against the Redskins. On the play, rookie Leon Washington took a handoff from quarterback Patrick Ramsey, then handed it off to Smith, a college quarterback turned into an electrifying wide receiver.

Smith read a few blocks to get to the sideline and was cruising for what looked like a decent gain. Then a blur swooped in and picked off a pair of Washington defenders. It was Ferguson, who had been lined up on the opposite side of the field, storming over to provide the final flourish to Smith's run.

Besides that play, Ferguson's first preseason has been a balance of beginner mistakes and solid play. "I'll probably be a rookie until the season is over," he said.

He was benched during the preseason game against the Giants - his first game appearance in front of Jets fans - for a pair of false starts that he chalked up to a lack of focus. That jumping became a habit for Ferguson through the first three preseason games, and when he returned to the field with the second- and third-teamers in the Giants game, he seemed out of sorts as rookie QB Kellen Clemens was pounded behind him.

Even his shining moment of arrival early in training camp on a hot August afternoon was set up by flaw. After veterans Kimo von Oelhoffen and Bryan Thomas easily went around Ferguson in a one-on-one blocking drill, offensive line coach Tony Wise gave him an earful and made him do the drill again.

Fired up - and probably a bit embarrassed - Ferguson flattened Trevor Johnson. Then, without resting, he leveled Dave Ball. After a quick breather in the 100-degree temperatures, Ferguson was back in his three-point position and found revenge against Thomas, grinding him into the turf as if extinguishing a cigarette with the heel of his shoe.

The religious studies major at Virginia was spewing brimstone and vengeance with Old Testament fury.

"You saw that anger, that fire, that competitiveness," Mangini said. "It was encouraging."

And one of the things that drew the Jets to him in the first place.

[NIGHT STALKER]

Rookie linemen provide Jets glimpse of future

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

BY COLIN STEPHENSON

Star-Ledger Staff

When the Jets selected D'Brickashaw Ferguson and Nick Mangold in the first round of the NFL draft in April, the idea was to fortify their offensive line for the next decade with a couple of guys who figure to have long and successful careers.

The first step of both those careers will be taken on Sunday, when Mangold, the center, snaps the ball to quarterback Chad Pennington on the Jets' first offensive play from scrimmage. When that happens, the rebuilding of the Jets' franchise -- centered around these two young, building-block linemen -- will be underway.

"I'm definitely excited," said Ferguson, the No. 4 pick overall, who has quickly entrenched himself as the Jets' left tackle. "I'm ready to go out there and work hard and play."

The two rookies have proven themselves worthy in the preseason. Ferguson, the 6-6, 312-pounder from Virginia, was penciled in as a starter from Day One, while the 6-4, 300-pound Mangold, who was picked No. 29 overall out of Ohio State, got to start throughout the preseason because of the broken ankle suffered by veteran free agent signing Trey League.

Last week, Jets coach Eric Mangini praised Mangold for the work he did in the Jets' third preseason game against the Giants and in practices last week. And Mangini added that when Teague is healthy enough to return to practice, he won't be challenging Mangold for the center position, but rather will be used at several positions to bolster the offensive line's depth.

Asked Monday to assess the two rookies' progress in the preseason, Mangini said he was generally pleased with what he has seen. He even was willing to forgive Ferguson for a couple of false starts in the Giants game. Those types of mistakes are to be expected, Mangini said.

"I think that's going to be part of the transition from college to pro football, and to learning all of the new things," Mangini said. "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. And these are two guys that are very smart guys, very conscientious guys, and they're smart enough to get with the veterans and to pick their brain and to try to attack problems proactively, which I really like. I like that from the entire rookie class. I like their approach. They have been excellent that way."

Pennington, returning from two rotator cuff surgeries, is depending on the two rookies -- and veterans Pete Kendall, Brandon Moore and Anthony Clement -- to keep him well-protected in the pocket. And Pennington, who was sacked three times in two preseason games, thinks they will.

"I think our offensive line has done a nice job of jelling throughout the off-season and preseason -- they're doing a good job of communicating," Pennington said. "Obviously, regular season is different from preseason, and opening day is definitely different. So it'll be an exciting time for our rookies (and) for our guys that haven't experienced NFL football yet, as far as the regular season. But I think they'll handle it well."

Ferguson and Mangold admitted they have no idea what it will be like when they step on the field as paid professional players for the first time. Ferguson said he'll handle whatever comes his way.

"Honestly -- you can prepare, but until you do it, there's always going to be some things that you're not going to (be ready for)," Ferguson said. "You have to sometimes just go out there and do it. That's what I'm going to do."

[NIGHT STALKER]

Man behind the Mangini

Rookie coach looks to step out of Belichick's shadow

2006 NFL Kickoff

By RICH CIMINI

Pete Kendall sits in the team meetings, listens carefully to Eric Mangini and hears things out of 1993. "A lot of the same things Eric preaches, I heard from Tom," says Kendall, referring to former Boston College and current Giants coach Tom Coughlin.

Matt Chatham observes the practice field, studies the organization and pace of the drills, even the sound of the whistles, and he, too, is transported to his past.

"I can close my eyes and be in New England with Bill," he says, meaning coach Bill Belichick.

Welcome to the 2006 Jets, the coaching test tube of the NFL.

In an attempt to find the uber coach, the Jets tapped into the coaching genealogy of Bill Parcells, winding up with Eric Mangini.

Parcells beget Coughlin and Belichick, who beget Mangini, who has characteristics of all three. There are no guarantees when it comes to evaluating coaching offspring - does the name Ray Handley ring a bell? - but the Jets are tickled to have their own chip off the old Belichick.

As long as it's the present-day Belichick, not the one who flopped in Cleveland in the early 1990s.

* * *

"In Cleveland, they used to call him 'Little Hitler.' There was no light at the end of the tunnel. That's how hard it was. You dreaded going to work every day. There was no light."

- Former Browns and Patriots defensive end

Anthony Pleasant on playing for Bill Belichick

* * *

"I told the team, 'There's no light at the end of the tunnel here. This is the first day of training camp and there's a ton of work ahead.'"

- Mangini, July 28

* * *

Do a Google search on Mangini and Belichick, and you come up with 23,200 results. Let's face it: From now until the day he hangs up his whistle, Mangini will be linked to his mentor.

When you've spent 10 of your 11 seasons in the NFL working under the same man, the guy who nurtured your development from ball boy to defensive coordinator, the comparisons are inevitable.

And if your teacher happens to be one of the greatest coaches in history, winner of three of the last five Super Bowls, well, it creates a most unusual dynamic.

Mangini's team is expected to accomplish little in 2006, but he's expected to be the next Belichick. Can that be done? Is it fair to even think along those lines?

Probably not, but Jets owner Woody Johnson made it fair game when he ignored Mangini's relatively thin resume - only one season as a coordinator - and hired the 35-year-old to lift his franchise to new heights. Johnson based his choice on the apple-doesn't-fall-far-from-the-tree theory.

What many people have forgotten is that Belichick wasn't as good as he is until he got to the Patriots in 2000. He arrived in Cleveland as a 38-year-old Golden Boy, a terrific strategist who coordinated two Super Bowl defenses with the Giants, but became known as an uptight, inflexible taskmaster. Basically, they ran him out of Cleveland.

But at least Belichick began with a few pelts, to use one of Parcells' pet phrases. No one was calling Mangini a genius before the Jets carried him across the threshold. One Jets player said Mangini's overnight ascension can be attributed to the rising-tide theory, the wave of success in New England.

"If he was the defensive coordinator for a team that was sub-.500 for three of the past five years," the player says, "I don't think he'd be here right now."

But the fact that Mangini was associated with winning teams and winning coaches can't be a bad thing. His program is modeled after the Belichick system, which works. That alone gives Mangini immediate credibility. What he does with it becomes the most important issue for the Jets.

When Belichick got to Cleveland, he tried to be too much like his previous boss, Parcells, and it backfired. He came on too strong, suffocating players and alienating the media.

Likewise, Mangini's style can be grating. His practices are long, often in full pads. He has created a palpable tension at the Jets' training facility, with players often kept in the dark about their status.

If a player makes a mistake in practice or a game, he likely will be called out the next day in a team film session - on "the big screen," as Laveranues Coles calls it. Players don't like to be embarrassed. That rarely happened under Herm Edwards.

If a player misses a mandatory meal or fails to make his prescribed weight (they must weigh in before and after every practice) or reveals too much information to the media, he's subject to a fine. Coles says he was fined for simply missing a weigh-in.

Under Edwards, overweight players were fined only in extreme cases, according to players.

"I just think it's more brutal than the other years I've been in the league," Coles says. "You have to be on point about everything . . . all the small things you take for granted."

Such as disposing of the weekly game plan. Instead of tossing it in a locker-room garbage pail after each game, as they've done for years, the players are required to use a paper shredder. The shredder is only a couple of feet from where the overgrown Herm Edwards bobblehead doll used to be displayed.

Talk about symbolism. And paranoia.

"It's like the old Soviet Union," a recently departed Jets staffer says of the atmosphere surrounding the team.

Mangini's style is wearing on some players, but it's doubtful they will speak out publicly, for fear of retribution. Ultimately, they will speak with their actions on the field. Mangini has the support of Johnson and GM Mike Tannenbaum, and his authority is resolute.

"You have no choice," Kendall says. "If you want to continue to make good money, you have to do what the coach says."

Besides, what's wrong with discipline? Under Edwards, the Jets became overweight and complacent, with too many veterans resting on their resumes. Mangini disinfected the locker room, bringing in self-motivated, gym-rat types, foot soldiers that will follow his lead.

"There's a definite weeding-out process," Chatham says.

Unlike Belichick, who has learned to lighten up only recently, Mangini doesn't wear his stoic, taskmaster mask at all times.

He jokes with players during the stretching period. He brings in guest speakers to break up long days. He offers little perks, like prime parking spots to the offensive, defensive and special-teams players of the week. Recently, he phoned a hospitalized beat writer, expressing his best wishes.

Mangini showed a softer side at the end of the preseason, offering unsolicited praise of several players. Some of those players were taken aback when told that Mangini had spoken so glowingly of them in public. That he opted to end the quarterback charade a week earlier than expected, naming Chad Pennington the starter, also was a popular move among the rank and file.

From all indications, Mangini is a bright individual, always looking to better himself and his team. Although he spent only one season with Belichick in Cleveland - as a ball boy in 1995 - Mangini has presumably learned from his mentor's mistakes. Belichick certainly has, evidenced by the three Lombardi Trophies gleaming in the Patriots' offices.

If Mangini can combine his old-school beliefs with a new-school flair, he has a chance to be a big success. But it may take time. Parcells (3-12-1), Belichick (6-10) and Coughlin (4-12) - all proven winners - were losers in their rookie seasons as head coaches.

It's an inexact science, plucking a prodigy from a famous coaching tree. For instance, four of Vince Lombardi's five original assistants became head coaches, and only one - the Vikings' Jerry Burns - posted a winning record.

Meanwhile, Mangini plows ahead, sleeping only four hours a night as he tries to rebuild the Jets. It's his obsession. Which brings us back to the aforementioned tunnel. Anybody see a light yet?

"I was informed there's no light at the end of the tunnel," says Coles, mocking Mangini's comment from the start of training camp. "You'll see the light before we do. When y'all see the light, come tell me."

Originally published on September 6, 2006

[NIGHT STALKER]

JETS PREVIEW '06

'Rookie' at wheel in ****pit

BY TOM ROCK

Newsday Staff Writer

September 6, 2006

Welcome to Plan B. Again.

For the third time in seven seasons, the Jets are shifting direction, personality and philosophy by ushering in a new era with a first-time head coach. Just like those kitschy disaster flicks a few decades ago, every time the Jets' flight path to prosperity appears to be stable, the pilot is incapacitated by food poisoning or a heart attack - or the Kansas City Chiefs - and the stewardess has to make that doomsday request:

Is there a pilot on board?

Inevitably, in those films, an unqualified passenger grabs the yoke to be talked down by the control tower. Eric Mangini, 35, the baby-faced boy wonder, is the latest to sit in the ****pit.

Mangini may have never flown before, but he has memorized the instruction manual as penned by Bill Parcells and Bill Belichick. He's smart, eager and has a plan. But unlike his immediate Jets predecessors, who inherited functional vehicles and rattled off nine and 10 wins in their rookie campaigns, Mangini's greatest obstacle might be the plane, er, team itself.

The engine is shot (Curtis Martin's right knee), the wing is held together with duct tape (Chad Pennington's shoulder) and the fuselage has never been tested at this altitude (offensive linemen D'Brickashaw Ferguson and Nick Mangold are rookies).

"There's definitely a plan in place," said Mangini, who has formulated his vision from experience under others. "I've been really fortunate to be around some talented, hard-working, smart football minds that have been very successful."

That includes three Super Bowl championships as a defensive backs coach with the Patriots under Belichick. Mangini may be the first Jets coach born after the franchise's inception in 1960 - born a year after the one glorious moment in team history, Super Bowl III - but he has three times as many rings as the Jets.

The personalities of recent Jets coaches can be plotted like a wave. Al Groh, the immediate successor to Parcells, was a stern disciplinarian who did not listen when players suggested he ease up. As a result, Groh lost the team's loyalty and lasted one season. In came Herman Edwards, the jovial "players' coach" who made the playoffs three times in five years but seemed as uncomfortable with player discipline as he was with clock management. He jumped at an offer to coach the Chiefs after the 2005 collapse.

Enter Mangini, a quiet, unassuming fellow on the surface. A former nose tackle at Wesleyan in Connecticut - an overshadowed position at an often overmatched school - he easily blends into the fabric.

He doesn't have a barstool buddy name like Bill, Al or Herm. Like Belichick, his public persona has been described as bland and secretive. As a coach, he is decidedly un-cuddly, and players were shocked by the mental and physical intensity of this first training camp.

External expectation may have been high last year, when some thought the Jets would contend for a Super Bowl, but the internal expectations for the players this season may be higher than they have ever been. When wide receiver Laveranues Coles called the first month of this season "brutal," Mangini didn't seem to take it as an insult.

"There are a lot of brutal camps around the league," he said. "It's a brutal season, a brutal league and the competition is brutal. The thing is to prepare for that the best way you can."

As for the plan itself, it seems to include assembling players of character and consistency, then - like unnecessary ballast - dumping those who don't fit in. When the team cut its roster to 53 players last weekend, only 30 played for the Jets in 2005.

It's his team, and Mangini is molding it. He installed a 3-4 defense despite lacking the ideal players for the scheme. He played duck-duck-goose with his four preseason quarterbacks long after it was clear that Pennington was the best of the bunch. His prickly rules, which have had players pay fines for speaking out of turn and run laps for penalties or botched snaps in practice, have ruffled some, but not enough to cause an uprising so far.

The new coach has so ingrained the team with his three basic tenets that some spout Mangini's Mantras like frat pledges.

"That's what he stresses and harps upon each and every day: 'What type of player are you? Are you the same player every day? Are you doing the things that your coach is asking you to do?' " Coles said.

"I think the guys have bought into that part. And that's all you can pretty much do."

[NIGHT STALKER]

Titans' QBs

in scramble

Because the Titans haven't named a starting quarterback yet, Eric Mangini has the Jets preparing for all three: Billy Volek, recently signed ex-Giant Kerry Collins and heralded rookie Vince Young.

Titans coach Jeff Fisher said it could "go all of the way up until kickoff," but he has also said Young will likely remain the team's No.2. Volek, who asked to be released last week after the Titans added Collins, has a $1 million base salary that becomes guaranteed if he's on the roster on Sunday.

[NIGHT STALKER]

NFL looks to combine Branch

[NIGHT STALKER]

JETS PREVIEW

[NIGHT STALKER]

Jets Rookie Opens Doors With Hard Play

By DAVE CALDWELL

Published: September 5, 2006

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y., Sept. 4 -- Leon Washington misses the old days, when he and other Jets rookies talked football and made friends in a cramped side locker room that had tiny nameplates attached to the tops of the players

[BwanaZulia]

So this is when they write the puff pieces?

BZ