JETS NEWS for 9/7

[NIGHT STALKER]

Chad braces for rush job

Titans mounting an all-out blitz

By RICH CIMINI

DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

It's no stretch to say that Chad Pennington will be facing heavy pressure in opener against Titans.

For Chad Pennington, the season opener has a warm and fuzzy feel to it. His first regular-season game since his second major shoulder injury, nearly a year ago, will be played in Nashville, about three hours from his Knoxville roots.

Naturally, the Titans have a different perspective on Pennington's feel-good story. They see a quarterback with a surgicallyrepaired wing and limited arm strength, a potential sitting duck. They want to teach the Jets' signal caller a lesson: Home is where the hurt is.

"Chad is a very smart guy. He knows where to go with the ball and he makes good throws, but he's coming off that shoulder surgery and I hope we can get after him a little bit so he can't use those attributes," Titans linebacker Keith Bulluck said yesterday. "We're going to try to go out and knock him around a little. If he gets comfortable and gets it going, he's as good as anyone out there."

Did someone say "heavy blitzing"?

It's obvious the Titans aren't too concerned about getting gunned down by Pennington's arm - Bulluck rated his arm strength as a 7 on a scale of 1 to 10 - so they figure to attack the Jets with pressure-oriented schemes on Sunday. The Titans aren't dumb; they studied the preseason tapes. Pennington faced heavy blitzing in the preseason, and he acknowledged that teams probably will test him to see if his twice-repaired throwing shoulder still has enough zip to beat a blitz.

When a good defense senses it can attack a quarterback with little fear of reprisal, "It's like sharks to blood," Pennington said.

In the preseason, the Jets surrendered 12 sacks in 119 pass plays, a horrible ratio. For Pennington, it was three sacks in 37 pass plays. The blitz pick-up was a major issue, especially among the running backs, and it would be an upset if the Titans don't dial up a few blitzes of their own.

"Their offense is protection-conscious," said Titans coach Jeff Fisher, who was being kind. "They're not going to get him hit and he gets rid of the ball."

A year ago, when Pennington returned from his first shoulder operation, he was an immediate target. In three games, he saw just about everything, but he responded reasonably well. Against blitzes, he completed 17 of 27 passes for 218 yards, with one touchdown and one interception, according to STATS, LLC., a solid 85.1 passer rating.

But now Pennington has a rookie center making the blocking calls (Nick Mangold), a rookie tackle protecting his blind side (D'Brickashaw Ferguson) and no Curtis Martin, an underrated pass blocker, in the backfield.

That the Jets don't have a consistent playmaker at wide receiver - a home-run threat who can beat man-to-man coverage - also could make them easier to blitz.

Considering his past injuries, Pennington threw the ball reasonably well in the preseason, but his passes outside the numbers lacked zip, according to an opposing scout.

Pennington didn't seem at all concerned by the circumstances, or by the prospect of exposing his injury-prone shoulder to the wolves.

Of course, he also seemed confident before the 2005 opener, and look what happened in Kansas City: He fumbled six times, losing two, and threw an interception. He was a bag of nerves.

"I certainly learned from that," Pennington said. "There may be some similarities (to this year) in that it's another road game and it's a new system. But I learned from those things and we all feel confident that it's not going to happen again."

Originally published on September 7, 2006

[NIGHT STALKER]

Blaylock gears for opener

Thursday, September 07, 2006

BY COLIN STEPHENSON

Star-Ledger Staff

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. -- RB Derrick Blaylock, who will start Sunday's opener against the Tennessee Titans, said yesterday he is confident in his ability and has nothing to prove.

Blaylock, a sixth-year pro who spent his first four seasons in Kansas City, has rushed for 776 yards and 10 touchdowns on 173 carries (4.5-yard average) in 47 career games. Sunday will be his sixth career start.

"No, I don't have anything to prove," said Blaylock, who received a $3.2 million signing bonus as the heir apparent to Curtis Martin. "I've been in this league six years. I can play the game. I can't worry about having anything to prove because if you do that, you go out there and tend to overdo things. You just have to relax, stay claim and focus."

Coach Eric Mangini has said he intends to use "package-based" running backs, and said Monday that the player who starts the game won't necessarily be the one who gets the most playing time.

Blaylock, Kevan Barlow, Cedrick Houston and rookie Leon Washington have been battling for the job of taking over for Martin, who will miss at least the first six games after starting the season on the PUP list.

Yesterday, the Jets worked on several third-down situational packages involving all their running backs.

Despite the fact rookie Kellen Clemens is listed as the No. 2 QB on the depth chart, indications are Patrick Ramsey will be Chad Pennington's backup in Week 1, at least. Mangini, asked again who the backup QB will be, refused to say.

Although Titans coach Jeff Fisher has yet to announce his starting quarterback, indications are ex-Giant Kerry Collins will get the nod over Billy Volek. Interestingly, Collins, who was signed two weeks ago, has a base salary of $1.3 million with a $700,000 roster bonus, while Volek has only a $1 million base salary this season. Do the math.

Chad Pennington didn't fare so well coming off his first rotator cuff surgery, fumbling six times (losing two) and throwing a costly interception in a 27-7 thumping by the Chiefs in the season opener a year ago.

"I've certainly learned from last year's opener," Pennington said. "We all feel confident it's not going to happen again."

The Jets announced their team captains as voted by the players: Pennington and G Pete Kendall (offense), LB Jonathan Vilma and DE Shaun Ellis (defense) and P Ben Graham and LB Matt Chatman (special teams).

Graham, the former Australian Football League star, was also a captain Down Under, making him one of the few players to ever be a captain on a professional team in two different sports. Also, it's rare in the NFL that a punter is voted a captain.

Ex-Jets C Kevin Mawae, a six-time Pro Bowl selection, is the Titans' starter.... The Jets have three former Titans on their roster in CB Andre Dyson, WR Justin McCareins and LB Brad Kasell.

The Jets yesterday signed DT Titus Adams and WR Wallace Wright to the practice squad and released WR Dante Ridgeway and DT Matt McChesney.

[NIGHT STALKER]

SMITH ON QB DEPTH CHART

By MARK CANNIZZARO

September 7, 2006 --

JET NOTES

Since the moment Brad Smith was drafted, there has been an unspoken rule. He had to suppress any thoughts, desires and memories of being a quarterback, despite the fact that he was one of the nation's most prolific collegiate quarterbacks in 2005 while at Missouri.

When the Jets drafted Smith, he was drafted as a receiver. When he arrived to minicamp, he was given a receiver playbook, not a quarterback playbook. He was instructed to go to receiver meetings, not quarterback meetings. While the Jets went through training camp, Smith did not take one snap from under center.

A funny thing happened yesterday, though. Eric Mangini acknowledged Smith as a quarterback. And, Smith's name turned up on the depth chart as the fourth-string quarterback - as well as third-string receiver.

"Just so everybody knows, Brad is a bona fide quarterback," Mangini said.

For the record, Smith is acting out the part of Titans' rookie QB Vince Young on scout team this week.

"Brad gives us a good look," Mangini said.

"What I really like about this guy is every day something gets a little bit better, and he's making that happen by the way that he takes the coaching, the way that he applies the information that he gets, the way that he focuses on improving the areas where he needs improvement," Mangini said.

As for the Jets' No. 2 QB, Mangini still won't acknowledge a decision, though rookie Kellen Clemens is listed as No. 2 on the depth chart. That chart, however, is an "unofficial" one made up by the public relations staff.

*

Isn't it ironic that it's the Titans, not the Jets, who are withholding who their starting quarterback is going to be Sunday?

Mangini named Chad Pennington a the starter last week after a summer of clandestine competition. Titans' coach Jeff Fisher is declining to name whether his starter will be newly-acquired Kerry Collins, incumbent backup Billy Volek or top draft pick Vince Young.

"I think that's a really solid decision on Jeff's part," Mangini said yesterday. "We have to prepare for three quarterbacks. That takes time. It's something that we're doing very thoroughly. They all present unique problems. They have different skill sets. I think it's a good decision on his part."

*

WR Tim Dwight (leg) and CB David Barrett (leg) are listed as questionable but both practiced . . . The Jets yesterday signed DT Titus Adams and WR Wallace Wright to their practice squad, and released DT Matt McChesney and WR Dante Ridgeway.

[NIGHT STALKER]

Jets depth chart has surprises

Thursday, September 07, 2006

BY COLIN STEPHENSON

Star-Ledger Staff

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. -- The local media has been all over Eric Mangini this summer, trying to get the Jets' rookie head coach to tell the world who his starters and backups are going to be this season.

Yesterday, Mangini finally obliged -- sort of -- as the Jets' media relations department put out a depth chart that confirmed Jerricho Cotchery will start ahead of Justin McCareins at wide receiver, and Derrick Blaylock will be on the field at running back when the Jets run their first play from scrimmage Sunday against the Titans.

But the most interesting note on the depth chart was that rookie Brad Smith, drafted out of Missouri to play wide receiver, was listed at both receiver (third, behind Laveranues Coles and Tim Dwight), and quarterback (fourth, behind Chad Pennington, Kellen Clemens and Patrick Ramsey).

"Brad is a bona fide quarterback," Mangini said.

Smith proved that in the fourth quarter of the Jets' final preseason game against the Eagles. Having already caught a 37-yard pass from Clemens in the first quarter, Smith was sent out to play QB in the fourth and immediately injected some electricity in the position with his designed rollouts and scrambles.

Trailing 17-10 when he took over, he led the offense to two scores to finish the Jets' 20-17 victory, capping the comeback by scoring the winning touchdown on a 9-yard, naked bootleg with 3:19 remaining.

Mangini was impressed.

"He caught a pass, he caused a penalty, covered kicks, played quarterback," the coach said. "That's the versatility we're looking for across the board -- and the willingness to play any role possible to help the team achieve its goals."

Naturally, the 6-2, 210-pound Smith said he is just trying to do whatever the coaches ask him to. But he admitted if offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer should tap him on the shoulder and told him to go in at quarterback and run a play, he'd be excited.

"Oh, yeah, no question," Smith said. "That would be good. But ... whatever situation -- whatever's asked of for every guy, we have to do it."

One of the things Smith could do this week is help the Jets defense prepare to face Tennessee quarterback Vince Young. While he didn't win the national title for his school, as Young did, Smith provided much of the same excitement as a double-threat quarterback for Missouri.

He started every game in his four-year career and set school records for career passing (56) and rushing (42) touchdowns. In his senior year, Smith passed for 2,304 yards and ran for 1,301, becoming the first player in Division 1-A history to pass for 2,000 yards and rush for 1,000 yards.

He was also the first player in NCAA history to pass for more than 8,000 yards and rush for more than 4,000 in a career.

Still, when the Jets asked him to play wide receiver, he admitted the whole thing was a bit intimidating.

"It was definitely different, never playing the position, and then coming in here where these guys had played it for a long time and are really good," Smith said. "It was all kind of intimidating, but it also helped me out just to see how it's supposed to be done the right way."

Smith got advice on making the switch from Washington's Antwan Randle-El, who also played quarterback in college and was converted to wideout by the Pittsburgh Steelers. Randle-El became the first wide receiver to throw a touchdown pass in the Super Bowl last February for the Steelers, before leaving Pittsburgh as a free agent to sign with Washington.

Smith said he never sat in on any of the quarterback meetings, but he did study the quarterback plays, and said he has a lot more studying to do now. Mangini won't give away how he intends to use Smith, who ran for 92 yards on five carries in the preseason (including a 61-yard touchdown on an end-around) and also had seven catches and was 2-of-4 passing the football.

So, Smith says, "I just try to be prepared for everything."

"Whenever my name is called, no matter what kind of situation," he said. "I just have to be ready to go in."

[NIGHT STALKER]

No backup plan for Mangini

Jets coach Eric Mangini declined yesterday to name his backup quarterback for Sunday's opener. Titans coach Jeff Fisher declined to name his starting quarterback.

It's never too early for gamesmanship, is it?

The Jets released a depth chart that listed rookie Kellen Clemens ahead of Patrick Ramsey. Hmm. Mangini, downplaying the significance, claimed it was an "unofficial" depth chart, compiled by the public-relations staff, not the coaching staff.

Does that make it an official unofficial depth chart? If not, what's the point? The league requires a depth chart from every team during the regular season. Asked why he hasn't named a No. 2 quarterback, Mangini said, "I'll let you know as we go. We're going to look at it this week."

Could Mangini have something up his sleeve? He could make rookie WR/QB Brad Smith the No. 2 quarterback, creating a spot at another position on the 45-man active roster. Mangini called Smith "a bona fide quarterback." For what it's worth, he's listed at both positions on the depth chart. That strategy could backfire if Chad Pennington is injured before the fourth quarter. If the No. 3/inactive quarterback is used before the fourth quarter, the team must play him the remainder of the game.

Meanwhile, Fisher said he's deciding between Billy Volek and recently acquired Kerry Collins as his starter. Rookie Vince Young will be Tennessee's No. 2. Fisher didn't rule out the possibility of using Young in certain situations. More gamesmanship.

NEW LEADERS: The Jets elected their team captains for the season: Pennington and guard Pete Kendall on offense, DE Shaun Ellis and LB Jonathan Vilma on defense, LB Matt Chatham and punter Ben Graham on special teams.

Under Herm Edwards, they used weekly captains.

"There were hanging chads and allegations of electoral improprieties, none of which were proven," joked Kendall, who was flattered by the honor.

CENTER OF ATTENTION: The usually chatty Kevin Mawae refused to chat about his former team.

"I'm not talking about the Jets," the Titans' center told reporters in Tennessee. "Ask me anything you want about any of my teammates, but I'm not talking about the Jets."

Mawae was on the Jets from 1998 to 2005, but he was released last offseason by Mangini. He also refused to do a conference call with the New York media....Jets are relatively healthy for the opener. The only player who didn't practice was backup C Trey Teague (ankle). CB David Barrett (leg) and WR/PR Tim Dwight (leg) are listed as questionable, but they practiced. ...Jets added DT Titus Adams and WR Wallace Wright to practice squad and released WR Dante Ridgeway and DT Matt McChesney.

Rich Cimini

[NIGHT STALKER]

JETS

Finally, it's for real

Mangini will unveil tricks he kept hidden in vanilla preseason

BY TOM ROCK

Newsday Staff Writer

September 7, 2006

It was hard for Eric Mangini to keep a straight face. The curl of an ironic smile tried to sneak out of the corners of his mouth. But he did it. He stood there and said the words when asked about how much of his new team was on display the last month:

"We wouldn't hold anything back."

Which is, of course, nonsense. Every team keeps a little something hidden in preseason. It's what provides an element of surprise on opening day. The Jets, with their new coaching staff, new systems on offense and defense and largely new personnel, present a challenge to the Titans heading into Sunday's game in Nashville. They are the Great Unknown.

Likewise, the Titans are trying to keep an air of mystery around themselves, withholding a decision on a starting quarterback and, undoubtedly, not tipping their hand during preseason games.

The game will be played on Sunday, but the gamesmanship has already begun.

Mangini's mind games extend to his depth chart, which was alphabetical all preseason and now has more warning labels than a pack of cigarettes. It is titled "unofficial" at the top, and the fine print declares that it was "compiled by the Jets' Public Relations department."

"It's Ron's best guess," he said, referring to vice president of public relations Ron Colangelo. "I know the alphabetical depth chart raised a few eyebrows. We now have the unofficial depth chart. I think Ron did a pretty good job with it. Maybe a few areas we could work on."

When asked about Titans coach Jeff Fisher's decision not to announce whether Billy Volek or Kerry Collins would be his starting quarterback, Mangini gave a "Why didn't I think of that?" smirk. "I think that's a solid decision on Jeff's part," he said.

Chad Pennington said both sides will have new wrinkles. "It will be a key to the game to be able to react to the surprises that the Titans give us and see how they react to the surprises we have," he said. "No one has that edge of being able to see recent game film."

The Jets' defense is lucky to have spent most of the preseason trying to keep track of four quarterbacks. Paring it down to three for the opener should be a breeze.

"We couldn't just zero in on Chad," linebacker Jonathan Vilma said. "We had to go with what we know, go with their strengths and expect what we could expect from them."

Not that any of this matters. Teams can show up for the opener with enough jack-in-the-boxes to startle a statue and it won't necessarily lead to a win.

"I've always found that once you line up, your true colors show," Jets receiver Laveranues Coles said. "You can surprise somebody for only so long."

Notes & quotes: The Jets announced their captains for the season: Pennington and Pete Kendall on offense, Vilma and DE Shaun Ellis on defense and Matt Chatham and Ben Graham on special teams. Graham is believed to be the only pro athlete to captain teams in two leagues. He captained Geelong in the Australian Football League from 2000-02 ... Mangini called rookie Brad Smith a "bona fide" quarterback because he is now listed at that position on the unofficial depth chart. He's also listed at receiver ... CB David Barrett (upper leg) and WR Tim Dwight (upper leg) were listed as questionable while Kendall (lower leg) and LB Matt Chatham (lower leg) were probable on the injury report. OL Trey Teague (ankle) won't play ... The Jets signed WR Wallace Wright and DE Titus Adams to the practice squad, and WR Dante Ridgeway and DT Matt McChesney were waived.

[NIGHT STALKER]

SIX PACK

JOVIAL JETS NAME CAPTAINS

By MARK CANNIZZARO

September 7, 2006 -- Ben Graham had his head down and eyes focused on the pad of paper on which he was taking down notes yesterday morning when he heard his name called at a very unlikely time.

Jets coach Eric Mangini was announcing to the players who the team captains were - as voted on by the players.

"Man, I was busy writing down the captains of the offense and defense and when he read my name out I looked up - it was the shock of my life," Graham said yesterday.

Indeed, after Chad Pennington and Pete Kendall on offense and Jonathan Vilma and Shaun Ellis on defense were named, Graham and Matt Chatham were named special teams captains. Those six players will now be expected to help this team set a positive tone for the season when the Jets play their season opener against the Titans Sunday in Nashville.

A year ago, you might remember, a rather ominous tone was set in the opener at Kansas City, where the Jets had more botched snaps and fumbles than they did points.

They, of course, never recovered.

This, of course, is a new group with a punter (Graham) as one of its captains.

Herman Edwards anointed different captains every week during his tenure.

"It means a lot to be voted by your peers," Graham said. "That's the first time that's happened for me. In Australia (where he played Australian Rules Football and was captain of his team there), it's a selection process by coaches and a committee and then it has to be approved by the board of directors.

"But here it means a lot more to be voted by your peers. It's something very special. I'm honored. I've sort of come to learn while kickers and punters are an integral part of special teams, it's generally the offensive and defensive players that hold the esteem in the locker room. So to be named team captain means a lot."

Just a year ago, Graham, at age 31, was a foreigner trying to make it in a new sport, truly finding his way. Now, he's deemed an integral enough part of the team to be voted a team captain.

"It's all happened so quickly," he said. "I'm still coming to terms with it, really."

Interestingly, Ellis hoped to be voted in as a captain.

"[Mangini] called my name out and I was thrilled," Ellis said. "Regardless of whether I was elected as captain, I was still going to be a main leader on defense for this team. But this means a lot. Any time you get voted captain by your peers shows they have a lot of confidence in you and they respect you as a player and a person."

Ellis called being a captain "something you grow into" adding he's "learned from players who were captains before like Curtis [Martin]."

For Pennington, this is just another significant notch in his belt en route to his remarkable comeback from a second shoulder surgery to win the starting job again.

Kendall, as is his way, used humor to describe his feelings, saying, "I would like some physical acknowledgement of my new status - a salute, a tip of the cap."

He added that there was probably an investigation going on to scout out possible "allegations of electoral impropriety."

Turning serious, Kendall added, "I'm honored and flattered, but I'm not trying to be someone else. I don't know that I've ever been elected captain since I've been in the NFL. I'm honored that the guys would do that and look to me like that, but I can't change my behavior because of that. The way I was, probably had something to do with the recognition."

Vilma, a born leader who was probably captain of his nursery school, took his election in stride, saying, "I'm used to that. I've been that way since high school. It's not a new role, just a title."

Vilma said his first order of business as captain was to help set a better tone to the 2006 season than the tone that was set in 2005.

"You don't want to go down that road again," he said. "It's very important for us to go out and play well. In Kansas City, we just didn't play well. That was the most frustrating part about it."

[NIGHT STALKER]

TUNA GIVES MANGINI PROPS

By MARK CANNIZZARO

September 7, 2006 -- Quite a few miles away from Weeb Ewbank Hall, Bill Parcells yesterday was praising his former assistant and current Jets' head coach Eric Mangini while warning him, too.

"He was a young, intelligent guy that was introduced to me by Bill Belichick," Parcells told Dallas writers. "I have a lot of respect for Bill's opinion. Eric helped us with the safeties when he first started in coaching, was doing a lot of quality control for us. He's a bright guy. He's ambitious.

"His career has had a mercurial rise, and Bill gave him the opportunity to be a coordinator up there in New England," Parcells added. "Of course they had great success and apparently he's attractive to the Jets. They knew him. He had been there and I wish him well.

"I think he's gonna be a hard-working kid, but like I told him when he got the job, this head coach (thing) isn't all it's cracked up to be. I told (Sean) Payton (now with the Saints) the same thing. There's a lot of days when you'd kind of like to be back being an assistant."

[NIGHT STALKER]

About the Titans

TOM ROCK

September 7, 2006

Coach: Jeff Fisher, 12th season (102-89)

Last season: 4-12, third, AFC South

About the offense: The Titans still have not named a starting quarterback. Billy Volek was the starter through training camp but the acquisition of Kerry Collins has allowed Fisher to take his time before making a decision. The only thing Fisher will commit to is that Vince Young will be the No. 2 guy, and even that, he said, doesn't mean the rookie won't see playing time. RB Chris Brown was on the Jets' radar early as a possible replacement for Curtis Martin and had asked to be traded, but when he won the starting job in Tennessee, all of that was forgotten.

About the defense: The Titans have underrated but solid outside linebackers with Keith Bullock, who has led them in tackles for four consecutive seasons, and free-agent pickup David Thornton. Second-year cornerback Pacman Jones is a talented defender and a deadly tackler, but opponents can take advantage of his erratic behavior. The Titans gave up a league-high 33 passing TDs last season but were one of the best at third-down efficiency, allowing only 35.5-percent conversions.

Bottom line: Like the Jets, the Titans are a young team searching for an identity. Unlike the Jets, they are trying to build with some risky choices in the draft. They took Young with the No. 3 overall pick despite some doubts that his college style would translate to the NFL. They also took USC RB LenDale White, whose draft status slipped with offseason weight gain and who wound up in a spitting/shoving incident during camp. This follows last year's selection of Jones, who has been involved in troublesome antics on and off the field. The Titans have stockpiled talent, but getting it to assimilate may take some time.