JETS ARTICLES - TUE

[Sperm Edwards]

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ap-jets-lopsidedloss&prov=ap&type=lgns

Jets' Mangini: Jaguars 'beat us in every phase of the game'

By DENNIS WASZAK Jr., AP Sports Writer

October 9, 2006

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. (AP) -- Eric Mangini remembers losing some ugly, lopsided games as a high school football player, and even a few in college.

"One week, we lost 150-0," the New York Jets coach recalled Monday. "You just come back the next weekend and play hard and try to improve."

ADVERTISEMENT

That simplified approach will certainly be put to the test this week as the Jets try to rebound from their worst loss in 20 years, 41-0 at Jacksonville on Sunday.

"They pretty much beat us in every phase of the game: offense, defense, special teams; they beat us in terms of coaching," Mangini said. "They started fast. They played physical. It's hard to win with four turnovers, a blocked punt and not playing well against the run, giving up big plays.

"And that's going to be true whether it's Jacksonville or any team that we face."

All the good feelings created from the Jets' valiant effort against Indianapolis the week before were nothing more than a distant memory. An embarrassing loss on the road can do that to a team.

"You try to look at the tape and find the things that you need to do and improve on and help your team and try to find the reason why you got beat so bad," said rookie Leon Washington, one of the few bright spots for the Jets with 101 yards rushing.

New York (2-3) came in with high expectations after falling to Indianapolis 31-28 last weekend. The players acknowledged that loss took a little time to get over, but Sunday's loss wasn't any easier -- or more difficult -- to accept.

"They're both losses," linebacker Eric Barton said. "It doesn't really matter. Pick your poison: lose one close, lose one by a lot -- they're both on one side of the column."

And the Jets want to make sure they get back on the other side of it starting this week at home against Miami.

"They just outplayed us," linebacker Bobby Hamilton said of Jacksonville. "The quicker I can get this out of my head, the quicker I can move on to Miami. Just give them credit. They did what they had to do."

The Jaguars made the Jets pay for all their mistakes early, and then poured it on from there. Before anyone could make their first snack run, Jacksonville was up 28-0.

"I think the important thing throughout this process, and I told the team, there's no excuses and there's no scapegoats," Mangini said. "Everybody across the board has a role in every win and every loss."

Brian Williams intercepted Chad Pennington's second pass of the game after the ball tipped into the air off Laveranues Coles' right hand. Four plays later, Jacksonville was in the end zone and on the way to sending the Jets to their worst loss since they fell 45-3 to Miami on Nov. 24, 1986.

On the Jaguars' next drive, Fred Taylor scored on a 13-yard run up the middle. Three plays after Ben Graham's punt was blocked, Maurice Drew scored from 4 yards to make it 21-0. Pennington's next pass was intercepted, leading to another touchdown.

The rout was on, and the comeback ability that made the Jets so exciting to watch in the first four games of the season was nowhere to be seen.

"The separation between success and failure on a lot of those plays could be as little as 6 inches," Mangini said. "And those 6 inches can result in six points."

The offense managed 177 net yards, including 132 on the ground. Pennington was 10-of-17 for 71 yards with three interceptions and was sacked four times.

Coles, who entered tied for the NFL lead with 30 catches, caught only three passes for 19 yards and was frustrated after the game by what he characterized as a lack of playing time. Coles was not in the locker room Monday during media availability.

Mangini tried to diffuse the situation, explaining that Coles played the most snaps of any receiver on the team and players were rotated in and out of the lineup based on the game plan.

"Laveranues is extremely competitive and passionate, and those are great qualities," Mangini said. "We have five good receivers who can all make plays and I think it's important that all of them play. You have that opportunity to stretch the defense by using a group of receivers with different talents."

The Jets also were penalized six times Sunday, including two questionable roughing-the-passer calls on Barton and Jonathan Vilma that turned third downs into first downs for the Jaguars.

"You can't just give away yards, especially to a good team like that," Barton said. "We have to stop penalties, no matter if they're right or wrong or whatever, we can't put ourselves in position to be called for them. They'll kill you. They'll kill drives, they'll give teams extra first downs, it sucks the life out of you."

While the focus will be on how the Jets deal with their first real brush with adversity under Mangini, the team claims it already has moved on.

"It's over with for us," Hamilton said. "It's the Miami Dolphins for us right now, and that's what we're getting ready for."

[Sperm Edwards]

http://www.thejournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061010/SPORTS01/610100336/1108/SPORTS01

Jets' Coles gets just enough time on the field

By ANDREW GROSS

THE JOURNAL NEWS

(Original Publication: October 10, 2006)

HEMPSTEAD — Jets coach Eric Mangini was asked yesterday why Laveranues Coles did not see as much playing time as usual, as the wide receiver suggested after Sunday's 41-0 loss at Jacksonville.

Mangini said it was an attempt to rotate the opportunities for the other receivers. Jerricho Cotchery, Justin McCareins and rookie Brad Smith had passes thrown their way, and Tim Dwight also suited up.

"Laveranues is extremely competitive and passionate, and those are great qualities,'' Mangini said. "We have five good receivers who can all make plays, and I think it's important that all of them play. Laveranues played the most snaps of any receiver yesterday. … They are all productive, and all have different skill sets that stress the defense differently.''

Coles, a Jacksonville, Fla., native, said after the game that he had sat out the second quarter, some of the third and the majority of the fourth. He was not available for comment yesterday.

Although he was held to a season-low three catches for 19 yards, Coles is still second in the NFL in both receptions and receiving yards with 33 catches for 431 yards.

Coles did have a team-high six passes thrown his way, two each in the first three quarters; Cotchery was next with four passes his way. A 7-yard reception on the seventh and final pass to Coles was negated when he was penalized for offensive pass interference with 3:38 to play in the third quarter.

"He played the way that we had planned to play it,'' Mangini said, adding nothing more should be read into the situation.

One good thing: When questioned about rookie running back Leon Washington's 101-yard performance — with 81 yards and 17 carries coming in the second half and the Jaguars defending against the pass — Mangini said he was hard-pressed to find anything positive from the game. Yesterday, he relented and admitted he liked that Washington played physically while also making tacklers miss.

And Washington, while repeating he could not be gratified about his personal performance after such a drubbing, opened up about his homecoming. The Jacksonville native said he bought 30 tickets, had at least 100 family and friends in Alltel Stadium and hugged 60-70 of them as he came off the field after the game. Plus, he got to see his 1-year-old son, who lives with his mother in Jacksonville.

"They said we couldn't run the ball, and he got 100 yards so that's good. It was positive,'' running back Kevan Barlow said. "When Leon touched the ball, he did a good job running with it.''

[Sperm Edwards]

http://www.thejournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061010/SPORTS01/610100337/1108/SPORTS01

Jets' new task is to rebound

By ANDREW GROSS

THE JOURNAL NEWS

(Original Publication: October 10, 2006)

HEMPSTEAD — The most interesting aspect of this week will be how the Jets react to the first beatdown of the Eric Mangini era.

Will they respond with a strong effort against the Dolphins, or will the grittiness they showed prior to Sunday's 41-0 loss at Jacksonville elude them the rest of the season?

Interesting, perhaps. But maybe only to those outside the team's locker room.

"I am not interested,'' Jets linebacker Eric Barton said yesterday. "I know what kind of guys we have in here. I know how we will go to work this week. It is not a question of how we are going to prepare this week. We just have to see if we will execute and if we do, we will be OK.''

"It lingers. It hurts,'' running back Kevan Barlow said. "If it doesn't hurt, something's wrong. You ain't got no choice but to put it behind you and move on in this league.''

Yes, the future is now for the Jets (2-3), and it no longer includes the Jaguars.

Still, the team reviewed tape of Sunday's debacle yesterday at Hofstra. The film sessions reinforced what the team knew Sunday: The Jaguars played more physically and were able to execute while the Jets were not.

"A lot of that stuff was technique errors, and that's the stuff we can't have,'' linebacker Bryan Thomas said. "That's the stuff that would beat us week in and week out.''

Strangely, though, the Jets seemed to feel better after watching what amounted to a football horror movie.

"I felt better,'' safety Erik Coleman said. "There were some things we did that caused them to be successful on some plays. There's some things we can work on as a team that can eventually make us better.''

Mangini spoke at length about how a matter of inches can make all the difference in technique — say, for instance, the number of inches in-the-doghouse Jets linebacker Cody Spencer missed his block on Gerald Sensabaugh before the Jaguars' safety blocked Ben Graham's second-quarter punt.

But there aren't any easy solutions when the team constantly misses by inches over the course of an entire game.

"Everyone presses to try and make a play,'' Coleman said. "Eventually you press so hard you get yourself out of position.''

Defensive lineman Bobby Hamilton said it was his responsibility, along with the rest of the veterans, to make sure the younger players know Sunday's loss was not "the end of the world.''

He said there's no time anymore in the NFL to dwell on the past.

As an example, he cited No. 60: rookie left tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson — Hamilton says he can't bring himself to call rookies by name.

"With how the free-agent market is going, it ain't like back in the day when you could build a team for the future,'' Hamilton said. "It's what you can do now. Think about it. You got a guy like No. 60, he's got four years and he'll probably be gone somewhere else. He's not going to be here 10, 12 years like back in the day. It's how you prepare your team right now.''

Which is why the Jets are probably catching a break playing the Dolphins this week, even if Miami (1-4) looked better in a 20-10 loss to the Patriots and will again go with a more effective Joey Harrington at quarterback over Daunte Culpepper.

There's nothing like a rivalry game to get a team to focus. At least in theory. The Jets have beaten their AFC East rivals in seven of their last eight games at the Meadowlands.

"I think any time you play a division opponent, it's so important,'' Mangini said. "I think the important thing is we're playing a team at home. Coming off the week we had and being consistent and preparing, those are the important things.''

It should make for an interesting week at Weeb Ewbank Hall.

[Sperm Edwards]

http://www.nypost.com/seven/10102006/sports/jets/its_zero_hour_jets_mark_cannizzaro.htm

IT'S CANNIZERO HOUR

By MARK CANNIZZARO

October 10, 2006 -- QUARTERBACKS F Chad Pennington (10-17, 71 yards, 3 INTs, 28.9 rating) was at his worst, was never in sync and all three of his INTs led to Jaguars' TDs.

RUNNING BACKS D Rookie Leon Washington (23-101) had the game of his young career in front of his hometown family and friends, but it was for naught. Kevan Barlow, who looked like he was making strides, rushed for minus one yard on four carries.

WIDE RECEIVERS F Laveranues Coles (3-19) was silenced. Jerricho Cotchery (4-49) made a play or two. Justin McCareins (no catches) barely played. Overall, a non-factor.

TIGHT ENDS F No catches for Chris Baker or Sean Ryan, and run blocking wasn't great ei ther.

OFFENSIVE LINE F Poor day for everyone. Pennington was sacked four times and Kellen Clemens went down twice. Overmatched by Jags' front seven, which was without its two best play ers because of injuries.

DEFENSIVE LINE F Jags QB Byron Leftwich had a lot of time to throw. Bryan Thomas had eight tackles, Dewayne Robertson five, Bobby Hamilton four and Kimo von Oelhoffen two.

LINEBACKERS F Jonathan Vilma had only four tackles. Eric Barton had six tackles and a sack. Brad Kassell whiffed on Fred Taylor causing a long gainer early in the game, as the Jags ran at will on the Jets. Both Vilma and Bar ton were called for huge roughing the passer penalties.

SECONDARY F Whenever the Jags needed to complete a big pass, they completed it. Not one of Andre Dyson's best games. Same for Justin Miller, Kerry Rhodes and Erik Coleman.

SPECIAL TEAMS D Miller (21.5-yard average on eight KOs) was held in check very well by Jags' cov erage teams. Jets' coverage was fine, though they never really needed it.

KICKING GAME F P Ben Graham (49-yard average on five punts, 32-yard net) had one blocked in the first half after LB Cody Spencer was called for an illegal block, nullifying a 55-yard punt and making the Jets re- punt.

COACHING F Eric Mangini and his staff were out- coached from the moment they got off the team charter Saturday. Tactically, there were some calls the Jets made that played right into the hands of the Jags.

[Sperm Edwards]

http://www.nypost.com/seven/10102006/sports/jets/hot_coles_jets_mark_cannizzaro.htm

HOT COLES

By MARK CANNIZZARO

October 10, 2006 -- There were a lot of wounds for the Jets to lick after their embarrassing 41-0 loss to the Jaguars Sunday in Jacksonville.

One area of importance Eric Mangini might want to pay some special attention to is Laveranues Coles, his top receiver and probably best offensive playmaker.

Coles was simmering in the post-game locker room over what was clearly a severe cut in playing time Sunday.

It was first speculated Coles' playing time had been intentionally pared down because of the various injuries he has been battling, the most recent of which was an injured wrist on the last play of the game against the Colts last Sunday.

Coles, who is generally available during media availability and is one of the most gregarious personalities on the team, was conspicuous by his absence yesterday in what was a mostly-empty Jets' locker room. You had to wonder if he were staying away in an effort not to talk himself into trouble with Mangini.

Coles was, however, very available for all who would listen after the game Sunday.

"I played very few plays," Coles said. "That's something you have to ask the coach about. I don't know why. I started the game, I sat in the second quarter, I sat some in the third and sat a majority of the fourth."

Coles was quick to point out that his wrist and calf injuries "didn't bother me at all."

Asked if he had any idea why, Coles said, "That's something you have to ask [Mangini] about. I just work here. I have a role to play. I play it. That's it. I'm just a pawn in a chess game. They move me here and there. They ask me to do something and I do it."

Coles, despite several frank comments about Mangini and his rough coaching style, has been a good soldier and emerged as a leader, if not even a favorite of Mangini's.

"Laveranues is extremely competitive and passionate, and those are great qualities," Mangini said yesterday when asked about Coles' post-game agitation. "We have five good receivers who can all make plays and I think it's important that all of them play. You have that opportunity to stress the defense by using a multiple group of receivers with different talents.

"Laveranues played the most snaps of any receiver [sunday]. And by game plan, we'll try to use all the different offensive resources that we have."

Asked if Coles played considerably fewer snaps than usual, Mangini said, "He played the way that we had planned to play it. Like I say, with the group of receivers we have, they are all productive and all have different skill sets that stress the defense differently and that they have to prepare for. It will adjust week in and week out, and it will be the same thing."

Still, though, if Coles' injuries were not a factor, why wouldn't Mangini at least have him on the field as a decoy?

Coles came onto the Jacksonville game tied for the lead in the NFL with 30 receptions, and has been emerging as one of the brightest and toughest offensive stars in the game.

Mangini stuck with his "schematic approach."

"There's nothing more to read," he said. "The way we look at it is, we have a good group there. We want to be able to use all the assets that we have throughout the course of a game, and they each present a different challenge for the defense."

When it was suggested that Coles' outspokenness might be borderline aggravating to him, Mangini said, "I think that Laveranues is passionate. He's competitive. He's tough.

"I feel very strongly about him in a very positive way. As a competitive guy, you're going to be emotional."

Said Coles: "Any time I'm not on the field, I'm frustrated.

"I don't ever want to end up on the side of the situation where people say I'm a bad apple. If I had all the answers, I'd be coaching."

[Sperm Edwards]

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/jets/story/460160p-387146c.html

Leon's play does talking

By Vic Ziegel

Tuesday, October 10th, 2006

The day after 41-0, Eric Mangini met with his players and, if we're supposed to believe him, gave them not much more than a pap talk. Not pep, pap, drivel, nonsense. "I talked to them about a consistent approach," he said. "Make sure it doesn't happen again. Learn from it. Build on it. Ya-ta-tah-ya-ta-tah."

Say this for Mangini, who's the youngest coach in the NFL: It's taken him only five games to master the art of making people yawn.

Were those the real Jets? Was that really Chad Pennington out there, 10-for-17, three interceptions, a grand total of 71 yards. The quarterback was one of the few plyers on his stool when the locker room opened yesterday, but there was a small problem: He doesn't talk to the media on Monday. We'll have to wait until tomorrow to get the final word on last Sunday, to find out why it won't happen this Sunday. Jonathan Vilma, the defensive star, is another invisible man on Monday. Today is his day to talk.

Kevan Barlow was one of the few available talkers. He came into Jacksonville with 143 rushing yards, and now has 142 yards. Do the subtraction. He was asked why he got only four carries and his answer was, "Scheme-wise, production-wise, I really don't know," he said. Made you wish he had the day off, too.

Barlow wouldn't do a semi-Shockey or a partial-Laveranues on his coach. "I think he has the right formula," he said. "He's on the right track. It's no secret where he comes from."

What that's supposed to mean is that Mangini grew up under Bill Belichick, the man who wins rings. Players listen to a coach who has a winning background. At least, until the winning stops. So one 41-0 isn't the end of the world.

The last coach, Herman Edwards, ran the team for five years and reached the playoffs three times. No other Jet coach, not the fabled Weeb Ewbank or the great Tuna, made the playoffs as many times. But Edwards was gone when it was decided he had lost the players. They weren't listening hard enough.

But they are gentlemen, these NFL general managers. They wear suits and ties. And when the Pizza Hut guy delivers lunch, the assistant coach for answering the bell makes sure it's pepperoni and mushrooms, as requested. So when Kansas City reached out for Edwards, who still had a year left on his contract here, the Jets' answer was, "You want him, you got him. Oh, we do need one small favor, a player, a draft pick, to tie a ribbon on this deal."

The pick became Leon Washington. It wasn't a large headline - Herman going, Leon coming - and nobody's ready to call it a swap for the ages. But it just might become the coach's last nice piece of work for the Jets.

Washington was a fourth-rounder, the 117th player chosen, the sixth Washington to pull a Jets shirt over shoulder pads. His soph year at Florida State was the only time he collected impressive numbers, 951 yards. But somebody on the Jets knew something. Or made a good guess.

Washington's number wasn't called in the first two games - the occasional punt return, special teams work, but nothing really special. He did pick up 58 yards in the next two games. If that doesn't sound like much - more like baby steps - than you haven't been keeping track of the Jets' rushing game. (Look, there it goes now. Where? Where?)

In Jacksonville, his hometown, in front of 30 ticket-holders he was responsible for, he ran for 101 yards, the first Jet to climb that mountain this season. "After the game," he said, "I was hugging 60, 70 (people). I've got a pretty big family."

He had six carries the first half, and because nobody else was covering ground, 17 more after intermission. "The coach tells us to prepare (in practice) as if we're going to get all the snaps (in the game)," Washington said recently. "I know my ability. I know what I need to work on."

He needs to fix whatever went wrong his senior year at Florida State, when he ran for only 273 yards. ("A bad year," he admits.) He isn't a monster - 5-8, 202 pounds - but he covers ground. And nobody else is.

Best of all, he can talk every day of the week.

[Sperm Edwards]

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/jets/story/460161p-387148c.html

Heat's on Mangini

Young coach deals with 1st crisis

BY RICH CIMINI

DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

It's a honeymoon season for Eric Mangini, but not every honeymoon is paradise.

After only five games, the Jets' rookie head coach has encountered his first pressure point. He's coming off one of the most lopsided losses in franchise history, his team is regressing in many key areas and his most productive player (outspoken Laveranues Coles) is sniping.

And, oh, yes, the Jets face the struggling Dolphins (1-4) Sunday at Giants Stadium, where a loss isn't going to result in a moral-victory hug.

The microscope will be on Mangini this week as he tries to rally the Jets from their worst beating in 20 years, a 41-0 drubbing by the Jaguars. The players, some of whom aren't thrilled with his coaching methods, will be studying him closely to see how he responds.

Publicly, the even-tempered Mangini showed no signs of anger or panic yesterday. Behind closed doors, he emphasized team unity, telling his players, "There are no excuses and there are no scapegoats."

It was a day to circle the wagons, with team leaders stepping to the forefront, except there were no wagons in the Jets' locker room. Curiously, none of the six captains made himself available to the media.

Chad Pennington was the only captain to set foot in the locker room during the media period, but he was silent; he doesn't speak to reporters on Mondays.

He sat at his locker, using a hole puncher to file the most recent game plan into a spiral notebook. Some might say the Jaguars already had punched a hole in it.

Coles isn't a captain, but he, too, was invisible. He was upset Sunday night, questioning why he spent an inordinate amount of time on the bench. The wide receiver has tweaked Mangini on several occasions. Just last week, he admitted he's no fan of the no-huddle offense and he hinted that the first-quarter woes could be traced to coaching and preparation.

Mangini insisted that Coles' outspoken nature isn't wearing on him, although he couldn't have been happy with a player creating a playing-time issue after a blowout of that magnitude.

"I think Laveranues is passionate, I think he's competitive, I think he's tough," the coach said. "I feel very strongly about him in a very positive way. As a competitive guy, you're going to be emotional. The important thing is that we all collectively look at the things we can do better."

Coles, who began the day as the NFL's co-leader in receptions, appeared in more plays than any receiver in Jacksonville, according to Mangini. But it was less than usual. Why? Mangini said it had nothing to do with Coles' nagging wrist injury; he claimed that he simply wanted to incorporate all five wideouts into the game plan.

"There's nothing more to read into it," Mangini said.

Yet it's interesting to note that Coles' playing time dropped off after he was flagged for pass interference late in the third quarter. Mangini has a quick hook when it comes to costly penalties. But, for all his discipline, the Jets have 31 penalties, slightly above the league average.

The ugly loss is casting a harsh light on the Jets' blemishes. They're ranked 29th in total defense and they've been outscored in the first quarter 35-0, raising questions about preparation.

Bobby Hamilton called Sunday's game "a sad moment," but he predicted a spirited rebound. Kevan Barlow said, "It lingers and it hurts, but you have no choice to put it behind you and move on."

Mangini took the analytical approach. Referring to the key plays in the defeat, he said, "The separation between success and failure on those plays could be as little as six inches."

But six inches can add up to a mile, as the Jets discovered the hard way.

[Sperm Edwards]

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/jets/story/460162p-387156c.html

Rookie pushing Barlow

BY RICH CIMINI

DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

Do the Jets have a running-back controversy?

One of the few bright spots from Sunday's 41-0 debacle in Jacksonville was rookie Leon Washington, who rushed for 101 yards. Even though 70 yards came in the second half, when the Jaguars were sitting back and willing to concede yardage on the ground, Eric Mangini was impressed with Washington's running style.

"I thought he made some people miss, I thought he ran through some arm tackles and I thought he was physical," Mangini said yesterday. "I liked the way he handled the ball. That's a positive for him and for us."

Could Washington unseat starter Kevan Barlow, who had only four rushes for minus-1 yard? It's not out of the question. Barlow said he doesn't know why he had only four chances.

"Maybe it was scheme-related, maybe it was production-related. I really don't know, to be honest with you," Barlow said. "Whenever Leon touched the ball, he did a good job running it ... I'm proud of him."

After five games, Barlow has rushed 14 more times than Washington (54 to 40), but he has 17 fewer yards (159 to 142). Washington is averaging 4.0 yards per carry, Barlow only 2.6. But Barlow has four touchdowns; Washington has yet to reach the end zone.

Cedric Houston, who started to show flashes before injuring his knee last week, is expected to miss a few more weeks. Curtis Martin, trying to battle back from a career-threatening knee injury, is eligible to start practicing next week.

ROUGH STUFF: Mangini notified the league office that he'd like a clarification on the questionable roughing-the-passer penalties on Jonathan Vilma and Eric Barton. Each week, teams routinely ask for explanations on disputed calls. "Those will be part of the package," he said.

NOTHING DOING: Sunday's loss was the first time in Chad Pennington's college and pro career that he had been shut out as a starter. Pennington's passer rating fell from 102.3 to 89.2 with his three-interception performance. ... Joey Harrington will remain the Dolphins' starting QB on Sunday versus the Jets, coach Nick Saban said yesterday.

[Sperm Edwards]

http://www.newsday.com/sports/football/jets/ny-spjets104926954oct10,0,2013390.story?coll=ny-jets-print

Calming down Coles

BY TOM ROCK

Newsday Staff Writer

October 10, 2006

A day after suffering the worst loss of his brief career, and one of the worst in franchise history, Jets coach Eric Mangini tried to extinguish the first public brushfire of his regime.

Laveranues Coles, who entered Sunday's game against the Jaguars tied for the NFL lead with 30 receptions, was frustrated by his playing time and his three catches for 19 yards in the 41-0 loss. Afterward, Coles spoke cautiously, but his displeasure was obvious. Yesterday, Mangini addressed those comments and their between-the-lines meaning.

"I think that Laveranues is passionate, I think he's competitive, I think he's tough," Mangini said. "As a competitive guy, you're going to be emotional."

Coles was not available yesterday. On Sunday, he barely held his tongue.

"You see all the time guys say things and then you have to come back and apologize for what you said," Coles said. "I don't ever want to end up on that side of things where people say he's a bad apple. When you lose a tough game like this, you just go back and regroup, kind of figure out again what your role is and where you fit in."

Where Coles had been fitting in was as the Jets' primary offensive weapon and as a favorite target of quarterback Chad Pennington. During the first few weeks of the regular season, he emerged as a team leader and a gregarious personality, a seemingly older and wiser player than during his first go-round in New York. He was one of the few Jets who could get away with throwing good-natured barbs at Mangini, calling his training camp "brutal" and often referring to the strict new culture of the team.

Mangini, who consistently praises Coles' toughness, seemed to let those remarks slide and often appeared to find them entertaining or even flattering. But he was quick to dispute Coles' latest take and, if not redefine Coles' role among the receivers, blur it a bit more.

"We have five good receivers who can all make plays and I think it's important that all of them play," Mangini said. "Laveranues played the most snaps of any receiver [sunday]. And by game plan, we'll try to use all the different offensive resources that we have."

Coles may have been the loudest grumbler, but there were very few happy Jets in Sunday's postgame locker room. After the worst trouncing of any Jets team in 20 years, the players and coaches scrambled to keep perspective and a positive attitude.

"This team is going in the right direction," defensive tackle Bobby Hamilton said. "Our day is going to come. I don't know when, but we're going to keep working on it.

"It's not the end of the world. It's a long season. I still believe."

While some coaches may have tossed the tape from such a lopsided game in an effort to forget about it, Mangini and his staff broke it down and presented it to the players yesterday. There were a few positives pointed out, the players said, but a whole lot of things to work on. Mangini said the separation between success and failure on many of the plays was six inches.

"The only value [sunday] is going to have is the value of us learning from it, working that much harder and making sure it doesn't happen again," he said.

Kevan Barlow, who took only four handoffs for minus-1 yards, has experience with humiliating losses after spending the previous five years with the 49ers. He said big defeats sometimes have lingering effects. But he also said there is a different vibe with the Jets than there was in San Francisco.

"There's a lot of stand-up guys in this organization," Barlow said. "I see a lot of character guys in here. We'll bounce back."

[Sperm Edwards]

http://www.newsday.com/sports/football/jets/ny-spjrate104926952oct10,0,1402794.story?coll=ny-jets-print

Not many watched Jets' meltdown

NEIL BEST

October 10, 2006

Lovely weather, a 41-0 blowout and a compelling Cowboys-Eagles game on Fox conspired to generate an extremely low 3.8 rating in the New York market for Sunday's Jets-Jaguars game on CBS, meaning an average of 3.8 percent of TV households were tuned in. Cowboys-Eagles got an 11.9 rating in New York, more than triple the number for the game involving a local team. Earlier Sunday, Giants-Redskins earned an 11.6 rating.

[Sperm Edwards]

http://www.newsday.com/sports/football/jets/ny-spjnotes104926953oct10,0,4332401.story?coll=ny-jets-print

Rule was unknown to Barton

BY TOM ROCK

Newsday Staff Writer

October 10, 2006

Eric Barton said he'd never heard the phrase "dip and whip," the term referee Tony Corrente used to describe Barton's helmet-to-helmet penalty against Jaguars quarterback Byron Leftwich on Sunday.

Essentially, Corrente described it as a defensive player making contact with the shoulder, then sliding up to the head area. It was one of two questionable third-down penalties against the Jets - the other was against Jonathan Vilma for, essentially, landing on top of Leftwich after a clean hit - that meant little in the 41-0 rout but illustrated the team's crumbling luck.

Jets coach Eric Mangini said those two plays, along with several others, will be sent to the NFL for "clarification."

Barton said the dip-and- whip penalty will not change his approach or cause him to hesitate on his next clear path to a quarterback.

"I'm going to play the same way no matter what," he said. "You're taught to tackle a certain way. He's 270 pounds, for God's sake. There's not too many ways you can get him down."

Homecoming king

Leon Washington may have had as many hugs as yards this weekend. The Jacksonville native returned home and, although the Jets turned in a clunker against the Jaguars, he ran for a career-high 101 yards.

"It was crazy," he said of rushing around to see family and friends. He bought 30 tickets for the game, and his grandmother hosted a party for about 50 more people. He also visited with his mother, his father and his son, who will turn 1 this month.

Washington became the first Jets rookie to rush for 100 yards since Blair Thomas in 1990.

Jet streams

Washington said he reviewed his fourth-and-goal run from the 1 in the fourth quarter that he initially thought might have been a touchdown, but it appeared his hip hit the ground before the ball crossed the goal line ... The Dolphins announced that Joey Harrington will start at quarterback against the Jets on Sunday.

[Sperm Edwards]

http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkxMjEmZmdiZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTcwMDM0NDAmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2

Jets need to go forward after step back

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

By RANDY LANGE

STAFF WRITER

It didn't take long for the Jets to reach a fork in their new road.

Being human, don't the players wonder how they'll rebound from Sunday's 41-0 barnacle scraping by the Jaguars on the banks of the St. Johns River? Do they even consider whether their next game, at home against the Dolphins, will be an October referendum on whether or not coach Eric Mangini's program is taking hold?

Apparently not.

"I'm not interested," linebacker Eric Barton said when asked if he's curious to see how the Jets respond to their largest road shutout defeat in 43 seasons. "I know what kind of guys we have in here. I know how we will go to work this week. I know the mind-set of this team."

"The quicker I can get this out of my head," defensive end Bobby Hamilton said, "the quicker I can move on to Miami."

Mangini wouldn't have it any other way. He's experienced such losses before but never accepted them and never dwelled on them.

"San Diego put it on us pretty good last year," he said of the Patriots' 41-17 home defeat in which the Chargers scored the last 24 points. "Buffalo one year was 31-0 [the Pats' 2003 opener]. My freshman year of high school, I played JV and varsity. One week we lost, 150-0. You just come back the next weekend, play hard and try to improve.

"I don't like the concept of built-in mulligans," he said of the theory that every team will have a game like this. "The important thing is consistency and execution. If you don't execute, you can have 16 clunkers. And if you execute effectively and consistently improve, a lot of good things can happen."

One concept of how Mangini's first year would be measured was by progress every week, not evident at Jacksonville, and staying in every game, which the Jets didn't do Sunday. And the meaning of 41-0 could still be unclear.

Maybe it is just a pothole in the road that rattles the suspensions of all rebuilding programs. Or maybe it is the tough Mangini training camp and attitude, the rules and regulations that Laveranues Coles regularly comments about, coming home to roost.

Yet too many Jets have expressed their belief in the Mangini method. Kevan Barlow, for example, didn't start at tailback vs. the Jags (rookie Brad Smith did), and after he lost 2 yards on five first-quarter touches, he didn't get the ball in his hands again.

"I think he has the right formula," Barlow said. "If he doesn't demand the best out of us, something would be wrong. He has the right ideas, he's going on the right track. It isn't any secret where he comes from -- Coach Belichick and Coach Parcells -- so he knows what he's doing."

Mangini even said the Dolphins may help focus his team, not because they're the arch-rivals but because they're an AFC East foe.

"Anytime you play a division opponent, those victories are so extremely important in the grand scheme of things," he said. "And I think another important thing is we're playing at home."

If Mangini needs one more teaching tool to drive out the "woe is us" factor after such a stinging defeat, he could point out that the last four NFL teams to lose by that same 41-0 score all won their next games.

That includes the 2002 Colts after their playoff loss to the Jets and this year's 49ers, who overcame their blanking by Kansas City to handle Oakland on Sunday.

[Sperm Edwards]

http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkxMjEmZmdiZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTcwMDMzMjMmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2

Jets notebook

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

'Competitive' Coles

One day after Laveranues Coles questioned how much he was used in the 41-0 loss at Jacksonville and described himself as "a pawn in a chess game," coach Eric Mangini said Monday he doesn't need to talk with his go-to wide receiver about any issues he's having.

"Laveranues is extremely competitive and passionate, and those are great qualities," Mangini said. "We have five good receivers who can all make plays. I think it's important all of them play."

Coles said by his count he "sat the second quarter, played some of the third and sat the majority of the fourth."

Mangini volunteered that Coles "played the most snaps of any of our receivers," although the coach didn't say how many plays that was or if it was close to the 55 he averaged in the first four games.

Coles also had the most passes thrown to him of all the Jets (six), he caught only three for 19 yards. He leads the AFC with 33 receptions.

Cornering the market

Against the Jaguars, rookie Drew Coleman was elevated over Justin Miller and David Barrett to become the third right corner starter this season, and Mangini said that wasn't by accident.

"Each week, guys create opportunities," the coach said. "Drew Coleman got a lot of playing time this week because he's been making a lot of progress."

QB briefs

Until Sunday, Chad Pennington had not started a game in college or with the Jets in which his team was shut out. ... Dolphins coach Nick Saban said QB Joey Harrington, who started for Daunte Culpepper in the 20-10 loss to New England, will start Sunday against the Jets.

-- Randy Lange

[Sperm Edwards]

http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkxMjEmZmdiZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTcwMDMzMTYmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2

Jets report card

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Running game: D

Although Jacksonville let the Jets run and dump off in the second half, rookie Leon Washington was impressive with 71 of his 101 yards. But Washington and B.J. Askew couldn't get it across on four runs from first-and-goal at the Jaguars' 8. Kevan Barlow had first-quarter runs of minus-3, 2, 1 and minus-1 yards.

Passing game: F

A group effort -- Chad Pennington was off-target, but his receivers couldn't get open against the Jaguars' secondary. This was especially true on third down, when Pennington was 3-for-6 for 23 yards, an interception and three of his four sacks.

Run defense: F

The Jags' first six runs knifed through the Jets for 54 yards and produced two TDs. Jonathan Vilma had a career-low four tackles. Brad Kassell started at ILB for Eric Barton but was not the answer against the run. There were no tackles behind the line.

Pass defense: D

Byron Leftwich (9-for-20) hit the passes he needed, including TDs to TE George Wrighster on CB David Barrett and WR Reggie Williams between the safeties. The Jets aren't improving at getting near the QB and his receivers.

Special teams: D-minus

Cody Spencer cost Ben Graham a 60-yard net punt with a penalty, then missed Gerald Sensabaugh, who handed Graham his first career block. Graham also launched a career-long 67-yarder for a touchback. Josh Scobee and the Jags' coverage turned Justin Miller into an average kickoff returner.

Coaching: F

No one faulted the preparation for Jacksonville, so perhaps it was Eric Mangini overload that crashed the Jets' systems five games in. Brian Schottenheimer had many formations but no answers on offense. Defensively, Bob Sutton's switch to a 4-3 early to play the run better didn't help.

-- Randy Lange