JETS ARTICLES - SAT 12/16

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http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/16/sports/football/16jets.html

N.F.L. Version of Walk-On Takes Big Step Up

By KAREN CROUSE

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y., Dec. 15

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Jets at Vikings: The Key Match-ups

Published: 12-16-06

By Real Football

Real Football Services provides expert analysis on NFL football.

Article Permalink: http://www.newyorkjets.com/articles/jets-at-vikings-the-key-match-ups

What a difference a week makes! The same Minnesota offense that could not do anything right against Chicago in Week Thirteen scored on their first three possessions last week and the Vikings are still in the NFC playoff picture. The Jets, who were flawless in the first half of their Green Bay game, were completely out of sync against the Bills and lost an opportunity to close on New England for the AFC East lead.

New York likes to move their offense around like chess pieces while the Vikings prefer a more conservative approach. But both clubs are only going as far as their quarterbacks will take them, and both Chad Pennington and Brad Johnson have had enough highs and lows in the last two weeks to fill a season. With the loser of this game likely out of playoff contention, the pressure will be on both clubs to produce on every play.

Match-up 1

LB Jonathan Vilma (6’1”, 230 lbs) vs. LG Steve Hutchinson (6’5”, 313 lbs).

Two marquee players square off in what will determine Minnesota’s ability to control the time of possession. Hutchinson is relentless in sustaining blocks, especially at the second level. Vilma has played better against the run in recent weeks but was unable to close or wipe off blocks at the point of attack last week. Regardless of who carries the ball, look for the Vikings to run behind Hutchinson to keep the chains moving.

Match-up 2

C Nick Mangold (6’4”, 299 lbs) vs. DT Pat Williams (6’3, 317 lbs).

Williams plays the bulk of the snaps over the center in Minnesota’s 4-3 under front. Williams has exceptional quickness, can beat the reach block and can tackle the ball-carrier from behind on away runs. The Jets rookie center has faced some of the best nose tackles in the league since midseason, holding the Browns Ted Washington and Patriots Vince Wilfork to a combined four tackles. If Mangold needs help from the guards, one of the Vikings linebackers will be roaming free to stop the run.

Match-up 3

WR Jerricho Cotchery (6’0”, 207 lbs) vs. LB Napoleon Harris (6’2”, 255 lbs).

The Vikings play a base Cover Two, but they will mix coverages often, making use of zone dog blitzes and alternately rushing the passer and dropping into coverage with their LB’s. Cotchery will run the short crossing routes behind the LB’s, forcing Harris to drop on most plays. Cotchery doesn’t have breakaway speed, but he is fast enough to shake Harris and is very good at finding the open areas in zone coverage. If he can get Harris trailing in coverage, he will also have plenty of opportunities to gain yards after the catch.

The Match-up Chart

Things to Look For:

Teams: The Jets lead the all-time series six games to one and have won the last five meetings between these teams…The last game between the teams came in a 20-7 Jets win in October, 2002. Chad Pennington threw for 324 yards and a TD in that game…The Jets have won five of their last eight contests and can double their 2005 win total with a victory this week…The Jets have had six games with 40 penalty yards or less and have won four of those contests…The Jets defense has given up just three rushing TD in the last eight games…The Vikings defense is first in the NFL in rushing yards allowed…Minnesota has 11 takeaways (6 INT, 5 FR) in the last two weeks.

Chad Pennington: Pennington needs 502 passing yards over the last three games to surpass his single-season career high of 3120 set in 2002.

Leon Washington: Washington has 566 rushing yards on the season, the 5th-most by a rookie in Jets history. He needs just 58 more yards to move past Freeman McNeil into 4th place.

Laveranues Coles: Coles is a combined 9-123-1 TD in two career games against the Vikings…He and Jerricho Cotchery can become the first Jets WR tandem to both reach the 1,000-yard receiving mark in a season since Keyshawn Johnson and Wayne Chrebet did it in 1998.

Bryan Thomas: Thomas is having a career year and has a sack in five of the last six games.

Shaun Ellis: Ellis needs 1 ½ sacks to reach 50 for his career.

Kerry Rhodes: Rhodes has 4 sacks on the season. He has forced a fumble on three of those four plays.

Brad Johnson: In his only game against the Jets as a Viking, Johnson had 312 passing yards and 3 TD passes for a 124.9 passer rating…his teams are 10-2 when he produces a passer rating of 120 or better.

Chester Taylor: Taylor has a career-best 1,098 rushing yards and needs just 202 yards to become the second Viking to rush for 1,300 yards in a season.

Marcus Robinson: Robinson has four touchdowns in nine games, three of them for 20 or more yards.

Jermaine Wiggins: Wiggins, who started his career with the Jets in 2000, is tied for 5th among NFC TE’s with 41 catches on the season.

The Match-up Chart

Download the Complete Week 15 Game Release

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Coles takes pride in receiving attention

Saturday, December 16, 2006

BY DAVID GURNEY

Star-Ledger Staff

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. -- Don't get him wrong. Jets wide receiver Laveranues Coles is having a fantastic season.

The numbers: 75 receptions, 921 yards, five touchdowns.

With three games remaining, the veteran is on pace to challenge many of his career highs in yardage and receptions.

He's not frustrated, but he's not overly ecstatic, either, heading into tomorrow's game at Minnesota.

Coles has been limited to seven receptions the past two games against Green Bay and Buffalo after a nine-reception, 111-yard performance against the Houston Texans.

"It wasn't that they shut me down; it was that, the way they played me, it takes away from the quarterback's progression," Coles said. "Based on how they played me, it takes me out of the read unless it's something specifically designed for the ball to come to me.

"That's the most frustrating thing. But again, for me as a player, when you come out of the tunnel it makes you feel good that teams feel like they have to take you out of the game like that."

Increased safety help, a lot of zone defense and double-teams have been limiting the amount of touches for Coles.

It's something that has worked often this season, according to Coles.

"They're trying to put their top corner on me and a safety on the hash," Coles said. "I guess that's something teams have seen on film that kind of works. It takes me out of the progression of the quarterback's reads, so it's been something a lot of teams have gone to."

However, there's a flip side.

For Coles, being the emphasis of opponents' defenses has given him pride and enabled others on the team, such as Jerricho Cotchery, a chance to emerge.

"It's something that you kind of take pride in," Coles said. "Because with getting the attention, it gives the other guys opportunities to make plays and help the ballclub win."

The Jets might be in the thick of the playoff hunt, but the bigger question is: How well does the team function when Coles' numbers are down?

The answer is worse -- though not significantly.

In the six losses compared with the seven wins, Coles has 13 fewer receptions, 147 fewer yards and one fewer touchdown. His three highest-yardage games this year have come in victories (153 versus Tennessee, 111 versus Houston and 106 versus Miami).

"(More coverage on Coles) is a plus and a minus," Jets coach Eric Mangini said. "It's a plus because it means he's playing really well. It's a minus because it makes it obviously more difficult to get him the ball. It's something of an ongoing process."

Although Coles scored a touchdown in the 31-13 loss against the Bills on Sunday, his yards-per-catch numbers are down, not only recently (13.6 the past two games), but overall (12.3).

The 12.3 mark is the third-lowest in his seven-year career.

But down numbers for Coles have led to a precipitous rise for Cotchery, who is enjoying a career year with 65 receptions for 802 yards and five touchdowns.

Against the Bills, Cotchery and Coles were limited to a combined nine receptions for 104 yards. Cotchery knows the onus is on the rest of the receiving corps to counteract the coverage on Coles.

"If the running game isn't working and LC is being doubled, then we're going to have to make it happen," Cotchery said. "Or else we'll be stuck in a game like last week."

After the Vikings, it won't get any easier for Coles or the passing game. The Jets close the regular season against Miami and Oakland, which rank first and fourth, respectively, in pass defense.

Opportunities could be scarce down the stretch, but that doesn't mean the Jets won't try to get their playmaker the ball.

"We are always trying to get Laveranues involved," Mangini said. "Laveranues garners a lot of attention now."

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http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/jets/story/480557p-404389c.html

Brick blocks out dud

Focuses on Vikes

BY PETER BOTTE

DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

Eric Mangini often enforces what he calls his five-second rule, whereby everything that already has happened on the football field - good or bad - must be forgotten within that small time frame.

It's now been five days for offensive tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson, and the Jets' behemoth first-round draft pick is locked in on tomorrow's game in Minnesota following the roughest performance of his 13-game career, last week against Buffalo.

Bills defensive end Aaron Schobel burned Ferguson for three sacks and forced a fumble in the Jets' playoff-damaging 31-13 loss last Sunday.

"It's a football game," Ferguson said. "Things aren't going to go well and I don't think you can accept that, but you have to deal with the adversity at hand. When the adversity's over, and you have a new challenge or test to take, you deal with that. Last week was a game I can learn from. I can improve upon (it) and I've done that.

"I'm not harping on it, it's over."

Ferguson, the fourth pick of this year's draft out of Virginia via Freeport (L.I.) has started all 13 games this season, as has rookie center Nick Mangold, the Jets' other first-round pick (29th overall).

But the Vikings' front seven present different problems for the Jets' offensive line, as Minnesota's interior linemen - Kevin Williams and Pat Williams - have anchored a defensive unit that has allowed just 54.1 rushing yards per game. The 6-6 Ferguson primarily will be matched against Vikings end Darrion Scott, who leads Minnesota with 5-1/2 sacks.

"Brick has been through a lot of games now. He's started every one of them. And he's faced some of the premier pass rushers in the league," Mangini said. "This is just the way it works. Some weeks are better than others. That's the nice thing, you get another opportunity this week to go out and improve."

After Sunday's game, Schobel acknowledged that Ferguson is a tremendous athlete on his way to becoming a great player, but he thought the rookie struggled with his power moves.

Still, Mangini believes Ferguson gradually has progressed in technique and attention to detail, and also is becoming "more vocal" on the field and in team meeting rooms. Mangini and veteran guard Pete Kendall, who often serves as a mentor for Ferguson, also contend that the rookie doesn't deserve the knocks he's received for last week's performance. Backup quarterback Kellen Clemens, for example, appeared to hold onto the ball too long on two late sacks by Schobel.

"There are going to be times when you have a game like that and people on the outside are going to look at the stat sheets and say, 'You must have been awful.' But there are always extenuating circumstances," Kendall said. "Brick's not going to offer them as excuses and I'm not going to get into specifics to offer them for him. He'll be okay."

DOME COOKING: The Jets all week have pumped ear-splitting music, while practicing hand signals and silent counts, in what has been dubbed the Jetrodome - their practice bubble - to prepare for their only game indoors this season tomorrow at the Metrodome.

Said Kendall, "Once you can't hear, you can't hear, and you reach the point of diminishing returns, a saturation point, for sound. It can be difficult, but we've operated in quieter environments and still used silent cadences. It shouldn't be a problem." . .. Mangini again defended LB Jonathan Vilma after Bills tackle Jason Peters was quoted as saying "it's going to be hard for (Vilma) to make plays" in the 3-4 defense following a one-tackle performance against Buffalo. "Jon's made significant improvement week in, week out. He does so much, that isn't necessarily just tackling or blitzing, that helps the whole defense operate effectively," Mangini said.

Originally published on December 16, 2006

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http://www.nypost.com/seven/12162006/sports/jets/rhodes_rage_jets_dan_martin.htm

RHODES RAGE

By DAN MARTIN

December 16, 2006 -- Kerry Rhodes didn't mince words when he spoke in front of his locker yesterday.

He knows the Jets, thanks in large part to last week's disaster against the Bills, now have almost no margin for error if they are to have any hope of keeping their surprising run to the playoffs alive.

And while head coach Eric Mangini has made "playoffs" a prohibited word in Jets camp, Rhodes knows what's at stake when they visit the Vikings tomorrow at 7-6.

"We can't lose this game," Rhodes said yesterday.

As if he could tell that Mangini was listening, the defensive back quickly explained himself.

"It's not looking ahead," Rhodes said. "Every game we've got to win now. That's what happens when you lose a game like we did last week. We put ourselves in this position."

After giving up 31 points to Buffalo a week ago, the team that seemed poised to make the postseason is now in dangerous territory.

But given last week's disappointment, the defense in particular expects to play better this time around.

Linebacker Jonathan Vilma, who recorded just one tackle last week in his still new role in the 3-4 defense, believes it will.

"We've got to correct the things we did wrong, that's what we're working on," said Vilma, who Mangini credited with being the quarterback of the defense yesterday. "If we win, everything else takes care of itself."

Despite the fact that the defense struggled last week and the numbers seem to show that Vilma did, as well, his coach defended him.

"He does so much, he isn't necessarily just tackling or blitzing or that type of thing," Mangini said. "He helps the whole defense operate effectively."

Last week, that didn't happen. So when the defense plays as poorly in an important game, as it did a week ago, Vilma takes it personally.

"Of course," Vilma said. "Especially the mental errors on the defense. I can't stop everyone from having one, but I've got to help out."

As to whether those mistakes have been rectified this week, Vilma said, "We'll see."

For the Jets' sake, Vilma needs to see some significant improvements, something Rhodes admitted.

"We have to bounce back," Rhodes said. "We have to have the right psyche."

And while Vilma plays a large role in what the defense's mentality is, he needs help.

"It can't be just Jon," Rhodes said. "We know collectively we have to do better and be stronger as a unit."

But Vilma's role is vital.

"I think he's done a great job of making calls," linebacker Victor Hobson said. "He might not be making all the tackles that he's made in the past, but he's still just as big for us."

Regardless of what stats Vilma puts up the rest of the way, they won't mean as much as whether the Jets make the postseason. Still, Hobson doesn't think the team will approach this game any differently.

"We understand this is an important part of the year," Hobson said. "But all the talk is irrelevant if we don't win."

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http://www.nypost.com/seven/12162006/sports/jets/bubble_brings_the_noise_jets_dan_martin.htm

BUBBLE BRINGS THE NOISE

By DAN MARTIN

December 16, 2006 -- For most of the season, the Jets' indoor practice facility at Hofstra has gone unused.

Where other coaches have used the bubble as an escape from the weather, head coach Eric Mangini has opted to stay outside, regardless of the conditions.

And it's been the practices in some of the inclement weather that the Jets have pointed to as the reason for their success in wins over the Packers at chilly Lambeau Field and on wet, sloppy turf in New England.

So Mangini waited until this week, with the Jets set to visit the Metrodome in Minnesota, to take advantage of the bubble.

"That's our dome," Mangini said. "The noise has been good inside of there. I prefer to be outside, but this is one of those weeks where it really makes sense to be inside."

While the noisy practices aren't new, they are even louder than usual this week. As he has all season, Mangini has played loud music during practice to simulate crowd noise. Naturally, that noise has been amplified significantly indoors.

"The coaches do a good job getting us to the closest situation we can get to what we're playing in that week," kicker Mike Nugent said.

And the players seem to have grown accustomed to it.

"It's like every week," Pete Kendall said. "The goal is to make it as difficult as possible to have communication. It's difficult to have the quarterback say something and have 10 other guys hear it at once. Quarterbacks have to move to communicate."

Despite the fact that it will be harder to hear signals, Kendall doesn't anticipate any major problems.

"We've been in places that have definitely not been as loud as it will be [in Minnesota] and gone to silent cadence, so we know what to do," Kendall said. "After a point, loud is loud."

No amount of noise should bother Nugent. He's just pleased to be in an environment where he doesn't have to worry about the kicking surface.

"It's not a dream, but it's the [ideal]," Nugent said. "You don't have to go out there thinking, 'OK, is it going to be muddy?'

"But you still have to kick the ball straight."

*

Minnesota's top running threat, Chester Taylor, was upgraded from questionable to probable yesterday for tomorrow's game. Taylor, who has rushed for 1,098 yards, has been suffering from injured ribs.

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http://www.newsday.com/sports/football/jets/ny-spjets165018099dec16,0,3001010.story?coll=ny-jets-print

Jets working on life indoors: Bring on the noise

BY BOB HERZOG

Newsday Staff Writer

December 16, 2006

It was another unseasonably warm 50-something-degree December afternoon, so what better place for those rugged Jets to practice Friday than ... indoors?

To best prepare for their only 2006 game inside a dome, against the Vikings Sunday at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, the Jets turned up the volume in their practice bubble at Hofstra. As they worked on red-zone, goal-line and two-minute scenarios, extra-loud music was pumped in via the team's sound system. To some, it was too loud to hear yourself think. That's the point.

"We've worked in the bubble this week. That is our dome," coach Eric Mangini said. "The noise has been good inside. Like any other sort of new area that you're going to work in, it's something we're getting used to and adjusted to. The focus has been good. They've enjoyed the bubble work."

Maybe the Jets, like their coach, would prefer to be outdoors, especially considering the mild weather this week. But playing a game of Noise Simulator indoors provides a sample of the eardrum assault the Jets can expect from Vikings fans in their first indoor game since a loss at Atlanta on Oct. 24, 2005.

"Any time you play indoors, it tends to be louder than some of your loudest outdoor stadiums," said Jets guard Pete Kendall, who played his first four seasons in Seattle's now-demolished Kingdome. "Once you can't hear, you can't hear. There's a point of diminishing returns, a saturation point of sound. It can be difficult. But we've operated in quieter environments - when you measure it by decibels - yet we still had to use the silent cadence."

Most of those silent snap counts have been used on the road. Chad Pennington will, for example, say in the huddle that the ball is to be snapped on three. But the count doesn't begin until he lifts his right leg or yells out a color. At that point, the players count to themselves.

It's not a foolproof system. The Giants had 11 false-start penalties last season at Seattle's noisy new dome, Qwest Field. "When the quarterback gets underneath [the center], at times you'll find that the tackles and tight ends can't hear the cadence, whereas the interior three can hear the cadence," Kendall said. "So if you get a critical third down and those tackles out there on the edges are trying to block guys with their ears pinned back, sometimes they can over-anticipate the count."

Playing indoors does favor kickers, however, and the visiting kicker gets the same benefit as the home team. "It's not a dream, but it's the essentials," kicker Mike Nugent said. "Any kicker would say there aren't really any distractions being in a dome. Elements like the wind and weather, you don't have to think about."

The only elements of concern remain a noisy, hostile crowd and a jumpy set of offensive linemen.

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http://www.thejournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061216/SPORTS01/612160370/1108

Jets' Wright rewarded for not mailing it in

By Brian Heyman

The Journal News

(Original Publication: December 16, 2006)

HEMPSTEAD - Eric Mangini's mailbox is stuffed these days, and it's not just with holiday cards.

The Jets' coach says he regularly receives suggestions about players who can help the cause. It's just that they're household names in just their own households.

"I do get letters all the time from moms and dads and uncles and cousins," Mangini said. "They reference the fact that I was a ball boy and someone had to give me an opportunity and their son works very hard and he's a nice guy.

"I'd love to give everybody an opportunity, but unfortunately we've got to process through that and really try to shift resources the best way that you can. But I do get quite a bit of mail."

Which bring us to Wallace Wright.

The rookie receiver/special teamer didn't really get here the conventional way. He made North Carolina's team as a walk-on, and he made it to training camp with the Jets through a tryout. After spending the first 11 game days as a member of the practice squad - he practiced with the secondary as well - he was promoted on Dec. 2 after Tim Dwight was lost for the season with a foot injury.

And Wright has been active and involved on special teams in the two games since. In fact, he took down the elusive Roscoe Parrish on a punt return in last Sunday's loss to the Bills for his first and only pro tackle. Whether he gets in or not tomorrow in Minnesota, Wright appreciates how far he's come.

"It's a dream come true," he said. "Words can't describe how happy I am to be here. Everything happens the way it's supposed to, and I'm just thankful for this opportunity I've had that the New York Jets and Eric Mangini have given me to be on this team.

"It's a perfect spot for me. ... I'm glad that Coach Mangini is the type of guy that values hard work, because that's what I'm about, working hard and doing what I'm supposed to do."

Notes: Derrick Strait started training camp with the Jets, the team that drafted the defensive back in the third round back in 2004. He went to the Browns on Aug. 14 in a trade for Lee Suggs, then was returned the next day when the deal got voided, then got cut by the Jets again on Oct. 11, then moved on to the Bears and then moved on via waivers to the Panthers on Monday. "It's a tough part of the business when you leave the team that drafts you," Mangini said. "You're really fighting a different type of fight." ... The Vikings upgraded their top running back, Chester Taylor, from questionable to probable. Taylor missed their last game because of a rib problem.

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http://www.thejournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061216/SPORTS01/612160367/1108

Jets' Vilma just doing his job

By Brian Heyman

The Journal News

(Original Publication: December 16, 2006)

HEMPSTEAD - The music was blasting inside the Jets' big white practice bubble. They were trying to simulate the noise and indoor feel they will experience tomorrow at the Vikings' home dome. Jonathan Vilma stood on the field simulating with them, directing traffic before the scout team's snaps.

The 2005 Pro Bowl linebacker has been cited for being more of a traffic cop and less of a playmaker in the 3-4 defensive system coach Eric Mangini brought here this year. He has been calling signals and getting guys in the right spots. Then he has been staying in his proper area, meeting up with a lot of linemen and not having as much of a loud impact.

Still, all accounts have him learning well and getting better in the role. And Vilma hasn't whined about it, just been a good team guy, accepting what he has been asked to do and devoting himself to his studies of each week's opposing offense.

But he emerged from last Sunday's 31-13 loss to the Bills with one lonely tackle on the stat sheet.

And that fed more evidence to the critics who have been harping that the former tackling machine is being wasted as an undersized weak-side inside linebacker in this system; that the 2004 first-rounder's considerable sideline-to-sideline skills which were more in play as a 4-3 middle linebacker aren't being served. Buffalo tackle Jason Peters said as much after the game.

The critics have also harped on Vilma's defensive linemen having trouble keeping the offensive linemen from getting to him.

This place is much like the real world, though. The boss gives him his work assignment, and he tries to do it to the best of his ability. One of Vilma's typical comments on the subject is: "It is what it is." So he knows the critics' point about his skills being muted is a moot point.

"I have no reaction to it because it's not me," Vilma said, sitting at his locker before yesterday's practice. "It's me doing what I'm coached to do. So I'm very indifferent toward comments like that or stories like that because I know I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing.

"If the outside world feels I'm being wasted, that's not something to talk about with me. I've got nothing to do with it. You have to bring that up with the coach."

OK, will do.

"He does so much that isn't necessarily just tackling or blitzing or that type of thing that helps the whole defense operate effectively," Mangini said. "Jonathan is very good at that. That contribution has been extremely valuable."

Still, the 6-foot-1, 230-pound Miami Hurricanes alum has the speed and pursuit skills to make an even larger impact. Since the primary 3-4 base seems to be staying, Vilma was asked whether he thought he would ever be moved to perhaps weak-side outside linebacker so he could use his skills more in space.

"I don't know," he said. "That would be up to the coaches and what they want to do."

Right now, Mangini wants Vilma in this spot for the greater good. So it's not a waste to the coach.

"We always do everything based on what's best for the team," Mangini said. "I think Jon has made significant improvement week in and week out. As you grow in a system, you find the way to play the system that best fits your skill set.

"It's a similar situation with Tedy Bruschi where he played that position the way that best fit the things he did well. Junior Seau, right on down the line. Ted Johnson. Roman Phifer. There have been so many different styles of players that have played in the system and understand as they grow in it how to best use their strengths. And Jon has made tremendous progress."

After becoming the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year and leading the league in tackles with 187 in his sophomore season here last year, Vilma owns the team high in tackles. But there have been just 97 of them with three games left, plus only one interception, no sacks and no forced fumbles.

Of course, the 7-6 Jets do have three more wins than last season with three to play. So something is going right.

"I think he's done a great job as far as making calls and adjusting the defensive set," said Victor Hobson, the strong-side linebacker. "Defense to the public is all about tackles. But within the defensive unit, there's a lot more that goes into it."

Winning games will have to be the carrot, and Vilma says it is. Even if the role can't be as exciting for him these days and the recognition may be harder to receive, there are no waves coming from No. 51's corner of the locker room.

"I still have respect from my teammates, which is fine," Vilma said. "The outside world will have to get used to it, just like I had to get used to it."

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Jets like Vikings' habit of giving up TD runbacks

Saturday, December 16, 2006

By J.P. PELZMAN

STAFF WRITER

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. -- When Minnesota visited Chicago on Dec. 3, the Vikings allowed two return touchdowns for the third consecutive game, as Devin Hester brought back a 45-yard punt for a score and Ricky Manning took an interception 54 yards to the end zone.

But, hey, at least the Bears didn't return a missed field goal 108 yards for a score like they did against the Giants.

And Minnesota showed some improvement in its last game against Detroit, as the Lions had only one touchdown on a return, an 88-yard score on an interception by Jamar Fletcher.

Still, the Vikings' yield of seven touchdowns on defensive and special-teams returns in their past four games is the most allowed by an NFL team in such a short span since at least 1990.

The Jets would love to keep that streak going when they visit Minnesota on Sunday. The Jets have had three non-offensive touchdowns this season, kickoff returns by Justin Miller against Indianapolis and Cleveland, and linebacker Victor Hobson's fumble return for a score against Buffalo on Sept. 24.

"Sometimes," Hobson said, "it's a perfect call and the defender makes a great play. Other times, it's being in the right place at the right time."

Of the Vikings' seven non-offensive touchdowns yielded, three have occurred on interceptions, two on fumbles and one each on punt and kickoff returns.

While the Jets' punt-return unit has struggled in the past two games after the loss of Tim Dwight with a season-ending foot injury, Miller leads the NFL in kickoff returns, averaging 29 yards on 41 chances.

Miller's exploits have helped his team rank second in average field position after receiving kickoffs, as the Jets' average drive starts at the 31.6-yard line.

The Vikings are 30th in the opposite category, drive-starts for opponents after kickoffs. The average start of Minnesota's opponents is at the 31.

Miller said one of his goals is to raise his kickoff return average to 30 yards.

"We look at each [opposing] team each week," Miller said, "trying to find the best opportunity for us as a return team, and we just go out there and execute that game plan."

Jets' kicker Mike Nugent sees this issue from the opposite side, and knows the person kicking the ball plays an important role in limiting the opposing team's returns, whether on punts or kickoffs.

"The kick itself determines a lot," he said. "Are you giving your team enough hang time? Are you giving them distance? [Kickers and punters] have to give our team a chance to get down the field and make a good play. It kind of starts with that. What's the quality of the kick?"

Blocking by the return team is another ingredient.

"If I'm blocking a guy," said Jets' reserve linebacker Cody Spencer, "you obviously try to run him out of the way, and you want to try to run him into other people."

Long returns, Spencer said, often are a result of defenders "running out of their lanes and people getting blocked and cutting off other people.

"Everybody is pretty much right in the same area, so one guy can sometimes get two or three people [with one block]. It's unfortunate for the other team, but it's nice for you."

BRIEFS: Minnesota starting running back Chester Taylor (ribs) was upgraded from questionable to probable. ... As he tried to simulate the noise in the Metrodome, Jets coach Eric Mangini had the volume turned up so high in the practice bubble that the music was clearly audible outside.