JETS ARTICLES - WED 12/20

[Sperm Edwards]

Miller Voted to AFC Pro Bowl Squad

Published: 12-19-06

By Jets PR Department

Regular Contributor

Article Permalink: http://www.newyorkjets.com/articles/miller-voted-to-afc-pro-bowl-squad

The NFL announced today that kick returner Justin Miller has been selected to represent the New York Jets on the American Football Conference squad in the Pro Bowl, the NFL

[Sperm Edwards]

Mangini Nominated for Coach of the Week

Published: 12-19-06

By John Beattie

John Beattie is a reporter for the Jets and contributes to newyorkjets.com.

Article Permalink: http://www.newyorkjets.com/articles/mangini-nominated-for-coach-of-the-week

New York Jets head coach Eric Mangini has been nominated for Motorola Coach of the Week after the Green & White’s 26-13 victory over the Minnesota Vikings on December 17.

“It was another good team effort. All the different phases were contributing: offense, defense, special teams and the coaches,” Mangini said Monday. “Collectively it was just a really solid complementary game, and I was happy with that.”

Battling for a playoff spot, Mangini directed the Jets to their eighth victory of the season – twice as many as the team had just one season ago. Led by quarterback Chad Pennington and his career-high 339 passing yards, the Jets pounded out 408 total yards en route to their fifth road win of the season.

“I thought Chad made a lot of really good decisions, not just in the passes that he completed but the passes that he threw away,” Mangini said. “His decision-making overall was excellent.”

The Jets defense held Vikings starting quarterback Brad Johnson to just 96 yards in three quarters of play before Minnesota coach Brad Childress replaced him with rookie Tarvaris Jackson. Linebacker Victor Hobson led the way with eight tackles and one sack while defensive back David Barrett picked up his third interception of the season. The Jets’ focus on defense was to stop the run and they did just that, holding explosive back Chester Taylor to just 38 yards on 11 carries.

“Defensively one of the keys was stopping the run, like we talked about. We did a nice job there,” added Mangini. “They have been very effective with third down and fourth down conversions. That was something we needed to do.”

In his first season as a head coach, Mangini’s club has caught fire down the stretch. They are 4-2 in their past six games and 6-3 in their past nine games. Next Monday night, the Jets play their first Christmas game in franchise history down in Miami against the Dolphins. A win would not only keep the Jets alive in their quest for the postseason, but it would place them three games over .500 for the first time this season and also give the Jets a 6-2 road record in 2006.

Vote for Coach Mangini here

[Sperm Edwards]

http://www.nypost.com/seven/12202006/sports/jets/returns_are_in_jets_mark_cannizzaro.htm

RETURNS ARE IN

By MARK CANNIZZARO

December 20, 2006 -- The Jets placed one player on the AFC Pro Bowl team announced yesterday: kick returner Justin Miller.

Miller, in his second season, leads the NFL in kickoff returns with a 28.7-yard average and will head to Hawaii for the first time for the Feb. 10 all-star game.

He's returned two kicks for touchdowns this year and set a Jets record with a 103-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against the Colts. He also took one back 99 yards for a TD at Cleveland.

"This is a well-deserved honor for Justin," Eric Mangini said. "He's worked hard throughout the season under the guidance of (special teams coordinator) Mike Westhoff and (assistant coach) Sam Gash. Each member of our kickoff-return team should be proud of what they have accomplished collectively."

Miller is the first return specialist in Jets history to be selected to the Pro Bowl and first Jets special-teams player to be selected since punter Tom Tupa in 1999.

"It's an honor to be recognized by my peers and coaches around the league, and the fans," Miller said. "My selection is the culmination of the hard work of everyone on the special-teams unit."

A couple of deserving Jets were overlooked by the Pro Bowl voters, namely WR Laveranues Coles, who's second in the NFL with 87 receptions, and S Kerry Rhodes.

Each of the AFC's starting receivers (Indianapolis' Reggie Wayne (77 catches) and Cincinnati's Chad Johnson (82) ) has fewer receptions than Coles' 87.

As for Rhodes, he clearly was a victim of the star system. Incumbent selections Ed Reed from Baltimore and Troy Polamalu from Pittsburgh were the starting safeties picked, with reserve John Lynch of Denver.

Polamalu, who has missed his past three games this season, has 67 tackles, one sack, three interceptions and one forced fumble. Reed has 54 tackles, no sacks, four interceptions and one forced fumble.

Rhodes has 92 tackles, four sacks, four interceptions and three forced fumbles.

*

Despite Miami QB Joey Harrington's poor performance in last Sunday's 21-0 loss in Buffalo (5-of-17 for 20 yards, two interceptions, 0.0 passer rating), Dolphins head coach Nick Saban has said he will not bench his starting quarterback against the Jets on Monday night.

Saban pulled Harrington in Buffalo in favor of backup Cleo Lemon, who was 9-of-16 for 98 yards.

"We have a lot of confidence in Cleo," Saban said. "If the opportunity presents itself to play him we'll certainly do it, but we're not making any radical changes."

It looks as if Dolphins RB Ronnie Brown, who's missed the past three games with a broken bone in his left hand, might play.

[Sperm Edwards]

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/story/481563p-405264c.html

Jets have Rhodes rage

Kickoff returner Justin Miller, who has provided some of the most exciting moments in the Jets' season, was named yesterday to his first Pro Bowl. He was their only representative. Safety Kerry Rhodes was snubbed in favor of the Broncos' John Lynch, who has no interceptions and no sacks.

"Nah, I'm not ticked off," Rhodes told the Daily News. "Hey, it's added fuel for me. I play to help my team and I play to prove the doubters wrong. I guess I'm still in that boat right now. But I'm young and I'll get better."

Rhodes said he received "text messages and calls from guys around the league, saying I should've been picked for the team."

Teammate Jonathan Vilma also called, echoing the same sentiment. Indeed, they have a legitimate beef. Rhodes, the Jets' top playmaker on defense, has four interceptions and four sacks.

The Ravens' Ed Reed (four interceptions) and the Steelers' Troy Polamalu (three) were voted as the starting safeties. Polamalu hasn't played in a month because of a knee injury. Lynch, named to his eighth Pro Bowl, made it largely on reputation.

Miller's selection came as no surprise, as he leads the league with a 28.7-yard kickoff return average. He has scored on returns of 103 and 99 yards. He and the Bears' Devin Hester are the only players with two touchdowns on kickoff returns.

"This is a well-deserved honor for Justin," said Eric Mangini, adding, "Each member of our kickoff-return team should be proud of what they have accomplished collectively."

Miller, the Jets' first special-teams player to make the Pro Bowl since punter Tom Tupa in 1999, said, "It's an honor to be recognized by my peers and coaches around the league, and the fans."

Rich Cimini

[Sperm Edwards]

http://www.nj.com/jets/ledger/index.ssf?/base/sports-0/1166597225241560.xml&coll=1

Bradway left Jets in good shape

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

BY DAVE HUTCHINSON

Star-Ledger Staff

Unfairly, it seems, former Jets GM Terry Bradway has been labeled a failure for his work during his five years running the club. He was blamed for everything that was wrong with the Jets.

But a closer look reveals that's not the case and Bradway helped lay the foundation for a Jets team that is making a stunning playoff push and appears to have a neon-bright future.

Under Bradway, the Jets went to the playoffs in three of five seasons and would've probably gone at least once more if QB Chad Pennington had stayed healthy. Pennington was injured in three of Bradway's five seasons.

Also, the Jets were able to retool on the fly without hitting rock bottom with a bunch of aging veterans.

If Bradway is guilty of anything during his reign, it's that he had a few bad free-agent signings -- what GM isn't? -- and he was too thin-skinned for the job.

Consider some of Bradway's moves:

He refused to sign DE John Abraham to a long-term deal and dealt him for a draft pick that turned out to be C Nick Mangold (29th overall). Abraham is having another injury-plagued season in Atlanta.

He moved up in the 2003 draft to select NT/DT Dewayne Robertson at No. 4 overall. Robertson is playing extremely well at NT and would be dominant at DT in a 4-3 scheme, which he was drafted to play.

Suddenly, the selection of DE Bryan Thomas at 22nd overall in 2002 doesn't look so bad. He's having a career year and recently signed a new deal.

The trade of the 2005 first-round pick (26th overall) that netted K Mike Nugent was solid even though TE Doug Jolley was a bust. Nugent has hit a career-high 13 straight FGs, including a 54- and 52-yarder.

Nine starters were drafted by Bradway, including LBs Jonathan Vilma and Victor Hobson, WR Jerricho Cotchery, safeties Kerry Rhodes and Eric Coleman and Robertson. KR Justin Miller was also a Bradway pick.

Players' coach Herm Edwards was what the Jets needed at the time in the aftermath of unpopular taskmaster Al Groh.

On the down side, Bradway still takes a hit for the Redskins raiding his roster in 2003, although it wasn't as bad as first thought. WR Laveranues Coles is back (at a huge price and at the expense of WR Santana Moss) but G Randy Thomas wasn't worth the megabucks the Redskins gave him and K John Hall and KR Chad Morton are average players.

Free-agent flops RB Derrick Blaylock and CB Aaron Beasley are hard to defend and Bradway made a big mistake by not re-signing RB Lamont Jordan before his price tag skyrocketed.

Even so, Bradway left the Jets in good shape.

Now director of player personnel, Bradway is keeping a low profile and was unavailable for comment. People close to him say he couldn't be happier scouting.

But there are rumblings that he's feeling rejuvenated and is thinking about taking another crack at a GM position.

Interestingly, word is Bradway would be interested in talking to the Giants about replacing the soon-to-be-retired Ernie Accorsi. He began his NFL career with the Giants in 1986 and remains close to many in the organization.

Bradway trading Gang Green for Big Blue? Stay tuned.

Next Opponent

The Dolphins (6-8) find themselves in the role of spoiler after a 21-0 loss to the Bills last week.

QB Joey Harrington, who directed the Dolphins to five wins in a six-game stretch, had a major meltdown vs. the Bills. He hit 5 of 17 passes for 20 yards and two INTs for a zero passer rating before being benched in favor of Cleo Lemon.

Harrington, however, will start vs. the Jets.

WR Chris Chambers (55 catches, 622 yards, four TDs) and Marty Booker (51 catches, 701 yards, six TDs) were both shut out vs. the Bills. Afterwards, Chambers complained that the Dolphins' game plan was conservative and predictable.

RB Ronnie Brown rushed for 127 yards and a TD on 22 attempts in a 20-17 loss to the Jets at Giants Stadium in Week 6.

Defensively, the Dolphins, led by DE Jason Taylor and MLB Zach Thomas, rank third in the NFL (278.7 yards per game). They have notched 46 sacks (3rd in the NFL) and their 243 points allowed is the fifth fewest in the league.

Against the Bills, the Dolphins secondary allowed three TDs passes to QB J.P. Losman and 200 yards passing.

Key Matchup

Jets rookie LT D'Brickashaw Ferguson vs. Dolphins DE Jason Taylor, who has 12 1/2 sacks, nine forced fumbles, two interceptions (both returned for TDs), one fumble recovery and 55 tackles this season. Taylor had one sack in the first meeting.

Injuries

Jets -- WR Laveranues Coles (back/ribs) and C Nick Mangold (leg/hip).

Dolphins -- RB Ronnie Brown (fractured hand), WR Marty Booker (sprained ankle), LT Damion McIntosh (forearm) and DT Dan Wilkinson (leg).

[Sperm Edwards]

http://www.nypost.com/seven/12202006/sports/jets/jets_shouldnt_fly_under_radar_jets_mark_cannizzaro.htm

JETS SHOULDN'T FLY UNDER RADAR

By MARK CANNIZZARO

December 20, 2006 -- WHAT do the embraceable, overachieving, playoff-bound Jets have to do to adorn the Back Page of this newspaper?

Do they need a diva receiver botching an apparent suicide attempt, falling asleep in team meetings and proudly admitting to it, or spitting on an opposing defensive back?

Do they need a star offensive player ripping the head coach for misusing him and being outcoached?

Do they need a star player prematurely announcing his retirement with three months of the season still remaining?

Do they need a star offensive player loafing on the job?

Do they need to blow a 21-point lead to an inferior team?

Do they need a star defensive player to berate a reporter for simply doing her job?

Do they need a star player involved in a messy divorce and blaming reporters for his troubles while he and his wife are the ones who aired their dirty laundry for the public to see?

What do these Jets need to do to elevate themselves from the darkness of anonymity to the spotlight?

Maybe if they incite a pregame brawl with the hated Dolphins, their opponent Christmas night, that would do it.

Obviously, having one player named to the Pro Bowl yesterday (and that player, Justin Miller, being a specialist) shows the Jets don't even have any star players worthy of making headlines.

While the ego-laden and dysfunctional Giants have garnered more attention than any underachieving 7-7 team deserves, all the Jets have done is overachieve and give fans in this town more than anyone possibly could have expected.

At 8-6 and two wins away from an improbable playoff berth after a 4-12, 2005 season, all the Jets have done is exceeded expectations and taken their fans on a marvelous ride.

All the Jets have done is make a playoff run with a rookie head coach who will draw heavy consideration for Coach of the Year honors.

Eric Mangini quietly struck the intricate and difficult-to-attain balance of being a disciplinarian head coach who works his players very hard and draws fear from them if they don't produce yet still is embraced as someone they want to play for.

Mangini has done this because he's an egoless coach who deflects praise to his players when times are good and, when the team doesn't play well, does not call out players publicly.

He, too, has a self-deprecating charm his players embrace.

All the Jets have done is make it through 14 games of this season with a quarterback nobody believed would make it through Week 3 healthy.

Indeed, if Chad Pennington isn't the odds-on favorite to be named the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year, then the voters for that honor aren't paying much attention.

It might be overly dramatic to say this, but if the Jets get themselves to the playoffs by beating the Dolphins and Raiders in these next two games, Pennington should at least be in the conversation when they vote for the league's Most Valuable Player.

Crazy, you say? Write down a list of players who are more important to their respective teams than Pennington has been to the Jets, a team with a new offensive line, no feature running back, and a new offensive coordinator and system?

Who else is going to run that Brian Schottenheimer sugar-huddle offense with the kind of efficiency Pennington has? Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and not too many others, that's who.

Why have the Jets flown so far under the radar? Because overachieving and winning quietly apparently isn't as sexy and as controversial as underachieving and losing loudly.

Soon, though, it'll be difficult to keep the Jets off the Back Page.

Mark this down: In two weeks, the Jets will be preparing for a wild-card playoff game while the Giants are preparing to board 53 different planes en route to their respective hometowns.V

[Sperm Edwards]

http://www.newsday.com/sports/printedition/ny-spjchalk205022902dec20,0,289819.column?coll=ny-sports-print

JETS CHALK TALK

Saluting three who made quantum leap

Tom Rock

December 20, 2006

It's easy to say someone is having a "career year" in October. Now that December is almost over and there are only two regular-season games remaining, it's worth taking a look at which Jets truly are having that breakout campaign that sets the bar higher for the future.

Some parameters: A player needs to have played at least one other full season to have a career year, so that eliminates rookies Nick Mangold and Leon Washington. It also eliminates defensive back Hank Poteat, who may be having the best season of his seven-year career but cannot be described as having a career season. Also, just because a player is putting up numbers above his career bests doesn't make it a career year. Tight end Chris Baker and linebacker Victor Hobson are good examples of that case. "Career year" is more subjective than that.

One further caveat: Justin Miller was voted to the Pro Bowl as a kick returner and is having a career year in that regard, but his unsteady play at cornerback, his true position, keeps him off this list.

Jerricho Cotchery: Two seasons as a reserve made the wide receiver hungry, and a coaching change during the offseason gave him a chance to produce during his third year in the NFL. Cotchery has 71 catches for 858 yards - he had 25 for 311 in the previous two seasons combined - and has given teams pause about double-teaming Laveranues Coles. Jets coach Eric Mangini said that when he was studying tapes as a Patriots defensive coach, he noticed the solid plays Cotchery always seemed to make. Having Noel Mazzone, Cotchery's offensive coordinator at North Carolina State, as the Jets' receivers coach this season has added to his level of comfort.

Bryan Thomas: After making 35 sacks in college, Thomas was a disappointment in his first four seasons with the Jets, playing behind Shaun Ellis and John Abraham and getting only 6.5 sacks. But the move from traditional defensive end in the 4-3 to outside linebacker in the 3-4 allowed Thomas to flourish. He was one of the first to truly catch on to the new system and leads the team with 7.5 sacks, including 4.5 in the last four games. Earlier this month, he received a meaty five-year extension from the Jets.

Kerry Rhodes: The second-year safety made it clear from the beginning that he wouldn't be hanging back, breaking up passes and tackling loose running backs. He had three sacks and three forced fumbles in the first three games and has become a valuable part of the Jets' aggressive defense that emerged in the second half of the season. Even when he isn't blitzing quarterbacks, he's up on the line of scrimmage giving them something else to think about. After one sack and one interception last year, Rhodes has four of each in 2006 to go with 12 pass defenses.

Check out the Jets blog at www.newsday.com/sports to see a list of players who are delivering the sort of numbers they promised, and those who have disappointed.

Storylines

Miller time

Jets second-year kickoff returner Justin Miller was voted to the AFC Pro Bowl team yesterday, becoming the first Jets returner to receive such an honor and the first Jets special-teamer since punter Tom Tupa in 1999. Miller leads the NFL in kick returns, averaging 28.7 yards, and has two touchdowns, a 103-yarder against the Colts that set a franchise record and a 99-yarder against Cleveland. "This is a well-deserved honor for Justin," coach Eric Mangini said, noting the contributions of those who pave the way for Miller on the field and in his trip to Hawaii. "Each member of our kickoff return team should be proud of what they have accomplished collectively."

The Rhodes not taken

Other Jets could make a case for the Pro Bowl - Laveranues Coles, with the second-most receptions in the NFL, comes to mind - but the exclusion of safety Kerry Rhodes is perhaps the most glaring. Rhodes has four sacks (no defensive back in the NFL has more), three forced fumbles and four interceptions to go with strong pass defense. He was passed over for Troy Polamalu of the Steelers and Ed Reed of the Ravens, which makes sense, but also for John Lynch of the Broncos, who has zero interceptions, zero sacks and 68 tackles, 23 fewer than Rhodes. Name recognition often comes a year or so before a ticket to Honolulu, so look for Rhodes to make the Pro Bowl next season.

A short gift list

Santa won't be the only one in the air on Christmas Eve. The Jets will fly to Miami on Sunday evening for their Monday night game in Miami. Mangini said he would try to squeeze in some time for players and staff to spend with family for the holiday, but the focus will be on football during the weekend, with the Dolphins the biggest obstacle between the Jets and the playoffs. "It's fortunate and unfortunate," Mangini said of the timing. "It's a great opportunity for us, but we'd love to be with our families. The best gift we can all give to our families is a victory."

Statlines

After a combined 18 catches Sunday, Laveranues Coles and Jerricho Cotchery are on the cusp of making team history as the most prolific pass-catching duo. Only one other tandem caught more passes than these two, and no other pair of wide receivers did it. Here are the Jets' all-time top receiving tandems:

Year Players Total

1988 WR Al Toon (93) and TE Mickey Shuler (70) 163

2006 WR Laveranues Coles (87) and WR Jerricho Cotchery (71) 158

2000 RB Richie Anderson (88) and RB Curtis Martin (70) 158

1998 WR Keyshawn Johnson (83) and WR Wayne Chrebet (75) 158

1986 WR Al Toon (85) and TE Mickey Shuler (69) 154

[Sperm Edwards]

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/story/481562p-405263c.html

Patriot games

Jets will root for rivals this week

Jets' Insider

By RICH CIMINI

DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

Bill Belichick (r.) may be shaking at possibility of his Pats helping ex-protege Eric Mangini get his Jets into playoffs.

The Jets-Patriots Border War, which intensified this season after a period of detente, is about to take a bizarre turn. For three surreal hours Sunday, the Jets will be pulling for the hated Patriots to beat the Jaguars.

Oh, the heresy!

The playoff race, with its convoluted scenarios, creates strange rooting interests, and this one is a doozie. It's akin to the Yankees cheering for the Red Sox. If the AFC East-leading Patriots win, they'd clinch the division and put the Jets in the coveted position of controlling their own destiny for a wild-card spot.

The Jets would take the field Monday night in Miami knowing two wins (over the Dolphins and Raiders) would get them into the playoffs. It's that simple.

So will Chad Pennington be wearing a Tom Brady jersey?

Will Jonathan Vilma be cheering for Tedy Bruschi?

"It gets kind of hard this time of the year," Vilma said yesterday on his weekly WFAN radio spot. "We don't know who to cheer for. So, right now, we're going to cheer for New England and hope they beat Jacksonville."

Obviously, the Patriots have to take care of their own business and can't worry about the Jets, but wouldn't you love to know how Bill Belichick really feels about the prospect of helping Eric Mangini into a playoff berth?

The Belichick-Mangini feud is so intense that they barely shook hands after the Jets' surprising win in Foxboro last month. Now Mangini has a chance to do something his former boss failed to do in New England - make the playoffs in his first season.

Wait, it gets stranger:

The Jets will be on a plane, en route to Miami, when the Patriots are playing in Jacksonville. The Daily News wasn't able to obtain a copy of the flight plan, but moles say they will be flying over the Jacksonville area between 1 p.m. and 4p.m. They will be 30,000 feet over the game that could determine their playoff fate. Mangini will be hovering over Belichick, and you could have a field day attaching symbolism to that situation.

If the Patriots (10-4) lose - the Jaguars are 6-1 at home - it could set up a reverse scenario for the final weekend. If the Jets defeat Miami, they can focus on the division title. A win over the Raiders, coupled with a Pats loss in Tennessee, would give the division to the Jets.

But if the Patriots finish 11-5, the Jets will be forced to root for another ex-coach who left under acrimonious circumstances - Herm Edwards, whose Chiefs face the Jaguars in the finale.

Deal or no deal

If the Jets make the playoffs, it'll be interesting to see if Mangini is rewarded with a new contract. Woody Johnson set a precedent in 2001, giving Edwards a new four-year deal after making the playoffs in his first year. Like Edwards, Mangini was hired with no previous head-coaching experience, which is reflected in his current, below-market contract - $1.75 million annually over four years.

Empty bowl

Jets didn't get much love from the Pro Bowl voters, as kick returner Justin Miller was the only player to make the squad. Of the 13 teams that have winning records, the Jets were the only team to not have an offensive or defensive player in the Pro Bowl. That validates Mangini's team-oriented philosophy. One Jet said recently, "He doesn't want any stars. No one can be bigger than the team. Sometimes, I think he'd bench Chad if he had the chance." That's extreme, but you get the point.... Miller is the first pick from Terry Bradway's five drafts to be selected to the Pro Bowl. Vilma made it last year as an alternate.

Hard to find holiday cheer

Christmas hasn't been kind to the Jets, who face the Dolphins Monday night in their first-ever game on Christmas Day. In their three previous Christmas Eve games, the results have ranged from tragic to disastrous.

2000: Facing a win-and-they're-in scenario in the season finale, the Al Groh Jets lost to the Ravens, 34-20, after blowing a 14-0 lead. A few days later, Groh resigned to coach his alma mater, Virginia.

1995: With only 29,000 at Giants Stadium, the Jets completed a 3-13 season under Rich Kotite with a 12-0 loss to the Saints.

1994: Before a meaningless finale in Houston, the Jets announced that GM Dick Steinberg had been diagnosed with stomach cancer. They mailed in the game, losing to the Oilers, 24-10. A few days later, Pete Carroll was fired. Ten months later, Steinberg died.

Pete's sake

Whenever Pete Kendall's name is mentioned, it's usually in reference to his role as a mentor to rookie linemen D'Brickashaw Ferguson and Nick Mangold. Yes, Kendall deserves credit for assisting the young pups and acting as the glue to the line, but the veteran left guard also deserves to be recognized for his play.

Kendall, 33, has been rock-solid all season, proving he has plenty of football left in his body. On Cedric Houston's 6-yard touchdown run against the Vikings, Kendall and Ferguson double-teamed DE Ray Edwards, opening a hole for Houston. Kendall peeled off Edwards and took on MLB E.J.Henderson, the only player with a chance to tackle Houston. He didn't. Kendall is one of the unsung heroes in this turnaround season. He can talk a good game, but he plays one, too.

The clipboard

Hot seaT: PK Mike Nugent. He's red hot, but he hasn't had to make a game-deciding kick. The pressure will be immense in Miami.

X's and O's: Notice that efficient, hurry-up drive at the end of the first half in Minnesota? Clock-management problems are a thing of the past.

Whispers: Eric Mangini never will admit it, but he quietly has settled on Cedric Houston as his feature back.

[Sperm Edwards]

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/20/sports/football/20jets.html?ref=football

December 20, 2006

Whirlwind Tour of N.F.L. Leaves Strait a Bit Dizzy

By KAREN CROUSE

Derrick Strait’s permanent address is in Texas, his car is in Chicago, most of his belongings are on Long Island and he is in North Carolina. Strait is a defensive back, so he is used to having to adjust on the run, but his 2006 season has been extreme.

Since the start of training camp, his third in the N.F.L., Strait has graced five teams: the Jets, the Cleveland Browns, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Chicago Bears and the Carolina Panthers.

He is the defensive back who keeps getting regifted. “It’s been crazy,” Strait said in a telephone interview last week.

Strait’s peripatetic odyssey began Aug. 14, when he was traded by the Jets to the Browns for running back Lee Suggs. Strait never made it on the field for Cleveland, attending one meeting before being sent back to New York after the deal was voided because Suggs failed his Jets physical.

Strait resumed practicing with the Jets as if he had been out the previous day because of jury duty and not because he had been jettisoned. Asked at the time about the sequence of events, Strait, who was drafted in the third round by the Jets in 2004, said, “It was kind of shocking, but it’s part of the job.”

Four months later, the shock has given way to a weary resignation. Strait, whose smile was a beacon that drew players to him when he was with the Jets, sighed a lot during a 15-minute interview that took place two days before he was deactivated for the Panthers’ 37-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

“There’s been so many situations, so many times the past few months where I could have got down on myself,” Strait said. “I just keep telling myself: ‘Another experience. Another learning experience.’ ”

Strait had six tackles in the Jets’ season opener, at Tennessee, and started two of the next four games at safety. He was released Oct. 11 to make room on the roster for Hank Poteat, who had played for Coach Eric Mangini in New England.

He returned to Long Island and the apartment he shares with the Jets’ third-year safety, Rashad Washington. In between quick trips to New England, Detroit and Chicago for tryouts, Strait spent the next two weeks holed up at home.

He would watch Washington go off to practice. He watched Washington pack for the Jets’ trip to Cleveland. It was weird for both of them.

“Seeing him at home going through what he was going through, I kind of felt sorry for him,” Washington said Sunday after the Jets’ 26-13 victory at Minnesota. “I wouldn’t want to see nobody in that situation.

“I would see him at home and he wouldn’t be talking that much, and I could tell he was kind of down at times. I told him to keep his head up because I knew some team was going to want him. I’d say, ‘It’s just a matter of time.’ ”

On Nov. 8, Chicago signed Strait to a two-year contract. He was inactive for the Bears’ game against the Jets at the Meadowlands on Nov. 19 but played the next week, assisting on one tackle in a 17-13 loss at New England. Thirteen days later, on Dec. 9, the Bears released him to clear a roster spot for safety Tyler Everett, whom they had signed.

“I went to practice, and after practice they said, ‘Coach wants to see you,’ and that’s how I found out,” Strait said. He sighed. “That was hard because after a month you start to get comfortable.” He sighed again. “I had gotten an apartment in Chicago. That was bad.” Another sigh. “I really liked Chicago.”

After the Panthers claimed Strait off waivers, he packed two bags of clothes, left his car in Chicago and took a flight to Charlotte, N.C. He is living in a hotel near the Panthers’ practice facility. He will not bother renting a place.

“I’ve learned there’s a difference between wanting and needing,” Strait said. “My car’s in Chicago because that’s a want, to have a car.”

This is not the first time in Strait’s life that circumstances have forced him to pare his life to the bare essentials. When he was in high school in Austin, Tex., his family was evicted from its apartment in the housing projects and spent several months homeless.

At one point, Strait cashed his paycheck from his job at a furniture plant and rented a U-Haul truck for himself, his mother, Brenda, and his five siblings to live in. Compared with that, being an itinerant N.F.L. player is no trial at all.

Asked how his childhood experiences had shaped him, Strait said, “Basically, I’m just very able to adjust.”

EXTRA POINTS

Jets kick returner Justin Miller was selected to the Pro Bowl. He is the first Jets return specialist to be so honored and the first special teams player since punter Tom Tupa in 1999. “It’s an honor to be recognized by my peers and coaches around the league, and the fans,” Miller said in a statement. “My selection is the culmination of the hard work of everyone on the special teams unit.”

[Sperm Edwards]

http://northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkxMTkmZmdiZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTcwNDEyMjAmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2

Miller, the special 'one', to earn trip to Hawaii

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

By RANDY LANGE

Eric Mangini has preached "the concept of one," and the NFL has taken that message to heart regarding Gang Green.

The league bestowed just one prime-time game on the Jets, figuring that Mangini's inaugural season just couldn't be much more interesting than Herm Edwards' 4-12 swan song.

Then six days before that game finally arrives, Christmas night at Miami, the league Tuesday presented the Jets with exactly one Pro Bowl player. And his name isn't Kerry Rhodes or Laveranues Coles.

Not that Justin Miller doesn't deserve his first trip to Hawaii. Opposing coaches at network production meetings routinely say one of the scariest things about the Jets is their special teams, and Miller is the main reason.

He's trying to become only the fifth player in the last quarter century to average 30 yards per kickoff return and join Bobby Humphery in 1984 as the only two ever to do it as Jets. (He's at 28.7.)

Some hard-boiled fans would even say, "Finally, some return for that pick." Miller, taken 57th overall in the 2005 draft, was initially thought to be the answer for the Jets at starting corner and for all punt and kickoff returns.

But Miller definitely was not ready for prime time on punts, and his next interception will be his first as a pro. After recently working his way back into the rotation at right corner and getting regular work in the dime, Miller was shown the bench by Mangini at Minnesota because he was caught applying a blow to wideout provocateur Troy Williamson's head at the end of a play.

Yet as inconsistent as Miller has been otherwise, he has been consistently relentless in thinking he can take every kickoff to the house. And it's worth remembering that even as an NFL sophomore, he's still the youngest player in the Jets' locker room.

Still, fans can be disappointed that Miller got the nod for a specialty he does three or four times a game when Rhodes and Coles came up short performing their roles in 10 times as many plays a game.

As flawed as the process is, when players, coaches and 70 million online voters turn their backs on the Jets' sexy safety and No. 1 wide receiver, an inescapable conclusion is that the NFL has not yet deemed the Jets worthy.

Despite many pushing Rhodes' candidacy all year, it was going to be hard for him to elbow past Pittsburgh's Troy Polamalu, Baltimore's Ed Reed and Denver's John Lynch.

Coles had a better shot. Sure, Colts Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne were locks, as was Cincinnati's Chad Johnson, even if he doesn't know how to say "eighty-five" in Spanish. But Andre Johnson's 97 catches for Houston blinded voters to his 11.2 yards per catch, a yard less than Coles', and his team's four fewer wins than the Jets.

But Rome wasn't built in a day. Those two will be viable Pro Bowl candidates in years to come, as will center Nick Mangold, tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson, maybe even Chad Pennington, with a second year of health under the same coordinator. Jonathan Vilma could easily return in coming years, maybe as an inside linebacker, maybe as an OLB.

But that's one thing to keep in mind about Mangini's "one" approach. As he said Tuesday about Miller: "This is a well-deserved honor for Justin. ... Every member of our kickoff return team should be proud of what they accomplished collectively."

Those kinds of selfless teams don't always get nine Pro Bowlers a season. But they occasionally win Super Bowls.