JETS ARTICLES - TUE 1/2

[Sperm Edwards]

http://www.nj.com/jets/ledger/index.ssf?/base/sports-0/116771625723900.xml&coll=1

Jets: Dyson, Barlow out against Pats

Tuesday, January 02, 2007

BY DAVE HUTCHINSON

Star-Ledger Staff

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. -- The injury bug has bit the Jets and Patriots as they prepared for their wild-card round clash at Gillette Stadium on Sunday.

The Jets will be without CB Andre Dyson (sprained knee) and RB Kevan Barlow (thigh), according to a member of the organization who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of coach Eric Mangini's policy of not giving out details on injuries.

Also, the Patriots are not expected to have safety Rodney Harrison, who injured his knee in the season finale versus the Titans. Tennessee WR Bobby Wade hit Harrison with a block below the knee that the Patriots claimed was a cheap shot. Yesterday, the league said the block was legal. Second-year pro James Sanders would replace Harrison.

Dyson, the Jets' best cornerback, was injured versus the Dolphins in Week 16. The Jets were hoping he could be ready for the playoffs but he needs at least another week.

Barlow, who rushed for 75 yards in the second Patriots game in Week 10, was also injured against the Dolphins. The Jets won't rush him back with Cedric Houston available.

Meanwhile, C Nick Mangold (leg) and G Brandon Moore (knee), who were both injured against the Raiders, underwent treatment yesterday and are expected to start Sunday.

Mangold was injured on a FG attempt just before the half and returned to start the second half. Moore missed only a few snaps in the first half before returning. Both played the entire second half.

CBs David Barrett and Justin Miller replaced Dyson against the Raiders and did a solid job. Journeyman Hank Poteat, a former Patriots, started on the other side. Rookie Drew Coleman is the Jets' only other CB and they may sign someone this week.

RT Anthony Clements (offense), DE Shaun Ellis (defense) and DB Eric Smith (special teams) were named the players of the game by Mangini.

The Patriots changed their surface at Gillette Stadium from grass to FieldTurf after the mud bath versus the Jets in Week 10.

Former Jets QB Vinny Testaverde threw a TD pass against the Titans. Ex-Jets CB Ray Mickens is also on the Patriots roster.

[Sperm Edwards]

http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/articles/2007/01/02/a_good_dose_of_bad_feelings/?rss_id=Boston.com%20--%20New%20England%20Patriots%20news

A good dose of bad feelings

By Dan Shaughnessy, Globe Columnist | January 2, 2007

Rod Smart will be brought to Foxborough for the coin toss before the Patriots play host to the Jets Sunday.

He Hate Me. Standing on the new FieldTurf at midfield. Official mascot for the inaugural postseason Hate Bowl featuring Bill Belichick vs. Eric Mangini.

Hate is a strong and ugly emotion. We teach our children not to use the word. Still, it gets tossed around willy-nilly, like "great," "awesome," and "fat-free." It gets diluted to a point where it loses its true meaning. We may not have a taste for mushroom soup, but do we truly "hate" the wretched broth inside the bowl?

No. Hate should be reserved only for abject abomination. It must be saved for those things we truly despise -- like new age music, Kevin Costner movies, spam (both edible and Internet versions), car insurance deductibles, and cable companies that send us into voicemail hell when we call with service needs.

Curt Schilling endeared himself to millions of Red Sox fans when he first donned a Boston jersey and announced, "I guess I hate the Yankees now."

But the 100 Years War between the Red Sox and Yankees has a football cousin in this century, and it'll be on display for all to see Sunday afternoon at the Razor. Bill Belichick hates the New York Jets with the proverbial fire of 1,000 suns.

Naturally, Coach Bill won't admit any of this. But we know. Belichick hates the Jets more than he hates Bill Parcells and Bill Polian. He hates the Jets more than he hates Titans receiver Bobby Wade. He hates the Jets more than he hates the Inside Track, more than Cleveland football writers, more than Tom Jackson. He's collaborating with David Halberstam on a new book, this one about his relationship with the Jets. Belichick was distraught to learn that his working title already had been used for a major motion picture: "10 Things I Hate About You."

It goes back to the days when Belichick was Little Bill in the Jets' hierarchy, under the thumb of Big Tuna Bill Parcells. Little Bill never got the credit he deserved, just like when they were together with the New York Giants. When Parcells finally stepped aside, and magnanimously prepared to put his crown on Belichick, Little Bill revolted. He cut a deal with Bob Kraft and resigned as "HC of the NYJ," triggering new hostilities in a border war that goes back to the earliest days of the American Football League when the Jets were known as the New York Titans.

In the last half-century, the Patriots and Jets have played 94 regular-season games vs. one another (Jets lead, 48-45-1), but have met only once in the postseason (26-14 Patriot win in 1985).

Belichick's defection to New England was not well-received in New York. Steve Gutman, president of the Jets at the time, went so far as to suggest that Belichick was mentally unstable. The Jets raised a stink, the commissioner intervened, and the Patriots grudgingly sent a draft package (including a first-rounder) to New York to compensate their enemy.

It's gone downhill from there, especially when Mangini took the Jets' head coaching job after last season. Belichick views this -- going to another team in the division -- as the ultimate act of disloyalty (which, of course, is what Belichick did when he left the Jets to come to New England). Belichick feels betrayed by his protegé.

You probably know the history. Belichick and Mangini are both Wesleyan men. In 1995, Mangini got his first taste of pro football when he served as an assistant under Belichick with the Browns. Mangini was 24 years old. From 1997-99, Mangini worked under Belichick with the Jets. When Belichick became HC of the NEP, he brought Mangini to New England and they won three Super Bowls together. Mangini was New England's defensive coordinator last year.

But then he took the New York job, giving Belichick more fuel for his hatred of all things Jets. It got particularly nasty when Mangini tried to take some Patriot staffers with him. Then the Patriots filed a tampering charge, accusing the Jets of messing with holdout Deion Branch (no ruling yet on that one).

The animosity was obvious when the rivals met twice during the 2006 regular season. Getting Belichick to say Mangini's name became a parlor game with media members in Boston and New York. The perfunctory postgame handshakes were downright hilarious. Remember the look on the face of German Chancellor Angela Merkel when President Bush gave her an impromptu back-rub? Remember Nancy Kerrigan on the podium with Oksana Baiul? That's what Belichick looked like when he shook Mangini's hand. The soundtrack for that video should be Dylan's "Positively 4th Street."

"You say, 'How are you? Good luck.' But you don't mean it." In a stunning development, Coach Bill actually mentioned football's Voldemort when he spoke with the Globe's Mike Reiss Sunday.

"Eric Mangini, his staff, and entire team are doing a phenomenal job," said Belichick.

It's a nice step toward civility and maturity, but hardly indicative that Belichick will be taking Mangini to the Stockyard on the eve of the big game. No. We can expect a week of hollow praise and feigned indifference when the subject of Eric and the Jets is raised at Belichick's news conferences.

Mangini took the high road yesterday at Club Jets. He said nice things about the Patriots and cited all Belichick did to advance his career. But we know what he was thinking . . .

He Hate Me.

[Sperm Edwards]

http://patriots.bostonherald.com/patriots/view.bg?articleid=174902

It’s Rodney’s knee again: Injury may cost safety the playoffs

By John Tomase

Boston Herald Sports Writer

Tuesday, January 2, 2007 - Updated: 01:04 AM EST

The preliminary diagnosis on Patriots [team stats] safety Rodney Harrison [stats] is a sprained medial collateral ligament in his right knee. It is expected to sideline Harrison for Sunday’s playoff opener against the Jets and possibly the entire postseason.

...

[Sperm Edwards]

http://patriots.bostonherald.com/patriots/view.bg?articleid=174906

Jets always on Pats’ mind: Playoff hype gets early start

By John Tomase

Boston Herald Sports Writer

Tuesday, January 2, 2007 - Updated: 02:39 AM EST

The Patriots [team stats] had just defeated the Jaguars on Christmas Eve to clinch their fourth straight AFC East title, and the first thing on their minds was the New York Jets.

As tight ends coach Pete Mangurian sprinted past a media throng to catch the elevator down to the locker room, he shouted two words: “Sorry, Mangini.”

A fellow assistant seconded that emotion. “Yeah, sorry, E,” he said.

Perhaps it’s fitting then, that it comes to this. The Patriots spent the entire season with the Jets in their rearview mirror, occasionally tailgating, but never out of view.

Now the two teams start over. They square off Sunday in a AFC wild card playoff matchup billed as the “Teacher vs. the Pupil,” but might be more accurately described as “Rich Man, Poor Man.”

The Jets are currently the poor man’s version of the Patriots, but they’re gaining ground. While there’s no question the Pats boast superior talent, the teams are surprisingly similar, which might explain the Patriots’ joy at keeping them in second place.

Both play a hard-nosed style of football and neither roster is recognized as star-studded. They earned two Pro Bowlers between them, Patriots defensive lineman Richard Seymour [stats] and Jets kickoff return specialist Justin Miller.

They’re well-coached, don’t commit a lot of stupid penalties, and rarely beat themselves.

The playoffs are a different animal, however, and Bill Belichick’s Patriots are what the Jets strive to be.

“New England is a totally different team in the playoffs,” Jets wide receiver Laveranues Coles told reporters yesterday. “When you watch them, they’re the last team you ever want to see in the playoffs, because of the way they prepare and the experience they have. We know we have our work cut out for us.

“It’s something we’re just going to have to grit our teeth at.”

The Jets began remaking themselves in the Patriots’ image last winter when they hired Mangini, a Belichick disciple. The Pats’ former defensive coordinator stocked his team with ex-Patriots (Matt Chatham, Tim Dwight, Hank Poteat, Bobby Hamilton), brought a number of former Pats as assistant coaches, and changed the culture.

The Jets rebounded from a 4-12 finish last season to go 10-6 and position Mangini as a serious coach of the year candidate.

“The group of guys that we have,” said Mangini, “and the way we have worked together and the way we have grown together and shared the experiences that we’ve had, earning this opportunity, it’s us working together. What’s important to me is us, and the things we do.”

Both teams are riding hot streaks. The Jets ran off eight wins in their last 11 games and boasted the league’s No. 1 scoring defense in the second half (12.8 points a game). The Pats won their last three, knocking Tennessee and Jacksonville out of the playoffs along the way.

The last time these teams met on Nov. 12, the Jets claimed a 17-14 victory that deserves an asterisk. The Patriots played without starting defensive end Ty Warren [stats], as well as starting safeties Rodney Harrison [stats] and Eugene Wilson.

The game was also played on a sloppy Gillette Stadium field that, give credit to the Jets, seemed to affect the Patriots more adversely.

They will be playing on the new FieldTurf this time around, and, besides Harrison, the Pats should boast virtually a full complement of players.

“I guess we didn’t have much luck,” Coles said. “The Patriots are an excellent football team and I really didn’t want to play them in the first round. They’re such a tough team. We have our work cut out for us and we know we have to get back to the drawing board, and we know they’re going to be prepared for us.”

The Patriots are always prepared for the Jets, who are never far from their minds.

[Sperm Edwards]

http://www.nysportsday.com/news/jets/1167731749.php

Jets Want to Add Just Another Brick In the Wall

by: Brian Bohl

HEMPSTEAD, NY - Painted alongside the green-and-white hallway wall in the coordinator that connects the public relations offices to the locker room are emblems that commemorate every single Jets’ post-season appearance.

Before reaching the dressing room, it serves as a brief history lesson of the team’s excursions into the playoffs, ranging from the franchises’ origins in the AFL days to the Super Bowl III championship, ending with the latest ouster in the Divisional Round from the 2004 season.

Compliments of Eric Mangini, the Jets will be adding to the wall. Such an accomplishment would have been considered far-fetched in the summer, when the rookie head coach was simply looking to change the attitude of a team that finished 4-12 last season and would lose future Hall of Fame running back Curtis Martin for the entire year to a career-threatening knee injury.

Not only did the Jets remain relatively healthy and buy into Mangini’s program, they did so at a rapid pace. Sunday’s 23-3 victory over the hapless Raiders at Giants Stadium capped a 10-6 season, helping turn the 35-year-old Mangini into a viable candidate for Coach of the Year honors.

The only remaining question is the type of logo that the 2006 entry will possess on that wall. In typical fashion, no player talked about a possible championship run yesterday, but a surprisingly pleasant season can turn magical starting this Sunday when Mangini and his team will travel to New England to play the division-rival Patriots for the third time this season in the AFC Wild Card round.

“One great thing our coaching staff has done through out the year is never changing their approach and maintaining their approach,” quarterback Chad Pennington said. “We know we have a huge challenge no matter who we play. They are all worthy of being in the playoffs. They are all championship caliber teams. It’s on the road. It’s a hostile environment. We have a big challenge in front of us.”

New England won the AFC East with a 12-4 record. One of those losses was against the Jets, who spilt the season series but won in Foxboro after winning there Nov. 14. Start counting the subplots now to the 1 p.m. elimination game, which features another chance for Mangini to matchup against Patriots’ coach Bill Belichick. It also will give former Patriots like Hank Poteat and Matt Chatham a chance to send their former employers home early.

Before becoming the NFL’s youngest head coach, Mangini served as Belichick’s defensive coordinator last season after acting as the defensive backs coach during the team’s three Super Bowl championship season. After posting that 17-14 upset on that rainy New England day, Belichick was caught on-camera giving a cold-fish handshake to his former pupil, only adding to the rumors of a falling out between the two.

The game itself will take precedence over any personal issues, which is what Mangini said he will be solely focusing on. Instead of remembering the glory years against his old organization, he will be focusing on how to add new wrinkles against a team they have become very familiar with over the course of the season.

“There are definitely things that you can take away from it, the lessons from the first game, the lessons from the second game,” Mangini said about the lessons learned from the previous two encounters. “But their approach is very opponent specific and it's very game specific.

“There may be some things they have seen since we played them last that they like offensively or defensively on special teams and that's not a set approach week in and week out. What's set is that their approach is unique to us, but it's important for us to go back and see the pluses and minuses of those two games as well as what we have done since the last time we played them to anticipate some of the things they may do.”

Leon Washington lessened the impact of Martin’s absence, as the rookie running back led the team with 650 rushing yards, averaging 4.3 yards per carry while adding four touchdowns. He will be new to the post-season experience, but said that victory last month in tough conditions can serve as a precursor for next week.

“Knowing that we had won before lets us know that we can win again, and that will give us a lot more confidence this time around playing this team,” Washington said. “It will be tough; they’re playing well, we’ll be in New England and they have a lot of veterans that have been there before. Me being a young guy, I’m just looking for any kind of help I can get from my veteran players to go out here and play a good game against these guys.”

[Sperm Edwards]

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/2007-01-02-playoff-questions_x.htm

Q: Can the New York Jets shock the world as "Broadway Joe" Namath did?

A: That rookie coach Eric Mangini has taken the Jets to the playoffs is among the NFL's biggest surprises. The Jets rank 25th on offense, 20th on defense. They have 25 takeaways — and 25 giveaways. They won only once against teams with winning records.

But with quarterback Chad Pennington bouncing back from double shoulder surgery, the Jets won a wild-card spot because they are smart and disciplined. The defense allowed only 17 first-quarter points the last 11 games. Never mind that a year after going 4-12 they benefited from a last-place schedule.

Mangini, the NFL's youngest coach at 35, learned under Bill Belichick's wing and faces his old boss in the playoff opener. Like Belichick, Mangini constantly tinkers with lineups and game plans. Now it gets much tougher.

[Sperm Edwards]

http://www.newsday.com/sports/football/jets/ny-spwally025037161jan02,0,1922475.column?coll=ny-jets-print

For Mangini, it's just the game

Wallace Matthews

January 2, 2007

The miracle of Eric Mangini's rookie season as an NFL head coach is not that he has led the Jets to a 10-6 record and a playoff showdown with the New England Patriots that has historical and even Oedipal overtones.

The miracle is that Mangini ever got past the interview process.

That is not a knock but an endorsement. Clearly, this 35-year-old pup out of the Belichick kennel must be one hell of a football coach, because he doesn't seem to have anything else to sell.

He has none of the things you have come to expect from a football coach, especially here, in the world's largest media market, where our coaches and managers are expected to be larger-than-life personalities, and certainly bigger than the tawdry games they represent.

Mangini is decidedly smaller than life, quieter than the equipment manager, more careful than a surgeon and totally and happily subservient to the game that consumes his thoughts. Nearly five months into the process, he remains as uncomfortable with the spotlight as a fat guy in a middle seat on a flight to Australia.

Even Bill Belichick, Mangini's mentor and, this week, his antagonist in what should be a fascinating and uncomfortable little side drama, lets his carefully cultivated football nerd persona slip occasionally, to jam with Bon Jovi or trade wisecracks with Letterman.

Mangini, however, is all about winning football games. He is the man Belichick professes to be, the tireless, essentially humorless seamhead whose CT scan is a jumble of X's and O's and whose line of patter is a fluent and purposefully mind-numbing, eye-glazing, conversation-halting stream of coachspeak.

No matter how far the surprising Jets take us into January, or even February this year, there are a few things it is safe to guarantee will never happen regarding their coach.

There will never be a Mangini Steakhouse, a la Shula's. There will be no corporate motivational speaking engagements, as per Bill Parcells, between coaching stopovers. He will not be joining Terry, Howie and J.B. on some pregame yukfest.

And that seems to be fine with him, as long as the Jets are winning. In an era in which everybody is a star, Mangini is an alien.

"To me, it's all about us, about the Jets, about working together for a common goal," Mangini said yesterday, his voice barely above a whisper, after the Jets clinched a playoff berth with a 23-3 win over the hopeless Raiders on Sunday.

Although he smiled easily, the joy of the occasion seemed lost on him, as well as the improbability of his team's achievement in overcoming the quarterback's second shoulder surgery, the losses of a Hall of Fame running back and Pro Bowl-caliber players at center and defensive end, and the adjustment to a rookie head coach and a new coaching staff.

So, too, did the psychodrama playing out between Mangini and Belichick, the mentor who now seems to regard his student the way Dr. Frankenstein did his creation, as something to be shunned and feared.

When the Patriots beat the Jets, 24-17, in Week 2, Belichick gave Mangini the old cheap hello, where you shake someone's hand while turning your head the other way. After the Jets went up to Foxboro and shocked the Patriots, 17-14, in Week 10, Belichick offered the dead fish, in which the hand is limp as a mackerel.

Somewhere buried in his personal playbook, Mangini is hurt by this, perhaps even resents it. But he also knows it is a sign that Belichick hated to lose him and now hates the prospect of losing to him.

Despite what the oddsmakers say - New England is a nine-point favorite - anything that can be done once can be done twice, and Mangini's Jets have as good a chance as any team in the AFC of sending the Patriots home early.

But publicly, Mangini continues to treat Belichick as if he is just another coach, and his first playoff game as merely Week 18 in a long season.

"My feelings [toward Belichick] are no different," he said, without saying just what those feelings are. "I respect and appreciate everything he's done for me over the course of my career, and that's never gonna change."

Given the same situation and ammunition, can you imagine the war of words Parcells could have touched off this week, or even Herman Edwards? Heck, Rich Kotite could have made more out of this than Mangini chooses to.

For him, simply winning the game will be enough.

That's all Mangini has to sell, and even in this town, that should be plenty.

[Sperm Edwards]

http://www.newsday.com/sports/football/jets/ny-spjets025037159jan02,0,772787.story?coll=ny-jets-print

Facing guy who molded him

Mangini, Belichick will duel for third time in Jets' playoff opener

BY TOM ROCK

Newsday Staff Writer

January 2, 2007

While the rest of the football world was thinking about playoffs Sunday night, Eric Mangini said he was concentrating on Play-Doh.

The coach of the Jets, having clinched an AFC wild card with a win over the Raiders earlier in the day, spent his evening not glued to the television watching the outcome of the Broncos-49ers game - which determined the Jets' opponent this weekend - but playing with his toddler son Jake.

"I saw a little bit of them," Mangini said of the evening games that directed his team to a Sunday meeting with the Patriots and not the Colts. "It was tough because Jake didn't really want to watch football. He had gotten his fill from the game that afternoon. So it was in between that and we played a little Play-Doh and some Candyland. It was a split between the three."

Mangini said he didn't know he would be diving back into the swirl of storylines and ancillary angles that have accompanied his two previous meetings with the Patriots and his old boss, Bill Belichick. Not until general manager Mike Tannenbaum phoned him later in the evening, anyway.

That's when Mangini recognized that the Patriots' linebackers won't be doing the only blitzing he'll have to diagram protection against this week.

"I was thinking it will probably be a busy week down here," he said, grinning to the assembled media yesterday afternoon. "There will probably be some questions I've answered before."

To put things in the vernacular of Mangini's favorite motivational sport, it's now Round 3. And considering this likely is the nightmare scenario Belichick envisioned when he severed professional and personal ties with Mangini for jumping sides to a divisional opponent last winter, well ... let's get ready to grumble!

If Belichick had been fiddling with Play-Doh on Sunday night, he might have been forming voodoo dolls of Mangini to poke pins through.

The matchup may excite fans and onlookers - and even Mangini, who seemed charged up over playing a team he helped win three Super Bowls - but for some of the players, the prospect of facing the Patriots is not a pleasant one.

"Three times in one year?" receiver Laveranues Coles asked. "Who would want to play the Patriots three times in one year?"

Coles was one of the few players who acknowledged the Patriots' recent dominance in January games. Since 2001, the Patriots are 10-1 in the postseason, including the three Super Bowls. Although the Jets have faced the Patriots only once in the playoffs - a 26-14 win by New England in the 1985 wild-card round - he is well aware that the Pats are a tough team to oust.

"They're an excellent football team and I really didn't want to play them in the first round," he said. "New England is a totally different team in the playoffs. When you watch them, that's the last team you ever want to see in the playoffs because of the way they prepare and the experience that they have. We know we have our work cut out for us. It's something we'll have to just grit our teeth and try to get ready for."

Tight end Chris Baker said he tuned in as the Broncos first came back against the 49ers - a Denver win or tie would have sent the Jets to Indianapolis - and then lost on an overtime field goal that set the stage for a trip back to New England.

"Going against them, it's a heated rivalry," Baker said. "It's a little different than the Miami rivalry, just the history and the things they've done in the last few years."

And of course, Mangini's defection helped fuel the recent installments of the border war, which have ended in less-than-congenial handshakes at midfield.

After their first meeting, a 24-17 win by the Patriots, Mangini said he told Belichick "good game," then added that he didn't think the feeling was mutual. It was one of the few times during the mostly one-sided feud that Mangini seemed peeved by Belichick's cold shoulder.

Mostly Mangini just grins, spouts praise for his mentor and takes the high road in their public spat. But he'll have another chance to crawl under Belichick's skin Sunday, the best way he knows how.

Wild-card playoff game

Jets at Patriots

Sunday, 1 p.m.

TV: Ch. 2

Radio: WEPN (1050), WABC (770), WRCN (103.9)

Line: Patriots by 9

Key matchup

Newsday breaks down a key matchup each day leading up to Sunday's game in New England:

Reche Caldwell vs. Hank Poteat

When the season began, Caldwell was an obscure player trying to fill the shoes of Deion Branch and Poteat was out of the game looking for work. Now they are the marquee receiving matchup when the Patriots have the football. Caldwell has 61 catches for 760 yards and four touchdowns. Poteat, a former Patriot, was picked up by the Jets early in the season, stabilized the right cornerback position in the second half of the year and now is the team's top stopper with the injury to Andre Dyson.

Edge: Jets

Previous matchups:

D'Brickashaw Ferguson vs. Richard Seymour Edge: Patriots

[Sperm Edwards]

http://www.newsday.com/sports/football/jets/ny-spjnotes025037147jan02,0,2239828.story?coll=ny-jets-print

Barrett's right back at the start

BY TOM ROCK

Newsday Staff Writer

January 2, 2007

It's not the word most would use to describe his season, but "steady" is the one David Barrett chose. The cornerback who started the first eight games last season before an injury, started two games in the middle of this season, was inactive for three others and was put back in the starting lineup Sunday to help replace injured Andre Dyson said it's been smooth sailing.

"It hasn't been a roller coaster," he said. "I'm still doing the same thing as when I got here and I haven't changed from it."

What he did Sunday was alleviate some of the fears the Jets might have had with Dyson questionable for Sunday's playoff game at New England. Barrett forced a fumble in the first quarter that led to the Jets' first touchdown. "You can see the volume of force that he's putting on the ball to get it out," said coach Eric Mangini, who has been emphasizing forcing such turnovers in recent weeks to the point that such stats are monitored during practices.

As for jumping back into the starting role, Barrett said it's no different from training camp, when the defensive backs were shuffled from position to position. Said Barrett, "We know whoever is out there is going to be a starter and he's going to hold up his end of the deal."

A Boston thing

Left guard Pete Kendall may play for the Jets, but he showed a little bit of his New England heart when talking about the upcoming game and its perception among friends and family back home in Weymouth, Mass.

"I'm not sure how many teams have gone into any Boston sports venue and been better than the home team," he said, grinning. "Some of them have left with wins, but I don't know how many have been better. I certainly understand that sentiment."

Looking ahead

With their second-place finish in the AFC East the Jets learned the 16 teams they will face in the 2007 regular season, the most notable being the Herm Edwards-led Chiefs. Besides two-game series against fellow AFC East teams, the Jets will play the entire NFC East with home games against the Redskins and Eagles, a visit to Dallas, and a "road" game against the Giants. The Jets also travel to play the Titans, Bengals and Ravens and host the Browns and the Steelers.

[Sperm Edwards]

http://www.newsday.com/sports/football/jets/ny-spjside025037146jan02,0,625535.story?coll=ny-jets-print

Feud provides some fuel

BY BOB HERZOG

Newsday Staff Writer

January 2, 2007

How much impact did the Jets' 17-14 victory over the Patriots in Eric Mangini's return to New England on Nov. 12 have on the second-half playoff run? Depends on whom you ask.

Ask feisty wide receiver Laveranues Coles about Patriots coach Bill Belichick's display of disrespect for his former assistant, Mangini, and he'll say, "He wouldn't say our coach's name, which is no biggie. You can't carry that on the field with you," but he tellingly added, "You want to do stuff for people and it helps when the game is over."

That was a little softer than Coles' postgame comment that Sunday when the Jets ended a seven-game losing streak against the Pats, raised their record to 5-4 and sparked a 6-2 second half. "He wouldn't want me saying this, but you kind of want it a little bit extra for the coach," Coles said then.

Yesterday, it wasn't the Belichick-Mangini machinations so much as the Jets-Patriots rivalry that seemed most important. "At that point it was something we all wanted to do," Coles said of beating the Patriots. "I think Shaun Ellis said it best, that we hadn't won or beaten them in a while and we got tired of them taking our lunch money."

Ask soft-spoken tight end Chris Baker and you'll get a quiet acknowledgment that "if we had lost twice to them, it would have been a different thing. We go up there now with more confidence, but that won't score any points for us this time."

But there was a point made back in November. "We'd been up and down [at 4-4], so to go up there and beat them sent a message to us. It validated us and sent a message to other teams that we weren't as bad as people thought," Baker said.

Ask insightful guard Pete Kendall, a native of nearby Weymouth, Mass., about that victory in Foxboro and you'll get a wry smirk and some hedging. Asked if the team was brought closer by that game, Kendall said, "I didn't really get any sense of that. New England was a team that had beaten us however many times in a row. I believe my record was 0-5. I had about 60 people in the stands so, I don't mean any disrespect to Eric, but I had items higher on my priority list as to why I wanted to win the game. If we don't win that game, we probably don't qualify . So in that sense it was an important game. Other than that, I really don't think it meant that much more."

Kendall did acknowledge that some teammates were less blasé about the outcome. "I read what several of you wrote and clearly for some guys it was motivation. It didn't affect me, but it certainly had some impact on some other guys."

Asked if all the Jets-Patriots subplots interest him, Kendall smirked again and replied, "Only in the way that a car accident does. I know I really shouldn't waste my time paying attention to it, and for the most part, I really don't."

For the most part, but he can't totally ignore it, either.

[Sperm Edwards]

http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/articles/2007/01/02/patriots_jets_back_for_thirds/?rss_id=Boston.com%20--%20New%20England%20Patriots%20news

Patriots, Jets back for thirds

Playoff rubber game on their plate Sunday

By Amalie Benjamin, Globe Staff | January 2, 2007

NASHVILLE -- Judging by their performance on that September day in the Meadowlands -- or at least the first 36 minutes -- the rest of the Jets season would have been nearly inconceivable.

Until Jerricho Cotchery scored on an improbable 71-yard touchdown catch in which he bounced off Chad Scott and somehow never hit the ground, the Patriots were in complete control in the first meeting of the season between the AFC East rivals. New England had built a 24-point third-quarter lead, and there were serious doubts about the Jets coming back, both in the game and in the season.

But they did. And though the Jets couldn't pull out the win on that day, falling, 24-17, in Week 2, they gave indications that this wasn't going to be the down year many had predicted would start the Eric Mangini era.

It's a year that has brought not only a playoff berth, but a third matchup -- the rubber game -- with old friend and former mentor Bill Belichick Sunday at 1 p.m. at Gillette Stadium. Much is made of the matchup, not just because of the rivalry between the cities and teams, but also because of a supposed rivalry between the coaches; Belichick has rarely uttered his acolyte's name, though he managed to get it out after Sunday's 40-23 win over the Titans -- with a bit of praise, to boot.

"We're back in the AFC East for our biggest challenge of the year," Belichick said. "Eric Mangini, his staff, and entire team are doing a phenomenal job. The Jets are playing extremely well, as we are well aware based on the last time we faced them."

Ah, the last time. Remember that one? On a mud pit of a field, the Jets sloshed to an unexpected 17-14 win in Foxborough Nov. 12, a victory startling not just because the Patriots were supposed to be in control in the AFC East but because it was their second straight loss, ending a streak of 57 games without consecutive defeats.

After the game, the frustration showed.

"Eric was here, so he knows what we do, but there are no excuses," said New England's Richard Seymour that day. "They outplayed us and outcoached us today. We just have to do a better job of meeting force with force. We just have to do a better job from top to bottom being ready to go."

The Jets used a short passing game -- perfect for the arm of quarterback Chad Pennington -- to chew through the Patriots' defense, one that was missing safety Rodney Harrison and end Ty Warren. And with their defense focused on pressuring quarterback Tom Brady, the Jets allowed the Patriots to convert just three times in 12 chances on third down.

But the game did more than demonstrate that the Jets are preparing to challenge the Patriots' supremacy in the division. It signaled change for owner Bob Kraft and his stadium, as the slop soon was replaced by FieldTurf with a round-the-clock installation. Just two days later, the Patriots decided to replace the grass that had become an ongoing embarrassment and an ongoing battle, for both New England and its opponents.

Since that ugly day, the Patriots seem to have gotten a handle on their season, though there was another low point in a demoralizing loss at Miami, the only game the team lost after falling to the Jets. Tight wins over the Bears and Lions led to impressive triumphs over the Texans, Jaguars, and Titans (though none of those teams made the playoffs). The Jets, meanwhile, lost to the Bears and Bills, but beat the Texans, Packers, Vikings, Dolphins, and Raiders, ending their season with a three-game winning streak.

So now comes the final meeting. Either Belichick or Mangini will end the season with a loss to his rival and his team's rival. But Brady made an observation designed to make his team (and perhaps its fans) rest a little easier.

"We haven't lost on the new turf," Brady said. "So maybe it was a grass problem."

[Sperm Edwards]

http://www.courant.com/sports/football/hc-patriots0102.artjan02,0,3252956.story?coll=hc-headlines-football

Belichick-Mangini: A New Chapter

First Playoff Duel Of Mentor, Student

By ALAN GREENBERG

Courant Staff Writer

January 2 2007

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Seven weeks ago, when the middle of the field at Gillette Stadium resembled a tossed salad turned brown, Jets coach Eric Mangini was on the field during the pregame warmups.

"Hey Mangini, mix in a salad now and then," a fan yelled at the man the Jets have nicknamed "The Penguin."

Hartford native Mangini, 35, the NFL's youngest head coach, may be battling his weight, but Jets fans love the way he has battled to change the Jets' losing culture.

At his postgame press conference that day, Mangini, usually reluctant to supply an anecdote, let alone an embarrassing one, volunteered that tidbit. On that day, he was feeling no pain, only jubilation.

Mangini's Jets had just upset his mentor Bill Belichick's Patriots 17-14, the first time the Patriots had lost back-to-back games since December 2002, their 57-game streak the second-longest such streak since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger. To have a real rivalry, both teams have to do some winning, and the Jets' Nov. 12 victory was their first against the Patriots after seven consecutive losses.

The last time the Patriots had lost back-to-back games was a 24-7 Monday night loss to the Titans in Nashville on Dec. 16, 2002, followed by a 30-17 loss to the Jets six days later at Gillette, a game that effectively eliminated the then-defending Super Bowl champions from the postseason, the only time in the past six seasons that the Patriots have failed to make the playoffs.

Now, both the Patriots (12-4) and Jets (10-6) are in, and playing each other Sunday at 1 p.m. at Gillette in a first-round postseason game. It's the third Mangini-Belichick bowl, and it's hard to imagine a more humiliating defeat for Belichick - who has spurned his former pupil all season - than if the Jets were to knock the Patriots out of the playoffs.

The Patriots, AFC East champions for the fifth time in six years, are the AFC's No.4 seed and have been installed by the oddsmakers as 9-point favorites. The Jets are the No.5 seed, having earned a wild card berth thanks to their victory over the Raiders Sunday and the 49ers' overtime victory over the Broncos in Denver.

When the teams, and the head coaches, first opposed each other this season, in Week 2 at the Meadowlands, the Patriots were cruising with a 24-0 lead early in the second half until Chad Pennington hooked up with Jerricho Cotchery and Laveranues Coles on long TD plays, making the Jets' loss a more respectable-sounding 24-17.

But in the next meeting nearly two months later, a game played in heavy rain and mud, the Jets were further along in understanding and implementing Mangini's strategies. Although the Patriots moved the ball (377 total net yards to the Jets' 278), they scored only one touchdown in three trips inside the red zone. When Cotchery leaped in front of seemingly well-positioned Patriots cornerback Ellis Hobbs in the back corner of the end zone to catch Pennington's 22-yard TD pass and give the Jets a 17-6 lead with 4:45 left, the Jets had the winning points.

The Patriots, playing that day without three of their current starters - safety Rodney Harrison, defensive end Ty Warren and offensive guard Stephen Neal - scored on a 15-yard Tom Brady to Reche Caldwell pass to cut the deficit to three with 4:14 left, but didn't get the ball back until Troy Brown fair-caught a Jets punt at the New England 11 with 68 seconds left and no timeouts. With 10 seconds left and the ball at the Jets 46, Brady went back to pass and was sacked by defensive end Shaun Ellis. Brady sat there while the Jets celebrated around him.

Much has happened since that game. Harrison, Warren and Neal have returned to the lineup, although the right leg injury Harrison sustained in the second quarter of the 40-23 victory over the Titans Sunday makes his status uncertain for the wild card game.

One thing that is no longer uncertain at Gillette is the quality of the footing. The field, an object of scorn among players on both sides almost since the stadium opened in 2002, was ripped up and removed after the Jets game - the Patriots were playing at Green Bay the next week - and FieldTurf was installed in time for the Nov. 26 home game against the Bears.

Since that second Jets game, the Patriots are 6-1, the Jets 5-2. None of which will mean anything Sunday. But as much as this game means to the players, it means even more to the coaches.

[Sperm Edwards]

http://www.nypost.com/seven/01022007/sports/jets/gang_green_not_satisfied_jets_mark_cannizzaro.htm

GANG GREEN NOT SATISFIED

By MARK CANNIZZARO

January 2, 2007 -- Now that the Jets are in the playoffs, they insist they're not just happy to be in.

"We don't want just say we made it," DE Bobby Hamilton said yesterday. "We already know we're here. Now let's show everybody what we can do.

"Now it's the 12 best teams in the playoffs and you want to not just be glad to be here; you want to play and perform. Now it's about who can take their game to another level. That's what we're all about - we're trying to take this team to another level."

Hamilton, a former member of the Patriots, with whom he won two Super Bowl rings, will be sending a message out to his younger teammates all week.

"I'm telling you, it's a feeling you never had before," he said of playing in the postseason. "The tempo goes up to another level. This is about who's going to step up and who wants to do it, who wants that ring on their finger."

Jets' receiver Jerricho Cotchery, when asked about merely being happy to be in the playoffs, said, "That's not how we're built."

*

The Jets expressed shock and sorrow about the death of Broncos' CB Darrent Williams, who was shot and killed early yesterday morning.

"I would like to offer my condolences to Darrent Williams' family," Eric Mangini said at the start of his press conference yesterday. "Obviously this is a horrible tragedy and a very difficult time. We just want them to know that our thoughts and prayers are with them in this period."

LB Victor Hobson said, "It just puts life into perspective. No one is promised tomorrow. To know something like that is sad. I just send my condolences out to his family."

S Jamie Thompson, who went to college at Oklahoma State with Williams, said, "It was a devastating tragedy, because Darrent is a good guy. He came up hard and he worked his way up to the next level. To see that was tragic."

*

Mangini announced his players of the week yesterday, citing RT Anthony Clement on offense, DE Shaun Ellis on defense and Eric Smith on special teams. The practice player of the week was OL Wade Smith.

*

The Jets are nine-point underdogs. This week marks only the second time the Jets and Patriots will have played in the postseason.

[Sperm Edwards]

http://www.nypost.com/seven/01022007/sports/jets/chick_it_out_jets_mark_cannizzaro.htm

'CHICK IT OUT

By MARK CANNIZZARO

January 2, 2007 -- Welcome to Bill Belichick's worst nightmare.

When, against Belichick's wishes and advice, Eric Mangini flew the Foxborough coop for the head coaching freedom in New York last January, this was the precise scenario the Patriots head coach probably knew deep down could occur and potentially blow up in his face.

Book a prime seat on your couch on Sunday at 1 p.m., pack a lunch and turn the phones off, because Mangini's Jets are playing Belichick's Patriots in the first round of the playoffs and the tension will be as thick as San Francisco fog.

The game figures to be - give or take - two parts premium sporting event and one part soap opera, and it's not to be missed.

It's difficult to put a true measurement on the amount of pressure Belichick is under to not let his former apprentice come to his home stadium and knock his team out of the playoffs, particularly since the Jets have already come up and dulled the razor at Gillette Stadium by shocking the Patriots 17-14 on Nov. 12.

In the aftermath of that Jets' upset in Foxborough, days of sports radio chatter followed about how the apprentice schooled the mentor. The Patriots, in some subconscious way, even made the field conditions an excuse, changing their field surface from natural turf to artificial Field Turf.

Ah, the subplots.

Asked if he thinks New England "dreaded" facing the Jets in the first round, Mangini said, "That's the magic of the conference call," referring to tomorrow's scheduled conference call with Belichick.

"That's one of those questions that's a better question for the other side," Mangini said.

The Belichick conference call will surely have a dental appointment feel to it, as the media will undoubtedly pepper him with Mangini questions, and getting a complimentary response out of him about Mangini will be as easy as pulling teeth.

Prior to the previous two times the teams met this season, Belichick has gone out of his way to refuse mentioning Mangini by name, an exercise that has not only bordered on sheer comedy, but made him look very petty - even in the eyes of some of his own players who have respect for Mangini.

When asked yesterday why he thinks Belichick has shown such contempt for him, Mangini said: "This is the first time I've been in this position, so there are a lot of things for me that are new in terms of this job of being a head coach. Each week I learn something new."

Mangini, who worked with Belichick for 10 years, maintained his feelings toward Belichick "are exactly the same" as they've always been - appreciative of how much he has meant to his career.

"I respect and appreciate all of the things he'd done for me throughout the course of my career, and that's never going to change," he said.

Jets tight end Chris Baker said he has "no idea" why Belichick would treat Mangini with so little regard, but he added, "It does add something" to the rivalry, recalling the "coaches' exchange [after the Jets' win on November] was pretty cold."

Baker said when he saw Denver lose Sunday night and push the Jets toward Foxborough, it made the wild card showdown "a little bit more fun."

[Sperm Edwards]

http://www.nypost.com/seven/01022007/sports/jets/light_raidin_jets_mark_cannizzaro.htm

LIGHT RAIDIN'

JET REPORT CARD

By MARK CANNIZZARO

January 2, 2007 -- QUARTERBACKS (( B ))

Chad Pennington (22-30, 157 yards, one TD, 96.1 rating) made the plays when he needed them, managing a con servative don't-beat-yourself plan.

RUNNING BACKS (( C ))

Leon Washington (15-53, one TD rushing, 2-17 receiving) scored the Jets' second TD to put the game away. Ce dric Houston ran for 44 yards on 16 carries. B.J. Askew caught three passes for 14 yards.

WIDE RECEIVERS (( C+ ))

Jerricho Cotchery led the way with seven catches for 53 yards. Laveranues Coles, who had a big block to help spring Wash ington on his TD run, had two catches for 24 yards and a drop on one long pass.

TIGHT ENDS (( C ))

Chris Baker (2-19) caught a 1-yard pass for the Jets' first TD. He and Sean Ryan had decent days blocking.

OFFENSIVE LINE (( B ))

Good pass protection; Pennington was sacked only once. Kudos to rookie C Nick Mangold, who appeared to be knocked out of the game with a left knee injury but returned to play the second half.

DEFENSIVE LINE (( B ))

Shaun Ellis had seven tackles and a QB pressure, Dewayne Robertson had three tackles and Kimo von Oehlhoffen had two tackles.

LINEBACKERS (( B ))

Victor Hobson led the team with nine tackles. Jonathan Vilma had five tack les. Eric Barton had four tackles, a sack and a forced fumble. Better job against the run in the second half.

SECONDARY (( B ))

Kerry Rhodes had four tackles and a sack. David Barrett had two tackles and an INT. Erik Coleman had four tackles as did Justin Miller, who made a nice first-down- saving tackle early in the game.

SPECIAL TEAMS (( B ))

Brad Kassell and Rashad Washington each had two tackles in coverage. Miller averaged 23.5 yards on two kickoff re turns.

KICKING GAME (( B+ ))

Mike Nugent had three FGs and Ben Graham averaged 43.8 yards gross and 39.0 yards net on four punts.

COACHING (( A ))

Eric Mangini did a great job keeping his team sharp and in the moment, not looking past Oakland.

[Sperm Edwards]

http://www.nypost.com/seven/01022007/sports/jets/this_fits_the_bill_jets_mike_vaccaro.htm

THIS FITS THE BILL

By MIKE VACCARO

January 2, 2007 -- IT HAD to be the Patriots, of course, because we haven't had a reason to re-immerse ourselves in the greatest parochial tussle in sports in a good, long while. The last time New York and New England found themselves in each other's postseason cross-hairs was more than two years ago, and the Red Sox were dancing on the field at Yankee Stadium, and one region's heart was bursting while the other's was breaking.

It had to be the Patriots, of course, because for all the franchise feuds we've been fortunate enough to see up close through the years, this may be the most complex, the most complicated, the most fascinating and the most furious. It started with a telephone call Bill Parcells allegedly made from his hotel room in New Orleans 10 years ago this month. It reached a surreal standard with a piece of paper, on which were written these immortal initials: "HC" and "NYJ." And now, featuring Cain Belichick and Abel Mangini, it's positively Freudian.

It had to be the Patriots, of course, because they are among the Jets' most ancient rivals, dating to a time when they were called the "Boston Patriots" and the Jets were called the "New York Titans," dating to the Meadowlands afternoon in December 1985 when the Patriots clobbered the Jets in the only playoff meeting between the two (with the Pats en route to their first of five Super Bowl appearances in the last 21 years), dating to the frightening September evening in 2001 when Mo Lewis nearly decapitated Drew Bledsoe, ushering in the Tom Brady Era once and for all.

It had to be the Patriots, of course, because even the most ferocious Jets fans probably can't get enough of the fact that Robert Kraft really did get the last laugh against Bill Parcells, back when the Patriots were unquestionably in possession of this rivalry's moral high ground.

And it had to be the Patriots - of course - because there isn't a reasonable person alive who can believe those positions haven't shifted now, thanks to Belichick's initial treachery in 1999 (and let's not forget, it was Belichick who served as Parcells' John the Baptist three years earlier, taking the transparent title of temporary head coach while Parcells tip-toed his way out of a contract and across the Mass Pike), compounded by the bizarre way he currently treats his erstwhile assistant/friend/protégé, Mangini.

"To me, it's like a car wreck," is the way Jets guard Pete Kendall termed it yesterday. "I don't want to look at it. It's something I don't really have to think about. I know there are a lot of things I could be doing instead of thinking or caring about it. And yet . . ."

Kendall was referring specifically to the Belichick-Mangini spat, which will undoubtedly be covered this week as if Joe and Marilyn were breaking up all over again. But Kendall - and everyone else, in both locker rooms - acknowledges there's something more to it here, something more basic, something more visceral.

For Jets-Pats really isn't defined, and hasn't ever been defined, by what has happened on the field, not really. (Quick: Name the most unforgettable Jets-Pats game. Seriously. Right now. Name one game from the highlight reel of your memory that stands out. Can't do it, right? And these teams have only played 91 games against each other through the years, and when they play No. 92 on Sunday afternoon in Foxborough, Jets-Pats will officially surpass Jets-Bills as the longest-standing rivalry in Jets history.)

That's the irony. For the longest time, Jets-Pats was among the most nondescript rivalries we had in New York, a rivalry that should have been a rivalry, that geographically had to be a rivalry, yet never seemed to be, in much the same way Mets-Phillies always should have been fiercer, or Nets-Knicks.

That singular phone call, from Parcells to the Jets as New England was preparing to play the Packers in Super Bowl XXXI, changed everything. In 10 short years, we've had what seemed like a thousand draft picks shuttled back and forth, to compensate for fleeing coaches. We've heard about shopping for groceries. We've had Parcells' own son-in-law, Scott Pioli, defect right under his nose. We've had the "HC of the NYJ" hostage tape. We've had two cold-fish handshakes between Cain and Abel, with another sure to follow.

And now we get a Jets-Patriots playoff game, Gillette Stadium, 1 o'clock Sunday. It had to happen that way. Of course.

[Sperm Edwards]

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/jets/story/484972p-408328c.html

Mangini brushes off mentor

BY RICH CIMINI

DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

Eric Mangini said he wasn't glued to his TV Sunday evening, watching the Broncos fall to the 49ers - an outcome that determined the Jets' first-round playoff opponent. Mangini was too busy playing with his young son, Jake, to concentrate on the game. They were into Play-Doh and Candy Land.

Then GM Mike Tannenbaum called with the news most fans would consider Fantasyland: Jets versus Patriots, Sunday in Foxboro.

And you know what that means - another chapter in the Mangini-Bill Belichick soap opera.

It's Bad Blood III, except this time the stakes are much bigger. It seems only fitting that Mangini's first playoff game as a head coach is against the man who taught him so much about football - the same man who has so much contempt for his former protégé that he refused to look him in the eye for the postgame handshake in November.

If you're expecting a thaw in the relationship, forget about it.

"My approach is no different, my feelings are no different," Mangini said yesterday, responding to the week's first Belichick-related question in a way that sounded as scripted as his two-minute offense. "I respect and appreciate all of the things that he's done for me throughout the course of my career, and that's never going to change."

Mangini received several questions about his estranged mentor and, perhaps borrowing the technique that Belichick uses quite often, he never mentioned the Patriots' coach by name. Asked if he believes Belichick dreads this matchup - after all, the pressure is on the teacher to beat his former pupil - Mangini smiled.

"That's the magic of the conference call," he said, alluding to tomorrow's opportunity for the New York media to speak with Belichick. "That's one of those things that's a better question for the other side."

Any thoughts on why the relationship has soured?

"I haven't given it any thought," Mangini said.

Right.

Belichick wasn't available yesterday to the media, but he did offer some uncharacteristic praise after Sunday's season-ending win over the Titans. Shockingly, he mentioned Mangini by name, saying, "Eric Mangini, his staff and entire team are doing a phenomenal job. The Jets are playing extremely well."

The two coaches worked together for 10 years, but their friendship started to deteriorate last January when Mangini left the Patriots for the Jets. Mangini reportedly tried to lure some of Belichick's assistants with him, but the relationship-breaker was the Jets' involvement in the Deion Branch trade talks, according to people familiar with the situation.

In September, the Patriots filed tampering charges against the Jets, escalating the enmity between the two coaches and two franchises. New England wound up trading Branch to the Seahawks.

The feud's signature moment occurred Nov.12 after the Jets' 17-14 win in Foxboro, where Belichick performed his no-look handshake at midfield. After the game, a watershed victory for the Jets, several players said they wanted to win badly for Mangini because of the way he had been dissed publicly by Belichick. The players haven't forgotten.

"I don't know much about that world, but you could see (the handshake) was pretty cold, to say the least," said tight end Chris Baker. "It wasn't a spoken thing like, 'Let's win this for Eric.' It's unspoken, but it's definitely a feeling you have."

Since beating the Patriots, the Jets have lost only twice, finishing 10-6. Clearly, that victory, which snapped a seven-game losing streak to the Patriots, did wonders for their confidence. As running back Leon Washington said, "Ultimately, it gave us the push to go 6-2 in the last eight games."

It evened the score: Mangini 1, Belichick 1. Rubber game on Sunday.

Originally published on January 2, 2007

[Sperm Edwards]

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/jets/story/484981p-408332c.html

Practice still what Eric's preaching to his underdogs

By Vic Ziegel

The head-scratching question to ask about these Jets is pretty much the same one Butch Cassidy threw at Sundance, when a posse was close enough to get a whiff of their bad breath: Who are those guys?

The Jets, Cinderellas in helmets, are playing one more game than anyone expected, that at New England on Sunday. They were 4-12 last season, and didn't figure to be a whole lot better this time around the league, L's taking up more space than W's. The star running back would miss every game, and the quarterback was hoping to come back after still another season of what the medical profession calls shoulderitis chronicitis. The chances of him starting 16 games, being capable of raising both arms over his head after every one of those games, was not in the cards.

The new head coach was very young, very serious, another mystery. The preseason predictions weren't close to optimistic. Not this year, you heard that a lot. Too soon for miracles. Eric Mangini, something of a boy wonder, spent the previous six years, three Super Bowl titles, in New England, working for Bill Belichick, Coach Charming.

He must have learned a lot from Belichick, including the art of not giving anything away at press conferences. Yesterday, at last, was a little different. The door opened, the coach stepped inside the press room and the first words out of his mouth were, "Happy New Year, everybody." He followed it up with a smile.

Listen, there are coaches in the NFL who have no idea this is a new year. They're the same guys who think global warming is the name of a trotter. The other coach in town, Tom Coughlin, might be part of that crowd. The Giants' last game was the one they needed to creep into the playoffs. They made it, not by much - never by much - but just enough to reduce the clamor for Coughlin's firing - for now.

The difference between the two coaches has everything to do with communication. The Jets have been listening to Mangini; the Giants are tuning out their guy. One reason might be because Mangini is determined to make the practices almost as important as the games.

He names four players of the week after each game. Sunday's honors went to Anthony Clement on offense, Shaun Ellis on defense and Eric Smith, special teams. The fourth man is Wade Smith, a little-used offensive lineman who does his best work from Wednesday to Friday. He was the "practice player of the week," Mangini said. "Which is always our most important award."

Mangini, who would love to add more names to the honor roll, passes along the information that Smith was pushed hard for most of the week by Wallace Wright, a wide receiver who made it into just five games.

None of that is hard news. It won't help you figure out if it's worth taking taking the Jets and nine against New England. But the players must like hearing the coach add their names to the honor roll.

Yesterday, the Monday that wasn't supposed to happen for the Jets, the coach covered the usual ground.

"Like every other week," he said, "we're looking at the corrections from the (Oakland) game, going through those corrections, making sure we got those fixed, and we're able to make some progress." After that, "our full focus will shift to the Patriots."

Week 2, the Patriots were in front of the Jets, 24-0, when Chad Pennington began putting up points. "But you can't dig yourself into a 24-0 hole," Mangini said. The final score was 24-17, the young coach's first loss. The next time they met, at New England, was after the Jets' bye week. They were 4-4, slumping, and there were almost too many corrections to make. But the game became the Jets' only win against a team that would reach the playoffs. The score was 17-14, a success at least one Jet didn't paste into his scrapbook.

Laveranues Coles caught five passes for a big 29 yards that day in November and it might explain why he was tip-toeing yesterday. "They're the last team you ever want to see in the playoffs," he said. "They're an excellent team and I really don't want to play them in the first round."

So here we are again, not so far from the beginning of the season. When the only team the Jets were worried about were the bodies wearing green uniforms.

Originally published on January 2, 2007

[Sperm Edwards]

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/jets/story/484973p-408330c.html

Coles unhappy to face Patriots

It might be everybody's dream playoff matchup - Jets versus Patriots - but Laveranues Coles isn't everybody. He was hoping for a different first-round opponent.

"I guess we didn't have much luck," Coles said yesterday. "They're an excellent football team and I really didn't want to play them in the first round ... New England is a totally different team in the playoffs. When you watch them, they're the last team you ever want to see in the playoffs."

The two AFC East rivals split the season series, each winning on the road: The Patriots won the first meeting, 24-17, with the Jets taking the rematch, 17-14.

In the Bill Belichick era, the Patriots are 10-1 in the postseason, winning three Super Bowls.

"We're playing a team that's lived in the playoffs for quite a few years and that locker room is filled with playoff experience," said Eric Mangini, a member of Belichick's staff for all three titles.

NICK NICKED: Rookie C Nick Mangold (knee) probably will appear on tomorrow's injury report. He was a "little bit sore" and received treatment yesterday for an injury suffered late in the first half of Sunday's win over the Raiders, Mangini said.

Mangold returned to the game, so he should be ready for Sunday. He already has developed a reputation as a tough guy, missing only two snaps this season despite eye, hip and knee injuries.

BACK IN A CORNER: The big injury question this week surrounds CB Andre Dyson (sprained knee), who was expected to miss two-to-four weeks after getting hurt in the next-to-last game.

Veteran David Barrett, a former starter, replaced Dyson in the season finale, earning praise from Mangini for his forced fumble on WR Johnnie Morant. But Barrett wasn't really tested by the Raiders' inept passing attack. It could be a different story against Tom Brady & Co.

DIRTY POOL: Patriots S Rodney Harrison, the heart and soul of their defense, suffered an apparent knee injury on what he felt was a dirty play by Titans WR Bobby Wade. Harrison said he expects to face the Jets.

Rich Cimini

Originally published on January 2, 2007

[Sperm Edwards]

http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkxMjEmZmdiZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTcwNDk4NDgmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2

Feud within a feud stirs fire

Tuesday, January 2, 2007

By RANDY LANGE

STAFF WRITER

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. -- Ready or not, it's time for Mangini vs. Belichick III.

Oh, yeah, and the Jets will be playing the Patriots in the playoffs Sunday as well.

The coaches and the teams may wonder why a stake can't be driven through this vampire, but the relationship between Eric Mangini and Bill Belichick will hover over this week because fans and reporters love discussing it.

Mangini got the ball rolling Monday, the day after the Jets clinched the AFC's fifth seed with their 23-3 victory over Oakland, only because he was holding his regular news conference. He fielded four questions on the Patriots' coach, including why he thought Belichick has such contempt for him.

As with every other question, Mangini didn't flinch and stayed on message.

"My thoughts are exactly the same as they've been. My approach is no different. My feelings are no different," he said. "I respect and appreciate all the things he's done for me throughout the course of my career, and that's never going to change."

A diplomatic answer, to be sure. Yet consider that in his responses to those four questions, totaling 276 words, Mangini didn't utter Belichick's first or last name once.

And Mangini found a new way to respond to a tough query about whether Belichick and the Pats dreaded facing the Jets in the playoffs after Mangini parted ways with his mentor in February.

"That's the magic of the conference call," he said. "That's a better question for the other side."

None of this is as provocative as Belichick (who didn't hold a news conference following the Patriots' win at Tennessee and won't again today) declining repeatedly to offer Mangini even lukewarm praise before their first meeting in September or their rematch in November, then following each game with the most watched and analyzed midfield limp-fish handshakes of the NFL season.

What makes this worth revisiting is that the Jets' players, without any prodding from Mangini, sensed the divide between the two before their 17-14 upset of the Patriots at Gillette Stadium in Week 9.

"It did feel like we did some bonding because of some things we had to deal with before those games," tight end Chris Baker said. "It wasn't 'Go out and win one for Eric,' but you do feel it."

Mangini apparently felt something, too, because sources on the field said when he tried to shake Belichick's hand after the upset, his words to his former boss -- "Nice game, Bill" -- were drawn out and sarcastic, echoing the feistiness he has inspired in the Jets with his attitude and his boxing videos.

Regardless of the reasons for the rift, Mangini said he learned a major coaching lesson from Belichick that he has used in first getting the Jets on their feet, then guiding them to a 10-6 record and into the postseason.

"I'd say the one thing I took away from that whole New England experience was the value of character," he said. "The locker room was filled with character. To me, character wins. Character is so important, not just when you're winning but really when you're losing, when things are tough, when it's hard to come to work, when it's hard to sacrifice because it's not going the way you want. Those are the guys who continue to fight."

So fighting words will fill the media this week and then they'll take it to Gillette's new turf field for the fight to advance in the playoffs.

"It should be a good game," Baker said. "It should be an interesting game."

NICK'S KNEE: Mangini said center Nick Mangold "is a little sore and getting treatment" after 300-pound DT Tommy Kelly fell on Mangold's left leg while he was blocking as the right guard on the Jets' field goal team. "I think he's missed two plays with three injuries, all painful. So he's got the tough part."

BRIEFS: Pro Bowler Justin Miller didn't have a big kickoff return the last seven weeks, but still won the NFL's kickoff-return title with a 28.3-yard average. New England rookie Laurence Maroney finished second at 28.0.

[Sperm Edwards]

http://www.thejournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070102/SPORTS01/701020347/1108

Jets' Schottenheimer deserves credit, too

By Andrew Gross

The Journal News

(Original Publication: January 2, 2007)

HEMPSTEAD - Sometimes lost in the praise heaped on rookie coach Eric Mangini for the Jets' rapid turnaround is first-year offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer's contribution.

The Jets (10-6) have the league's 25th-ranked offense, but their system, a modified West Coast attack heavy on the no-huddle, has often kept opponents guessing with its motion and trickery. Chad Pennington, in particular, has thrived in the short passing attack that makes good use of the quarterback's acumen.

For instance, the Jets opened Sunday's 23-3 win over the Raiders with a double reverse to wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery. The fact that the play went for minus-3 yards is almost immaterial because of everything it opened up later in the game.

"I went into the search wanting someone from the San Diego/Kansas City/St. Louis family because those are offenses that always caused problems defensively as a coordinator and position coach,'' said Mangini, at 35 two years older than Schottenheimer. "I like the fact that he was younger than me.''

Wide receiver Laveranues Coles said the key is Schottenheimer's willingness to listen, and often, the input goes directly into the game plan.

"He puts us in situations to do things conducive to what we're good at,'' Coles said. "Any time a coach understands the individual player and puts them in great places to make plays, you can't help but be successful.''

Profound sorrow: Mangini and his players offered condolences to the family of Darrent Williams after the Broncos' cornerback, 24, was killed in a drive-by shooting early yesterday morning outside a Denver nightclub.

Perhaps most affected was rookie safety Jamie Thompson, Williams' teammate at Oklahoma State.

"It was a devastating tragedy because Darrent is a good guy,'' Thompson said. "He came up hard, and he worked his way up to the next level. To see that was tragic.''

Linebacker Victor Hobson said Williams' shooting "puts life into perspective.'' Guard Pete Kendall said it wasn't the type of Dec. 31 trouble he expects to hear about.

"Young guys are going to do what young guys do on New Year's Eve,'' the 33-year-old Kendall said. "Hey, you hope nobody gets a DUI or something like that. You never expect to hear somebody got shot in a club. It's stunning and really sad to think that a 24-year-old kid, now he's dead.''

Banged up: Rookie center Nick Mangold received treatment yesterday on his left leg. He'll likely be listed in tomorrow's injury report.

Players of the week: Right tackle Anthony Clement, who limited last season's NFL sack leader, Raiders defensive end Derrick Burgess, to just four tackles, was named the Jets' offensive player of the week. End Shaun Ellis (seven tackles) was the top defensive player, Eric Smith earned special-teams honors, and offensive lineman Wade Smith was the practice player of the week.

[Sperm Edwards]

http://www.thejournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070102/SPORTS01/701020349/1108

Jets-Patriots matchup just what Belichick dreaded

By Andrew Gross

The Journal News

(Original Publication: January 2, 2007)

HEMPSTEAD - No doubt, this is exactly what the Patriots dreaded when Eric Mangini left his post as New England's defensive coordinator to coach the Jets this season. After all, the teams had a fairly healthy rivalry before he switched sides.

No doubt, a possible playoff meeting with his former protégé was one of the scenarios Patriots coach Bill Belichick foresaw, leading quite possibly to the chill in their friendship. Especially if Belichick thought Mangini wanted to take some other Patriots assistants along with him to New York.

"That's the magic of the conference call,'' Mangini said yesterday. "That's one of those things that is a better question for the other side.''

Belichick did not conduct a press conference yesterday and won't be available until tomorrow. But both coaches can expect non-stop questioning on the subject leading up to Sunday at 1 p.m., when the AFC East champion Patriots (12-4) host the wild-card Jets (10-6) in a first-round game.

"I'm sure somewhere down the road over a few beers is a good story to be told,'' Jets left guard Pete Kendall said. "But I don't think any of us are wasting our time now trying to figure out what exactly went on. If either one of them cared for anybody else to know, I'm sure (the media) would have had the story by now.''

The teams split two regular-season games, with the Jets winning at New England 17-14 on Nov. 12 to snap a seven-game losing streak to the Patriots. The game, which followed the Jets' bye week, moved them to 5-4 and marked their first and only victory this season against a team with a winning record.

The Patriots had won 24-17 at the Meadowlands Sept. 17. Each game was followed by a limp handshake between the coaches.

"My thoughts are exactly the same as they have been for the first few games,'' said Mangini, who spent 10 seasons working with Belichick. "My approach is no different. My feelings are no different. I respect and appreciate all of the things that he's done for me throughout the course of my career, and that's never going to change.''

But after they won at New England, some Jets players, including wide receiver Laveranues Coles, said they felt Belichick belittled Mangini in the week leading up to the game by refusing to say his name.

"Obviously that other stuff gets played up, but it's not going to affect anything I do or anything anybody does on the field,'' Jets tight end Chris Baker said. "I don't know what's going to happen, but I'm pretty sure some stuff will be going on. You've really got to go out and take care of your business and let the chips fall where they may.''

Still, Baker admitted it was a bonding experience for the Jets to rally behind their coach to win at New England.

Since 1960, the teams have played twice each season except for 1982. But they've met just once in the playoffs. The visiting Patriots beat the Jets 26-14 in an AFC wild-card game in 1985 as they started the run to their first Super Bowl.

Since Belichick resigned after one day as "HC of the NYJ'' to take the Patriots' job in 2000, New England has won three Super Bowls.

Mangini was the defensive-backs coach for all three titles.

Jets defensive lineman Bobby Hamilton was with New England for two of those championships. He said the edge Belichick gave his team in the playoffs came from a detailed and inventive game plan and the focus he coaxed out of his players.

Hamilton believes Mangini will have the Jets prepared in the same manner. He's not too concerned about how his former coach feels about his current coach.

"I don't get involved with that,'' Hamilton said. "That's their personal thing. All I know is they both have us ready to play football. I don't get caught up in who's friendly.''

Mangini was playing with his 2-year-old son, Jake, Sunday evening when general manager Mike Tannenbaum called to confirm the first-round opponent.

"I was thinking it will probably be a busy week down here,'' Mangini said. "There will probably be some questions I've answered before.''

Coles was asked if too much is made of the Jets-Patriots rivalry.

"Yeah,'' Coles said. "Y'all having fun doing it, though.''

No doubt, that's exactly what Mangini and Belichick are thinking.

[Sperm Edwards]

http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkxMjEmZmdiZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTcwNDk4MDAmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2

Game report card

Tuesday, January 2, 2007

Running game: B-minus

Leon Washington's 15-yard TD run with the flip from Chad Pennington and Brad Smith's 20-yard end-around were the highlights and Cedric Houston did the bulk of his work (14 carries, 43 yards, four first downs) in the second half. But the team's 3.2 yards per carry was too little and eight tackles at/behind the line too much.

Passing game: B

Chad Pennington was in controlled-pass mode with no completions longer than 18 yards and 5.23 yards per attempt, second lowest in a win in his career (lowest: 5.09 at New England this year). Of Jerricho Cotchery's seven catches, three converted third downs. Uncharacteristic drop for Laveranues Coles. Only sack went to Warren Sapp off an early stunt.

Run defense: B

Came up big when it counted, on third- and fourth-and-inches at the Jets' 45 late in the third, choking off Oakland's last best hope for the upset. Still, Justin Fargas was finding seams (17 carries, 79 yards, 4.6 avg.) until the Raiders abandoned the run. LB Victor Hobson contributed nine tackles, giving him his first 100-tackle season as a pro.

Pass defense: A

The three takeaways came here: David Barrett prying the reception away from Johnnie Morant for Hank Poteat to scoop up, Eric Barton stripping Aaron Brooks and kicking the fumble to Bobby Hamilton, and Eric Smith snaring an interception. Kerry Rhodes and Barton got their sacks off blitzes. Only one completion over 20 yards, to Doug Gabriel.

Special teams: A

Ben Graham opened with a 51-yard net punt and finished with two inside-the-20's, giving him a career-high 26 for the season. Mike Nugent's 3-for-3 field goal day extended his streaks to 18 straight, 15 straight at home and 21 in a row under 50. Justin Miller didn't bust loose on two kickoff returns, but neither did Oakland's Chris Carr on eight returns.

Coaching: A

Eric Mangini had the Jets prepared to reach the playoffs with their first three-game winning streak under him against a wounded animal. Brian Schottenheimer's game plan neutralized Oakland's No. 1-rated pass defense with expert mixing of play action, draws and gadgets. Bob Sutton called one of his best games as the Jets allowed a season-low 209 yards.

-- Randy Lange

[Sperm Edwards]

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/sports/football/16365045.htm?source=rss&channel=charlotte_football

Sizing up the NFL's playoff field

By Gary Myers

New York Daily News

(MCT)

NEW YORK - The playoffs are supposed to be a new season, so maybe Eli Manning has it in him to complete 50 percent of his passes, Carrie Underwood's friend Tony Romo will stop turning the ball over and Rex Grossman can get red-hot and actually register on the quarterback rating chart.

And maybe one of these years, though it probably won't be this one, Peyton Manning will even make it to the Super Bowl with the one-dimensional Colts.

Misery loves company and coaches worrying about quarterbacks have plenty of it. It's the dominant theme of the postseason as Bill Belichick is the only one who can sleep peacefully. Tom Brady is 10-1 with three Super Bowl victories. Now consider the rest of the field:

_The other 11 quarterbacks are a combined 13-21 in the playoffs. Six of the 11 have never won a playoff game.

_Two have lost Super Bowls: Baltimore's Steve McNair when he was with the Titans and Seattle's Matt Hasselbeck. McNair, who is 5-4 in the playoffs but has not started a postseason game since 2003, is the only quarterback starting this month, other than Brady, with a winning postseason record. Hasselbeck is 2-3.

_Four are 0-1 in the playoffs: Eli Manning, Chicago's Grossman, New Orleans' Drew Brees when he was with the Chargers, and Kansas City's Trent Green.

_Two are starting their first playoff game: Romo and San Diego's Philip Rivers.

_Chad Pennington of the Jets has the third-best playoff record among this year's postseason QBs. He is 2-2. Peyton Manning is just 3-6. Philly's Jeff Garcia was 1-2 with the 49ers.

The Bears are the NFC's No. 1 seed, but are just 2-6 in the playoffs at Soldier Field, with three straight losses, since their 1985 Super Bowl season. Lovie Smith will stick with Grossman, by default, in the divisional round. His only alternative is journeyman Brian Griese.

Grossman was horrendous Sunday night against the Packers, finishing with more interceptions (3) than completions (2) before being benched at the half. His QB rating was 0.0. Earlier this season, he had a 10.2 rating against the Cardinals and 1.3 against the Vikings.

"I'm excited about the challenge. I've been in this position before. So I'm just going to go back into my fort and fight my way out," Grossman said.

Rivers and Romo both made the Pro Bowl but haven't been worthy of the honor down the stretch. Until Rivers played better Sunday against the Cardinals, he was in a bad slump. In his previous two games, he had completed just 18-of-53 (34 percent). But he takes San Diego into the playoffs on a 10-game winning streak.

The Cowboys will stagger in after their incomprehensible loss to the Lions, who were 2-13 with seven straight losses. As it turns out, it didn't change the Cowboys' seeding, just their mind-set. "I can't tell you how disappointed I am," Bill Parcells said. "This is a low point for me. The lowest in a long time."

Dallas had a two-game lead on the Eagles and Giants with four to play and wound up finishing one game behind Philly. Romo was 4-1 in his first five starts with 10 TDs, two INTs and two fumbles. He's 2-3 in his last five with six TDs, eight INTs and seven fumbles. "I've got to hold onto the ball," Romo said.

For first time in his career, there are media (in the Dallas area) calling for Parcells to be fired. This is his fourth season with the Cowboys, they have not won a playoff game in 10 years - the longest stretch in franchise history - and the energy Romo brought in midseason has vanished.

Who could have imagined the hottest NFC quarterback going into the playoffs would be Garcia?

---

The AFC Championship Game may be more competitive than the Super Bowl. Clearly, the best teams are in the AFC this season. This is how the Daily News ranks the 12 playoff teams.

1. CHARGERS: Marty Schottenheimer just became the fifth coach with 200 regular-season victories. But he is a miserable 5-12 in the playoffs. It changes this year: San Diego wins it all.

2. RAVENS: They are 9-1 since Brian Billick fired Jim Fassel and took over the play-calling. But they still win on defense, giving up a league-low 201 points - 102 fewer than the Chargers.

3. PATRIOTS: Tom Brady is 6-0 in Foxboro in the playoffs. He doesn't have the same supporting cast, but he is still Brady.

4. COLTS: Peyton Manning's best chance to get to the Super Bowl was last year. Where is Tony Dungy's defense?

5. EAGLES: Can they duplicate what the Steelers did last year and keep a late-season surge going right to the Super Bowl? The Eagles were 5-6 and won their last five.

6. SAINTS: Two wins and they're in the Super Bowl. Drew Brees' offense is explosive and makes this team dangerous.

7. BEARS: No quarterback, no Super Bowl.

8. JETS: Eric Mangini and Chad Pennington were the two biggest unknowns before the season and the two biggest reasons the Jets are in the playoffs.

9. COWBOYS: Tony Romo has been exposed, the defense is leaking and Bill Parcells looks worn out again.

10. SEAHAWKS: A couple more weeks and the 49ers would have passed them in the standings.

11. GIANTS: Unless Tiki Barber can run for 200 yards again, their postseason is going to last as long as last year's.

12. CHIEFS: They will be one-and-done. Chiefs got in when Bengals and Broncos lost in OT and Pats beat Titans. Herm Edwards got last-minute help from John Hall (53-yard FG) in `01, from Pats in `02 and Steelers in `04 to get in with Jets.

---

SATURDAY'S GAMES

CHIEFS (9-7) AT COLTS (12-4): Herm Edwards vs. his best buddy Tony Dungy again. He beat him 41-0 in `02 playoffs. How do Chiefs win this game? Take the air out of the ball and give it to Larry Johnson.

Prediction: Colts 38, Chiefs 17

COWBOYS (9-7) AT SEAHAWKS (9-7): It's a postseason rematch for Bill Parcells and Mike Holmgren from the Super Bowl 10 years ago when Packers beat the Pats. The `Boys look finished, but Parcells is dangerous when he's embarrassed. Prediction: Cowboys 24, Seahawks 20

SUNDAY'S GAMES

JETS (10-6) AT PATRIOTS (12-4): If the Jets win, Eric Mangini should leave the field without shaking Bill Belichick's hand. We sense an upset.

Prediction: Jets 20, Patriots 17

GIANTS (8-8) AT EAGLES (10-6): Eli Manning will have nightmares about Brian Dawkins. The Eagles should play 10 in the box to stop Tiki Barber.

Prediction: Eagles 27, Giants 17

[Sperm Edwards]

http://www.nj.com/jets/ledger/index.ssf?/base/sports-0/116771637623900.xml&coll=1

Mangini vs. Belichick set for the big stage

Tuesday, January 02, 2007

BY DAVE HUTCHINSON

Star-Ledger Staff

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. -- It's Patriots coach Bill Belichick's worst nightmare -- a playoff game against his protégé-turned-nemesis, Jets coach Eric Mangini -- and it's one he has helped create by his very public contempt for his former friend and assistant coach.

The third part of this Hatfields vs. McCoys trilogy will play out on Sunday at Gillette Stadium when the fifth-seeded Jets (10-6) meet the fourth-seeded Patriots (12-4) in a wild-card round showdown.

Mangini, who coached 10 years together with Belichick, has taken the high road throughout and did so again yesterday.

"My thoughts are exactly the same as they have been for the first few games," Mangini said. "My approach is no different. My feelings are no different. I respect and appreciate all of the things that he (Belichick) has done for me throughout the course of my career and that's never going to change."

The fallout between the two friends -- the pair have barely spoken to each other since Mangini left -- began when Belichick tried to discourage Mangini from taking the Jets' job, in part because they would be in the same division. Also, Belichick despises the Jets' organization, resigning after less than 24 hours as "HC of the NYJ" in 2000.

Belichick then locked Mangini out of the Patriots facilities while Mangini was making his decision on whether to take the job. It is believed that Mangini first told Belichick he wouldn't take the job but then changed his mind.

Later Mangini allegedly tried to take some Patriots assistant coaches with him, which apparently enraged Belichick.

Mangini thought his longtime friendship with Belichick that dates to 1995 was fine until they bumped into each other at the owner's meeting in Florida in March and Belichick virtually ignored him.

Belichick had publicly hidden his true feelings for Mangini until the first meeting between the two teams in Week 2. Belichick was cool toward Mangini during the week. Then after a 24-17 victory over the Jets at Giants Stadium, he gave Mangini a weak postgame handshake, which stunned Mangini.

Belichick did the same during the week of the second meeting, even refusing to refer to Mangini by name. He then gave Mangini a quick, dismissive postgame handshake after the Jets' 17-14 victory in New England in Week 10.

Jets players deemed Belichick's actions disrespectful of their coach and said as much after the game, saying they wanted to win one for Mangini.

"The way things went down and even after the game, how that was kind of a brush-off (handshake), we saw that, too," tight end Chris Baker said. "I think that (bonding with Mangini after that game) would be a fair assessment."

Laveranues Coles added: "At that point, it (winning one for Mangini) was something we all wanted to do."

The victory snapped a seven-game losing streak to the Patriots and came after the Jets' bye week. That, and Belichick's treatment of Mangini, helped spark the Jets' rise. The Jets, who were 4-4 at the time, went 6-2 in the second half of the season and have won five of six.

"That's accurate," said Baker, when asked if the second Patriots game was the turning point of the Jets' season. "The year had been up and down. ... It didn't validate us, but it did send a message that we're not as bad as everybody wanted to make us look."

Despite a tumultuous start to the season in which popular wide receiver Deion Branch was traded, the Patriots remain formidable.

"I really didn't want to go play (the Patriots) in the first round because they're such a tough team," said the always-candid Coles.

Coles was asked if the victory in Foxboro gives the Jets confidence.

"No," he said. "New England is a totally different team in the playoffs because of the way they prepare and the experience that they have. They've won three Super Bowls. They're the team to beat."

Mangini said that playing the Patriots for a third time is both positive and negative because there's familiarity both ways.

Coles pointed to Belichick's postseason experience and chameleon-like game plans as a big negative.

"You watch them on film and they play everybody different," Coles said. "They have great coaches. They come up with some great game plans and they also have excellent players.

"When you play against a team like New England, you know you're going to get something different and you're always going to get their best."

[Sperm Edwards]

http://jets.scout.com/2/605896.html

Jets get a break

By Craig Thomas

Posted Jan 2, 2007

The New England Patriots will likely be without starting strong safety Rodney Harrison for their Sunday wildcard game against the Jets.

He suffered an MCL sprain in his right knee in the Patriots season finale against the Titans.

It's likely a 2-4 week injury. It's the same injury that has Jets cornerback Andre Dyson sidelined. Dyson's status for Sunday is unknown, but he's in Week Two of the injury, so this could help his chances of returning.

But even though Harrison will likely miss Sunday's game, expect Patriots coach Bill Belichick to list him as questionable. Belichick looks to mislead the media, fans and most-importantly the opposing team with his injury report.

If Harrison is indeed out, the Patriots will either start James Sanders or Chad Scott at strong safety. But Scott is dealing with a back injury, and his status is unknown.

And making matters worse for New England is that they have already lost starting free safety Eugene Wilson to a season-ending groin injury.

[Sperm Edwards]

http://thejetsblog.com/?p=1683

Stats: Where the Jets Finished the Season

I had heard announced during the Oakland game and in the Miami game that the Jets didn’t or weren’t high in any statistical categories. Here’s a quick check, before we get all Football Outsiders on each other, I just wanted to do this as a frame of reference now that the season is fully played (but not over).

Overall

Yards per game - 25th (305.7)

Yards allowed per game - 20th (331.6)

Rushing

Yards per game - 20th (108.6)

Yards allowed per game - 24th (130.3)

Passing

Yards per game - 17th (197.1)

Yards allowed per game - 14th (201.4)

Turnovers

Differential - 20th (-3 - 22 takeaways; 25 giveaways)

Points

Scored - 18th (19.8)

Allowed - (26.4) 26th

Third down efficiency

Converted - 4th (43.8%)

Allowed - 10th (36.5%)

Penalties

Offensive - 31st most (560 yards)

Defensive - 23rd most (843 yards)

The last time I did this was October, see where the team has made progress since then.

[Smizzy]

Feud within a feud stirs fire

http://www.northjersey.com/page.php...2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2

quote:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The coaches and the teams may wonder why a stake can't be driven through this vampire, but the relationship between Eric Mangini and Bill Belichick will hover over this week because fans and reporters love discussing it.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jets want to kick Belichick; Mangini brushes off mentor

http://www.nydailynews.com/front/st...3p-408328c.html

quote:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And you know what that means - another chapter in the Mangini-Bill Belichick soap opera.

It's Bad Blood III, except this time the stakes are much bigger. It seems only fitting that Mangini's first playoff game as a head coach is against the man who taught him so much about football - the same man who has so much contempt for his former prot

[Green DNA]

http://patriots.bostonherald.com/patriots/view.bg?articleid=174902

It