NY Jets News Articles- 11/8

[Kentucky Jet]

NY DAILY NEWS- Kellen looking foward to final 7 games

As a youngster in Oregon, Kellen Clemens wanted to be Joe Montana. When he returns this weekend during the Jets' bye-week break, he expects to be treated like an ordinary Joe even though he's a freshly minted NFL starting quarterback.

"I know everybody and everybody knows me, knows where I came from, knows the kind of goofball kid that I was growing up," Clemens said yesterday.

That goofball kid, now a mature 24, could be the key to the Jets' future. If Clemens plays well over the final seven games, the organization can go into the offseason knowing it has found a replacement for Chad Pennington.

But it's not going to be a breeze for Clemens, who will be tested by some of the NFL's toughest and most complex defenses. Five of the Jets' remaining opponents are ranked in the top 13 in total defense - the Steelers (No. 1), Titans (2), Patriots (4), Cowboys (8) and Chiefs (13).

The Jets' season resumes Nov. 18 against the Steelers at the Meadowlands.

"Every snap that I get, every opportunity I get to play a little more, you grow with confidence, you grow with experience," said Clemens, who is 0-2 as a starter.

In Sunday's overtime loss to the Redskins, his first start as the Jets' No. 1 quarterback, Clemens displayed several positives. But, three days later, he still was haunted by a missed opportunity on his final pass.

With a chance to put the Jets into field-goal range in overtime, Clemens fired a thigh-high, third-down pass to Jerricho Cotchery. It was dropped, but Clemens took the blame for delivering it too low.

"That was a tough one," he said. "That was one of those where they brought pressure and we could've punished them with it, but it was not a well-thrown ball."

Clemens led the offense to only 13points, which isn't going to win too many games, but he there was plenty to build on. He showed toughness and surprising mobility, scrambling seven times for 48 yards. He'll never be a dangerous runner, but it provides a dimension the Jets haven't had at the position since Ray Lucas was their QB in 1999.

"Fear can make you run a lot faster," Clemens joked.

That Clemens didn't commit any turnovers was the most impressive aspect of his 23-for-42, 226-yard, one-touchdown performance. What Eric Mangini liked best was the throws he didn't make. Clemens rarely forced balls into tight coverage, belying his inexperience.

"Sometimes the best decision is to throw the incomplete pass, just sail it out of bounds," Mangini said. "There were a couple of times where he made that decision. Peyton Manning has always been outstanding at that."

FAMILIAR NAME: The Jets signed OLB/DE Marques Murrell from the Eagles' practice squad. He is on the 53-man roster. Murrell is the younger brother of RB Adrian Murrell, who played with the Jets from 1993 to 1997. ... The Jets auditioned former Titans DT Rien Long.

[Kentucky Jet]

CLEMENS EAGER TO CALL TIMEOUT

By MARK CANNIZZARO

HEADING HOME: Kellen Clemens, working out yesterday at Jets camp, plans to spend the bye weekend at home in Oregon.November 8, 2007 -- Life has been moving rather rapidly of late for Kellen Clemens.

With the Jets off until Monday because of the bye week, this weekend will provide a nice slowing of the pace for Clemens as he prepares to be the starting quarterback for the final seven games of this disappointing 1-8 season.

"I'm heading back [home to Oregon]," Clemens said yesterday. "My little sisters have a volleyball game Saturday, both playing for the University of Portland. I've not gotten to see a game yet."

Home in tiny Burns, Ore., is where Clemens' heart is, and it's where he wants to hang his hat once football is over. It's what grounds him, and yesterday he sounded like a guy who couldn't wait to leave the hustle bustle of the NFL season behind.

"I'm not all that complicated of a guy," Clemens said. "When this [playing football] is all said and done, I want to go back to being a simple guy that everyone back home knows me for - just one of the guys just kind of hanging out, spending time with the family."

Now that he's made the long journey from being a small-town kid with big-time aspirations to becoming a starting NFL quarterback, he conceded, "You've got to pinch me on that sometimes.

"I'm so immersed with everything right now, just trying to prepare each week, it will probably be something that hits me at the end of the year, saying, 'Wow, I was a starter in the NFL at one point,' so . . . until then, just pinch me," he said.

Asked what he thinks the reaction will be when he returns home, Clemens said, "It probably won't be too much different. I know everybody and everybody knows me, knows where I came from, knows the kind of goofball kid that I was growing up.

"They, above anybody, know me for what I really am and not just what you see up here [being interviewed]. They'll still give me some jabs here and there about things that have happened."

Clemens, who started his second NFL game on Sunday against the Redskins, is taking his progress with a definite grain of salt.

"First and foremost, bottom line, you've got to win," he said. "We had a chance to win down the stretch [vs. the Redskins]. Took them to overtime, got really close and came up short. That's frustrating.

"Personally, every snap I take, every opportunity I get to play a little more, grow with confidence."

*

The Jets yesterday signed LB Marques Murrell, who was a DE on the Eagles' practice squad. In an interesting twist, Murrell is the younger brother of former Jets RB Adrian Murrell, who rushed for 3,447 yards from 1993-97.

Murrell (6-2, 246), who had a strong performance for the Eagles in their preseason finale against the Jets in August, was a two-time first team All-America at Appalachian State, where he recorded 36 sacks and set a school record, forcing 18 fumbles.

mark.cannizzaro@nypost.com

[Kentucky Jet]

Jets players try to take mind off tough start

BY TOM ROCK | tom.rock@newsday.com

November 8, 2007

Eric Barton is headed to Los Angeles. Kerry Rhodes is going to watch his brother Justin's high school playoff game in Alabama. Kellen Clemens plans on watching his two younger sisters in a volleyball match for University of Portland in Oregon.

The Jets will be crisscrossing the country this weekend, each on individual missions with varying directions. They'll be trying to take their minds off of things, relax during the bye, and come back on Monday with a recharged battery and a fresh outlook.

"I try tune it out," Rhodes said of thinking about anything but football during this four-day reprieve that begins today. "But I'm going to see football, I'm going to be around football, so it's going to be in the back of my mind."

And in the back of everyone's mind has to be the simple fact that the Jets are 1-8, and that their record will not improve one bit while they are away. It's just like going on vacation and leaving a pile of dirty dishes in the sink; they won't have magically been scrubbed and put away by the time you get home.

Eric Mangini said he will encourage the players to enjoy their time off, but also think about a few things while away from Weeb Ewbank Hall.

"The bye is a great time to honestly assess where you are individually and to look at the things that you need to improve," the coach said. "Some of those things the player knows better than anybody else."

Because of the crush of games the Jets face when they do come back, Mangini said his staff has been working not only on the Steelers game on Nov. 18, but the Cowboys game four days after that on Thanksgiving. And don't believe for a minute that there isn't someone somewhere deep inside the Jets complex this weekend crunching film and coming up with a game plan for what will amount to the Super Bowl for this year's Jets: the Dec. 16 game against the possibly undefeated Patriots.

The bye week last year provided the Jets with a tremendous boost toward the playoffs, especially on defense. Asked why those changes from the second half of last year did not carry over to the first half of this season, Mangini said simply: "Because each year is different."

This one certainly is different than almost anyone expected. And it's only a little more than halfway over.

Notes & quotes: Leon Washington's three kickoff returns for touchdowns this season are starting to draw comparisons to Chicago's special-teams scorer Devin Hester. It's not the first time they have been compared. Hester committed early to the University of Miami out of high school, the same year Washington came out of high school. "Miami told me that I was a guy like Devin Hester," Washington said, "and they already had one." ... The Jets signed LB Marques Murrell to their 53-man roster. Murrell was a practice-squad player for the Eagles this year and is the younger brother of former Jets running back Adrian Murrell ... LB Jonathan Vilma underwent surgery on his injured knee in Florida yesterday ... Mangini noted that, according to the coaches' tape, LB David Harris had 20 tackles against the Redskins and not the 24 that were credited in the postgame statistics. Because they can be so subjective, tackles are not an official NFL stat ... Redskins S LaRon Landry was fined more than $16,000 for his helmet-to-helmet hit on Clemens on Sunday, but he also put a licking on WR Wallace Wright, upending the second-year player and causing him to land on the back of his neck. "He didn't have to do me like that," said Wright, who admitted to feeling some tingling after the crash landing but walked off the field and has practiced with the team all week.

Nov. 18

Steelers at Jets

4:05 p.m.

TV: Ch. 2

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

[Kentucky Jet]

Murrell claimed by Jets

The Eagles lost rookie defensive end Marques Murrell from their practice squad yesterday when he signed with the New York Jets. Reid said the Eagles considered keeping Murrell and discarding one of their veteran defensive linemen.

"We looked at that, but the Jets guaranteed him an opportunity to play right away," Reid said. "We'll see how that works out there."

Murrell, an undrafted rookie from Appalachian State of Division I-AA, no doubt caught the Jets' attention in the preseason when he had a couple of sacks and two forced fumbles against them. He is also the brother of former running back Adrian Murrell, who played with the Jets from 1993 to '97.

[Kentucky Jet]

Jets' Clemens ready to make significant strides as starting QB

By ANDREW GROSS

THE JOURNAL NEWS

(Original publication: November 8, 2007)

HEMPSTEAD - Kellen Clemens must have been precocious because he swears he remembers watching Joe Montana with those great 49ers teams in the late-1980s. The fact that the Jets' second-year pro and Montana now have being an NFL starting quarterback in common hasn't quite sunk in.

"You've got to pinch me on that sometimes," the 24-year-old Clemens said. "I'm so immersed in everything right now, it will probably be something that hits me at the end of the year: 'Wow, I was a starter in the NFL at one point.' Until then, just pinch me."

The Jets (1-8) and Clemens obviously have a long way to go to reach Montana and the 49ers' lofty achievements. But Clemens said the extra practice he'll receive during the bye week will help.

The Jets practiced yesterday for the second straight day and will now have four days off before resuming practice Monday. They host the Steelers Nov. 18, which will be Clemens' second start since coach Eric Mangini benched veteran Chad Pennington.

Clemens completed 23 of 42 passes for 226 yards with a touchdown in Sunday's 23-20 overtime loss to the Redskins. He also scrambled seven times for 48 yards but his throwing accuracy isn't quite Pennington-like yet. Clemens blamed himself for underthrowing the ball on Jerricho Cotchery's drop of a critical third-and-seven from the Redskins 39-yard line on the first drive of overtime.

The Jets never got the football back.

"Now I'm starting to develop more of a relationship with those first-string wide receivers," said Clemens, who also started a 20-13 loss at Baltimore in Week 2 as Pennington recovered from an ankle injury. "So any time that you can do that and improve in that area, it only helps further on down the line."

But it won't be all work and no play for Clemens, even as he tries to establish himself as an NFL starter.

He is heading back to Burns, Ore., during his four-day mini-vacation. His sisters, Maria and Jessica, are on the University of Portland volleyball team, and Clemens has yet to watch one of their matches.

"Be my first chance," Clemens said.

But even though the Jets are just one game into what is expected to be the Clemens era, Mangini said he's already encouraged that Clemens, on a few occasions, had the presence not to force throws against the Redskins, instead just throwing the ball out of bounds.

"A lot of times, it's the throws that you don't make," Mangini said.

And while Clemens was unhappy with his final pass to Cotchery, he was pleased he threw one away the play before.

"I had to throw it at Jerricho's feet and that's probably not a play I would have made in the past," said Clemens, a second-round pick out of Oregon in 2006. "I'd like to think it was a pretty good decision to avoid the sack and keep us into a third-and-manageable."

The Jets, obviously, are out of the NFL playoff picture. So much of their success when they return from this bye week will be measured by how steep Clemens' learning curve actually is.

Notes: The Jets signed rookie Marques Murrell, the 22-year-old brother of ex-Jets running back Adrian Murrell, off the Eagles' practice squad. An undrafted free agent out of Appalachian State, Marques Murrell played defensive end for the Eagles and in college but he'll be used as an outside linebacker with the Jets. Murrell had two sacks, two forced fumbles and two tackles in the Eagles' 13-11 loss to the Jets in the final preseason game, Aug. 30. "I remember that I was tired," said Murrell, waived by the Eagles Sept. 1 and signed to their practice squad two days later. "I knew that it was my last game and I just went out there to have fun because you never know what your outcome is in the NFL." Murrell said his older brother, who works in Charlotte in water management, will attend the Jets' game against the Steelers Nov. 18. ... Punter Ben Graham was excused from practice to be with his newborn son.

Reach Andrew Gross at apgross@lohud.com and read his Jets' blog at www.jets.lohudblogs.com.

[Kentucky Jet]

http://www.newyorkjets.com/news/articles/show/1819-families-play-big-roles-in-bye-week-plans

[Kentucky Jet]

Jets' Clemens working toward a comfort zone

Thursday, November 08, 2007

BY DAVE HUTCHINSON

Star-Ledger Staff

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. -- Jets quarterback Kellen Clemens, who has played well in his first two NFL starts, including last week's 23-20 overtime loss to the Redskins, said yesterday he's not interested in moral victories. He's 0-2 as a starter.

Clemens, a second-year pro and the heir apparent to the benched Chad Pennington, completed 23 of 42 passes for 226 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions against a blitz-happy Redskins defense. He also showed surprising mobility, rushing for 48 yards on seven carries and completing several passes on the run.

"First and foremost, bottom line, you got to win," Clemens said before the Jets' final practice before a four-day weekend. "We had a chance down the stretch. Took 'em into overtime, really got close, and came up short. That in itself is frustrating.

"From my standpoint personally, every snap that I get, every opportunity I get to play a little bit more, you grow with confidence, you grow with experience. So it was good from that standpoint, but at the same time, as I mentioned, the bottom line is that you go out and you win games. We didn't do that."

During the bye week, Clemens said he's getting the chance to develop a better chemistry with wide receivers Laveranues Coles and Jerricho Cotchery in practice. He also took the blame for a critical drop by Cotchery on a third-and-7 from the Redskins' 39-yard line in overtime that would've given the Jets a first down and put them in field-goal range.

"The ball was delivered a little bit too low," Clemens said. "I think if it's an easier ball to catch, Jerricho makes the play, and who knows? That was a tough one. ... It was not a well-thrown ball."

LB Jonathan Vilma, who was placed on injured reserve with a knee injury, underwent surgery yesterday in his home state of Florida but coach Eric Mangini didn't provide any details.

Vilma has bone chips or fragments in his right knee that were removed. It was likely an arthroscopic procedure to simply clean the knee out. Mangini said Vilma would address the media at some point.

The 1-8 Jets may have a tough time notching their second win of the season when they meet the Steelers on Nov. 18 at Giants Stadium.

Besides going against QB Ben Roethlisberger (20 TDs and six INTs), they'll be facing a Pittsburgh team that ranks first in the NFL in total defense (237.8 yards per game) and first in fewest points allowed per game (12.2). The unit is fourth in the NFL in run defense (76.0 yards per game).

That game was originally scheduled for a 1 p.m. kickoff but has been moved to a 4 p.m. start.

In fairness to offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, RB Thomas Jones' 160 carries are the fifth-most in the NFL. But Jones has five games of 16 carries or less and he's a workhorse back who gets better with each carry.

Rookie LB David Harris' 24 tackles against the Redskins were trimmed to 20 after the coaches reviewed the game film. By the coaches' count, he has 34 tackles in his first two NFL starts, replacing the injured Vilma.

The Jets signed rookie free-agent LB Marques Murrell (Appalachian St.) off the Eagles practice squad. Murrell is the brother of former Jets RB Adrian Murrell. Mangini said Murrell (6-2, 246 pounds) has an "excellent motor," "high intensity" and does "a good job rushing the passer."

Mangini said the coaches' self-scouting involves deleting plays from the playbook that haven't worked in the first half of the season and doing more of the things that work.

[Kentucky Jet]

After Coin Flip, Pennington Takes On New Role

By GREG BISHOP

Published: November 8, 2007

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y., Nov. 7

[Kentucky Jet]

Jets' Clemens heads home during bye week more confident as starting QB

Nov 07, 2007

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. (AP) -Kellen Clemens is looking forward to spending a few days this weekend back home in Burns, Ore., thousands of miles away from his newfound celebrity status in New York as the Jets' starting quarterback.

"I know everybody and everybody knows me, where I came from, knows the kind of goof ball kid that I was growing up," Clemens said Wednesday. "They, above anybody, know me for what I really am and not just what you see up here."

Jets fans have to like what they've seen so far from the second-year quarterback, despite the team's 1-8 record. Clemens had a solid performance in his second NFL start last Sunday against Washington, and first since being named the Jets' starter.

"Every snap that I get, every opportunity I get to play a little bit more, you grow with confidence, you grow with experience," Clemens said.

He was 23-of-42 for 226 yards and a touchdown in the Jets' 23-20 overtime loss, and added 48 yards rushing on seven carries. He showed the ability to get the ball down the field when given time by his offensive line, and scramble out of trouble when he's not.

"Well, fear can make you run a lot faster," he said, laughing.

After taking over for Chad Pennington, Clemens' big arm and scrambling ability was a welcome sight.

"There were a few plays where I hung in there, took a shot and delivered the ball," he said. "There were some others where we had to get out of the pocket and make something happen. It's really based on how the play unfolds."

Coming out of high school, Clemens was knocked for too often running rather than throwing.

"I was too much of a guy who got the heck out of there," he said.

Once he got to the University of Oregon, Clemens worked on his pocket presence and the results have been clear in his limited appearances in the NFL. During the preseason, Clemens took a ton of hard shots after withstanding pressure and zipping passes to his receivers.

"You can never be too good at moving in the pocket, keeping your feet under you and staying on balance," he said.

Perhaps he learned a little bit of that from watching Joe Montana, who Clemens said was his favorite growing up. While the 24-year-old Clemens was only a youngster during Montana's days in San Francisco, the Jets quarterback said he got to watch some of the 49ers' games. Now, Clemens hopes to establish his own legacy for the Jets.

"It will probably be something that hits me at the end of the year, saying 'Wow, I was a starter in the NFL at one point,"' Clemens said. "Until then, just pinch me."

He'll get a reality check this weekend when he's back home among his friends and family, who remember him as the kid who was raised on a cattle farm and played wide receiver at the playground through the fourth grade.

"They'll still give me some jabs here and there about things that have happened," he said.

On Clemens' agenda this weekend is watching his younger sisters, Maria and Jessica, play volleyball for the University of Portland against Gonzaga on Saturday.

"I've not gotten to see a game yet," Clemens said. "It'll be my first chance."

Before he knows it, Clemens will be on a plane heading back to New York and trying to turn around a season gone terribly wrong. His development will be a focal point in the second half as the Jets determine if he's the quarterback of the future or simply a stopgap.

He's already shown himself to be a leader, taking some blame for the Jets' loss Sunday. After Clemens opened overtime with a 39-yard pass to Jerricho Cotchery, the receiver couldn't handle his toss on third-and-7 and the Jets were forced to punt. The Redskins won it on their next drive.

"The ball was delivered a little bit too low," Clemens said. "If it's an easier ball to catch, Jerricho makes the play and who knows? That was a tough one."

The Jets receivers have had an uncharacteristic number of drops with Clemens in, something that could be attributed to them getting used to each other.

"I'm starting to develop more of a relationship with those first-string wide receivers," he said. "Anytime you can do that and improve in that area, it only helps further on down the line."

[Kentucky Jet]

Reserve safety Washington shown door

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

By J.P. PELZMAN

STAFF WRITER

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. -- Rashad Washington's name and number still were on his locker stall Tuesday morning, but they wouldn't be there much longer after the Jets announced he had been waived.

Just two lockers away from the soon-to-be-empty stall, strong safety Kerry Rhodes was asked if Washington's release sent a message to the rest of the Jets.

"I just think it sends a message to the guy that was here," Rhodes said.

Maybe so, but it's interesting and certainly not coincidental that Washington, a fourth-year reserve safety, was released two days after committing two special-teams penalties against the Redskins. In fact, Washington, one of the Jets' best special-teamers last year with 26 tackles, had picked up four special-teams penalties in the last three games, costing the Jets a total of 87 yards in field position.

"I think guys definitely take notice of it," veteran defensive end Eric Hicks said when asked about Washington's release.

Of course, coach Eric Mangini denied that he and general manager Mike Tannenbaum were trying to shake up the locker room of a 1-8 team.

"All of these decisions," Mangini said, "are based on what we think is going to give us the best chance to improve as a team. ... We look at these decisions cumulatively, so this decision was no different than the other decisions we've made."

Rhodes said he hadn't had a chance to speak to Washington, but intended to do so later in the day.

"It's tough," Rhodes said. "You get accustomed to being around people. It's pretty tough to have friends" in football.

BRIEFS: Mangini announced Tuesday that linebacker Jonathan Vilma will have knee surgery today in Florida. Vilma, who was placed on injured reserve Oct. 27, is believed to have floating bone chips in his right knee. Mangini offered no details on the planned surgery, and nor did Vilma on his weekly paid radio interview on WFAN.

Wide receiver Laveranues Coles, recovering from a concussion, returned to practice but wore a red jersey, signifying that he wasn't allowed to have any physical contact during drills. ... The Jets didn't fill Washington's roster spot, but did re-sign wide receiver Evan Prall to the practice squad. That likely means that wideout Chris Davis (shoulder) is out indefinitely. Davis was a practice-squadder who was promoted to the active roster last weekend in Coles' absence, but was injured against the Redskins. ... Washington safety LaRon Landry was fined $16,764 by the NFL for his helmet-to-helmet hit on Kellen Clemens in Sunday's game.

[Kentucky Jet]

By J.P. PELZMAN

STAFF WRITER

Even in training camp, long before the Jets' 2007 season had gone south, the following was coach Eric Mangini's mantra:

"Every year is different."

Well, Mangini and the Jets certainly have proven that, but not in the way they intended. With a 1-8 record for only the second time in franchise history, 2007 has been nothing like the 10-6 season the Jets put together last year on their way to the playoffs.

It was 53 weeks ago when the Jets had their last bye, which they went into with a 4-4 record. After the bye, they pulled off a 17-14 upset victory at New England, beginning a 6-2 second half in which they allowed only 12.8 points per game.

"We came back after the bye and played like a top five, or a top 10 defense," strong safety Kerry Rhodes recalled.

But Rhodes couldn't ignore the obvious reality check, adding that the bye "was good for us last year, but that was last year."

Jets vs. Steelers

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

At Giants Stadium

Nov. 18 4 p.m., Ch. 2

* * *

After practice today, the Jets' players will be off until Monday. It can be argued that more than four days away from football would be even better and give all the players a chance to clear their heads and have a fresh start. But Mangini probably believes that some of the younger players, such as new starting quarterback Kellen Clemens, need the extra practice.

Working harder hasn't been the answer so far for shaking the Jets out of their doldrums, so maybe a slightly kinder, gentler approach might be called for over the remainder of the season. Mangini actually cracked a smile when Leon Washington returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown against the Redskins on Sunday, but the coach seemed stone-faced when the TV cameras showed him after Joe Kowalewski's first NFL touchdown, although he did joke about Kowalewski's exuberance Tuesday.

This is not a call for Mangini to suddenly turn into Herm Edwards or Dick Vermeil. That's clearly not his style, and would seem phony if he tried it anyway. But showing a little more humanity to his players wouldn't be a bad thing the rest of the way.

After all, almost everything else he's tried hasn't worked.

E-mail: pelzman@northjersey.com

[Kentucky Jet]

The Jets are one of the last four teams in the NFL to get their bye week, although it seems to be strategically placed for them.

Their first game back will be at home against Pittsburgh on Nov. 18. Four days later, they will be in Dallas to play a traditional late-afternoon Thanksgiving Day game. So having the bye in this spot will allow them to begin preparing for the Cowboys game a little bit earlier, since they obviously will have a very short week to get ready for that one.

Second-year Jets coach Eric Mangini has some experience with such a short turnaround. In 2002, as the Patriots' secondary coach, he was part of a staff that beat host Detroit on Turkey Day.

"We'll look at those schedules and look at the notes from that time and see what we did," Mangini said. "It's always a grind, not a grind as much as everything's so compacted. You're coming off the game, you have to start your prep for the next game, and before you know it, you're getting on a plane to head out and play. So you have to adjust things, consolidate the game plan and try to get some preparation done this week. ... There will be an element of Pittsburgh and an element of Dallas (in bye-week practices), trying to get all of those things ahead of the game."

In his first season as Jets coach, Mangini gave his players an off day on Tuesday, and worked them on Wednesday and Thursday. This year, he worked the players Tuesday and Wednesday so that they could have a four-day weekend.

"Right now, I think coach (Mangini) knows we need time away from the facility," strong safety Kerry Rhodes said. "It's not good and the mood is not good. I think the best thing for us is to get away as much as we can and just let us go and get away from it. I think it was a good move by coach."

Wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery agreed.

"Coach Mangini is a very intelligent coach and he knows his players and his coaches," Cotchery said. "We respect him to do what's best for the team and appreciate having the time off to sit back and reflect on everything that we've been doing this year and allow us to figure out some answers for ourselves individually to get better."

There are plenty of things to fix, such as the 28th-ranked offense and the 30th-ranked defense. The Jets improved their defense after the bye last season, and allowed only 12.8 points in the last eight games.

"We came back after the bye and played like a top five, or a top 10 defense," Rhodes recalled. "It was good for us last year, but that was last year. This year I'm sure we're going to do the same thing and try to break everything down, go over everything and try to be as sound as we can. We're going to switch some things and fix some things and try to get some things going in the second half of the season."

"The bye is a great time to honestly assess where you are individually and to look at the things that you need to improve," Mangini said. "This week is about going through segment-by-segment in detail with the coaching staff, identifying things we have to work on and putting that in, practicing it and analyzing how it works. Each (player) and each coach has a chance to also assess their own performance."

NOTES, QUOTES