Kentucky Jet Posted December 28, 2007 Share Posted December 28, 2007 Ferguson's progress BY RICH CIMINI DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER Friday, December 28th 2007, 4:00 AM Only three offensive linemen in the NFL have allowed more sacks than Jets LT D'Brickashaw Ferguson, but Eric Mangini claimed Thursday he's "pleased" with Ferguson's development in his second season. The Jets' coach said Ferguson has learned to handle the different types of pass rushers, and he also believes the former fourth overall pick has been "more physical and more consistent with finishing blocks." That said, Ferguson has surrendered 11.75 sacks, according to STATS LLC. Lions LT Jeff Backus leads the league with 15.50. As a rookie, Ferguson finished with 10. When it was suggested that Ferguson hasn't lived up to his draft status, Mangini said, "You want every draft pick and every player that you bring in to be playing at the top of the league at all times, but each guy is different, each situation is different." Ferguson believes he has improved since his rookie year, saying "the ratio has been a lot better" in terms of good games versus bad games. On Sunday, Ferguson will have one of his toughest assignments - Chiefs DE Jared Allen, who is second in the AFC with 13-1/2 sacks. The Jets' faith in Ferguson will be put to the test around draft time. With a possible top-five pick, they could be in position to select Michigan OT Jake Long, by far the best offensive line prospect in the coming draft. K.C. VS. K.C.: Barring a medical setback, QB Kellen Clemens will return to the starting lineup after missing one game with rib and left-shoulder injuries. Mangini hasn't announced his plans, but he has every intention of starting Clemens. Clemens remained limited in practice, according to the team, but he's taking more reps than last week. He worked with the starters and threw without any problems during the first 30 minutes of practice, which is open to the media. TY'S TAKE: Former Jets and Patriots CB Ty Law, on a teleconference from Kansas City, described Mangini as a "Mini-Me" with regard to the coach's relationship with former mentor Bill Belichick. "He was with Bill for so long that there are certain nuances that you see in Eric that Bill has," Law said. "He was like a 'Mini-Me.'" CROY ME A RIVER: Chiefs QB Brodie Croyle, who injured his throwing hand last week, returned to practice on a full-time basis and it looks like he'll be ready to start. ... C Nick Mangold was excused from practice for personal reasons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kentucky Jet Posted December 28, 2007 Author Share Posted December 28, 2007 December 27, 2007 Clemens to start season finale vs. Chiefs The Jets are set to start QB Kellen Clemens in the season finale against the Chiefs, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. As long as he stays away from Adrien Clarke, the left guard/turnstile that let Patriots DE Richard Seymour squash the second-year quarterback two weeks ago, Clemens should make it through practice this week unscathed. That will give him one more chance to convince the powers-that-be that he Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kentucky Jet Posted December 28, 2007 Author Share Posted December 28, 2007 Jerricho Cotchery catches on after Herm Edwards' departure BY RICH CIMINI DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER Friday, December 28th 2007, 4:00 AM Antonelli/News Jerricho Cotchery has 156 receptions for 2,015 yards over the last two years. In two seasons under Herm Edwards, Jerricho Cotchery was Mr. August. He always received effusive praise in training camp, but became an afterthought once the season began. In retrospect, Edwards called it the biggest regret of his five-year run with the Jets, not giving Cotchery a better chance to flourish. Cotchery, too, has often wondered about those days, once remarking that the Edwards regime played favorites, awarding playing time to the players with the biggest contracts. Since Edwards' departure, Cotchery has emerged as one of the top young wide receivers in the NFL, breaking the 1,000-yard mark last Sunday for the first time in his career. With Edwards and the Chiefs coming to the Meadowlands Sunday for the season finale, Cotchery was willing to let bygones be bygones. "It was a hard thing because I was behind Wayne Chrebet, so there was no way I was going to get on the field," Cotchery said Thursday, referring to 2004 and 2005. "A lot of people were saying he (Edwards) didn't play me, but that's not the issue at all. He tried to get me on the field." Cotchery got some work as a kickoff returner, but he caught only 25 passes in his first two seasons. Along came Eric Mangini, who gave Cotchery a chance to unseat starter Justin McCareins - which he did. Easily. Since then, he has 156 receptions for 2,015 yards. "He's having a wonderful year," Edwards said this week. After missing only one game with a broken right index finger that required surgery - he said it was busted while catching a pass in practice - Cotchery has recorded two 100-yard receiving games in the last three weeks. His eight-catch, 152-yard game last week in Tennessee was vintage Cotchery, whose best attribute is his ability to make yards after the catch. "It may not always look (it), but I think he's more elusive than sometimes you may gauge on tape, just with the amount of people he makes miss," Mangini said. The Tennessee game was significant for a couple of reasons. Mostly, it showed Cotchery can thrive without running mate Laveranues Coles, who usually draws most of the attention from opposing secondaries but is on injured reserve with an ankle injury. When Coles missed almost three full games last month due to injuries, it had a negative impact on Cotchery, who suddenly found himself a marked man as the team's No.1 option in the passing game. He was a nonfactor in back-to-back games against the Steelers and Cowboys, making only three receptions. Then came the busted finger. November wasn't a good month for Cotchery. "I just assumed (my season) was over," he said. "It was tough." Unlike the team, Cotchery has overcome adversity, increasing his yardage total to 1,054. He has 13 receptions of at least 25 yards, tied for the second-most in the NFL (behind the Colts' Reggie Wayne) and the most by a Jets receiver since 1990. Cotchery is a fantastic target between the 20s, but he has only six catches in the red zone, which explains his meager touchdown total of two. Cynics also might say his 1,000-yard milestone is hollow, considering the team has only three wins. In fact, he sat out one victory with the finger injury and managed only six catches for 59 yards in the other two. To his credit, Cotchery has not lost sight of the big picture. "When you think about the 1,000 yards, it's tough because you don't know if it's really helped or not," he said. "The mixed emotions are running wild." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kentucky Jet Posted December 28, 2007 Author Share Posted December 28, 2007 FOOTBALL Cotchery's great catch for the Jets Friday, December 28, 2007 By ANDREW GROSS STAFF WRITER HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. – During each of Jerricho Cotchery's first two training camps, then-Jets coach Herm Edwards would routinely make a point of praising his pass-catching abilities. Yet Cotchery spent most of his time on special teams and had just 25 receptions his first two seasons in the NFL, Edwards' last two with the Jets. "He made a lot of efforts to get me out there," Cotchery said Thursday. "He put me out there on kickoff returns. I had never returned kicks in my life but he found a way to get me out there. I was stuck behind Wayne Chrebet so that's the answer right there – Wayne Chrebet." The Jets (3-12) host Edwards' Chiefs (4-11) Sunday at 4:15 p.m. as they close out highly disappointing seasons after each reached the playoffs in 2006. Yet even as Cotchery has emerged as the Jets' top receiver, 2007 has been truly bittersweet despite a career-high 1,054 yards and two touchdowns on 74 catches. Cotchery, who came into this season with 1,272 career receiving yards, earned a starting job opposite Laveranues Coles during the 2006 training camp, the team's first under Eric Mangini. "You want to be proud of accomplishing a goal you set before the season of taking your game to another level, but in the context of that you want the team to have a successful year," said Cotchery, who had 82 catches, a career high, for 961 yards and seven touchdowns last season as the Jets went 10-6. "You're sitting there looking at 1,000 yards and three wins and wondering what the 1,000 yards have done. The mixed emotions are running wild." Actually, Cotchery's performance is one of the few areas in which the Jets did not fall short this season. Cotchery ranks 14th in the NFL in receiving yards and is tied for 21st in receptions. With Coles hampered by a concussion and then a high ankle sprain that put him on injured reserve Saturday, Cotchery has led the Jets in receiving yards the past three weeks, despite playing with a broken right index finger in a curved cast. That included a season-high eight catches for 152 yards and a touchdown in last week's 10-6 loss at Tennessee. "He was a guy that was flying under the radar," said Chiefs cornerback Ty Law, who played for the Jets in 2005. "You knew he was a player and he had the potential to be 'the guy,' but he just flew under the radar. He was a quiet guy, approached practice the same every day, wasn't going to be loud, obnoxious or a vocal guy. When he did get his opportunity he came up with some big grabs. Laveranues is down and he has become the guy." Not bad considering Cotchery was convinced his season was over when he hurt his finger in practice Nov. 26. "I just assumed it was over," Cotchery said. "When it happened, I just didn't know whether I was going to be able to play or not the rest of the year. The entire week, I had a lot of things to think about." Now it's the Jets – specifically general manager Mike Tannenbaum – who has some thinking to do. Coles hinted after Sunday's loss to the Titans that he'd like to renegotiate his contract, which pays him about $11 million over the next two seasons. But the Jets signed Cotchery to a five-year deal worth $19 million, including a $7 million signing bonus, this past off-season and he's due to earn $4.6 million in 2008. Though the Jets have a reported $28 million in salary cap room, Tannenbaum may decide it's not fiscally prudent to increase Coles' salary, especially if the 25-year-old Cotchery has become the team's No. 1 receiver. Coles turns 30 Saturday. "I don't know what the average is for No. 1 receivers in terms of yards for a season or catches for a season," Mangini said. "I'd have to imagine over 1,000 yards is pretty good for a one or a two or wherever you want to place him." E-mail: gross@northjersey.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kentucky Jet Posted December 28, 2007 Author Share Posted December 28, 2007 Final game big for Clemens in many ways BY TOM ROCK | tom.rock@newsday.com December 28, 2007 Kellen Clemens needs to play well Sunday, not only to assuage what could be the wavering confidence of Jets fans but also to avoid one of the worst statistical performances of any NFL quarterback this season. Of the 33 quarterbacks who have managed to throw at least 14 passes per game (which is the NFL barometer when measuring statistics), Clemens' four touchdown passes are the fewest in the league, tied with Rex Grossman. His 59.0 passer rating and his 52.0 completion percentage both are the second lowest, barely edging Trent Dilfer for worst. Eric Mangini was asked if a team can win with a quarterback who completes 52 percent of his passes. "It depends on what 52 percent you're completing," he said. "If they're all touchdowns, it'd probably be OK." In Clemens' case, they're not. "You want to see the efficiency of moving the team down the field and being able to score," Mangini said. "That's where I want to see progress." Pouha gone hog wild Sione Pouha and his family roasted an 80-pound pig for the holidays earlier this week. Fitting, given that the defensive lineman has been riding high on the hog lately. He made eight solo tackles against the Titans in what he called his best game of the year and has caught the eye of the coaching staff. "I've liked his progress for a long time," Mangini said. "Things that we identified that he could improve on, he's really studied and focused on. Over the last month especially, his production has been outstanding." Pouha said he finally feels comfortable playing in the 3-4 scheme. At 6-3 and about 310 pounds, he may have found a comfortable weight as well. Especially after that holiday pork. Jet streams Mangini said Sunday's game will not be an audition for any player. "This is one game in a 16-game season," he said. "Really, what we're looking for is the preparation and the execution on Sunday as opposed to using this as a bigger springboard to anything else." ... Players were mum on the possibility of the Patriots capping an undefeated regular season Saturday. Former Pats LB Matt Chatham said he hadn't given it much thought. And Mangini, asked if he would rest his starters in the final game if a playoff path already were set, said he would have to "evaluate it when I was there." In 2005, his final year in New England, the Patriots started but limited their key players in the 16th game of the season. "I didn't really have a lot of control over that," he said. "Bill [belichick] kind of guided us on that one." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kentucky Jet Posted December 28, 2007 Author Share Posted December 28, 2007 Cotchery's been productive, but would rather win BY TOM ROCK | tom.rock@newsday.com December 28, 2007 Jerricho Cotchery is about to conclude the most productive season of his career, but he can't help but wonder what good it did. "It's tough because you don't really know if it helped or not," Cotchery said. "The team hasn't won as many games and you're sitting there looking at 1,000 yards and three wins and wondering what the 1,000 yards have done. The mixed emotions are running wild." Just as they presumably were on that Monday after Thanksgiving when Cotchery broke a finger on his right hand while catching a football in practice. That injury nearly ended his season. A receiver without healthy hands is about as useful as a bucket without a bottom. But after surgery and a week of rest, Cotchery was able to return to the field and contribute mightily. "Here is a guy who is playing with an injury and what did he have last week, 156 yards?" coach Eric Mangini said. More importantly, he did it without Laveranues Coles on the field. It was the first time Cotchery put up No.1 numbers while playing as the Jets' symbolic No.1 receiver. In the two other games for which Coles was inactive - plus the Steelers game, in which he sprained his ankle on the second play - Cotchery had a combined eight catches for 138 yards. Against the Titans he had eight catches for 152 yards and a touchdown. He also was the first Jets player since Santana Moss in 2003 to have two catches of more than 40 yards in a single game, and he's done it twice this year. Both times with so-called backup quarterbacks, too. In Week 2, when Kellen Clemens replaced an injured Chad Pennington, Cotchery caught passes of 44 and 50 yards. On Sunday, when Pennington stepped in for the injured Clemens, Cotchery had 48- and 41-yarders. "I don't know what the average is for number one receivers in terms of yards for a season or catches for a season," Mangini said. "I'd have to imagine over 1,000 yards is pretty good for a one or a two or whatever you want to place him." That could be up to the Jets. With Coles already rattling his saber a bit, suggesting he might not return to the Jets if his contract cannot be renegotiated, Cotchery, 25, could be about to step into that top receiver spot for good. Last March, a year before Cotchery would have been eligible for free agency, the Jets signed him to a five-year, $19-million contract. He's due to earn $4.6 million in 2008. Coles, who will turn 30 this weekend, is due $5 million next year. Those numbers could mean a slight nudge up the depth chart for Cotchery when the team takes the field again in July. He's gone from the No.2 receiver to 1-A and soon could be alone at the top. Cotchery wasn't always destined for that kind of status. He was a fourth-round pick in the 2004 draft who had trouble finding a place on the field his first two seasons. He even figured out how to return kickoffs, a skill he had never practiced, while waiting for his turn. That chance came when Mangini took over the Jets. Former coach Herman Edwards, now with this week's opponent, the Chiefs, has said that one of his biggest mistakes with the Jets was not using Cotchery enough. Cotchery said he has no hard feelings toward Edwards about spending the first two years of his career mostly on the bench and special-teams units. "I was stuck behind Wayne Chrebet," he said, "so that's the answer right there." He's not stuck behind anyone now. Sunday Chiefs at Jets 4:15 p.m. TV: Ch. 2 Radio: WEPN (1050) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kentucky Jet Posted December 28, 2007 Author Share Posted December 28, 2007 JERRICHO PLANS BIG By MARK CANNIZZARO MR. HAND:Despite playing with a broken right index finger, Jerricho Cotchery has taken his game to a new level and has achieved a career milstones as the Jets' No. 1 receiver. December 28, 2007 -- Jerricho Cotchery is conflicted. He had different plans for this season. Bigger plans. "My goal was to take my game to another level," the Jets receiver said yesterday. He's done that. Mission accomplished there. Cotchery leads the team with 74 receptions and a career-high 1,054 yards entering Sunday's season finale against the Chiefs at Giants Stadium. The problem has been the bigger picture - namely the Jets miserable 3-12 record. "Mixed emotions running wild," is the way the quiet, humble Cotchery describes his terrific season of personal accomplishment coupled with a playoff-less end result for the team. "You're excited that you had a plan in the offseason to take your game to another level, but you wanted to do that in the context of the team winning," Cotchery said. "If the team is winning and you're doing those same things you feel like you've helped the team. "You want to be proud of the 1,000 yards but you don't have as many wins, so you wonder what the 1,000 yards has done. The team has won three games and you're wondering what the 1,000 yards has done." Cotchery's numbers and, more importantly, his commitment aren't questioned by anyone. In the first practice after the Jets loss in Dallas (Nov. 26) Cotchery suffered a broken right index finger and had surgery to repair it. Remarkably, he missed only one game, the Jets win over the Dolphins on Dec. 2. And in the three games he's played since he returned, Cotchery has 20 catches for 324 yards, including eight catches for 156 yards and a TD against the Titans last Sunday. "It was very surprising that he came back since I knew the severity of his injury and the surgery he had," fellow Jets WR Justin McCareins said. "I've dealt with dislocation before and having two fingers taped to each other is distracting." Cotchery conceded that he "assumed" his season "was over" when the injury occurred. Any injury to a receiver's hand is like a sprinter trying to perform with a toe injury. A receiver's hands and fingers are his most important tools. Cotchery's modest explanation for how he's been able to catch the ball with the broken finger: "I just focus more on everything I do." As further testament to how far he's come, Cotchery excelled last week without fellow WR Laveranues Coles (out for the season with an ankle injury) on the field, leaving him as the Jets' primary offensive threat. "I know a lot of teams come into games trying to take certain things away from the offense and I may be in those plans this week," Cotchery said. "But it's up to me to try to take advantage of those opportunities." Considering the respect Chiefs coach Herman Edwards has for Cotchery, whom he drafted in 2004 when he was with the Jets, you can expect a lot of attention to be paid to Cotchery Sunday by the Kansas City defense. Edwards, after all, has said on a number of occasions that he felt his biggest personnel gaffe as the Jets head coach was not playing Cotchery more. Cotchery had 25 receptions and no TDs with only one start in his two seasons under Edwards. Eric Mangini made him a starter last season and he had 82 catches and six TDs. Cotchery, however, doesn't blame Edwards for not playing him more. "He made a lot of efforts to get me out there," Cotchery said. "He had me out there on kickoff returns and I had never returned kicks in my life. I was stuck behind Wayne Chrebet. That's the answer right there. Wayne Chrebet." Cotchery is now doing Chrebet, Edwards, Mangini, the Jets organization and their fans proud now. * Chiefs QB Brodie Croyle (ribs) went from limited practice Wednesday to practicing full yesterday, which means he'll almost certainly start. . . . No injury report changes for the Jets as Kellen Clemens continued to take snaps with the first team and looks ready to play Sunday. mark.cannizzaro@nypost.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kentucky Jet Posted December 28, 2007 Author Share Posted December 28, 2007 Jets' Revis ready to impress Law By DENNIS WASZAK JR. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS (Original publication: December 28, 2007) HEMPSTEAD - Ty Law knew Darrelle Revis could play in the NFL when he saw his moves - on the basketball court. Law, a longtime family friend of the Jets' rookie cornerback, was already a Pro Bowl defensive back when Revis was becoming a star athlete in his own right in football and basketball at Aliquippa High School in Pennsylvania. "I didn't get to see him as much on the football field until I got home and saw some of the tape, heard about him or watched him in college because I was playing on the field," said Law, in his 13th NFL season and second with the Kansas City Chiefs. "During the offseason, his work ethic was phenomenal and you knew the guy had a chance because he wasn't a knucklehead." Law grew up in Aliquippa, along with Revis' uncle, former NFL defensive lineman Sean Gilbert, and remembers Revis as a talented and athletic youngster. In high school, Revis averaged 22.8 points per game as a senior on the court and played quarterback, wide receiver, defensive back and was a kick returner on the football field. "I've known Darrelle all of his life," Law said. "I knew him when he was a little pup." Revis is all grown up now and having a solid season for the Jets, who host Law's Chiefs on Sunday. "It's going to be fun on Sunday," said Revis, who bought 12 game tickets for family and friends, including Gilbert. "I've always watched him and seen him and now I'm going to be on the field with him. I'll be watching him when he goes against our offense." Revis, who wears No. 24 like Law, has 86 tackles, three interceptions and a team-high 12 passes defensed while taking on some of the league's best wide receivers each week. "He's aggressive and he's not going to back down from anybody," said Law, who has 40 tackles and two interceptions. "That's what I like about him. That's something that you can't teach. It was probably bred into us from our hometown, how we approach the game. He's an all-around corner." The Jets and coach Eric Mangini certainly thought so, when they traded up last April to draft him with the 14th overall pick. Mangini also had no qualms about starting him right away. "A lot of situations that I've been put in are probably kind of tough for a rookie, but I came out, I think, on top," Revis said. "Mangini wanted it that way, so when I get into those situations against great receivers, I know what to do and what to expect." He's had a few assists from Law along the way. The veteran has left voicemails for Revis throughout the season, offering tips on how to defend some of the game's best receivers. "I won't give up my secrets, I'm still playing," Law said with a chuckle. "When I'm out of the game, I can tell you that. They were little pointers, being that I played a lot of guys that he was playing. If I could have given him a mental edge going into the game, what to look out for, I would do that for him." Revis has taken on his share of receiving superstars this season, including New England's Randy Moss twice, Dallas' Terrell Owens, Cincinnati's Chad Johnson and Cleveland's Braylon Edwards. "As he gets more mature in the game and as he learns to pick up on some little nuances throughout," Law said, "you're looking at an All-Pro." Revis planned to speak to Law at some point this week, but didn't think the conversation would include tips on covering Kansas City's Dwayne Bowe, who leads NFL rookies with 69 catches for 982 yards. "No, I don't think so," Revis said, laughing. "But if he wants to, that would be great, but I would think not." Law, known to speak his mind throughout his career, hasn't talked any trash - yet - with Revis in the week leading up to their matchup. "Ty, he says what he has to say, but our relationship is not like that," Revis said. "It's a family-friend type. If he wanted to, he could be in our family. It's just something like that. That's just how the town of Aliquippa is. It's small, everybody knows everybody, my grandma knows his mother real well. " Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kentucky Jet Posted December 28, 2007 Author Share Posted December 28, 2007 A Successful Recipe for Jets Kick Returns By GREG BISHOP Published: December 28, 2007 HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kentucky Jet Posted December 28, 2007 Author Share Posted December 28, 2007 Jets' Cotchery has blossomed into go-to guy Friday, December 28, 2007 BY DAVE HUTCHINSON Star-Ledger Staff HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. -- For two seasons, former Jets coach Herm Edwards raved about the prowess of wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery. He practically had Cotchery headed to the Hall of Fame before he caught a single NFL pass. He told everyone to just wait and they would see what he saw. But Cotchery had just 25 catches and one start in his first two seasons, and people wondered, if he were that good, why wasn't Edwards playing him? The answer, Cotchery said, was a simple one. Wayne Chrebet. "I was behind Wayne Chrebet and there was no way I was going to get on the field," Cotchery said yesterday. "A lot of people were talking about how (Edwards) didn't play me but that wasn't the issue at all. He tried to get me on the field. I returned kickoffs and that wasn't even on my résumé coming out of college. I had never returned kicks in my life. "(Edwards) found a way to get me on the field. He definitely made efforts to get me out there." Cotchery, a third-round pick out of North Carolina State in 2004, will get to see Edwards for the first time since the coach left for Kansas City when the Jets (3-12) play the Chiefs (4-11) on Sunday at Giants Stadium. Edwards has said that one of his biggest regrets as Jets coach was that he didn't play Cotchery more. "A lot of guys on the team will be excited to see him, and I know I'll be because he drafted me and I'm very appreciative to him for that," said Cotchery. Cotchery, who signed a five-year, $19 million extension ($7 million signing bonus) during the off-season, is one of the few beacons of hope in this dark season. He has 74 catches for a career-high and team-leading 1,054 yards and two touchdowns in 14 games. He had surgery on a broken right index finger and missed just one game. For the sure-handed and deceivingly quick Cotchery, the fun begins after the catch. His 414 yards after the catch rank sixth in the NFL among receivers. He has two games in which he has caught two passes for 40 yards or more. His 13 receptions of 25 yards or more ties him with Terrell Owens (Cowboys) for second in the league behind Reggie Wayne (Colts). Last week, the 6-foot, 207-pound Cotchery had eight catches for 152 yards (79 yards after the catch) and a touchdown in a 10-6 loss at Tennessee. Jets' Cotchery has blossomed into go-to guy Page 2 of 2 "I really like his run after the catch," said coach Eric Mangini. "He's a strong runner. He's an elusive guy. He's more elusive than sometimes you may even gauge on tape, just the amount of people he makes miss." Last season, Cotchery had a breakout year with 82 receptions for 961 yards and six touchdowns as he and Laveranues Coles finished as the most prolific receiving duo in Jets history (173 combined catches). His goal this season was to build on his 2006 performance. "The mixed emotions are running wild," Cotchery said of his season. "You're excited because you had a plan to take your game to another level but you want to do that in the context of the team winning. You want to be proud of the 1,000 yards ... but the team hasn't won and you're wondering what the 1,000 yards have done." Against the Titans, Cotchery notched his fourth 100-yard receiving game of the season -- and he did it without Coles (ankle). Earlier in the season, Cotchery said it was a huge adjustment for him trying to get open facing the type of double coverages that Coles endures as the team's top receiver. "A lot of those decisions (on whether Coles would play or not) were being made on game day so I wasn't able to (practice) in some of the positions he was in," said Cotchery. "(Last week), I was able to move around a little more and learn some other things in the offense and that created some more opportunities for me. ... I know (without Coles) more attention will be placed on me but I have to make some things happens." Notes: QB Kellen Clemens (shoulder/rib) took all the reps with the first team during the first 30 minutes of practice yesterday and will start against the Chiefs. Clemens' 59.0 passer rating is the second-worst in the NFL and his 52 percent completion rate is also second-worst. Trent Dilfer (49ers) is the worst in both categories. ... Rookie LB David Harris has more than 100 tackles (107) despite not starting until Week 8. ... C Nick Mangold was excused from practice for personal reasons. ... Chiefs QB Brodie Croyle (hand) is expected to start. WR Eddie Kennison (ribs) is out. ... The Jets' 2008 opponents have been finalized. In addition to the six AFC East games, the Jets play at Oakland, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle and Tennessee. They'll host Denver, Kansas City, Arizona, St. Louis and Cincinnati. Dave Hutchinson may be reached at dhutchinson@starledger.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kentucky Jet Posted December 28, 2007 Author Share Posted December 28, 2007 Chiefs, Jets not playing the game they expected Posted by: Michael Ash on December 28, 2007 12:55 AM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JetCane Posted December 28, 2007 Share Posted December 28, 2007 Bergen Record -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FOOTBALL Cotchery's great catch for the Jets Friday, December 28, 2007 By ANDREW GROSS STAFF WRITER ------------------- Looks like Andrew has resurfaced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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