E-Boland & Gang Green

By Tom Rock

Welcome to Game Week.

Things have changed dramatically as the focus on the Jets shifts from making the team and playing for a starting job to beating the Titans. The playbook goes from the size of War & Peace to an in-flight magazine. Veterans start to get that sharp look in their eyes and rookies’ eyes get bigger by the minute. But it wasn’t all business.

The rookies moved into the big locker room today, which produced some quirky moments. Derrick Blaylock joked that if he had any questions he could just ask the two guys next to him: D’Brickashaw Ferguson and Anthony Schlegel. Jonathan Vilma and Leon Washington were enjoying some verbal jabbing over tonight’s Miami-Florida State game. And Eric Barton took it upon himself to move rookie cornerback Drew Coleman over one locker so Barton would have some leg room. While Coleman was in the training room, Barton shifted most of Coleman’s belongings and equipment one place to the right. Now Coleman is in the once-empty locker next to Curtis Martin’s station. Barton went so far as to pull down Coleman’s nametag above his locker and move that too. Coleman has at least six weeks to enjoy that space, because if Curtis comes back, he’s certainly earned that buffer zone traditionally provided to esteemed veterans.

I meant to ask Jets punter Ben Graham if he knew Steve “Crocodile Hunter” Irwin from his time in Australia, but I never made it to his corner of the locker room. On my list of 10 ways I hope not to go to the great blog in the sky, a stingray zap to the heart has always fluctuated between numbers 4 and 6. It’ll be weird watching the Steve Irwin sings with the Wiggles DVD my kids have now. Maybe I’ll ask Mangini about that too, I’ve heard his kids are Wiggles fans.

A few notes from the half hour of practice open to the media: Tim Dwight practiced and said he was excited to get back after a two-week layoff with a leg injury … Kevan Barlow was running a lot of plays with the first offensive unit, but that may have just been some early reps because Mangini said the RBs will see playing time based on packages and situations. Either way, it seems Barlow, who took a total of four handoffs between two teams in the preseason, will be in the mix come Sunday … Mangini wouldn’t announce it, but it seems Ramsey is the No. 2 quarterback since he was studying with the offensive players and Clemens was playing linebacker on the scout team … Brad Smith was NOT wearing a red jersey after his turn as QB in the Eagles game.