Erik Boland: Inside the Jets

By Tom Rock

I've heard and read it mentioned a few times here and on other boards, and now that we're on the precipice of history, I thought I'd ask you fans what you think.

Here's the situation: The Jets could (a very big could considering what I'm about to say) be the team that loses to the Dolphins, thus ending their imperfect season, and then beats the Patriots, ending their perfect season. Both teams could finish with either one win or one loss, both of them against the Jets.

That's just the kind of inconsistency that would drive consistency-minded Mangini over the edge. But what's your thinking?

Can the Jets pull off that kind of history-spoiling exacta?

Perhaps more to the point, as a Jets fan, would you buy that series of events if you could right now? It would mean sticking it to the Pats, but it would also mean handing one to the hapless Phins. Two big rivals to consider.

Let's hear it.

By Tom Rock

Repeat after me, Jets fans:

I will not complain.
I will not complain.
I will not complain.

Now read this and think about how bad it could be to either root for or, in my case, cover some other NY team.

Yuck. My heart goes out to Alan.

By Tom Rock

I love to read your comments here and I hope you keep them coming. But I have to tell you about a new place to express yourself. Newsday.com is revamping its sports message boards. Yeah, I know, it's a pain to have to log in and register. Wah, wah, wah! Just do it and post away.

And promise you'll keep coming back here to check in once in a while!

By Tom Rock

So I'm still in Miami, walking to my car at around 11:20 this morning, enjoying the South Florida sunshine, when all of a sudden the air thickens and the temperature drops about 40 degrees. I could almost see my breath. What happened?

I'm guessing that what I felt was the chill from 1,500 miles away when someone asked Mangini in his daily press conference what he thought about Laveranues Coles' recent Pats pat on the back.

“I think the important thing for all of us now is to focus on Miami," Mangini said.

By Tom Rock

By the way...

We speculated last week that the Jets could be underdogs when facing the winless Dolphins. Well, turns out that Mighty Miami is a 1.5-point favorite on the lines I just checked.

Could go up to 30-something for Dec. 16.

By Tom Rock

Man, I’m gone for one day and Darian Barnes gets the axe. I can’t help but feel I could have saved him had I been on Long Island.

Instead I’m down in South Florida (where it was a rub-it-in-your-face-New-York 86 degrees this afternoon) getting a jump on the big game between the Jets and the Dolphins (no one will dare label this baby Super Bowl XLI ½ ) and also following up on the sad Sean Taylor case. I attended a memorial service at Taylor's high school this morning. I’ll let you read the Taylor stuff in the paper tomorrow. Since this is a Jets blog, I’ll stick to the Little Green Men.

Barnes was booted. Not much of a surprise considering he hasn’t been active since forever as the Jets usually go with multiple tight ends and use Joe Kowalewski as their FB when they feel they need one (which isn’t often). About the only surprise is that it happened now and not at the end of the season, a humane way to rid yourself of veterans. Barnes was a popular player in the locker room, I’m sure he’ll be missed. Joey Porter will probably miss him on Sunday too. Porter and Barnes got into a heated exchange in the last Jets-Phins meeting in September. Barnes must have really been wagging his tongue to get the normally docile and introverted Porter to engage in uncharacteristic trash-talking.

Jerricho Cotchery was named the team’s Walter Payton Man of the Year for his work with the Cotchery Foundation and other local efforts. Then he didn’t practice with a finger injury. There are some injuries a receiver can play through and practice with, but a finger injury can easily be exacerbated by catching footballs so the Jets put him down for the day. We’ll have to keep an eye on him and his availability on Sunday. Laveranues Coles did practice, according to Newsday’s Erik Boland who is filling in for me in Hempstead.

And to bring things full-circle, Coles spoke about his relationship with Sean Taylor, who was a rookie when Coles was in Washington.

“He is a guy who I remember when he first walked through the doors (in Washington) and just being close with him,” Coles said. “He kind of reminded me of myself. He came in and didn’t trust very many people. He was a good guy once you actually got through the tough shell. He was a caring person, a fun guy and a great guy to be around. I know that I’m going to miss him. I was thinking of the other day when we played them and how he hugged me at the game. It is very touching.”

Coles went on: “In the sport that we are in, you don’t get the opportunity to tell people that you truly care about them, that you love them, because it doesn’t seem like such a macho thing to do. If I could say anything, it is to always tell people that you truly care about that you love them when you have the opportunity because you never know when they are going to be gone.”

By Tom Rock

As much as fans would like to think that players on opposing teams hate each other, Laveranues Coles said that’s just not the case. In fact, he said something that no Jets fan would ever even allow himself to think. He said it would be pretty neat if the Patriots ran the table for an undefeated season.

Now, of course he was wise enough to tip-toe around the delicate topic of his own team still having to face the Patriots. “You don’t never want to be a part of another team’s history,” he said. But he said that the Patriots have a chance to do something special and he isn’t begrudging it to them. “I’m not against anything they’re shooting for,” he said.

As for the perception (or perhaps "hope" would be a better term) that players hate each other, Coles said it’s simply not the case.

“Outside of when the clock is ticking and we’re on the field, guys get along a lot better than what people think,” he said. “We try to look out for each other, take care of each other.”

Coles, who has participated in only a handful of snaps in the last three games due to a concussion and then a sprained left ankle, was ginger in practice today. He did a lot of standing around and watching and couldn’t even do the agility drills over the blocking pads. He said mentally he was ready to play on Thursday against the Cowboys, but sometimes things are out of your control physically. My guess is he really wants to play against the Dolphins, but he’ll have to do some big-time healing to make that happen.

By Tom Rock

Got back from Dallas and had to stop at a Sports Authority on the way home. Inside, way in the back, near the camping and weight-lifting things that no one buys, was a rack of green stuff and a sign:

All Jets Merchandise - 30 % Off.

It reminded me of the urban legend of the sporting goods store that was robbed in New Orleans a few years back. The thieves took everything in the place, cleaned it out, but they did leave a rack of Bobby Hebert jerseys untouched.

Anyway, the Jets are off for a few days. Some of the players said they were heading out of town, others were coming back to LI to get some rest. Five more games. Five more games. Keep telling yourself, five more games.

And I know someone posted a comment about the NY media building Kellen Clemens up only to tear him down. I'm not gonna tear him down yet. But I think he needs to have at least one or two really strong games -- 3 TDs, 300 yards, no INTs -- or else the Jets could be in the market for another QB of the future in the not-so-distant future. Colt Brennan's NY Jets?

Here's my question for you to ponder this weekend:

Do you think the Jets could be an underdog against a winless team next week? I think there's a pretty good chance the Dolphins wind up giving them a point or two. Not that we condone gambling, but we certainly pay attention to the spreads. So, fans, what's the spread for the Miami game?

... at Dallas' Restaurant.

Howdy and Happy Thanksgiving from Big D, where I was surprised to learn that that two-day-long song by Arlo Guthrie is a holiday tradition also ... and not just for the pinko peaceniks. It's one of my favorite parts of Thanksgiving. Other than family and stuff.

I was also surprised to learn that Texas Stadium is a bit of a dump. Gi@&%$ Stadium has a much better look from the outside, believe it or not. It's pretty clear they're not going to spend any big bucks to spruce it up in the coming years with a new billion-dollar jewel on the horizon. There's even a big hole in the roof that they're apparently just going to ignore.

They do serve a mean pecan pie, though.

What, you want some football news? Well, OK. Laveranues Coles is out. Eric Smith is available. Other inactives for the Jets are Tuiasosopo (3rd QB), Darian Barnes (so there are no active FBs for the second straight week), Jacob Bender and Adrian Jones (look for the Adrien Clarke-Will Montgomery rotation to spin again), Sean Ryan, Marques Murrell and Eric Hicks.

There are a few Jets fans here for the game. Oddly enough, there seem to be a lot of Steelers fans waving Terrible Towels. Maybe they've been converted. No, it's mostly Cowboys fans with a few sprinkles of green.

I haven't seen Thomas and Julius Jones take the field yet, but I see their parents and family in their section behind the end zone. And just a few minutes ago punters Ben Graham and Mat McBriar were chatting at midfield. Since they're both from Australia, they're probably wondering what the heck they're doing playing on what for them is just a regular Thursday afternoon.

Jets are wearing green tops and white pants. Cowboys are in brown pants with yellow tops. Must be some kind of strange throwback game. Or a laundry mishap. Just kidding. They're wearing Cowboys uniforms, white jerseys, blueish-silver pants, and helmets with a blue satanic pentagram on the side.

And thanks to everyone who came forward with what they are thankful for in the previous post.

By Tom Rock

Well, let's hear it fans. What are you thankful for? There's not a lot in this 2-8 season, but what sticks out in your mind?

Are you thankful for the move to Kellen Clemens? Thankful that you only face the Patriots twice? Thankful that you face the Dolphins twice? There must be something.

I'll be checking in during the holiday to see where we're at. And on Thursday I'll be posting the inactives and blogging some scene-setters from the Big D. Happy Thanksgiving to all our loyal readers, and even those who aren't so loyal. I know who you are.

By Tom Rock

Just found out that Hofstra will host a presidential debate next fall. That's nice. But it could be a major headache for the Jets.

For those unware of the on-campus geography here at Hofstra, just a short path and some shrubbery stand between Weeb Ewbank Hall and what Hofstra calls it's PFC. The arena, where the actual debate would be held, is about 200 yards away. That could mean logistical nightmares for the Jets when the secret service starts roping off a radius and the network fleets show up to share the parking lot. D-Rob may not be able to drive his monster truck to work that week!

During the summer, I was speaking to some folks from both Hofstra and the Jets about what was then a proposal to host the debate. Apparently the campus -- or at least the northern part of the campus, where we are -- will be in almost total lockdown for the week before the event.

Maybe that would be a good week to try out the new place in Florham Park. Then again, maybe Mangini can join in the debate. He was a Political Science major at Wesleyan.

By Tom Rock

Eric Mangini revealed (rather grudgingly, to no surprise) that Teddy Atlas left him a prophetic message before the Steelers game.

“It’s like Teddy Atlas and Nostradamus,” Mangini said. And no, he wasn't talking about a Glauber-esque look-a-like. At least I don't think he was.

Mangini took some time out of his week to attend Atlas’ annual benefit dinner in Staten Island last week. We’ll pick up Mangini’s voice here:

“He just talked to me about how important that was to him and how good things happen after you go to the dinner. He talked about a fighter who had won a fight, it was a little bit controversial. The question was whether he actually knocked the guy down after the bell or not. I forget the exact correlation. I think the fighter had come to his dinner as well, so, what he said is, you may end up winning this game late or you may win it after the bell, but usually good things happen to fighters who come to the Teddy Atlas dinner.”

The Jets wound up winning after the bell, 19-16 in overtime.

By Tom Rock

The best part about the Jets win on Sunday is that they have time to enjoy it. Ha, ha. They actually have one of the biggest headaches in the league, facing the three-day turnaround to play again on Thursday. Of course, the benefit is that they'll be off on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. And we all know what this team can do with a few extra days off. Look out, Dolphins!

I was thinking during the week that this game had a smiliar vibe to the first Jets-Bills game, but with the Jets' role flip-flopped. The Steelers were telling everyone who would listen that the Jets shouldn;t be underestimated, that their record and their stats aren't indicative of how good a team they are. Even in my chat with Hofstra product Willie Colon (who had an offsides penalty against him), he said "When you walk through the tall grass, you have to watch out for the snakes." Of course, every time a Steeler player said something to that effect, people rolled their eyes. Yeah, right. Just go out and get your win and get it over with. That was the same reaction people had when the Jets were talking up the Bills in Week 4, if you remember. Both the Jets back then and the Steelers this weekend turned out to make some pretty good self-fulfilling prophets. Can't wait for when Belichick starts talking about how good the Jets are.

By Tom Rock

The Jets will beat the Steelers 40-0 and have eight sacks. It's the end of the first quarter.

By Tom Rock

The Steelers just ran onto the field. To cheers. And Terrible Towels. There's a lot of Black and Gold in the stadium today. I'm justlooking down at the entrance to the tunnel and there are Steelers fans leaning over the railing heckling the Jets players below them.

Home game indeed.

A few notes to catch up on. FB Stacy Tutt's season is over, placed on IR after injuring his leg in a special teams drill earlier this week. We reported here that Tutt was injured and walked off the field and then returned to practice. On Friday he was listed as out. on Saturday he was placed on IR.

They elevated Jason Trusnik from the practice squad to take Tutt's place. In fact, he's on the active roster for today's game and will play. Darian Barnes, technically the backup fullback behind Tutt, is on the inactive list. There must be something he's not doing well enough to keep getting shelved for the games. So the Jets don't have a true fullback on the field today. Look for Joe Kowalewski to get some time there.

Other Jets inactives are Tuiasosopo (3rd QB), Chris Davis, Jacob Bender (back to the sideline after a few games in uniform), Adrian Jones, Sean Ryan, Marques Murrell, and Eric Hicks. Hicks is a surprise. Well, not really a surprise since he hasn't been doing much of anything. But it is a change. C.J. Mosley jumps in as another d-lineman and Mike DeVito will probably get a number of snaps.

Jets, by the way, are wearing green over green. I know Jets fans love those unis. Steelers are in gold pants and white tops. Just like their fans.

By Tom Rock

The Jets will be in Dallas on Nov. 22, 44 years after the day JFK was assassinated. It got me (and some others in the press room, I must confess) thinking about what kind of press conference Mangini would have had as a White House spokesman that day back in 1963. He did say once that there was "no grassy knoll" when asked about putting Pete Kendall in the rookie dorms. Hmmm.

ERIC: How’s everybody doing? A little bit of housekeeping. Kennedy will not be at practice today. And we’ve signed Johnson from the practice squad. I thought yesterday’s cabinet meeting went well. We covered the economy, as we usually do on Tuesdays. Today we’ll move on to civil rights, do a little work on national defense. That’s such an important aspect. A lot of big changes in field position come on national defense. And with that, I’ll open it up to questions.

REPORTER: Why is Kennedy not practicing?

ERIC: It’s an injury.

REPORTER: Can you tell us what type?

ERIC: Head.

By Tom Rock

A big day for Mangini. Rain. And lots of it. The Penguin loves the precipitation. And if the Jets somehow win their game on Sunday in equally wet conditions, you can bet your soggy wrinkled fingers that the players will point to today’s practice as a big reason.

Of course, if no one is able to play next Thursday because they all have pneumonia … the sword cuts both ways.

Yes, a week from today we’ll be in Dallas. Not much for Jets fans to be thankful for in a football sense. I’ll give you a week to brainstorm and come up with a few things.

Walked out to watch practice today and the audio portion of the presentation – meaning the music that accompanies practices – was playing a crowd chanting “De-Fense! De-Fense!” Then they piped in some awful song about Steelers Country. It sounded like the Jets were getting ready for a road game. Maybe, in a way, they are.

I’ve spoken to a lot of Jets season ticket holders who are dumping their tickets for this game. In fact, I had a chance to speak with Willie Colon, the Steelers’ right tackle, who played at Hofstra and is from the Bronx. He said he told his friends and family that they should get their own tickets because they’ll probably be able to find better seats than he would be able to provide for them. Jets CB Darrelle Revis, a Pittsburgh native, said he’s only filled about a half dozen ticket requests. The rest of the people coming will find their own tickets. And yesterday, Curtis Martin talked about his guest list of about 50 people, most of them who will be wearing black and gold and waving Terrible Towels.

Stacy Tutt appeared to injure his right leg early in practice today, but he returned after a little while.

In the locker room, some people were flocking around Joe Kowalewski to chronicle his inspiring story of tryout-turned-NFL touchdown receiver. He’s fitting into his stardom rather well, considering he actually blew off the crowd at one point and ducked into the trainer’s room.

By Tom Rock

Check out this story on the Patriots dominance not only on the field but in Vegas. Here's a quote on the point spreads to get you going:

“Who knows what we’re going to see when they host the Jets,” said the Las Vegas Hilton’s Jay Kornegay. “It might be the highest point spread in the history of the NFL.”

Anyway, the Jets have a few games to go before we get to the Patriots. Two of those immediately upcoming games just happen to be against elite NFL teams, so consider them a warm-up for Foxborough.

Shaun Ellis was talking about the Steelers' running game today, and it didn't sound good for the Jets. He said the Steelers give "great tips" about where they are going to run, so basically they just say Here it is, try to stop it. He also said their running backs are good at "mushing" after contact, which I think means they keep going forward like sled dogs mushing through snow. Nice word. He said the Jets have to "man-up" against the Steelers.

Chris Davis practiced with a red no-contact jersey today stemming from his shoulder injury in the game against the Redskins.

Curtis Martin is coming in for a presser in a few minutes. He's being honored at halftime of Sunday's game. I'm not sure we'll get anything new out of him, but it's always good to see Curtis.

Oh, and on the topic of the Jets-Chiefs game for those of you who like to plan things a month and a half in advance, I've been told that there is no way that the stadium can be turned around for a 1 p.m. start. And since NBC wants no part of the game at 8, that leaves only one time slot open. So as of now, the Jets have only two 1 o'clock games left on their schedule: at Miami and at New England. We suspect the networks could be looking to un-flex the 4:15 start of the Browns-Jets game, and they could bump the Pats game up just for the curiosity factor and inherent drama that consumes those games.

By Tom Rock

Things could get interesting when the Jets face the Dolphins on Dec. 2. Here's a statement from the NFL:

“Ricky Williams was notified this morning by Commissioner Goodell that he has been reinstated as an NFL player. Williams can begin attending team meetings and practicing immediately, but will not be eligible to play in games until Week 12 when the Dolphins play at Pittsburgh (Monday night, November 26). The Dolphins will receive a roster exemption for Williams for up to two weeks when he begins practicing, starting no later than Monday.”

Of course, whether the Dolphins want him back is an entirely different story.

For all of those who participate in a practice squad fantasy football league -- and you know as well as I do that one exists somewhere -- here's an update from the Jets, who can't seem to make up their mind at this position:

The New York Jets signed cornerback Manny Collins to the practice squad and released cornerback E.J. Underwood from the practice squad. The announcement was made by Jets General Manager Mike Tannenbaum.

Collins (5-10, 190, Rutgers) was signed by the Jets as an undrafted rookie free agent on Aug. 2, waived on Sept. 1 and then signed to the Jets practice squad on Sept. 3 before being released on Oct. 10. He recorded 68 tackles, two interceptions and four fumble recoveries during four seasons at Rutgers University.

Underwood (6-1, 185, Pikeville) was signed to the practice squad on Oct. 10. He originally signed with the New York Giants as a rookie free agent on May 13, 2006. He spent the 2006 season on the injured reserve and was signed to the Giants practice squad on Sept. 2, 2007 before being released on Oct. 8. The Hamilton, OH native played three years at Ohio State before transferring to Pikeville College (NAIA). In 29 games (eight starts) at Ohio State, he recorded 54 tackles with 20 solos and one pass defensed and was a member of the 2002 National Championship team. In one season at Pikeville, he played in 10 games, tallying 49 tackles (35 solos) with one interception, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and one blocked kick. Underwood also caught four passes for 77 yards and returned punts and kickoffs, including one 77-yard punt return for a touchdown.

By Tom Rock

Yesterday we posted some speculation that the Jets may have to keep their season-finale (do we really need to stipulate regular season-finale???) against the Chiefs as an 8 o'clocker just because the Giants have a home game the previous night. It still might have to be a 4 o'clocker because of those logistics, but WatchDog and the other guy both reported back saying that there is no way NBC will keep the Jets-Chiefs game as their Sunday Night showcase that week.

You can read thier comments attached to the post below, or read them here:

From Glauber: My mole who's in the know about NBC plans for final weekend has two words about the possibility of keeping Jets-Chiefs on the broadcast schedule: No way.

From Best: I have been doing my own research with TV moles today and agree with Glauber: There is ZERO chance the Jets will be playing at 8 p.m. that night. They might have to go with unpainted end zones for that weekend's games.

And by the way, I know Stephen King didn't write Beowulf. J.K. Rowling did. Duh!

By Tom Rock

Please note that I'm just wondering aloud on this and have no inside info as of yet. But ...

Most people assume that the Chiefs-Jets game scheduled as the late NBC game for Dec. 30 will be dumped in favor of a more, shall we say, meaningful matchup. I've heard and read that speculated at least a dozen times. However, there is a chance that even if the network is not locked into that time slot, the game itself could be.

With the Giants hosting the Patriots in a game that starts at 8:15 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 29, it would seem very unlikely that the stadium could be turned around in time for an early Jets game the following day. A 4 o'clock start might even be pushing it, in fact, by the time they erase and then re-paint the end zones, put up the green plastic that covers the normally blue walls around the field, and change whatever signage and other things need changing. That doesn't even count the mess that the parking lot would be considering that the last Giants tailgaters will likely be leaving at about midnight or 1 a.m. and the first Jets tailgaters will roll in five or six hours later.

Oh, and it's late December. So it'll definitely be sunny and comfortable and easy to do all of that work.

As I said, I have no idea how this will pan out. I asked a few people at the Jets about it this afternoon and they said they would check it out and get back to me on it. Maybe our WatchDog friend or his newly appointed deputy can figure it out. Until then, all I'm saying is don't assume that the game time will be moved.

By Tom Rock

That's what I learned from watching Sunday's football action as opposed to covering it. Last year, I learned how irritating that John Mellancamp song was when tied to a Chevy commercial every 10 or so minutes. This year, it was Beowulf. Apparently it's based on a book, by Stephen King I think. Most good movies are. Who knows what marketing blitz will sack me on the bye week next year. Maybe Beowulf II.

Seriously, I thought I would return from a few days away from the Jets grind refreshed. But really, I'm a little more depressed than when I left. After watching some good teams play some good games (though I turned off the Colts game before the comeback), it sunk in that the Jets are not a very fun team to watch. Oh well. At least there's the weekly (daily?) development of Kellen Clemens to watch in the second half, coupled with reporting the disparities in tackles between the press box stats and the coaches' tape for David Harris. Still ... Pittsburgh and then Dallas sounds like a sure 1-10 to me.

Mangini comes out in a few minutes for his morning presser. Then we get players and a few glimpses of practice. I'll report back then. Hopefully by that time I'll have come up with a mnemonic device that will help me remember how to spell Rothles ... Roethleisbur ... you know, that other team's quarterback. Heck, if I can spell mnemonic and Beowulf, how hard can it be?

Former Jet Curtis Martin is selling his Garden City condo. Click here to read about it.

By Tom Rock

The good news is that the Jets will be home for their next game. Here’s the bad news.

Today is the last day of work for the Jets. Probably. Mangini said if he didn’t like how practice went this afternoon that he held the right to keep the players here an extra day and work them on Thursday. He called the schedule “fluid,” one of his favorite adjectives. He also said he didn’t expect anything less than a spirited practice and figured he wouldn’t have to drop that heavy hammer on the team. But he left the door open.

A snarky line about the story I had in today’s paper. I quoted an orthopedic surgeon as saying that, depending on the type of surgery Vilma undergoes, it could take him two years to get back to full speed. Some, of course, would say that it’s already been two years since we’ve seen him at full speed.

The Jets signed LB Marques Murrell, brother of former Jets RB Adrian Murrell. He was signed off the Eagles’ practice squad and takes the place of Rashad Washington. That’s quite a coup for Marques … he gets a new job, comes in for the first day, and then right away gets four days off. Nice timing.

Speaking of Washington, Morrell took his locker. Washington’s nameplate, which hung above the space that used to be his locker, was seen among a pile of boxes in the hallway, the refuse of a 1-8 season. It’s a cold business, football.

That’s all for now. Unless there’s some news -- or a bad practice today I guess -- we’ll be back on Monday. Have a good weekend.

By Tom Rock

Jets were in the bubble today. And it wasn’t even raining. It’s the second time this year they’ve gone in there. Is Mangini going soft?

Here’s how little the Jets use the bubble: Along the sideline are stacked a few dozen boxes of AeroBeds, you know, those inflatable mattresses “as seen on TV.” Apparently they are for training camp when players are in the Hofstra dorms, and since Mangini so seldom practices in the bubble the staff was utilizing the space for storage. It’s become like a shed in the back of the house. Apparently they even had their family Halloween party in there last week because a few orange and black balloons were still clinging to the ceiling.

They stuck the beds in the shed and they put Rashad Washington on the street. The Jets waived the backup safety who was one of their top special teams players but made four costly penalties in the last three weeks for a total of 87 yards (thanks to Pelzman for adding those up). Mangini had been asked just last week if he ever thought about cutting a player just to make a point and send shivers down the necks of the remaining players. Click here to find out what he said and get some more info off of today's practice ...

By Tom Rock

Eric Mangini announced this morning that LB Jonathan Vilma, already on IR, will have knee surgery in Florida tomorrow. Mangini was typically tight-lipped on the details and didn't say whether it would be an arthroscopic procedure or a full knife job. "It's just regular surgery," he said. He wouldn't even say if they expected Vilma to be available when OTAs and workouts begin next spring.

I hope they tell the surgeon which leg he needs to operate on.

By Tom Rock

It's tough to do a feel-good story the day after an overtime loss that put the season on the brink of a Kotitian disaster, but Joe Kowalewski catching a TD pass could be one of them. Here's his reaction from the post-game locker room when asked what it meant to him, a former practice squad player, to make that catch:

"I even had a talk with Coach Mangini about the ups and downs of the NFL. Sometimes this year I felt like I got kicked off the horse. I was inactive and I had some bad plays in some games. It’s just been, you know, so tough. And one thing about this league is no one is going to pick you up, you have to do it yourself. You have to go back there and after you get kicked in the teeth, get back up and go out there and do something. Getting in the end zone, that makes all the hard work, everything, the offseason, coming in here, just everything, worth it. It was great, it really was."

Speaking of kicked in the teeth, Chad Pennington joked that he thought he might need some dental work after Kowalewski nearly dislodged his front choppers with an extended celebration on the sideline that also included a trip near the stands to search for his family.

Funny, but at the time, when the TD made it 17-3, I cracked a joke about the Redskins complaining that a second straight opponent was running up the score on them. My how things changed.

By Tom Rock

I realized last night that being a cattle farmer from Oregon is probably the best possible background for a QB in New York. When Clemens hits the inevitable swoon, he can always say that the fans aren’t saying “Boo!” they’re saying “Moo!”

So we’re back to this: Players talking about how the team played well in “all three facets of the game” and how they’ll have to wait to watch the film and get back to us with answers on Monday.

C’mon guys. You got whupped in the running game and had a big play but not a big drive in overtime. Just say that.

A few notes from the game:

The Jets were eliminated from contention in the AFC East before the Pats beat the Colts. Pretty soon they’ll be eliminated from the playoffs I reckon. 1-10 is a strong possibility with games against the Steelers and the Cowboys after the bye.

Kellen Clemens was sacked three times, and the first two were what I would call “smart sacks” in which he didn’t force anything and took minimal or no loss of yardage. On the third blitz, by S LaRon Landry, it looked like Thomas Jones picked up the blitzing LB and should have taken the outside safety, leaving the LB for Brandon Moore who was in position to make a block on him.

Here’s the play that was different with Kellen in there and not Chad: It’s third-and-10 just prior to the 2:00 warning and Brad Smith has just dropped a couple of passes and the crowd is booing (or mooing, I can’t be sure). Anyway, Clemens scrambles to his right and hits Justin McCareins along the sideline for a 20-yard gain. Thomas Jones was open at about the original line of scrimmage and there was a DB coming up to make a play on him, but there was time to get him the ball. Chad would have probably gone for the dump to Jones. Clemens’ arm strength allowed him to zip the ball to McCareins even though his body was moving perpendicular to the line of scrimmage, and McCareins picked up another 5 of so yards after the catch on the drive that led to the tying FG.

Wallace Wright was still a little groggy from being upended when he jumped for a high pass from Clemens and was flipped over, landing on the back of his neck … WR Chris Davis (wearing No. 19, so it’s easy to confuse him with Keyshawn) had his shoulder in a sling after the game. It appeared he hurt it on his 3-yard run on an end-around … Joe Kowalewski is still talking to anyone who’ll listen about his TD catch and what it meant to him and all the hard work he’s put in and how appreciative he is of the opportunity and … CB Darrelle Revis injured his right leg in the game but came back and walked out of the locker room without much of a limp … Hanging out in the bowels of the stadium after the press conference, I was standing next to Nick Mangold, who was leaning against a railing. “Waiting for an autograph?” I asked him. “Yeah, I’m waiting for my favorite player to come out.” He was telling the truth. He waited until Pete Kendall walked past, gave Pete a big hug and tried to get a few words in with him Pete had to be frisked and searched by the TSA agents who do the airplane check-in at the stadium.

By Tom Rock

Laveranues Coles' streak of 107 straight games and 104 straight starts will come to an end today. Not unexpected since he did not practice this week with a concussion and considering the Jets elevated Chris Davis from the practice squad to the active roster on Saturday afternoon. Davis, by the way, is dressed for the game.

Here are the other inactives for the Jets besides Coles: Marques Tuiasosopo (3rd QB), Drew Coleman, Darian "I Wanna Be a Ninja" Barnes, Adrian Jones (who missed practices this week, reportedly to attend to the death of his father), Jason Pociask (who has yet to be activated this season), Sean Ryan and C.J. Mosley.

If the Jets make a change at LG, it will be wither Jacob Bender or Will Montgomery. THey don't announce those things, so we'll see at around 1 p.m. Also, Mike DeVito, who had his shoulder nearly taken off by Barnes in practice this week, is activated for the second straight week.

Jets just came out for some warmups and Chad Pennington took the time to job over to the far sideline and shake the hand of a kid standing there with other VIPs.

Just a thought: Wouldn't it be something if Mangini went with Pennington anyway and the entire week of Clemens talk was just an elaborate ruse? I say it not because I think it's true, but it's fun to add another layer of agida to Jets fans in the 45 minutes before kickoff.

By Tom Rock

I was thinking about this on my drive to NJ this morning, trying to skirt around the fringes of 38,000 maniacs running through the five boroughs:

I hope the fans in the stadium stand up and cheer when Chad Pennington comes out for the coin toss. I have no way of knowing if he will, but I suspect with Vilma out and Coles likely out (we'll find out in a few minutes for sure), that No. 10 will be out there for the ceremony.

Chad didn't have "it" this year on the field, but he's had a pretty remarkable run as a Jets quarterback. I can't really think of anyone who has done more with. let's face it, below-average (for an NFL QB) athleticism. Not to mention his courageous injury comebacks. I'll stop now so it doesn't start to read like an obituary, but I do hope the crowd here shows him some appreciation for the last few years and not hostility for the last few games.

By Tom Rock

Darian Barnes said he wants to be a ninja when he retires from football. And it wasn’t the first time he brought the topic up. I asked him if he’d ever seen one of my favorite “when nothing else is on” shows, “Ninja Warrior,” which is a Japanese program in which contestants attempt to scale walls, leap over water hazards, and maneuver their way through insane obstacle courses. He shook his head in disapproval, which, I have to say, hurt me a little.

Then he said he wants to go away to a Chinese monastery in the mountains for four or five years and live the life of a warrior in training. I asked him if he meant like Christian Bale and Liam Neeson in “Batman Begins.” He said yes, that’s exactly right. I felt better about myself.

By Tom Rock

The mother and brother of recent Medal of Honor recipient Michael P. Murphy of Patchogue will serve as honorary captains for the Jets when they face the Redskins on Sunday, one of the events in the eighth annual Jets Military Appreciation Day.

Murphy, a Navy SEAL, was killed in Afghanastan on June 28, 2005, but not until after he heroically called in the position of his pinned-down unit.

His mother Maureen and brother John will be presented with Jets jerseys and preside over the coin toss on Sunday. Prior to the kickoff, the Jets plan to honor all of the men and women who serve in the United States Armed Forces.

Murphy was the first sailor to receive the Medal of Honor, the highest award for valor in action against an enemy force, since the Vietnam War. His family was presented with the honor at the White House last month.