Erik Boland: Inside the Jets

By Tom Rock

A rather auspicious occasion, hitting the century mark here. Alert the media! Oh wait, that's me!

I think 100 episodes means we’re ready for syndication, which is where the big bucks are. I kind of wish I had something significant to report for Number 100 (or Numero Cien as Chad Johnson would say). Instead, I’ll just relay one of the fun happenings from Jetsville on this Halloween Eve.

Eric Mangini was still deciding on his costume today, a day before he takes his kids Jake and Luke trick-or-treating. The Mangini Men were all set to go out as the Finding Nemo family with Jake as Nemo, Luke as Squirt (he’s the surfer-dude little sea turtle for those uninitiated) and Eric as Marlin. But the coach started to back away from that a bit, not sure if he could pull off the clownfish costume. “I don’t think I’ll go in the whole gear, maybe just a hat,” he said. (How about a Florida Marlins hat, which would work on several levels???)

Then Mangini said he might go as a penguin, referring to his nickname among the players. That presented a whole new set of options. “I have a couple of different ideas, the Batman Penguin or Chilly Willy,” he said. “There are a lot of different avenues.”

Someone suggested he wear a tuxedo for his penguin costume.

“I just don’t know of kids today relate to Tennessee Tuxedo the same way,” he said. “I would hate to be the dad everybody is looking at, ‘Who brought this guy to the party?’ I want Jake to have a cool dad.”

It was quickly brought up that if Mangini goes door-to-door with the kiddies, he might quickly be engaged by a neighbor over the Chris Baker play. That added a whole new wrinkle to the costume drama.

“Maybe I’ll wear a mask,” he concluded. “That’s probably the safer route to go.”

By Tom Rock

Walt Michaels is being honored by the Browns at halftime today, and we had the chance to catch up with the former Jets coach before the game. He seemed very excited to be remembered and was very friendly. He just turned 77 and said he still follows the Jets and like the young coach (though he alternated his pronunciation between Mancini and Man-eenie). He also thinks Chad is a QB who can take a team to a Super Bowl if he stays healthy.

Inactives for today are pretty much the standard by-standers. Cedric Houston is still on the sideline. CB David Barrett is active for the first time in a while. FB James Hodgins will sit after playing last week. Anthony Schlegel is still inactive.

Uniform update: Jets are going green pants with white jerseys. Brownies go white pants and brown tops.

Thanks to Zog for filling in on the blog. Being down on the field before the game, the wind was a little breezy but not as bad as it was in Cleveland yesterday (or in NY for that matter). I don’t think the wind will have that much effect on the kicking game. Though there is a huge windmill in one corner of the stadium and it spins pretty hard, I think that’s more of a psyche job, like when baseball teams inflate their pitchers’ mphs or amplify the pop in a bullpen catcher’s mitt.

Went to the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame on Saturday evening after flying in on Saturday afternoon. It was a pretty cool place, but it closed at 5:30 p.m. and we only got there around 4:45. So we ran through the exhibits and saw everything while absorbing little. I was pretty disappointed that the place closed at 5:30 on a Saturday night. That’s a little more adult contemporary than rock n roll if you ask me. It would be more appropriate if the place OPENED at 5:30 on a Saturday night and didn’t close until the next morning. As the woman at the desk told us, all of the museums in major cities close around 5:30. Hmm.

By Bob Herzog

The Legend of Big Foot, aka Jets punter Ben Graham, continues.

For two consecutive days, Graham's kicking exploits have been the buzz of the practice field. On Thursday, during the team's four-minute drills, Graham boomed an 80-yard punt. "81 yards," the Australian native corrected. His "team" was on its own 19-yard line when Graham unloaded. He said his kick traveled 80 yards in the air and bounced into the end zone. It was such a prodigious punt that Eric Mangini saw fit to note it to the media on Friday, a development almost as stunning as the kick. Mangini isn't exactly the exuberant type nor does he go out of his way to lavish praise on his players.

That's why Graham did a double-take when several reporters cornered him before practice on Friday. "Glad I could thrill him like that," the Aussie said with a wink when told of his coach's words. "I had a good day at practice, I had a little wind at my back. We were a little backed up in the four-minute drill and I wanted to put the team I was punting for at that particular time in a good position. It was one of those situations where everything came together on that one kick."

Remarkably, Graham wasn't surprised by the kick. "Every day I seem to be able to let some of those rip and I guess the challenge is to get those constantly in a game. It was one of those situations where I know what to expect of myself, and if it doesn't go 50 yards, it would be a surprise."

Asked what would genuinely surprise him, Graham smirked and said, "If it was a game and we were back in our end zone and I kicked it to the other end zone, then I'd be surprised."

He expressed some wonderment Friday, however. While other special team drills were going on behind him, Graham playfully tried to punt the ball from the 5-yard-line over the protective netting that extends well above the goalposts. After plunking it high into the netting several times – he was only 15 yards from the net aiming directly upwards – he finally booted one over the net, right between the uprights. He laughingly jogged behind the fence into an adjacent parking lot to retrieve the ball. But moments later, he returned to the practice field empty-handed, but wearing a rueful grin.

A member of the Jets office staff than chased down the ball, and when she returned, she said it had landed beyond the parking lot and onto the Hofstra soccer field.

By Tom Rock

The issue of Eric Mangini’s age was once again raised today, and the coach had a good chuckle over it. He even listed a few of his favorite one-liners that writers have doled out in the direction of him and Mike Tannenbaum. Someone had asked where the Jets were going to put the sandbox at their complex. Another writer said they were the only coach and GM who had balloons at their birthday parties. A third questioned whether they would find time to do their homework while running the Jets. “That’s good stuff,” Mangini said.

Asked why the age issue has largely disappeared, Mangini speculated that he looks older now. The real answer is probably that the team is a respectable 4-3 with a chance to move to 5-3 at the bye, and they have yet to make any “rookie mistakes” in terms of coaching. Don’t think for a second that the next time Mangini whiffs on a decision, he won’t be referred to as the 35-year-old first-time head coach. Of course, if he has his druthers, the next time he whiffs on a decision he’ll be called the 42-year-old seven-year veteran head coach with two Super Bowl rings. The actual timeline for a slip-up is probably somewhere in between.

Mangini was sort of forthcoming about CB David Barrett today, saying that the rehab on the hip injury (believed to be a groin) is making progress, but there have been weeks past where progress was made early in the week only to have the injury flare up again later and keep Barrett off the field on Sunday. It sounds as if Barrett is getting close, though.

How about Glauber giving a shout-out about a shout-out! Crazy! On that thread, Alan Hahn’s got a new Knicks blog here but it’s got a really dull name. “On the Knicks Beat.” Yawn. They should call it “The ‘Bocker Blog.” Go ahead and use it, guys!

I’m starting to think that this Curtis Martin saga won’t be over in the next week or so. The Jets have until Nov. 7 to allow him to practice with the team, and I think they’ll probably do that since it comes at no cost to them. It might be a case of “OK, Curtis, show us what you got.” It’s a low-risk/high-reward situation for both Martin and the Jets to let him at least practice for the three weeks they have before making a roster move with him. Assuming the Jets wait until the last minute to clear Curtis for practice, he would then have until Nov. 29 or Nov. 30 to be added to the roster. That appears to be the final Final FINAL deadline for Curtis’ return to football action.

By Tom Rock

Chad Pennington walked into the interview room with a bandage on his right hand, but it actually took reporters a few minutes to ask him about it. Cimini brought it up, but only after the TV gang had rattled off their pre-scripted commentaries in the form of questions. I was willing to see how long it would take before anyone asked. I’m guessing Cimini was playing a similar game of chicken.

Anyway, Chad said the wrap was due to a turf burn he took on his hand when he ran for a first down in the game on Sunday. I hope he’s not fined for discussing his injury. An hour later when the players were on the field for practice, Pennington seemed to be throwing fine and had lost the bandage. No doubt he’ll still be on the injury report that comes out later this afternoon.

I heard it snowed in Cleveland this week, and there’s a chance of snow for Sunday. Plus, there’s daylight savings this weekend. Anytime I get to spend an extra hour in Cleveland is just a bonus. I may do the tour they give at the childhood home of Erik Boland.

Browns QB Charlie Frye was on the conference call today. He’s a better quarterback than a quote. Though he was understandably downtrodden after Maurice Carthon resigned or was fired or whatever they decide happened to him. He was talking about the fans at one point and someone asked if he had heard from Drew Carey. The blank look was evident even through the speakerphone.

I saw one line where the Jets are a 1.5 point underdog this weekend. Has anyone seen the Browns play this season? They have a little bit of talent in the front defensive seven, but the secondary can be exploited and the offense is terrible. Expect big things from Chad and the WR boys, even if the QB has to play with a wrap on his throwing hand.

By Tom Rock

I was going over the game on my DVR and couldn’t help noticing an orange-brown spot in the palm of Lions QB Jon Kitna. Those Detroit throwers are all about the pinetar!

Speaking of orange-brown spots, the Jets go to Cleveland on Sunday to wrap up the first half of their season. Things continue to fall into place for the Jets in terms of scheduling and opponents. They go against Jacksonville without Stroud (though it wasn’t much help), they beat Miami and second-string QB Joey Harrington, they were able to run through the Lions without Shaun Rogers, and now they go up against the Browns who just learned that cornerback Gary Baxter tore BOTH of his patellar tendons on the same play yesterday. Then they get the bye right smack in the middle of the season, probably the very best place it could come. Green is a lucky color this year.

Eric Mangini addressed Curtis Martin again today and continued the team-wide hedge on if Curtis will be back on the practice field. It’s not sounding too good. Mangini said the team would evaluate the situation after the Cleveland game and made no guarantee that Martin will be able to practice in the three-week window to come off the PUP list (which goes down to two weeks as of tomorrow). Basically, by 4 p.m. on Nov. 7, we’ll know Martin’s fate for this season.

The Jets named Leon Washington their offensive player of the week – no big shocker – and touted Dewayne Robertson as the defensive player. D-Rob had a sack and looked better shedding the double-teams, but I’m still not convinced he’s a true nosetackle. His sack came as a result of Bryan Thomas applying outside pressure, causing Kitna to step up in the pocket where Robertson was falling down at the time. But a sack’s a sack, and when you are D-Rob you have to take them when they come. Kerry Rhodes was special teams player of the week and Jamie Thompson was the practice player of the week.

The Jets were “off” today, but many were in the training room or weight room and attending various meetings to begin individual preparations for the Browns game. “I think that’s the way all days off should be,” joked Mangini.

By Tom Rock

Quite an active morning here at Gi@#$ Stadium as the Jets moved in for this afternoon’s game against the Lions and the Giants were boarding their bus to the airport for their game tomorrow in Dallas. Adding to the mayhem was Bob Glauber standing in the tunnel trying to scoop out who the Jets would be starting at running back today. He said it was for a TV gig, but I think he was just tweaking his fantasy team at the last minute.

Inactives for the Jets include BOTH Cedric Houston and Derrick Blaylock, which is the first time the Jets are going with only two RBs this season. They could also use FB B.J. Askew at tailback since FB James Hodgins is on the active roster. The Jets have also tinkered with Brad Smith at tailback this season -- remember, he "started" the Jacksonville game at running back. CB David Barrett is inactive along with the usual list of bystanders: LB Anthony Schlegel, C Trey Teague, TE Zach Hilton and DT C.J. Mosley.

I’m expecting a high-scoring game today, not based on the prolific offenses but on the pathetic defenses. If Ben Graham is on the field more than three times (other than to hold PATs) the Jets will be in trouble. Anyway, it’s almost noon, the Giants are out of here, the Jets are trotting around the field, it’s time to start banging heads.

By Tom Rock

The Mangini Sense of Humor continues to emerge. Today he segued from talking about Laveranues Coles to a bit on “Elmo’s World.” Here’s how.

The coach said that when he was at TOP (my new shorthand for “the other place”; and for future reference CJV will stand for Core Jets Values) and the Jets reacquired Coles from the Redskins, his first thought was “What a headache.”

Mangini then spoke about Coles’ toughness and his humility in a world filled with wide receivers who are often neither. Then we asked if Coles, who has been the most outspoken Jet under Mangini, still gives the coach headaches.

“He and I enjoy each other’s company,” Mangini said. “He’s given me a nice nickname, which has permeated quite extensively.”

That nickname is, of course, the Penguin, derived because of the way Mangini shuffles around the field and the sideline.

Mangini then said his son Jake was watching “Elmo’s World” a few days ago and the focus of the segment was on penguins. Jake said “Hey, Dad, watch this!” and started waddling around the living room.

“I thought that maybe he had lunch with Laveranues,” Mangini said.

As for the nickname – the Penguin – Mangini said it doesn’t bother him. He even showed the team a clip from “March of the Penguins” when the moniker was beginning to gather steam, his way of showing the Jets that he not only knew about their musings but that he also thought penguins have very strong characteristics.

“It’s not a negative thing,” he said. “I think it’s kind of funny.”

By Tom Rock

Curtis Martin said he’s still focused on coming back to football, but the measured cadence of his speech gave the impression that he was trying to convince himself as much as he was trying to convince us.

He spoke eloquently and from the heart about what he would want his legacy in the NFL to be and how he has been preparing himself for the end of his career since his second year in the league, but when it came to the topic of coming back this year, he was very cautious. “Definitely isn’t a word I’m going to use,” he said of practicing in the first week of November, which would be nearly 11 months after his knee surgery. “Hopefully. That’s the work that I will use.”

In a nutshell, Martin said he is still rehabbing his right knee and looking to get back on the practice field to test it after the Cleveland game. He said he was looking forward to do so this week, when his window to come off the PUP list opened, but he is listening to doctors and team officials and waiting the extra two weeks. “I don’t know how much of a difference it will make in my body in two weeks,” he said, “but I do believe we will be able to make a wiser decision.”

Martin said he won’t answer questions about what he will decide to do if he cannot come off the PUP list this season, or if he practices but is not well enough to make the active roster. “If that was to come about, I’ll answer that question then,” he said. “Right now, I honestly can’t answer that question.”

By Tom Rock

There had been some talk that Curtis Martin would be made available to the media today, but that was pushed back to Thursday, so expect a big C-Mart story in all of your Friday papers. Not that he’s likely to say anything other than that he is working hard to come back. The fact that he has left the Jets complex early the last few times we asked about him and he wasn’t around on Monday does create something of a question though: Will he decide to hang ‘em up? Stay tuned.

A few reporters were on a conference call with Lions WR Roy Williams and walked into the locker room to find a mob of us huddled in front of Curtis’ locker. The gasp was almost audible, and I think if I rewind my recorder I can hear Andrew Gross squeal in horror at the possibility of missing the big Curtis interview. Turned out it was just Bryan Thomas sitting at a stool in front of Martin’s locker (which is next to Thomas’).

Just a thought on those two NY running backs who do the McDonald’s commercial together: it’s interesting that one is practically killing himself to come back to football while the other appears to want out of football so he doesn’t kill himself. Smart and noble aren’t always on the same wavelength.

Bobby G. stopped by this afternoon to spread some of his good cheer and check in on Gang Green after some CP in NYC this morning. Always a ray of sunshine.

Reporters are starting to pick up the Mangini dialect, using terms like “the other place” to describe New England and “fluid” to talk about positions with rotating players. Pretty soon we should all be able to recite the core Jets values, just as Mangini does on a near daily basis. For the record, they are smart, tough, hard-working, competitive, selfless, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent. Oh wait, some of that is from the Boy Scouts.

By Tom Rock

The latest news today was that Curtis Martin will not start practicing with the team until after the Cleveland game at the earliest. So said Eric Mangini. That gives him from Nov. 1 to Nov. 7 to suit up. The Jets are taking full advantage of their three-week window, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the paperwork to activate Curtis is filed at 3:59 p.m. on the day of the 4 p.m. deadline. That would make Nov. 8 his first day on the field and start a whole new 21-day window. Read all about it in tomorrow’s Newsday!!! Ha ha ha!!!

Some atmosphere: After the latest nothing-comes-easy win, which featured a chuckling Mangini opening his postgame press conference by saying it was just how he drew it up, everyone was in a good mood. LB Matt Chatham joked that the Jets allowed the Dolphins to stay in the game to boost TV ratings and also to politic for more Sunday Night and Monday Night games. The flex schedule in the second half of the year allows the networks to pick and choose which games will be spotlighted, and Chatham seems to feel that by making each game a down to the wire nail-biter, the Jets will have a better shot at national exposure.

After LB Jonathan Vilma finished with his postgame interviews, fellow LB Eric Barton chimed in and wanted to know why no one asked him about the brawl his alma mater, Miami, was involved in the day before. “Interviews are over,” Vilma announced with a wry smile. Chatham chuckled, to which Vilma snapped “What are you laughing at?”

Victories are certainly good for morale. There wasn’t much in the way of playful banter the last two weeks.

By the way, Vilma was hit pretty hard today about the Miami thing. Probably too hard considering he left the school three years ago. But he backed Coker saying that even though the H.C. needs to take the hit for an ugly incident, he thinks Coker is still in control down there.

No misunderstanding who’s in control up here. Mangini was asked about players who sometimes change from selfless to selfish over their careers (i.e. but not named, T.O). “They won’t be ending their careers here,” Mangini said.

By Tom Rock

Just a quick hit on some inactives for the Jets, which came in without much of a surprise. Cedric Houston is out for the game despite practicing this week and B.J. Askew, who looked banged up during the week, will play. CB David Barrett is inactive along with FB James Hodgins, LB Anthony Schlegel, C Trey Teague, TE Zach Hilton and DT C.J. Mosley. Kellen Clemens is the third QB. Like I said, no shockers.

The Dolphins made a few changes, switching RG Damion McIntosh to LT and swinging LT L.J. Shelton to the RG position. Maybe they saw something on film that they think they can exploit. Then again, anyone who watches the Jets run defense this season sees things they can exploit.

Jets, by the way, are wearing white pants and green tops. Dolphins go all white.

By Tom Rock

Laveranues Coles received a lesson in Jets history.

The receiver was talking about how the opponent does not matter when preparing for a game. “Whether it’s Miami or we’re playing Hempstead High, you want to win the game.”

Asked how the Jets would fare against the Tigers, Coles went on: “That would be a good game for us. It would be good for the guys. It might get our morale going if we get one of those on the schedule.”

Then came the history. We asked Coles if Hempstead could get Rob Moore, a former Jet receiver who played at Hempstead. Who?

“Rob Moore, a former receiver here,” chimed in tight end Chris Baker, who has the locker adjacent to Coles and who grew up in Queens as a Jets fan. “Man, you don’t know Jets history.”

Coles shrugged it off.

“Yeah, they can get Rob,” he said. “I think we’d handle them pretty well.”

Just a quick correction. Turns out the hoods on the parking signs in front of the Jets complex, the ones reserving prime spots for players of the week, were not there as a statement or a punishment. Erin O’Brien, who is Mangini’s assistant, said it was just because the lot is filled with trailers and they needed all the spots they could get. But when they left the signs showing, nobody parked there, so they covered them up.

Too bad. That would have been a nice touch.

By Tom Rock

Apparently the five-second rule does not apply to parking privileges. While the Jets are trying to put the memory of the 41-0 loss to the Jaguars behind them, the signs at the primo parking spots in front of the complex normally reserved for the Offensive, Defensive and Special Teams Players of the Week were hooded over. There were cars parked in the spots, but they were probably not player cars (a bit too modest for NFLers). The good spots are only opened up after good games, and the Jets were hard-pressed find anybody worthy of the star treatment. They played more deserving of handicapped spots at times.

Kind of strange that Derrick Strait and Lee Suggs seem to be attached in their NFL travels. The players who were traded for each other during training camp, only to be returned to their original teams when Suggs flunked his physical with the Jets, were both released on the same day. So the big showdown I had envisioned in which Suggs breaks free in the open field and the only player standing between him and the winning touchdown is Strait will never materialize. That would have settled who got the better of the no-deal.

Hank Poteat is back with the Jets, reminiscing about his 24 hours with the team in the preseason. He was brought in the day before the preseason game against the Eagles, then released the day after. He’s spent time under Mangini in New England the last few years, so he should have no problem adjusting to the coach’s expectations. Adjusting to the chemistry in the secondary could be an issue.

B.J. Askew did not practice today and will probably be on the injury report when it is issued later today. Cedric Houston managed to get back on the field, though, wearing a brace on his left knee.

Houston’s return could improve the running game, but the guy who could really put it over the top is Curtis Martin, and today Mangini pretty much said it’s not a matter of if but when he returns to practice. Beginning on Monday, he’ll have three weeks in which to make his practice debut or be moved to IR. After he practices, he’ll have another three weeks in which to become activated. No word on whether or not anyone thinks Martin will be able to play again, but the Jets seem to be extending him every opportunity to try.

By Tom Rock

That was such a bad performance, Steinbrenner is thinking of firing a few Jets coaches too!

The historical significance of the 41-0 loss to the Jaguars was enormous. Worst loss since 1986, worst shutout loss since 1975. Ugh. The only good thing is that Florida is sending its second-string up to face the Jets on Sunday, and the Dysfunctional Dolphins should be an easy target for the Jets to right the ship. Sorry, Lance.

While it was a whuppin’, it was also a game Jets fans had no right to expect victory in. When you look at the schedule and tick off wins and losses, this game was always a loss in my book. It turned out to be an ugly loss, but the end result is far from unexpected. The Jets are 2-3 with three winnable games in a row. That’s a pretty good position. I think if that had been presented leading into the regular season, most fans would have taken it.

Funny moment in the press box during the game: Dan Leberfeld of Jets Confidential approached an official and asked if we could send a pool reporter to speak with the officials about those two calls. “Which two calls?” was the response. Of course it was the Vilma and Barton plays. Those two should pick on somebody their own size. Someone a little smaller than Leftwich.

By Tom Rock

Greetings from Jacksonville, where it’s really teal-y. The stadium is empty except for some cheerleaders rah-rahing to the vacant seats. I don’t know how many of you have ever had the chance to be in an empty stadium the morning of the game, but it’s pretty cool. The quiet before the storm.

The inactives for this game: RB Cedric Hsoutson, FB James Hodgins, LB Anthony Schlegel, LB Ryan Riddle, C Trey Teague, TE Zach Hamilton and DE Dave Ball for the Jets. Bit of a surprise with Ball, and I thought Hodgins would give them some good push up the middle with the big boys the Jags line up. There was some talk that Kellen Clemens would leapfrog Patrick Ramsey as the backup QB, but Clemens is still listed as the 3rd QB. Kevan Barlow will be the starting RB for the Jets and Derrick Blaylock will be active (though to what degree remains to be seen).

For the Jags, DT Marcus Stroud, DE Marcellus Wiley, WR Matt Jones, RB LaBrandon Toefield, CB Dee Webb, RB Alvin Pearman and OT Richard Collier are inactive and Quinn Gray is the third QB. Rob Meier will start at DT for Stroud and Bobby McCray will start at Meier’s usual position, DE.

If you get to Jacksonville Beach, be sure to eat at the Dolphin Depot. It’s a pretty unassuming place, a converted gas station from what I read, but the seafood is fantastic. And the waitress recites the items on the menu, going into mouth-watering detail while you sit at the table drooling. I may write a letter to the NFL petitioning Jacksonville to be included in the AFC East just so I can come here once a year and eat at the Dolphin Depot. The AFC South can take Miami. Or better yet, Buffalo.

Just to weigh in on the baseball scene, the Yankees can’t put the blame of this terrible post season all on A-Rod. High-ticket items Randy Johnson, Mike Mussina and Giambi weren’t without fault. But, there’s no way they can head to spring training with A-Rod at third base for the 2007 season. It’ll be too much of a distraction, too much of a circus. He’s one of the best players, but not one of the best Yankees. Then again, maybe Sgt. Piniella will scare him straight!

By Tom Rock

Laveranues Coles may be playing like a Pro Bowler, but from the tone of his conversation today, he’d be just as content being a pro bowler. The Jets receiver, excited about seeing first-hand the finished product that is his recently-built house in the Jacksonville area, spoke about having a bowling alley installed on the premises. He said he hasn’t bowled in a while, but that a 200 game would be a good one for him despite his recent lack of attention to the sport. He’s apparently quite a consistent kegler, and even joked that the brace on his right wrist was his bowling brace.

In reality, Coles won’t have much time to inspect the handiwork on the house, let along mark a few frames. He said some other teams give their players a chance to meet with friends and family when on the road – especially when the player is from the area. “Not this team, not this coach,” Coles said, resigned to a quick hug and wave from family in the tunnel after the game and a 15-minute tour of his house.

Cedric Houston did not practice today, so despite Mangini’s assertion that there is a shot everyone can play, don’t expect it. There’s a shot Joe Namath could play this weekend too, but it ain’t gonna happen. Mangini is well-aware that when he speaks to the media he is actually speaking to that week’s opponent, so the more mixed messages and confusing possibilities he can promote, the better. It’s a Belichickian attitude, just like listing 19 players on the injury report. Justin Miller is listed as probable with a hip. His hip looked fine when he was running 103 yards for a touchdown. His coverage, on the other hand …

I guess the Yankees are the glamour beat. I read Baumbach’s account of taking the elevator with Alec Baldwin and Lorne Michaels and trying to find a seat big enough for Patrick Ewing. Even the Mets game yesterday had Tim Robbins in the booth and John McEnroe in the stands. The Jets get Mr. T before the game. We’re the basic-cable reality show of metropolitan sports. Sigh!

Bad week for my picks last weekend, getting only three correct. I took the Jets to cover the 7 points on the theory that the Patriots are better than the Jags and the Jets lost by 7 to the Pats. That said, I wouldn’t be surprised if Jacksonville comes out and puts up big numbers. They need this win more than the Jets do, especially facing a bye week to stew about a potential loss.

By Tom Rock

I had to chuckle at one of Eric Mangini’s comments today. He was asked about Jonathan Vilma and said “Like everybody else, he’s one of the hardest working guys on the team.” That brings the art of saying nothing to a new level.

Mangini also said RB Cedric Houston has “a shot” at playing this weekend, though he had trouble keeping a straight face for that one. Houston wasn’t out at practice with the team today and will probably be out for a few weeks.

One guy who will be playing is WR Laveranues Coles. Apparently so fed up by the badgering questions of reporters about his health following what looked like a serious injury on that final play against the Colts, Coles violated team policy and responded to an inquiry about his injury. “Do I look OK?” he asked (and he did). “I’ll be out there.”

Coles did have a wrap around his left calf for an injury that has been bugging him since the Patriots game. He’d make a good Mets pitcher with that injury. Maybe he can start Game 3.

For a more forthcoming injury evaluation, we turn to Jags coach Jack Del Rio, who said DT Marcus Stroud will probably not play this weekend. He was playing with an ankle injury on Sunday against the Redskins then added a groin injury so he’s fighting a double-whammy. Del Rio said he’s listed as doubtful and did not practice today.

I wasn’t very impressed with the music selection at practice today. I guess Jacksonville doesn’t present a lot of opportunity to be creative. Though I did see Coles, a native of Jacksonville, bopping to Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Jacksonville Kid.” Rather than push the geographic issue, the music director turned to Willie Nelson’s “On the Road Again.”

By Tom Rock

At one of the many points during which the in-stadium camera was focused on Fireman Ed early during Sunday’s game against the Colts, it was pretty simple to read his lips.

“We’re gonna shock the world,” he grunted.

Well, the Jets almost did. Now they have to extrapolate the experience into thinking that if they can almost beat a team that is surely headed deep into the playoffs, then they can definitely whallop teams from the rest of the conference. Wins are nice, but loses like Sunday’s (and in some ways the one to the Pats two weeks ago) are part of a process.

Spoke with Eddie Mac at HQ last night and we are both surprised how quickly Mangini has made a difference in the team. I figured it would be a struggle the first half of the year, but eventually the young coach’s means would start to rub off and turn things around. That’s what happened in Hoosiers (minus the “young” coach). It normally takes time to change a culture. And a drunk assistant played by Dennis Hopper.

But this has been a Mangini team from the opening week. Through four games, they have yet to play a real stinker. The first half of the Pats game was terrible, but they came back and fixed it. They were out-statistic-ed against the Bills, but found a way to win. On Sunday, nobody can say that the better team didn’t win. But nobody can say they won easily either. I think the Jets gained a lot of respect around the league on Sunday, and through four weeks they can certainly be considered a middle-of-the-pack team. That’s better than the dregs of the NFL where they started (I asked one national writer during preseason who he thought would be the worst team in the league this year and he said “We might be looking at them.”). At 2-2, the Jets could be a – gulp! – playoff contender.

A few thoughts after speaking with the coach and players:

No official update on Cedric Houston’s knee. It looked like a hyper-extension, but anytime someone is carted off the field it has the potential to be season-threatening.

The Jets run defense is definitely the weak link, and the Colts were attacking it until push came to shove and they were forced to go the Peyton Manning route.

Mangini said he would have gone for the fourth-and-goal play from the 2 again if he had the chance. When asked if hypothetically he might have gone for it on fourth-and-4 from the 30, he said he probably would have. That’s how intent the Jets were on scoring TDs and not settling for FGs.

Some mixed emotions on taking the loss. Some players were still as dour as they were in the postgame locker room while others had started to see the bright side of their performance against the Colts.

I saw the early line on the Jaguars game was 7. The Jets have covered all season and will probably do so against the Jags.

By Tom Rock

Looks like the rain has stopped for gametime. Mike and Mr. C had a nice BBQ going in 5B before the game and the rainclouds parted for them. Nice steaks and some knishes on the hibachi. I'm sure they were happy about no drizzle on their Q, but they were probably hoping for some elements to help slow down Peyton's Pace.

Inactives for the game against the Colts: RB Derrick Blaylock, CB David Barrett, LB Anthony Schlegel, C Trey Teague, TE Zach Hilton, DT C.J. Mosley and LB Ryan Riddle. Kellen Clemens will be the third quarterback.

Pete Kendall will start at guard, as anticipated all week. The surprise is the Barrett loss. David has played well and was listed as questionable during the week. The Jets could probably use as many bodies in the secondary as possible. It means Justin Miller gets the start at cornerback, a job he lost heading into last week. Miller is one of those players who has tremendous ability but has not yet translated that into tremendous play. He’s still young – he came out of Clemson a year early, remember, so this should have been his rookie year. Maybe today is the day his potential meets his play. The Jets will certainly need it against the Colts passing game.

FB James Hodgins is active and Kevan Barlow will start at RB for the Jets.

For the Colts, the big inactives are K Adam Vinetieri, S Bob Sanders, CB Nick Harper, and WR Brandon Stokley. Dan Klecko is also inactive, ruining a nice storyline about him growing up in the Meadowlands with Dad thumping opponents for the Jets. I know, all the bad stuff always happens to me!