E-Boland & Gang Green

By Tom Rock

Here’s the difference between Mangini and Belichick. Mangini has a sense of humor about things beyond football. Asked about the reception he expects at New England on Sunday, Mangini said balloons, floats and “Welcome Home” signs will probably abound. Asked about his relationship with Mangini, Belichick offered a stony silence.

At least Mangini tiptoes around questions when not answering them, acknowledging that they exist. Belichick sounded like a fillabustering senator reading the phone book when asked about the Jets, reciting their roster without comment. Here’s a quote from the transcript, after he was asked by Cannizzaro if Mangini had put any positive stamp on the Jets:

“The Jets have been a strong, competitive football team ever since I’ve been here. We’ve played great games with them, whether it was Al, Herm, Eric or whoever, the two teams are very competitive and the games usually come down to the last possession, right down to the wire. That’s the way it was the last game, that’s historically the way it’s been. It’s been very competitive. The system and the schemes that’s they are running are different then what Herm ran last year. You look at the defensive front with Ellis, Robertson, Thomas, Vilma, Barton, Hobson, Rhodes, Coleman, Barrett, Miller and Dyson, it’s a lot of the same guys that are making plays, that are giving you trouble. Offensively, it’s Cotchery, Baker, Coles, Pennington and Washington is giving them a big lift in the running game and there’s no question about that. It’s a lot of the same guys, Justin Miller on kickoff returns, the fakes that they run in the kicking game and the interceptions and onsides kicks and fake punts. I think Mike (Westhoff) does a good job in that phase of the game. I’m not saying the Jets haven’t changed, they have changed, but there are a lot of elements that the Jets continue to have in place from the things that we’ve had problems with in the past.”

That’s a lot of effort to avoid talking about somebody. When pressed further and asked why he typically has kind words for other former assistants such as Romeo Crennel, Charlie Weis and Nick Saban but reserves comment on Mangini, Belichick appeared to become defensive.

“I think the Jets are a good football team. He’s the coach, I think he’s done a good job with the team,” he groaned. “What do you want me to say?”

Belichick did acknowledge that S Rodney Harrison – whom he termed “sore” earlier in the week – will not be available on Sunday. That could come as a relief to the Jets, who might be able to exploit a soft NE secondary. Jerricho Cotchery was asked about Harrison’s reputation as the league’s dirtiest player (as per numerous polls, including one in SI earlier this season). He smiled wryly. “If the whistle hasn’t blown, he’s going to hit you,” he said of Harrison’s style. “Some people don’t play that hard.”

An update on Trey Teague: Mangini said he broke his same ankle in practice on Monday, thus his move to IR. While it was a fracture in a different spot than the original break over the summer that shelved him during training camp, it did finish his season. That leaves the Jets with an open roster spot, one which Mangini said could be filled with either a practice team player, a player off the waiver wire, or someone from another team’s practice squad.