Live chat with Rod Boone

Thursday November 5, 2009 11:23 AM By Mike Rose

Rod Boone talks Jets and answers your questions and comments today in a live chat at noon.

Midseason Report Card

Wednesday November 4, 2009 11:19 AM By Roderick Boone

They were the toast of the town and the darlings of the NFL, though it seems like light years ago after their recent struggles.

When the Jets got off to that roaring 3-0 start, Mark Sanchez was the steal of the draft who was playing more like a veteran than a rookie and Rex Ryan's brash confidence was considered an asset, not a detriment.

But after dropping four of their last five to head into this week's bye at 4-4, the whispers about Sanchez's arm strength, the size of his hands and his level of readiness have become more prevalent. Ryan all of a sudden didn't know what he's doing, is too cocky and should be taking a more hands-on approach with the offense and special teams, not just leaving his fingerprints on the defense.

This kind of roller-coaster ride probably would make the folks at Six Flags Great Adventure stand up and take notice. It's certainly been an interesting first eight weeks of the 2009 campaign for the Jets.

OFFENSE B-

They are in the middle of the pack in the NFL in overall offense, ranking 16th with their 342.1-yards-per-game average. But the Jets are tops in rushing, gobbling up 177.3 yards per contest, and Thomas Jones is fifth in the league with 704 yards. Mark Sanchez became the first rookie quarterback to open the season with three straight wins but has been up and down, though he's shown bounce-back ability. Braylon Edwards has been a nice addition with 13 catches for 192 yards and two TDs in his four games as a Jet, and Jerricho Cotchery showed he can be a No. 1 receiver. They still have to find a way to get tight end Dustin Keller more involved, which was finally the case Sunday when he was targeted a team-high 13 times and had eight catches. As for the guys up front, the number of pre-snap penalties needs to be curtailed; the offensive line is getting flagged a bit too often for false starts and illegal shifts.

DEFENSE B+

With the exception of giving up the lead three times in the fourth quarter against the Dolphins in the Monday night game in Miami, the defense has played well for the most part. It is No. 2 in the league in yards allowed at 273.4 per game and is fourth against the pass, yielding 165.2 a game. It has given up only seven touchdowns in eight games. After recording only four sacks through the first five games, it picked it up with 10 in its last three. Darrelle Revis, who has two interceptions, continues to be a shutdown cornerback and has locked up some of the league's elite receivers. The inside linebacker duo of Bart Scott and David Harris already has totaled 81 solo tackles and 4.5 sacks. The Jets lost their big man in the middle when Kris Jenkins went out for the season with a torn right ACL, but Sione Pouha and Howard Green have helped fill the void.

SPECIAL TEAMS C

The cold, hard truth is Mike Westhoff's unit has cost the Jets two games. Punter Steve Weatherford's botched hold in overtime against the Bills was a crusher and ultimately convinced Westhoff to go with backup quarterback Kellen Clemens as the new holder. They also didn't get the job done Sunday, letting Ted Ginn Jr. return kickoffs 100 and 101 yards in a game in which the defense held Miami to 104 total offensive yards. Weatherford's punts, which average 41.5 yards, have been adequate and 13 of his 53 punts have been downed inside the 20. Jay Feely is money, making 13 of 15 field-goal attempts. Losing dynamic kick returner Leon Washington for the season with a broken right leg is a big blow and it remains to be seen how well Justin Miller fares. He didn't show a lot of explosiveness in his first game back as a Jet Sunday.

COACHING C+

Rex Ryan has made some good choices, in particular naming Mark Sanchez the starter, and they're finally getting to his "ground and pound" approach. But the tough-talking first-time head coach has to get better at his decision-making and needs to utilize his timeouts better. He sometimes shows too much confidence in his defense and goes with his gut rather than playing the percentages, especially in end-of-game management. Still, the Jets have taken on Ryan's outgoing personality and he's certainly changed the environment around the franchise.

Something tells me you'll need to buckle up during these last eight weeks of the regular season because there are surely going to be a few more bumps along the way as the Jets attempt to end their two-year playoff drought. We'll be keeping tabs the whole way of course, so don't forget to stay locked in on The Boone Docks -- where we'll host a Live Chat here at noon tomorrow -- and with us on Twitter at twitter.com/rodboone.

Hartsock's days might be numbered

Monday November 2, 2009 7:01 PM By Roderick Boone

When the rosters were trimmed down to 53 on Sept. 5 and the Jets went searching for a blocking tight end to help their rushing attack, Rex Ryan thought they picked up a good one in Ben Hartsock.

Doesn't sound like he feels the same way now.

Hartsock has had some killer penalties and essentially has cost the Jets two wins. Remember when the Jets were in overtime against the Bills two weeks ago? His holding penalty was a critical one that backed up the Jets as they were closing in on the red zone during their initial drive of overtime.   

Well, yesterday he had two more tough penalties, although the second one wasn't completely on him. There was no sugar-coating the first penalty however, which came after Mark Sanchez's 1-yard touchdown run pulled the Jets within 17-12 in the third quarter. As the Jets were lined up about to go for two, Hartsock was flagged for a false start and the Jets wound up kicking the extra point instead.

He was also called for an illegal shift when the Jets trailed 30-25 in the fourth quarter, and were attempting to go for two following Dustin Keller's 16-yard touchdown reception.

Those backbreaking penalties are beginning to get to Ryan and he didn't discount benching the sixth-year pro who was inked to a one-year $1.25 million deal in September when I asked him if he was thinking about sitting Hartsock.

"That's always a possibility," Ryan said. "I don't need to see a penalty in practice and then you do the same thing in a game. We definitely have to improve in those areas. That doesn't give us a chance. I thought we'd been doing a better job at it. But, it's not something that’s just a little thing. Little things get you beat. That's what we have to get better at, those type of improvements. We can get better that way. There's no question about it. There no question. That's where I bring it up, because I saw him do it in practice.

"We took him out and had him run laps and did all those things, and then he does the same thing in the game. The focus is there's something missing here. And I'm not picking on Ben. It just happens that that happened in a game as well. There have been others. Trust me, he's not the only guy that jumped."

Hartsock was pretty downtrodden after the game.

"You never want to have your name called and a flag associated with it," he told me. "So I'm frustrated, I'm disappointed in making those mistakes. But you've just got to try to move on and try to improve week after week."

The only other options the Jets have at this point are to use reserve offensive linemen Robert Turner and Wayne Hunter as extra blockers. Those are the two guys whose numbers you keep hearing the referee announce as tackle eligibles.

Matthew Mulligan, a second-year blocking tight end out of Maine, is on the practice squad and he could get a look. But either way, Hartsock's game needs to improve really quickly.

Or else. 

Westhoff: "We gave them the game"

Monday November 2, 2009 5:55 PM By Roderick Boone

Mike Westhoff knows yesterday's painful 30-25 loss was on his unit.

The Jets' longtime special teams coordinator was extremely bothered by Ted Ginn's two lengthy kickoff returns for touchdowns, just as you would expect. Although it obviously can't be done, take away Ginn's 100- and 101-yard returns and it's a totally different game.

That's what angered Westhoff most. 

"We gave them the game in my opinion," Westhoff said this afternoon during our availability with him, in response to a query I posed about the feelings he had as he left the Meadowlands last night. "That was the difference. That made the difference in the game, those two plays. If they don't get those plays, they aren’t going to win the game."

Westhoff then proceeded to use me as a prop, walking from behind the podium to the edge of the platform and directly in front of my first-row seat in the interview room. He was re-enacting Ginn's 101-yard kickoff return when LBs Larry Izzo and Ryan Fowler whiffed on tackle attempts.

"From me to you," Westhoff said. "What do you want me to do? Fifteen yard line, make the tackle. The other one, if we set the edge, he can’t get to the 20. Now if we would’ve had him on the 18 and the 15, I’d probably be pretty happy today. We didn’t. I’m not."

So what about Izzo, who's supposed to be a factor on special teams, simply not getting Ginn down despite having Ginn lined up in his sights in a six-yard area?

"He was right on him," Westhoff said. "He should make that tackle. He’ll make that tackle. He just didn’t make it. Guy bounced back, [was] slippery and bounced away. He got away from him.

Then he added: "Fowler got pushed in the back."

There was never really any consideration -- well, not until much later in the fourth quarter anyway -- to kick away from Ginn after his first TD, which came on the kickoff following Jay Feely's 55-yard field goal that gave the Jets a 6-3 advantage with 10:29 left in the third quarter. 

"No, absolutely not," Westhoff said. "I think we are in the top three coverage teams in the NFL and we have the second best starting field position in the league. Absolutely not, we knew exactly what they were going to do. I mentioned last week they were going to give him a chance and he’s very versatile. ... We were very much prepared. They ran exactly what we thought."

Just bad execution, huh?

"First one, Jay got it started," Westhoff said. "He really didn't hit a good kick. He didn’t. He’s done a great job kicking off. He places it and he gets good hang time. He drove this one and he kind of hooked it. And it went away from where we were trying to get it and it gave the guy an advantage to get him started. And we then didn’t set an edge. All we have to do is set an edge and make him bounce it and we didn’t make him do that."

WR Wallace Wright, one of the Jets' top special teamers, was so distraught by what transpired on those kickoff returns that he needed to make a special trip out here to The Hangar -- last night.

"After the game was over, I came over here and watched it to see if I could see what happened and what was going on because I wouldn't have been able to sleep without it," Wright told me. "I came over here this morning and watched it with [Westhoff]. It’s just unacceptable, especially the second one. Guys had him. He wasn’t even expecting to run it back. Basically, he was ready to fall down on the ground.

"If you watched the tape, he wanted to go down. He didn't want to get hit, but we just didn't make the play, bottom line."

Perhaps the Jets got caught without some of their best special teamers active. CBs Ahmad "Batman" Carroll and Marquice Cole, and LB Marques Murrell have each excelled in special team play this season and none were active. It came down to the usual numbers game, and they weren't completely sure that LB Bart Scott's knee was going to hold up and decided to make sure they had enough reinforcements with Fowler and undrafted free agent Jamaal Westerman.

"[It's] the toughest thing we face each week," Westhoff said. " You can’t get them all, so usually we’ll make a decision between Cole and maybe Batman, possibly Drew [Coleman]. Those guys are similar roles, whoever is the hottest is going to be active. Cole has come to life, so we try to get him. Murrell, I like a great deal in coverage because he’s so fast.

"But with Bart being banged up, we had some additional concerns with the inside linebacker spot, so we protected that a little bit. I understand it. Trust me, I don’t like it. I understand it, though."

Shouldn't be long before Westhoff gets over this one, right?

"It's frustrating for me," he said. "So it's one of those things that leaves a bitter taste. It'll go away from me -- when they're lowering me in the grave."

Gameday Live 8: Dolphins at Jets

Sunday November 1, 2009 12:56 PM By Stephen Haynes

Welcome to episode 8 of Gameday Live. Stephen Haynes with you to talk about the game and provide updates, stats, conversation and random whateverness. Oh, and of course, useless pre-game babble™.

>>PHOTOS: Click here to see photos from today's game, as well as past games and key players

So, nice win in Oakland last week, huh. No better way to rebound from a series of tough losses – each more disappointing than its predecessor – than to go out west and stomp a mudhole in the [you pick the adjective] Raiders. Well, the Jets are back on the East Side, at home, and face a slightly more formidable task today.

What we’ve got here today is a grudge match – and, according to Bart Scott, there’s an actual grudge – with the Jets desperately wanting (needing) to make amends for their 31-27 loss to Miami three weeks ago. If you’ve forgotten – unlikely, but refresher anyway – the Dolphins won it on Ronnie Brown’s two-yard touchdown plunge with six seconds left. The Jets defense, which to that point had nothing but praise heaped on it, allowed the Dolphins to march 70 yards on 13 plays for that game-winning drive.

As well, the Jets allowed Brown and Ricky Williams to rack up 110 yards off Wild Cat plays, including getting beaten on a 21-yard pass from Brown to Anthony Fasano. Oh, and Chad Henne, making just his second career start, saw essentially no pressure in the pocket and went 20-for-26 with 241 yards and two touchdowns.

The Jets had no answer for Miami’s offense and took a “Take that!” loss. So, today is the “Watchoo gonna do about it?” game.

Tidbits
With 316 rushing yards last week, the Jets are now the No. 1 running team in the NFL, averaging 184.9 yards per game. My, what a difference a couple games make. And a few long runs. The Dolphins have the second-best rushing attack, putting up 170.3 yards per contest.

As you know, the Jets will be without Leon Washington the rest of the season, thus, forcing Shonn Greene into a more prominent role. The rookie, in his first extensive action, ran for 144 yards and two touchdowns last week. If you’re wondering if he at all approximates Washington: not quite. Greene clocked in at 4.63 in the 40-yard dash at the Combine and, although he showed good burst last week, doesn’t have breakaway speed. How is he as a receiver out of the backfield? He caught just 11 passes at Iowa and hasn’t been thrown to yet this season. He’s more like Thomas Jones, actually. Not a true bruiser, but a back who runs hard, can break a tackle or two and has enough giddy-up to turn the corner. He does look to have a little better acceleration than Jones, though.

Braylon Edwards had a nice debut against the Dolphins. Sanchez threw to him 11 times, resulting in five completions for 64 yards and a touchdown (and almost had two other scores) and drew two penalties on cornerback Will Allen that netted 54 more yards. Allen suffered a torn ACL and is out for the season. Edwards will likely draw rookie Sean Smith in coverage. Smith, at 6-3/214, is almost identical size-wise to Edwards. Jerricho Cotchery, after sitting out two games with a balky hamstring, will start today. He’ll probably be covered by rookie Vontae Davis, who possesses 4.40 speed but has just two pass breakups on the season.

The Dolphins will be without inside linebacker Channing Crowder (shoulder) and former Giants backup Reggie Torbor could start in his place. This softens their fourth-ranked rushing defense (3.7 yards per carry against). Miami is plugging the run in every direction, but they’ve got leaks on the right side. Teams are getting 4.56 yards per rush going at DE Randy Starks and OLB Joey Porter.

The Jets have won eight of the last 11 meetings with the Dolphins and are 46-40-1 all time against them.
 

Today's inactives

Sunday November 1, 2009 12:33 PM By Roderick Boone

We're about 30 minutes away from kickoff and here are your inactives for today's big tilt with the Dolphins at the Meadowlands.

The biggest news is, as expected, WR Jerricho Cotchery is active for the first time in two weeks, but WR Brad Smith (quad) still remains sidelined. CBs Lito Sheppard, Ahmad Carroll and Marquice Cole, and OL Matt Slauson, LB Marques Murrell and QB Kevin O'Connell are the other inactives.

Erik Ainge is third QB.

As for the Dolphins, LB Channing Crowder is out as we knew yesterday. He's joined by RB Kory Sheets, T Andrew Gardner, DE Lionel Dotson, T Lydon Murtha, WR Patrick Turner and LB Quentin Moses.

Tyler Thigpen serves as the third QB.

We'll have a live game blog as always, so join us for that during the game.

Will the Jets take the Wildcat bait here in Week Eight?

Saturday October 31, 2009 2:34 PM By Roderick Boone

We know one thing for sure. Their tongues sure are working.

It's been a weeklong trash-taking affair, with both teams taking their verbal shots at each other. No need to rehash any of that stuff because my head is spinning from the back-and-forth. It should make for a very interesting game, though.

The Jets need this one for a couple of reasons. The first is for their mental psyche, which became a bit fragile after their pride was hurt following the Dolphins' 31-27 win on "Monday Night Football" nearly three weeks ago.

By surrendering the go-ahead points three separate times in the fourth quarter alone, the defense felt that loss was on them and they've been anticipating this game ever since they trudged out of the visitors locker room inside Land Shark Stadium just after midnight. They never had an answer for Miami's Wildcat all night, including on Ronnie Brown's 2-yard touchdown run with six seconds left.

"That sour taste is still in our mouth," defensive end Marques Douglas told me. "Just looking at it on film, they made some plays against us. Nobody is debating that, but at the same time we can make plays also. And so that's what we're looking forward to on Sunday. It’s going to be fast, physical, and we're going to be ready."

With their current AFC East record of 1-2, the Jets can't afford to drop another divisional game, especially one at home. Should they lose, they couldn't finish any better than .500 in the division and both of their final AFC East contests are on the road against Buffalo (in Toronto) and the Patriots.

They also need the victory to go into their bye week at 5-3 and feeling good about themselves rather than limping in at .500 and having to face two weeks of questions about how things are beginning to unravel with losses in four of their last five games on the heels of that exciting 3-0 start.

"That's a good point, there's no doubt," Rex Ryan said in response to my question about going into the bye week with some momentum. "Our mission is to win one game a week and our focus is strictly on that, but the bye week, you're exactly right. You don't want to have that bad taste in your mouth for two weeks. You've got to go get this one. The beauty of playing Miami now is that it is a divisional game. ... Every man in that room, I know I did, wanted this opportunity again.

"Now, sometimes be careful what you wish for. Ronnie Brown hit it on the head, and I think we're going to find out. We're going to find out who has the tougher 11, and I'm OK with that."

In order for the Jets to pull out tomorrow's game, they obviously must first stop the Dolphins' ground game, which comes in second only to the Jets' attack and averages 170.3 yards per contest. They also have to do a better job at clamping down on QB Chad Henne, who picked them apart in the fourth quarter with two touchdown tosses and finished with a ridiculous 130.4 QB rating.

Simply put, the Jets were disgusted and shell-shocked that night in Miami and although they won't completely come out and say it, they've been counting the seconds down until tomorrow's rematch. Words can't truly describe how much they want to take it to the rival 'Fins.

"We want to get this," FB Tony Richardson told me. "Obviously it's a division game, it's at home. We didn't complete the job at hand, so obviously we know we've got to give them everything we've got because we know they are going to come in here 1-up on us. They beat us in their place and they're going to come in here hungry and ready to play. So we know we've got a game in front of us."

After seeing how ticked off the Jets were in the MIA, I'm fully aware what tomorrow's game means to these guys. That's why I can't see them laying an egg again, as defensive coordinator Mike Pettine put it. I believe gettiing embarrassed on national TV with all their peers watching is more than enough fuel to spark them to a win.

Jets 20, Dolphins 16

*****************************************************************************

Time for the rest of this week's picks. I went 8-4-1 last week against the spread and am closing in on Bob Glauber. But don't tell him. In picking games straight up, I was 9-4 and am now 69-23 overall in that department.

First, as always, the standings with the Best Bet record in parentheses:

Tom Rock 60-41-2 (6-1)

Bob Glauber 55-46-2 (2-5)

Yours truly 53-48-2 (5-2)

Ed McNamara 53-48-2 (3-4)

Baltimore (+3) over Denver, B'More straight up; Chicago (+13) over Cleveland, ChiTown straight up; Houston (+3.5) over Buffalo (BEST BET), Houston straight up; Minnesota (-3) over Green Bay, Minny straight up; Indianapolis (+12) over San Francisco, Indy straight up; St. Louis (-4) over Detroit, STL straight up; Seattle (-9.5) over Dallas, Cowboys straight up; San Diego (+16.5) over Oakland, Bolts straight up; Tennessee (+3) over Jacksonville, Music City straight up; Arizona (+10) over Carolina, Cards straight up; Giants (-1) over Philly, Giants straight up; New Orleans (+10.5) over Atlanta, Saints straight up.

Enjoy the games on an action packed sports Sunday here in our great city. You have Jets-'Fins, Giants-Eagles, the New York Marathon and the World Series all in one day.

*****************************************************************************

We'll check back in tomorrow from the Meadowlands with Tweets and as such, so remember to follow me at twitter.com/rodboone.

Also, a quick programming note: I'll be on with Tiffany Simons and Gregg Rosenthal around 11:15 a.m. tomorrow on NBCSports.com's Sunday morning football show. Log on and give it a listen.

Remember to set your clocks back, otherwise you'll miss out!

(Photos: MCT/AP)

Cotchery Anxious To Get Back...

Friday October 30, 2009 5:16 PM By Kimberley A. Martin

After weeks of being a spectator, WR Jerricho Cotchery is game-ready again...

Cotchery, who's been hampered by a hamstring since the Braylon Edwards trade earlier this month, will finally get his chance to flash his stuff in Sunday's rematch against the Miami Dolphins.

"I can't wait to see that happen," said Jets coach Rex Ryan. "He was having a great year for us before the injury. He was having a terrific year for us, so hopefully we can get him back on track.

"I know (Mark) Sanchez and him really seemed to be on fire there together, so hopefully they don't miss a beat when he comes back."

Said Cotchery: “Watching from the sidelines while those guys go to work, wasn’t fun at all. So it’ll be fun to finally go out there and help them win the game on Sunday.

"It’s going to be like a first game for me all over again. I’m looking forward to it."

WR Brad Smith (quad) will also play this weekend said Ryan.

The Jets' 31-27 road loss to the Dolphins three weeks ago was tough to swallow, especially for the defense. But Cotchery said the entire team failed to get the job done on MNF and is looking forward to some payback.

"This is going to be a good opportunity for us," he said. "They’re coming in here and we have a good chance to go 5-3. We didn’t play our best ball the first time around against them, so we’ve got to make sure we’re locked in and put forth our best effort."

******

In other injury-type news: CB Lito Sheppard (quad) will not play due this weekend. Everyone else, according to Ryan, is expected to play

LB David Harris (wrist), G Brandon Moore (foot), CB Donald Strickland (ankle), LB Bryan Thomas (wrist) and OL Damien Woody (foot) fully participated in practice and are listed as probable.

Cotchery, Smith, WR David Clowney (ankle), DE Shaun Ellis (knee/ankle) and LB Bart Scott (knee) were limited in practice and listed as questionable.

The Reinforcements

Thursday October 29, 2009 5:33 PM By Roderick Boone

After getting gnawed at by the injury bug over the last month or so, it appears as if the Jets are finally getting healthy. And just in time for Armageddon three days from now.

Everyone who's been banged up is practicing once again, including the trio of players who sat out yesterday's session: WR David Clowney (ankle), RG Brandon Moore (foot) and CB Lito Sheppard (quad).

That means the Jets should have their full compliment of players when they tackle the Dolphins at the Meadowlands, save possibly for Sheppard. Rex Ryan still isn't convinced Lito will be be able to go, although he wasn't as definitive today as he was yesterday that Sheppard would be out. Ryan said Sheppard is somewhere between questionable and doubtful.

But even if Sheppard can't play, the Jets will be more than happy to welcome back WRs Jerricho Cotchery (hamstring) and Brad Smith (quad). With both expected to play, it should give the Jets their first real healthy look at their complete wide receiving corps since they traded for Braylon Edwards. Remember, Cotchery came up gimpy in Edwards' first practice on Oct. 8, the day after the Jets landed the big wide receiver in a trade with the Browns.

"That'll be good to see," Ryan said. "I really will be. I think that's going to us a heck of a receiving core. Obviously when got Braylon that really upgraded that receiving core because I really believe you have two No. 1 receivers now with Jerricho, obviously, and with Braylon. Then you've got an emerging guy in David Clowney coming as well. And then you have the multi-dimensional Brad Smith, and then you have Wallace Wright. I think that's an excellent group."

Clowney could get lost in the mix somewhat with the return of Cotchery and Smith. But Ryan said the second-year receiver, aka "Who Can Cover the Clown," remains in the good graces of the staff because they feel he has a better grasp of things. So as for the potential lack of opportunities for The Clown ... 

"I don't think that's going to happen any more," Ryan said. "I think there's a lot of trust now. Our coaches believe that he's going to be where he's supposed to be. David is getting the mental part down. Obviously, he has the physical tools. David gives you a weapon that if you just want to play man free coverage or a single high safety, then he can blow the roof off it. He's proven that. That's going to help us"

**********************************************************************************

LB Calvin Pace had some pretty harsh words in the aftermath of the Jets' 31-27 meltdown, calling the Wildcat "gimmicky." It was Pace's first game back from his four-game suspension and he was none too pleased with what transpired in the game.

He kind of admitted today he let his feelings get the best of him, though he didn't necessarily backtrack.

"Emotion, embarrassment," Pace said. "When you go out on any game, especially Monday night, a division game, the level the defense played before I got back, it really wasn't good enough. We didn't get off blocks, didn't make tackles. For whatever reason, we just looked rattled. I think we lost a lot of our poise in that game. As bad as we did, we still had our chance. All we had to do was kind of pull it together, especially that last drive -- find a way to get off the field and we didn't do that."

Pace lit into Dolphins rookie QB Chad Henne after the game. "Against a second-year clown quarterback, we didn’t affect him enough," he said in the quiet Jets' locker room inside Land Shark Stadium. "I guess you have to give him credit. The defense lost the game today."

Henne, who was making his second career start, had a big hand in things that night, completing 20-of-26 attempts for 241 yards and two touchdowns and finishing with a QB rating of 130.4. But there's a reason he was so successful if you ask Pace.

"The fact of the matter, when you have third-and-3, third-and-4, it's not an extremely difficult position to be in," Pace said. "When you think about it, you can check the ball down for 3 yards and when you've got two big running backs, they can fall forward for a yard and start the series right back over. What we have to do is make it third-and-long, so then they've got to go down the field a little bit. We have options. This is what they've been doing all year to people, running the first couple of downs, get seven yards. It's manageable."

**********************************************************************************

Had a lump in your throat when P Steve Weatherford took off on fourth-and-7 from just inside the Jets' 20-yard line near the end of the first quarter Sunday?

You weren't the only one.

Special teams coach/guru Mike Westhoff said the punt team has "alert" reads it looks at to see if a fake can be executed. But even he had no clue Weatherford was going to dart on his daring run. Unlike the two fake punts the Jets had against the Dolphins in their meeting a little over two weeks ago, this wasn't called by Westhoff.

It was strictly on Weatherford, who's become king of fake punts all of the sudden.

"At first, I wasn't happy," Westhoff said. "I was like, 'What are you doing?' When I took that step, he said, I could just in my peripheral vision, they were just running. They just took off and ran. And instinctively because of the alert, he ran. Now normally, we'd punt the football."  

Weatherford may be fleet of foot, but his hands aren't as consistent as Westhoff would like and that's part of the reason they pulled the plug on him holding on field goals and extra-point attempts and went with QB Kellen Clemens instead.

Clemens' hands are a bit steadier and Westhoff decided to give the fourth-year QB his shot.

"We want to get our best 11 on the field every single chance we get," Westhoff said. "And Kellen deserves a chance to be involved just like everybody else."

**********************************************************************************

WR Danny Woodhead is slowly grasping things after making the position change from running back. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer was complimentary of the fan favorite and said he'll eventually get more work.

Maybe even sooner than we think.

"The good thing about Danny is he is really bright and he can really do both roles, which is a good thing for him and for us," Schottenheimer said. "You can be a little light at one position for a week or two, then have a guy for it. He had a couple of good runs there at the end. He had a great block on Shonn Greene’s late touchdown run late in the game on third-and-seven. He was in the back side and we call it convoy blocking. He came and got all the way to the safety, Michael Huff, and covered him up and Shonn cut back behind him.

"He’s absolutely got a role. He’s going to play and he’ll be involved. You guys obviously won’t know until you see him lined up, but he can do different things."

**********************************************************************************

Doesn't look like Dolphins OLB Jason Taylor is shedding any tears about this potentially being his final game at Giants Stadium. Barring a playoff meeting, this is the 'Fins final trek to stadium that's making way for the $1.4 billion new edifice a Hail Mary away.

Taylor isn't getting too nostalgic, however.

“Nah," he said, "they can turn it into a parking lot for all I care.”

**********************************************************************************

As usual, Kimberley (K-Mart) Martin covers for me tomorrow. She'll update you with all the injury info and any news of the day.