Glauber: Holmes Jets' go-to guy at winning time

CLEVELAND

Rex Ryan believes there are certain football players who have a gift for coming through at critical moments. Santonio Holmes is one of them.

"Great players make great plays in crucial times, and that's what he did," the coach said after Holmes' 37-yard touchdown reception with 16 seconds left in overtime Sunday gave the Jets a dramatic 26-20 win over the Browns.

But as Holmes explained in a quiet moment afterward, there is something more than simply having a knack of making big plays when the moment demands it. There actually is a way that Holmes prepares for these kinds of situations, the ones he has mastered three times in the last four games to help the Jets win late.

"When I'm in the offseason, I prepare for fourth-quarter moments," he said. "It's those kinds of things that drive you inside, that make you want to play. Everybody lets up in the fourth quarter, but the idea is to always play through the whistle, and you'll get an edge with that."

It's why Holmes asks his trainer, the legendary Tom Shaw of Orlando, to continually push him beyond even what Shaw requires of his elite stable that includes Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Calvin Johnson and dozens of other NFL stars.

"Every time I'm working out, I ask him to push me a little harder," Holmes said. "I'll say, 'Hey, Coach, let's run this one more time.' It's the little things, the extra things."

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That kind of preparation turned Holmes into a Super Bowl MVP with the Steelers and has paid immediate dividends for the Jets.

With time running out in overtime, Holmes caught a short slant at the Browns' 30 in front of cornerback Eric Wright, then made an inside move on safety T.J. Ward before racing into the end zone.

Holmes took advantage of the Browns' insistence on playing "off" coverage on him - keeping the cornerback well off the line of scrimmage in an attempt to limit the threat of a longer pass.

"I went to Schottenheimer, and I told him, 'Coach, I need a slant route on [Wright] at some point in this game, because he's giving me too much leverage," Holmes said. "We didn't run a slant all game. We had it called at the perfect time."

It was the latest in a series of late-game heroics for the 26-year-old receiver. In last week's 23-20 overtime win over Detroit, it was Holmes' 52-yard reception in overtime that set up Nick Folk's winning field goal. And in a 24-20 win over the Broncos in Week 6, Holmes set up the winning touchdown by drawing a 46-yard pass-interference penalty at the Broncos' 2. LaDainian Tomlinson scored on the next play.

That's five games that Holmes has played for the Jets, and three he has had a major hand in winning.

"I've been on the sideline when he's in a different uniform, and he cost me a Super Bowl ring when I was in Baltimore," said Ryan, who coached against the Steelers' Holmes when Ryan was the Ravens' defensive coordinator. "He can be quiet all day and then make one or two plays to beat you."

Ryan said Holmes has a different appearance late in games. "You ought to see the look in that young man's eyes when the fourth quarter comes around," Ryan said. "That's Santonio time."

Or, as the coach likes to call it: "Tone Time."

"He's a game-changer, a winner, and he finds ways to get it done," Ryan said.

It's why the Jets took a calculated risk in acquiring Holmes from the Steelers in April. Knowing he'd miss the first four games because of a suspension for violating the NFL's substance-abuse policy, the Jets were willing to part with a fifth-round pick.

How's that deal looking now? Like a steal for the Jets, who have themselves one of the best clutch receivers in the game.