It's getting a little less weird for Jets' Taylor

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. - Brandon Moore was introduced to the vitriolic relationship between Jason Taylor and the Jets early on, all thanks to one man: Jason Fabini.

Fabini was at left tackle when Moore made his first NFL start, at left guard against the Dolphins in the 2003 season finale in Miami. Fabini quickly gave Moore the lowdown, preparing him as if he were about to get in the ring for the undercard.

"Fabini is here," Moore said, "and [saying] how much he hated Jason Taylor, telling me, 'Knock him out, help me out,' all this kind of stuff. I haven't talked to Fabini in a while, but I'm sure he never thought he'd see the day when his arch enemy would be playing for us. So it comes full circle. I'm excited to have him. He's a playmaker."

Taylor, who signed a two-year deal that's essentially a one-year contract, is getting acclimated to what used to be enemy territory. The team the linebacker used to hate now cuts his paychecks, and the team he spent 12 of his previous 13 seasons with is the hated rival, creating the weirdest of scenarios.

"I'm getting more and more used to it, you know?" Taylor said Thursday. "The first few days, it was a little strange. Putting the jersey on for the first time [Wednesday] was a little different. But at the end of the day, they've made it so welcoming and so easy to make that transition. So it's gone very well."

Still, that doesn't mean there hasn't been a little good-natured ribbing from his new brethren. "We had him break it down in the weight room today," tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson said. "And we thought he was going to say 'Dolphins!' "

Wearing No. 95 in honor of former Miami teammate Tim Bowens, and in part because Bryan Thomas has No. 99 locked up, Taylor went through his second practice as a Jet yesterday, participating in a limited capacity in the Organized Team Activities.

The Jets want to be cautious with him because of his offseason shoulder surgery, and the plan is to have Taylor take things light as much as possible until the team heads upstate in August for training camp.

"There really is no sense at this point to push it and have to take a step back from doing too much,'' Taylor said. "So I'll pace myself in these OTAs and minicamp and kind of learn the system and get the shoulder stronger. But come training camp, I think I'll be fine."

The biggest thing now for Taylor is learning the Jets' complex defensive scheme. He said the terminology is totally different from what he's used to and that the Jets have so many variations of their schemes that it will take time to pick things up.

There's also the matter of making nice with those Jets fans who despise him. But Taylor hasn't had any encounters - yet.

"I think the ones that have bad things to say really haven't said them," Taylor said. "You can tell they are not the happiest about it, but everyone has been pretty good."