Jets appealing NFL fine for Alosi incident

The Jets have appealed the $100,000 fine levied by the NFL for violating league rules when strength and conditioning coach Sal Alosi organized a sideline wall of non-uniform players and he tripped a Dolphin who ran out of bounds covering a punt. The appeal came to light Wednesday when special teams coach Mike Westhoff was asked for his reaction and said the matter is "unresolved.''

When the fine was handed down, the league said it was in response to Alosi's actions and to comments by Westhoff, who suggested other teams use similar tactics. This was Westhoff's first availability since the fine was announced.

"I really don't feel comfortable talking about it,'' Westhoff said. "It's still an unresolved issue. I think we'll let Mr. Johnson handle it. I guess we have an appeal. It's a process that's ongoing.''

Jets vice president for communications Bruce Speight confirmed the appeal. "It's a typical course of action when you receive a fine,'' he said. "Any conversation along those lines will remain between the team and the NFL.''

Westhoff's distaste for the subject was evident when it came up in his news briefing before Saturday's playoff game at Indianapolis. "The whole thing is very frustrating for me,'' he said. "Trust me, I'm not in the middle of it. I don't want anything to do with it. It's ridiculous. The thing makes me sick.''

Alosi was suspended indefinitely without pay, but Westhoff was exonerated by the club and remains in charge of the special teams. One of his key duties this week is to explain the new rule governing overtime to all the players and to devise strategy related to it.

Basically, the rule says that if a team wins the overtime coin toss, takes the ball and kicks a field goal on its opening possession, the opposing team gets one possession to tie the score with a field goal or win with a touchdown. If the score is tied after each team has had one possession, it reverts to sudden death. Also, the game ends if the receiving team scores a touchdown on the first possession of OT.

Westhoff said the rule affects strategy when the receiving team is in field-goal range but is close to a first down.

"Say, we're on the 10-yard line, and it's fourth-and-1,'' Westhoff said. "In a normal overtime game, you'd kick the field goal and go home. But here, you might consider going for it to get another set of downs to possibly score a touchdown and not let Peyton Manning get on the field.''

If the receiving team fumbles the opening kickoff in OT, Westhoff said it counts as a possession. "We could then kick a field goal and go home,'' he said. "They've had one possession.''

There's no percentage in winning the toss and kicking off because the receiving team might score a TD. "If you're outdoors, you might consider it if you get a windy, tough day,'' Westhoff said. "But most of the time, you want the football first.''