Jets return from bye refreshed and fired up

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. - Calvin Pace looked around and saw a few adults busting moves in the aisles, which actually had the linebacker longing to get back to New Jersey.

Could seeing a live version of "Yo Gabba Gabba!" - a children's show on Nick Jr. that features a segment with rapper Biz Markie - in Atlanta with his daughter during the Jets' bye week truly have been all that bad?

"I would rather have been in meetings than seeing that live," Pace said Monday. "It was cool, it was cool. I didn't know so many adults were into 'Yo Gabba Gabba!' I was not one of the people dancing in the aisles. I'm more of a 'Sesame Street' guy. I like Elmo, the old-school stuff.

" 'Yo Gabba Gabba!'? I wasn't really feeling it that much."

Pace and the rest of the Jets were back at it Monday to begin preparing for Sunday's game against the Packers at New Meadowlands Stadium, practicing briefly to shake off any cobwebs and rust that might have accumulated during their six-day layoff. They all seemed genuinely ready to pick up where they left off before scattering across the country for their hiatus.

The Jets (5-1) are riding a five-game winning streak that has them tied with the Patriots and Steelers for the NFL's best record.

"I think guys were excited," fullback Tony Richardson said. "You can kind of tell people came back with a renewed focus. One thing about it, you are away and you are watching football yesterday and it's like, 'Wow,' you want to get back out there. So I think guys were anxious to get back. It was good. It was really like a miniature vacation, so guys were high-fiving each other, laughing and having a good time. So I think the break was necessary."

Besides giving Pace and cornerback Darrelle Revis a few extra days to get healthy and others ample time to nurse bumps and bruises, the much-needed down time provided a mental break. For months, the Jets have been all over the news, constantly in the headlines.

There was an offseason loaded with big-name acquisitions - Antonio Cromartie, Santonio Holmes, LaDainian Tomlinson, Jason Taylor - coupled with "Hard Knocks" exposure, Revis' 35-day holdout, Braylon Edwards' DWI arrest and Revis being ticketed for speeding and careless driving.

On top of all that, the franchise went through an NFL sexual harassment investigation involving TV Azteca reporter Ines Sainz, plus the Brett Favre-Jenn Sterger situation from 2008. Those controversies and three prime-time games kept the Jets in the national eye.

But they finally got the chance to step away for a few days, which left Bart Scott feeling appreciative - and recharged.

"The bye week gives you an opportunity to sit back and assess why you really play this game, why you put your body through what you put it through," the linebacker said. "It also makes you hungry to play again. It's like a race and you get an opportunity to stop for a breather, because we know once our bye week is over, it's a grind. November, December are tough months, and you pretty much get over on enthusiasm because everybody is hurt, everybody is beat up.

"It's the opportunity to win a championship that keeps you going."

Now, though, the trick is to keep the early momentum going - all the way to Arlington, Texas, in February.

"Once you get on that kind of roll, you want to just keep going," Rex Ryan said. "For this football team, we're better off now because of the break. We're fresher. We have no excuses. Let's just go out and play."