Sports

Football

New York Jets

ny-jetscolts2011-sg

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. - They've been yapping about it for a while, letting everyone know they have a <a href="/topics/Super_Bowl">Super Bowl</a>-caliber roster and that anything less than raising that Lombardi Trophy will be a bitter disappointment. 
Now it's time for the Jets to back up that brash talk. 
Their postseason begins in <a href="/topics/Indianapolis">Indianapolis</a> Saturday night, and the sixth-seeded Jets (11-5) hope it starts with a victory over the third-seeded Colts (10-6) in their <a href="/topics/AFC">AFC</a> wild-card matchup at <a href="/topics/Lucas_Oil_Stadium">Lucas Oil Stadium</a>. 
"It's awesome," Rex <a href="/topics/Rex_Ryan">Ryan</a> told Newsday. "It's right there in front of us. The thing is, we had the courage to say it, where everybody else does it maybe behind closed doors or whatever. But to be a champ, like I always say, you have to believe in yourself when nobody else will. And that's how you become a champion." 
To even earn that opportunity, the Jets have to get past someone who already has won a <a href="/topics/Super_Bowl">Super Bowl</a> and knocked them out in the <a href="/topics/AFC">AFC</a> Championship Game a season ago: Ryan's nemesis, Peyton Manning. But after those optional practices in April and May, the two-a-days in upstate Cortland and 16 regular-season games, the Jets think they're ready. 
"Man, it's exciting because you work hard in the offseason, and minicamps and training camps, regular season, and only a select few get to this point," tackle Damien Woody said. "That in and of itself is a feat. But realistically, there's only one winner and 31 other losers when it all boils down to it. So at the end of the day, we want to be the one hoisting that trophy. 
"Before you get to that point, there's little steps that you have to take. For us, we are going the wild-card route and have to win each game and build toward hopefully that ultimate goal in Dallas." 
The Jets stacked their roster to win this season. They tried to improve the secondary by dealing for Antonio Cromartie and drafting Kyle Wilson, and they signed safety Brodney Pool after shipping Kerry Rhodes to <a href="/topics/Arizona">Arizona</a>, thinking that Pool would bring more physicality. 
They also signed free agents LaDainian Tomlinson and Jason Taylor and traded for Santonio Holmes. 
"It's a different team," tight end Dustin Keller said. "I think in the offseason, Rex and [general manager] <a href="/topics/Mike_Tannenbaum">Mike Tannenbaum</a> made an emphasis to go get guys to finish games, these types of huge games. L.T., Jason Taylor, Cromartie, Santonio, that was a big point of emphasis, and they put this thing together to beat teams like the Colts." 
Holmes recalled his initial conversation with Ryan after the Jets acquired the Super Bowl XLIII MVP from <a href="/topics/Pittsburgh">Pittsburgh</a> on April 12 for a fifth-round draft pick. 
"When I got the call, the first thing Rex talked to me about was, he had a chance to win a Super Bowl and I was the guy that took it away from him," Holmes said, referencing the Steelers' 23-14 win over Ryan's Ravens two years ago in the AFC Championship Game. Holmes' 65-yard touchdown reception helped <a href="/topics/Pittsburgh">Pittsburgh</a> build a 13-0 lead. 
"I know that he believes I'm here for one reason, and that's to win championships. Having L.T. as a part of this team also, Jason Taylor, Pool, Braylon [Edwards] - he's a big-play guy - you can't forget any of these guys that we have here that have been making plays for us all season that have to continue to make plays come Saturday." 
Holmes give <a href="/topics/Mark_Sanchez">Mark Sanchez</a> an explosive weapon and has that big-game experience, something very few Jets had last season during their unexpected run. That includes Sanchez, who might have benefited from last year's three postseason encounters more than anyone else. 
"You can feel the intensity," the second-year quarterback said. "You just feel what's riding on the game and you don't want your season to be over. You want to play again, and we want to play again next week. It definitely helps. I don't know how to describe it. 
"Once you've played a playoff game, you know what it's like. Just like starting your first game, you kind of get the jitters out. We've done it before. We've been in <a href="/topics/Indianapolis">Indianapolis</a>' stadium before, so we're ready for the challenge." 
Ryan certainly is. He's essentially used a bullhorn since the summer, making sure people are aware he believes the Jets are going to be rubbing elbows with commissioner <a href="/topics/Roger_Goodell">Roger Goodell</a> on a stage at <a href="/topics/Cowboys_Stadium">Cowboys Stadium</a> the night of Feb. 6. 
"Do you set yourself up for failure or getting egg on your face? Maybe you do," Ryan said. "But unless you truly have that belief, I don't think you'll have success. I don't think you'll be a champion. At least I don't think I'll be a champion. So that's why I said what I said."

SPJGAME07

Jets glad for chance to back up bold talk

98777950CH026_Buffalo_Bills

FLORHAM PARK, N.J.
When Hall of Fame voters convene five years after <a href="/topics/LaDainian_Tomlinson">LaDainian Tomlinson</a> decides to retire, there will be very little debate about whether the running back is deserving of pro football's highest honor. With his yardage total at 13,404 and counting, and his touchdowns at 159 and still going, Tomlinson in all likelihood will be a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
But for all his regular-season brilliance, there is a blight on the 31-year-old running back's resume, and it will stay there unless something changes in the coming days. Or, if the <a href="/topics/New_York_Jets">Jets</a> are fortunate, the coming weeks.
Tomlinson's run of eight straight seasons of more than 1,000 rushing yards is one of the best in NFL history, but his run of playoff performances is much less spectacular. In fact, it is downright mediocre.
In seven playoff games, Tomlinson has only one 100-yard rushing game and four touchdowns. In his last playoff appearance, he was held to 24 rushing yards on 12 attempts by the team he now plays for. The Jets beat Tomlinson's Chargers, 17-14, in last year's divisional round. 
Injury and ineffectiveness have conspired against Tomlinson in the postseason, and he hopes to avoid both as the Jets begin their quest for a <a href="/topics/Super_Bowl">Super Bowl</a> in Saturday night's first-round matchup against the Colts in <a href="/topics/Indianapolis">Indianapolis</a>.
"He's healthy, and I think that's where it starts," Jets coach Rex <a href="/topics/Rex_Ryan">Ryan</a> said. "He's ready to play great." 
Tomlinson needs to play great to give the Jets a chance to win. For all the pressure on quarterback <a href="/topics/Mark_Sanchez">Mark Sanchez</a> to make plays with his arm, it's incumbent upon Tomlinson and backfield mate <a href="/topics/Shonn_Greene">Shonn Greene</a> to establish the run against a Colts team that generally has struggled in that area.
There are no excuses this time. Not only did Tomlinson make it through the entire season without an injury, but he's coming off a week's rest after agreeing with Ryan that he not play in last week's meaningless regular-season finale against the Bills.
"I've been healthy all year, and with a week off, I feel even fresher," he said. "I'm excited about that. I look forward to the opportunity."
Tomlinson, who finished the regular season with 914 rushing yards, passed up a chance to reach 1,000 by sitting out against the Bills. He knows the importance of what happens now supersedes another 1,000-yard season. It's about the ring and a chance to play at a Hall of Fame level after producing mostly postseason disappointment. 
"This is the time of year I look forward to, and any time you have an opportunity like this, it doesn't come around often," he said. "Who knows when it's going to come around again, or if it ever will? I'm going to try to do everything I can to do my part to take advantage of it."
Tomlinson performed admirably during the regular season, especially early on, when he beat out <a href="/topics/Shonn_Greene">Greene</a>, who entered training camp as the starter. But after rushing for 435 yards and three touchdowns in his first five games, Tomlinson ran for only 479 yards and three touchdowns in the next 10. He never rushed for more than 57 yards in any game after the quick start, and he had only one 100-yard game all season.
A sign that he's wearing down? That's part of it. There's also the re-emergence of Greene, who was used more often down the stretch the way he was after last year's slow start. But now's the time when Tomlinson needs to be the L.T. of old. He needs to be the dual-purpose back who can slash his way through the line for big gains and take those short swing passes and churn out yardage.
Tomlinson needs to put all those other playoff disappointments behind him and start to match his regular-season brilliance with some postseason greatness.
"I really think it's important for me to perform well," he said. "This is what you play for. This is why you work so hard in the offseason, why you come to training camp. This is what you play for as a football player, this time of year. You don't get these chances very often."
That's why Tomlinson needs to make the most of this one. He knows there might not be another.

Columnists

Bob Glauber

SPJBOB07

Healthy Tomlinson needs to find old form

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FLORHAM PARK, N.J. - Blitz, but not too much, because he'll hurt you if you blitz too much. 
Disguise your fronts, but not too much, because he'll hurt you if you're too concerned with keeping your defense a secret. 
Don't bother selling out against the run, but be careful, because he'll hurt you if he gets his running game going. 
There are any number of ways <a href="/topics/Peyton_Manning">Peyton Manning</a> can make the Jets pay, as they learned in the <a href="/topics/AFC">AFC</a> Championship a year ago. The Jets defense had Manning and the Colts on the ropes in the first half of that game, only to see Manning adjust and lead his offense to 24 unanswered points and a <a href="/topics/Super_Bowl">Super Bowl</a> berth. 
That the Jets had a taste of playing Manning and the Colts under such a pressure-packed situation can only help the Jets going into tomorrow night's wild-card game. Manning will do what he always does, which is try and confuse his opponent with his pre-snap routine while also trying to catch the defense giving away something. 
But the Jets, despite a few new faces and a bit less swagger than its defense had going into last season's <a href="/topics/AFC">AFC</a> Championship, feel like they've learned a bit. 
"I don't know if you'll necessarily fool him, and we're not looking to just fool him, sometimes it's the rest of the offense as well," defensive coordinator <a href="/topics/Mike_Pettine">Mike Pettine</a> said. "A lot of their routes are based on the receivers and quarterbacks being on the same page, so I think if you can do some things that can at least cause some confusion for the receivers or the tight ends or the back or the linemen in protection. 
"He's the best in the business, so it's tough sledding to think you're going to be able to do that to him on a consistent basis. As far as the other extreme, if you just line up and say here's where we are, this is what we're playing, then you're going to get torched." 
A bit like the Jets defense, Manning had his struggles this season when he lost top targets <a href="/topics/Dallas_Clark">Dallas Clark</a> and Austin Collie to injury. It took some time, but <a href="/topics/Jacob_Tamme">Jacob Tamme</a> has fit into Clark's spot at tight end and Blair White has filled Collie's role at receiver, giving the Colts four trustworthy receiving targets again. 
The emergence of Tamme and White means the middle of the field is again a focus for the secondary. <a href="/topics/Brodney_Pool">Brodney Pool</a> and <a href="/topics/Eric_Smith">Eric Smith</a>, neither of whom started last year's game (Pool wasn't even a Jet), will have their hands full at safety. 
"He wants to throw it over the middle to those guys to keep the heat away from [Reggie] Wayne and [Pierre] Garcon," Pool said. "We have to be ready for whatever he's got." 
And then there's the Colts' running game. It's no coincidence that <a href="/topics/Joseph_Addai">Joseph Addai</a> returning to health after missing eight games and the addition of <a href="/topics/Dominic_Rhodes">Dominic Rhodes</a> helped key the Colts' four-game win streak to close the regular season; a team without a 500-yard rusher may need the run game to keep the aggressive Jets defense from overcommitting to the pass. 
"I do know this about Manning: If he can run the ball, he will," <a href="/topics/Trevor_Pryce">Trevor Pryce</a> said. "He doesn't want to throw it as much as he has." 
Protection will also be a huge factor. David <a href="/topics/David_Harris">Harris</a> had two sacks and a forced fumble in the first half of last year's showdown; the Colts and Manning made their adjustments and he wasn't touched the rest of the way. 
Even if some pressure package is working for the Jets, they can't get comfortable. "He's too good to rush the same people every time," Harris said. "We have to change it up." 
This is still a top-10 defense, despite the major meltdowns against the Patriots (45 points) and Bears (38) over the final month. Perhaps the most important factor for the Jets in facing Manning is confidence. 
"We've still got it, don't worry," <a href="/topics/Sione_Pouha">Sione Pouha</a> said. "We haven't lost that."

SPJDEF07

Will Jets defense learn from past mistakes?

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. - If real life was like television - if everyone's story featured a heartwarming message of redemption - we all know what would happen Saturday night in <a href="/topics/Indianapolis">Indianapolis</a>: Darrelle Revis would seal a <a href="/topics/New_York_Jets">Jets</a>' victory with a gaudy, eye-popping interception of Peyton Manning in the final minute. 
The bad boy of the preseason would be the hero of the postseason. All would be forgiven: The cornerback who was vilified across the blogosphere after his protracted training camp holdout would be celebrated as the man who got the <a href="/topics/New_York_Jets">Jets</a> past the Colts in the playoffs. 
Real life, however, is rarely so tidy. Things are said. Feelings are hurt. And even the happiest of endings can't completely take the sting out of the past. 
"I'm not going to sit here and say me having a big game would erase everything that happened," Revis said. "Because it wouldn't. You can't erase what has happened. All you can do is grow from it." 
It has a been a year of tremendous personal growth for Revis, who survived an acrimonious training camp holdout and serious hamstring injury to reclaim his position as the most feared player on the Jets' defense. 
The trip back hasn't been easy. Along the way he has picked up a few scars, ones that those close to him believe have made him both a stronger player and a stronger person. 
"That holdout took him somewhere else mentally," said Diana Gilbert, Revis' mother. "It has changed the way he looks at life. I see a different person this year. He has matured as a man." 
Gilbert said her son, 25, now takes a bigger interest in his finances, has stopped going to nightclubs and spends more time with his two children, whom she brings to live with him for a week every month during the football season. 
"My family has been with me the whole way," Revis said. "They really helped me get through." 
During the 36-day holdout, which turned into the main story line of <a href="/topics/HBO">HBO</a>'s "Hard Knocks," it was hard for Revis to tune out what was being said and written about him. He was nicknamed "Mevis," and labeled as greedy and selfish. At one point Gilbert remembers her son turning to her with confusion in his eyes, wanting to know why it seemed that the Jets no longer wanted him. 
"I had to remind him that he used to be a pretty good chess player," Gilbert said, "and this was like a tactic in a chess game." 
Gilbert herself admits getting so angry about negative comments that she went on <a href="/topics/Facebook">Facebook</a> to respond. She said her son earns every penny of the four-year, $46-million deal, which includes $32 million guaranteed, he ultimately received. The sister of longtime <a href="/topics/National_Football_League">NFL</a> defensive end Sean Gilbert, who also serves as Revis' adviser, she has seen the toll a long football career takes on a player's body. 
"It takes my brother 20 minutes to get out of bed every morning, and he's aching all day long from the injuries he got playing football," Gilbert said. "My son is taking his whole body out there and using it to work. That's what most people don't understand." 
It is something understood, however, by opposing quarterbacks who have basically decided that the best way to deal with Revis is to ignore the side of the field he is on. 
"A lot of guys have not thrown his way this year at all," Peyton Manning said earlier this week. "You can see that on film, they haven't thrown his direction because when you do, you better be accurate with the football." 
In the first three years of his career, Revis was an acrobat in the defensive backfield. You constantly heard his name as it seemed that if he wasn't picking off a pass, he was the guy breaking it up. This year, however, he doesn't have an interception or a fumble recovery, simply because the ball hardly comes his way. 
And that's just fine with Jets coach Rex <a href="/topics/Rex_Ryan">Ryan</a>. 
"Quarterbacks drop back, say, 'What side is Revis on?' And then look to the other side of the field," Ryan said. "He's the best guy playing his position in the league and it isn't even close."

SPJREVIS07

Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. - Quick, who's the <a href="/topics/New_York_Jets">Jets</a>' backup quarterback? 
<a href="/topics/Mark_Brunell">Mark Brunell</a> and <a href="/topics/Kellen_Clemens">Kellen Clemens</a> are listed behind starter <a href="/topics/Mark_Sanchez">Mark Sanchez</a>, but if you combine rush and pass attempts after taking the snap from center, it's Wildcat quarterback <a href="/topics/Brad_Smith">Brad Smith</a>, whose first two carries from that formation against Buffalo last week gained 60 yards. 
Based on those two plays and the memory of the 45-yard pass he completed to <a href="/topics/Jerricho_Cotchery">Jerricho Cotchery</a> to set up the <a href="/topics/New_York_Jets">Jets</a>' second TD in the <a href="/topics/AFC">AFC</a> Championship Game last year in <a href="/topics/Indianapolis">Indianapolis</a>, the Colts' defensive coaches undoubtedly devoted significant preparation time to defending Smith in Saturday night's first-round playoff game. If they didn't, it was at their own risk. 
"You have a legitimate passer running it," Cotchery said. "<a href="/topics/Brad_Smith">Brad</a> played quarterback all through college, and he's dynamic running the ball as well. Across the league, they just try to plug in a running back and let him do his thing. But we have a legitimate dual threat. When he gets in there, we know how much he can ignite us offensively, so that's something we take very seriously. Teams have to prepare for him, and that makes us that much tougher." 
Smith was a four-year starter at <a href="/topics/Missouri">Missouri</a>, where he was the first <a href="/topics/National_Collegiate_Athletic_Association">NCAA</a> I-A player to pass for more than 8,000 yards and run for more than 4,000 yards. He even has played as a regular quarterback in Jets preseason games. Offensive coordinator <a href="/topics/Brian_Schottenheimer">Brian Schottenheimer</a> said they have a package of eight to 12 plays for Smith in each week's game plan. On some of them, Smith has the freedom to "kill" the called play and switch from run to pass or vice versa. 
"I've always trusted <a href="/topics/Brad_Smith">Brad</a> as a play-caller," Schottenheimer said. "Like the play in the <a href="/topics/AFC">AFC</a> Championship Game last year. We had total confidence that if it wasn't there, he wouldn't throw it, that he would pull it down and run." 
There might not be a more versatile offensive player in the <a href="/topics/National_Football_League">NFL</a> than Smith, who is one of the top kickoff returners with a 28.6-yard average and two TDs this season (he was named AFC special teams performer of the month for December) and also has 19 special-teams tackles and four receptions as the Jets' fourth wide receiver. From the Wildcat formation, he has rushed 38 times for 299 yards and has completed two of three passes for 6 yards, including a 3-yard touchdown pass to <a href="/topics/Dustin_Keller">Dustin Keller</a>. 
Describing the flexibility of the plays designed for him, Smith said, "There's a lot of answers we have built into the package. It's not just one-dimensional even though we've run predominantly out of it. It looks so simple, but there's different reads, different blocking schemes that all go into it being successful. There's a lot to it." 
Unlike the typical running back taking a direct snap in shotgun formation, Smith has the ability to understand blocking protections and to read pass coverages. So he can adjust. 
"If it's a run, we're usually just reading certain defenders to make the right run reads," Smith said. "If it's a pass, we'll make the pass reads accordingly. Some plays are built in where you can audible to something else, some are running plays, and others, if you see something, you just make a sight adjustment within the framework of the play." 
One of Smith's admirers is veteran backup quarterback Brunell, who in his prime was one of the best run-pass threats in the <a href="/topics/National_Football_League">NFL</a>. 
"Brad's more than an athlete," Brunell said. "He's a thinker back there, and we give him a lot of freedom to make checks and to read guys and key off different defenders. I mean, he's brilliant. It's something the Colts have to prepare for whether we do it Saturday or not."

SPJSMITH07

Versatile Smith perfect for Wildcat

Brad Smith prepares to take a snap from Nick Mangold

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. - Each word is imprinted in blue ink on the backs of Santonio Holmes' hands, etched in between sketches of bricks. He pointed to the lettering with pride, as he explained their origin. His inner strength can be summed up in two words: Muck. City. 
"The symbol of the bricks is just the hard work,'' Holmes said, as he strolled through the hallways of the Jets training facility en route to an afternoon meeting. "And the way the words are placed inside of that, it's almost like it can't be broken based on what I witnessed, everything I've been a part of throughout the streets of Belle Glade [Fla.]. It's all in between these bricks.'' 
He and his hometown, aka "Muck City" for it's acres of sugarcane soil, are forever linked. But Holmes is clear about his priorities and his future. 
"I represent Belle Glade, but at the same time, I've got to take care of myself because I don't want to go back there," he said. "Regardless of how much I love it, I represent it and I talk about it, I ain't going back there." 
For Holmes, tomorrow's wild-card game against the <a href="/topics/Indianapolis_Colts">Indianapolis Colts</a> is just the first step in his journey to becoming a champion for a second time. The former <a href="/topics/Pittsburgh">Pittsburgh</a> Steeler and <a href="/topics/Super_Bowl">Super Bowl</a> XLIII MVP knows these moments are few and far between for most players. It took Jets fullback <a href="/topics/Tony_Richardson">Tony Richardson</a> 15 years to win his first playoff game. But if the Jets can figure out a way to outsmart quarterback Peyton Manning and outmaneuver defensive ends Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis, they'll likely avenge last year's 30-17 <a href="/topics/AFC">AFC</a> title game loss to the Colts. 
Wide receivers coach Henry Ellard thought he had all the weapons he needed during the Jets' playoff run last season. But things are different now. 
"Santonio put us over the top," he beamed. 
It was Holmes who rescued the Jets four times this season with late-game heroics following his return from a four-game suspension for violating the league's substance-abuse policy. 
With the Jets trailing <a href="/topics/Denver">Denver</a> in Week 6, he drew a 46-yard pass-interference penalty at the 2 with 1:16 left to set up LaDainian Tomlinson's winning score. Three weeks later, Holmes' 52-yard reception in overtime set up Nick Folk's winning field goal against the Lions. Holmes then caught a 37-yard touchdown pass with 16 seconds left in overtime to beat <a href="/topics/Cleveland">Cleveland</a> and in Week 11, he caught a 6-yard touchdown pass with 10 seconds remaining, to lead the Jets past the Texans, 30-27. 
Ellard said he'd be surprised if Holmes - who has amassed 746 yards on 52 receptions (14.3 average) this season - didn't come up big against the Colts. 
"This is the time that he lives for," said the coach, a former receiver for the Rams, Redskins and Patriots. "In the offseason, he trains for these moments. And that's what allows him to be a champion because of his mindset going into a game like this." 
Football is football, said Holmes. It's the same game he played in the backyard when he was 4 years old. His passion for the game and his focus haven't changed. The only thing that has is the size of the crowds he plays in front of. 
Save the occasional drop, he's remained unflappable in big-game situations. The most impressive play to date, of course, was his game-winning touchdown catch for the Steelers against <a href="/topics/Arizona">Arizona</a> in <a href="/topics/Super_Bowl">Super Bowl</a> XLIII. And that's why Jets coach Rex <a href="/topics/Rex_Ryan">Ryan</a> wanted him. 
"When they asked me (about trading for him), I was like, 'Please, this guy's beaten me, not once, not twice but three times in one year," Ryan said, referring to his 2008 season as Baltimore's defensive coordinator. 
But Holmes' past success is just that - in the past. He said he can no longer "relate" to his time in <a href="/topics/Pittsburgh">Pittsburgh</a>. He and the Jets are focused on what lies ahead. And they're eager to shine. 
"Not everybody is awarded a chance to go to the dance and we got an opportunity and we can't blow it," Holmes said. "We all have been brought here with one goal in mind from Day 1, which was make it to the Super Bowl. A chance is here, the slate is clean . . . Let's roll."

SPJHOLMES07

Holmes focused on leading Jets to a title

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There was a shocker when the <a href="/topics/New_York_Jets">Jets</a>' defense lined up to start last year's <a href="/topics/AFC">AFC</a> title game. Starting cornerback <a href="/topics/Lito_Sheppard">Lito Sheppard</a> was replaced by backup <a href="/topics/Dwight_Lowery">Dwight Lowery</a> because the coaching staff was worried that Colts quarterback <a href="/topics/Peyton_Manning">Peyton Manning</a> would target Sheppard all game. It worked for almost a half before Manning eventually had his way with the Jets' secondary in a 30-17 victory.
But when the Jets line up against Manning in a first-round playoff game tomorrow night, the Colts' quarterback will face a more difficult choice between All-Pro cornerback <a href="/topics/Darrelle_Revis">Darrelle Revis</a> on one side and former <a href="/topics/Pro_Bowl">Pro Bowl</a> corner <a href="/topics/Antonio_Cromartie">Antonio Cromartie</a> on the other. Veteran <a href="/topics/Drew_Coleman">Drew Coleman</a> can play nickel defensive back, where he has excelled this season.
Suddenly, the Jets don't seem as vulnerable. "This game coming up is one of the reasons we went and got Antonio," defensive backs coach Dennis <a href="/topics/Dennis_Thurman">Thurman</a> said of Cromartie, whom the Jets obtained in a trade with the Chargers. "We felt like we needed to improve our ability to play outside on the corner. We believe he'll play well Saturday night."
As Cromartie noted, this will be his fifth season to make the playoffs and the fifth time he's faced Manning, including regular-season games. He intercepted Manning three times in a regular-season game in 2007 and once more in the playoffs that season. "For me, the experience has been good," Cromartie said. "I know their offense pretty well. I know what they're trying to do."
Cromartie has watched tape of the Jets' AFC title loss and has a good grasp of what went wrong as the Colts scored the final 24 points of the game.
"They got a lot of balls over their heads just before halftime and going into the second half," Cromartie said. "That's one of the things we want to eliminate in the secondary. Make sure we don't give up any deep balls. Guys weren't playing with their eyes. Guys were guessing, and those balls were going over their heads. You've got to be physical at the point of attack and make sure you stay on top of the receiver."
Having Cromartie was a blessing for the Jets early this season when Revis was rounding into shape after a holdout that lasted all the way through training camp. At that point, Cromartie was taking each opponent's best receiver, and that continued when Revis injured a hamstring.
As Revis' health has improved, that has changed, with Revis generally shadowing the top receiver. But the Colts have two outstanding wideouts in <a href="/topics/Reggie_Wayne">Reggie Wayne</a> and <a href="/topics/Pierre_Garcon">Pierre Garcon</a>. Cromartie said of Garcon, "He's a great vertical-threat guy, a guy that can get in and out of his breaks real well and a guy who can track the deep ball. Knowing they're going to make some plays down the field, we've got to bounce back from them."
Cromartie has had his ups and downs this season. He struggled against <a href="/topics/Pittsburgh">Pittsburgh</a>'s Mike Wallace, <a href="/topics/Chicago">Chicago</a>'s Johnny Knox and <a href="/topics/Miami">Miami</a>'s <a href="/topics/Brandon_Marshall">Brandon Marshall</a> but also shut down Marshall in the rematch, held <a href="/topics/Randy_Moss">Randy Moss</a> (then with New England) without a catch in the half he covered him and locked up <a href="/topics/Cincinnati">Cincinnati</a>'s <a href="/topics/Chad_Ochocinco">Chad Ochocinco</a>.
"Cro has given us some opportunities to play one-on-one and do things inside [with the pass rush] that we want to do," Thurman said. "We're very happy with the job he's done."
Cromartie has been a positive addition to the locker room. "A lot of people don't realize how hard he studies in the film room,'' Coleman said. "Every time I see him, he has his <a href="/topics/iPad">iPad</a> and he's watching film. He stops me and says, 'Look at this, Drew. Watch this.' He gives me some kind of clues or hints. He's definitely an animal in the classroom. Playing on the opposite side of Revis, he takes it as a challenge, and he wants to show how good he is. That's making our secondary even better. We love having him here."
The Jets just hope Manning won't love the change.

SPJCROM07

Will Cromartie addition be playoff payoff?

Jets vs Patriots

The <a href="/topics/National_Football_League">NFL</a> will go to a modified sudden-death-overtime system for the playoffs to determine a winner in the event of a tie at the end of regulation. The system guarantees that each team gets a possession in overtime unless the team that receives the opening kickoff scores a touchdown on its first possession. 
If the team receiving the opening kickoff doesn't score a touchdown, then each team will have at least one possession to determine a winner. If the score is still tied after each team has a possession, then the game will continue until one team scores. 
If, for instance, each team scores a field goal on its initial possession, the game would continue until one team scored next. 
The system was enacted to avoid giving an unfair advantage to the team that receives the opening kickoff in overtime.

SPJOT07

Here's a primer for playoff overtime rules

NFC Championship Football

Playoff preview: Jets vs. Colts

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