Rex: Cromartie will be pumped

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- Rex Ryan thinks LaDainian Tomlinson might not be the only Jets player who is amped up to face the San Diego Chargers on Sunday.

Cornerback Antonio Cromartie, who spent his first four seasons with the Chargers and was traded to the Jets before last season, said Friday that facing his old team is going to be "just another game."

His coach isn't buying it.

"There's no question you get excited about playing your old team and things like that," Ryan said. "There's no doubt."

Ryan is going to give Tomlinson the ceremonial start against the team with which the running back built most of his Hall of Fame resume. Cromartie starts against every team, even if defensive coordinator Mike Pettine did call his inconsistent play "frustrating" in a candid assessment Thursday.

"I'll usually ask Dennis Thurman on the headset, 'Which Cro do we have today?' " Pettine said. "'The good Cro or the bad Cro?' "

Cromartie said he can't disagree with a coach labeling him as inconsistent this season.

"No," he said. "I've been saying for myself, the first couple of weeks, if you go from Week 1 to Week 2, you're seeing a totally different person. Week 3 when we went to Oakland, I felt like we had a couple bad calls, but the calls were made and that's all you can go by.

"The biggest thing for me, I just try to come in and do my job every single day, get better from doing the things I need to do, paying attention to detail, watching film and doing the things that I need to do to improve to make sure that stuff never happens again. Overall, I think it's getting better."

In Week 3 against Oakland, Cromartie committed four penalties in a Jets loss. A week earlier, he intercepted two passes in a win over Jacksonville.

Said Ryan: "It's probably fair to say maybe even to his standards that, you know, 'I could have played this game a little better or whatever.' I know one thing: It's not by lack of effort or anything else. Sometimes we've got to remind him, 'Hey, just rely on your technique and preparation,' because he prepares as good as anybody. Sometimes I think he gets kind of hyped up a little bit. Sometimes at that spot you just need to relax, because he knows how to do it."

But how can Cromartie relax against the team that traded him? Ryan admitted he's "maybe a little bit" concerned about it but added he'd tell Cromartie the best way to handle excess emotion is "to slow your roll a little bit."

Said Ryan: "I think sometimes he might be pressing a little bit. Maybe there has been some level of up and down or whatever, but I know one thing: I'm happy that he's on our team."

Of course, he wouldn't be if the Jets had signed Nnamdi Asomugha in the offseason. After the free agent chose the Philadelphia Eagles, the Jets re-signed Cromartie for four years and $32 million.

The Jets' dream was to have another cornerback who is almost as good as Darrelle Revis. They know that's not Cromartie. But they also believe he can be better than he has been regardless of whom the Jets are facing Sunday.

"For me, it's been two years removed," Cromartie said. "I feel like I'm in a better place here with this organization and with the coaches that we have. I'm just looking forward to it."