Taylor enjoyed his only season with Jets

Jason Taylor may have been back on the other side of enemy lines Monday night, but don't think he doesn't have fond memories of his lone season wearing Jets garb.

"I did," the 37-year-old linebacker said leading up to the Jets' AFC East matchup with the Dolphins at MetLife Stadium. "I had a great time, and there are always some people in Miami that don't want to hear [it], but the fact of the matter is I enjoyed myself last year. We had a good bit of success.

"Didn't go quite as far as we would have liked, but the journey was a lot of fun and I kind of got a chance to play and walk in the shoes of another man, so to speak. See it from the other side and had a really good time, and kind of changed some of the perspective I had on what the Jets were all about."

Jets fans were able to see what he's all about, too. But that doesn't mean Taylor didn't expect to hear a familiar sound from the home team's faithful whenever his name was announced over the public-address system in his first game back.

"I'm sure I'll be booed," Taylor said. "I was booed for a lot of years in that town, and I tried to do my best to make them cheer last year. But being back on the other side of the coin now, I'm sure I'll get my fair share of boos, which is to be expected. They're Jet fans, and they're very passionate about their team. And that's the way it's supposed to be."

Taylor started five of 16 games with the Jets and recorded 36 combined tackles and five sacks. He said he had interest in returning after the lockout was lifted in July. But when his original team, the Dolphins, came calling, there was no way Taylor -- who spent 12 of his 14 previous seasons with them -- was going to turn down another shot to play his home games in South Florida.

"It came as a surprise," he said. "I was looking forward to getting an opportunity to go back to New York and have the chance to talk to those guys once the lockout ended. But things worked out here and it fits."

Jets defensive coordinator Mike Pettine -- whose team took a 14-6 lead into halftime after a 100-yard interception return by Darrelle Revis and a 5-yard touchdown run by Mark Sanchez -- enjoyed being around Taylor last season.

"He was great for us to have," Pettine said. "He was productive and he found ways. That was what J.T. did. He made big plays at big times for us. You look at the first New England game here, where he caused the sack and [forced fumble] at the end of the game. The Pittsburgh game with the safety. He just made some big plays for us. Just kind of the hidden effect. He was really good for our room."

Sanchez also took a liking to Taylor, whose locker was next to his. "He was the ultimate pro," the quarterback said. "We loved having him, and it's going to be fun to face him."

Because he's a little familiar with the Jets' defense, Taylor likely gave his new team some inside schematic information. Dolphins coach Tony Sparano even acknowledged it, though he downplayed any kind of serious competitive advantage.

"There's a few things that he can add," Sparano said. "This is different than just pulling a player off of a practice squad from someplace or anything like that. He was there a year ago.

"I think he has a pretty good understanding and philosophy. Believe me, we didn't sit there and grab Jason and start talking about 'tell me what they're going to do on third-and-4, tell me what they are going to do in the red zone.' Nobody knows that."

But Taylor does know something: The Jets are too good to be playing as poorly as they had been lately, losing three straight games heading into Monday night.

"They'll be all right," he said. "Sometimes things don't click quite as fast as people would like, but they'll be fine. They've got the players, the talent to do it. Very, very good coaches. Very knowledgeable coaches on both sides of the ball, so they'll be just fine."