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KentuckyJet

12-11-2007, 05:31 AM

:guns2::guns2:

Jets believe against all odds - BERGEN RECORD

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

By J.P. PELZMAN
STAFF WRITER

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. -- The Jets probably won't practice in their heated bubble this week, as coach Eric Mangini will want to get them ready for the expected cold weather in Foxboro, Mass., on Sunday.

But Mangini would like them to live in a figurative bubble this week, in which Spygate, bitter coaching rivalries and dreams of ending perfect seasons can't penetrate.

"What is Spygate?" wide receiver Laveranues Coles asked Monday.

Not much, really, just one of the biggest NFL stories in years.

In case you've forgotten, New England, the Jets' opponent Sunday, was caught videotaping signals of Jets' assistant coaches during the Patriots' season-opening 38-14 victory. It turned out that was a pattern of behavior for New England.

Because of that, it's believed that the Patriots (13-0) will have extra incentive against the Jets (3-10). Not to mention the fact that New England also can keep its perfect season and clinch home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs with a victory.

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Football writer J.P. Pelzman tackles all the behind-the-scenes stories about your New York Jets
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And on the individual front, Tom Brady needs four touchdown passes to tie the record of 49 set by Indianapolis' Peyton Manning in 2004 and wide receiver Randy Moss needs three touchdown receptions to match Jerry Rice's record of 22 with San Francisco in 1987.

"It's a regular game," running back Thomas Jones said, adding that the Jets will "prepare the same way that we prepare for any other team, so we're just going to go out there and try to execute and win this football game. That's how we're looking at it, we're not looking at it any differently."

And what about Spygate?

"I'm not even concerned with that stuff," Jones said. "That's not an issue. That's in the past."

"It's just another game," Coles said. "We're not putting any [extra] emphasis on it. It's a fun game, so guys want to go out, play and have fun. That's what it's about.

"The game itself is not about any outside distractions or anything like that, it's about what we do between the lines. Guys want to go out, compete and have a good game."

"All the little behind-the-scenes stories don't really affect what's in this locker room," linebacker Eric Barton said. "We just have to go out there and play."

Even though the Jets are given little chance to win by the oddsmakers. New England is a 24-point favorite, tied for the second-highest line in the NFL since 1976.

"I'm not a betting man," Coles said, "so it doesn't really bother me at all. Oddsmakers are doing their thing. We were a one-point underdog in Miami and it didn't make a difference then, so why would it make a difference now?"

"People are going on what [they see] on paper," wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery said when asked about the huge spread. "We know what type of team they have over there. Everyone knows what type of team they have over there. They have a great team.

"We don't feel disrespected by any point spreads or anything like that. We're not playing that well this year, but we know what type of players we have in this locker room. We know that we have good players, no matter what anyone else thinks."

"From those numbers alone, we don't stand a chance," strong safety Kerry Rhodes said, but he quickly added, "that's outside of this locker room. We don't feel that way. We feel that we can play with anybody on any given day. I'm sure anybody in the league would say the same thing."

Don't expect much to be said afterward between Mangini and Bill Belichick, whose relationship remains frosty, especially after the Jets blew the whistle on the Pats' videotaping.

"I've said how I felt about Bill many times," Mangini said Monday. "It hasn't changed from the first time that we played each other. I have a lot of respect for him, he did a lot of things for me and has helped me significantly throughout my career to develop. That hasn't changed one bit for me."

E-mail: pelzman@northjersey.com

* * *
Heavy chalk

The highest point spreads in NFL matchups since 1976:

Date Favorite Underdog Spread Score

Dec. 5, 1976 Pittsburgh Tampa Bay 26 Steelers, 42-0

Nov. 25, 2007 New England Phildelphia 24 Patriots, 31-28

Dec. 5, 1993 San Francisco Cincinnati 24 49ers, 21-8

Dec. 16, 2007 New England JETS 24 ------

Oct. 11, 1987 San Francisco* Atlanta 23½ 49ers, 25-17

* Replacement game Source: The Gold Sheet

KentuckyJet

12-11-2007, 05:36 AM

The Boston Globe
:holla::holla::holla::tex::tex::clap2:
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After being turned in, Patriots turned on the jets
Mangini's maneuver fueled their engines
Jets coach Eric Mangini led the NFL to the Patriots' illegal activities, but he has led his own team to just a 3-10 record. (CHRIS TROTMAN/Getty Images)
By Christopher L. Gasper
Globe Staff / December 11, 2007
FOXBOROUGH - The song choice was fitting. As at least one Patriots player hit the weights yesterday during an off day, Kanye West's "Stronger" could be heard blaring through the walls at Gillette Stadium.

more stories like thisCoach Eric Mangini and the New York Jets may have thought they were weakening their division rivals when the former Patriots assistant turned in Bill Belichick, tipping off NFL security to New England's illegal taping of defensive signals during the first quarter of the season opener Sept. 9.

But it only made them stronger.

The Patriots won that game, 38-14, and haven't lost since, standing at 13-0 as they prepare to face Mangini and the Jets this Sunday at Gillette Stadium in a highly anticipated rematch/grudge match.

It was hard to imagine at the time - when Belichick was being branded a cheater, held a series of uncomfortable press conferences (one of which he walked out on rather than explain his interpretation of the filming rules), and was fined $500,000 by the NFL - but he's come out the winner in all this.

Instead of having to find a way to motivate his awe-inducing assemblage of talent each week, Belichick has built-in inspiration, courtesy of Mangini and what has become known crassly as Spygate. The result has been a team that is chasing history and doing it with a record-setting romp through the league.

Even if he won't admit it.

"I'm telling you that we're going to approach this game like we approached the last one and the one before that," said Belichick. "That's all I can tell you."

Plus, even though commissioner Roger Goodell also fined the Patriots $250,000 and docked them their first-round draft choice in 2008, New England still will have a top 10 pick courtesy of a trade with the San Francisco 49ers.

"At least we did something positive in their eyes," Jets safety Kerry Rhodes told the New York-area media yesterday. "It is what it is for those guys. I'm sure they're using it in some kind of way for themselves. Anybody would."

Meanwhile, Mangini and the Jets seem to have been enveloped by the fallout from the camera confiscation, starting the season 1-8 and benching starting quarterback Chad Pennington, last year's NFL Comeback Player of the Year, in favor of the untested Kellen Clemens.

Clemens, who has started each of the last five games, is 2-4 as a starter - he filled in for an injured Pennington in Week 2 against Baltimore - and has thrown four touchdown passes and nine interceptions.

While the Patriots can clinch home-field advantage throughout the playoffs with a victory, New York (3-10) is playing for pride.

"We're not happy where we are. We definitely thought we would be in the thick of things right now," said Rhodes. "We're not. We're 3-10. But we're going to come out and try to play them as tough as we can."Continued
Sunday is the Jets' Super Bowl, a chance to end the Patriots' pursuit of an undefeated season. A playoff team last year, the Jets are 24-point underdogs, though they still believe they can play with the Patriots, according to Rhodes. But the safety had to admit that even a win over the Patriots wouldn't salvage the Jets' disappointing season.

more stories like this"We're 3-10," he said. "If we get one win, we're still 4-10. It's not going to help us out in that respect."

Hailed as a genius in his first season, when he led the Jets to the playoffs with a 10-6 mark - including a 17-14 victory over his former boss - Mangini has had his choice of defense, his coaching methods, and his integrity questioned this season.

The Jets have been undone by sketchy offensive line play that has neutralized the offseason acquisition of running back Thomas Jones, a poor pass rush, and an inability to make clutch plays in close games.

But they have gone 2-2 since their bye week, and Belichick said they have talent.

Belichick said the Patriots studied films of the Jets' 19-16 overtime win over the Steelers - an effort he called impressive - to help prepare for this past Sunday's 34-13 victory over Pittsburgh.

"I think I have a lot of respect for the Jets, Jets players," said Belichick. "They have some outstanding players and they played very well against Pittsburgh.

"I can't tell you what happened in all of the other games. The only games I really am familiar with are our first game with them and then this Pittsburgh game because of the amount of time that we spent watching Pittsburgh last week.

"The rest of it, we'll catch up on the next couple of days and try to be ready to go."

Notice no mention of Mangini, his former protege, accidental or intentional.

Yesterday, Mangini said he hasn't spoken to Belichick since the teams' first meeting. He said that his feelings toward Belichick haven't changed; he respects him and appreciates the significant role he played in turning Mangini from a Cleveland Browns intern into an NFL head coach.

Mangini's feelings may not have changed, but the fortunes of his team did. You don't need a video camera to capture that picture.

Knowing what he knows now, that he tugged on Superman's cape, would Mangini do it all again?

"As I've said, I've really said everything I can say about this," Mangini told reporters during his press conference yesterday. "It's a league matter, and it's in the past. We're moving forward."

The Patriots probably will be doing a lot of that with the football Sunday.

Christopher L. Gasper can be reached at cgasper@globe.com.

© Copyright 2007 Globe Newspaper Company.
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KentuckyJet

12-11-2007, 05:39 AM

Patriots favored by 20 or more is the norm:rant::rant::rant::rant::rant:
Neil Best
December 11, 2007

'It's kind of mind-boggling," John Avello said yesterday from his Las Vegas office, studying months worth of Patriots point spreads and facing at least two more weeks of odd odds for Bill's Bullies.

"They're shocking, they really are ... If you asked me before this year, I'd have said there'd be no way we'd see 20."

Twenty? That's old hat now.

Neil Best Bio | E-mail | Recent columns

Avello, director of race and sports operations at Wynn Las Vegas, said if the Pats rout the Jets on Sunday and the Dolphins lose big to the Ravens, next week's Dolphins-Patriots game could open at a shocking 30-point spread.

(The NFL Network's Deion Sanders on the Pats' next two opponents: "They could beat those guys on the same day.")

First things first: Avello opened the Jets game at 24, amazingly high yet below his closing number for Eagles-Pats Nov. 25 - which at Wynn opened at 23 and closed at 25.

That turned out to be the first of two consecutive spreads the Patriots (10-3 ATS) failed to cover after an early run that cost sports books a bundle. Their slight stumble probably will keep the spread from growing out of control this week. Probably.

Keith Glantz, co-author of the Glantz-Culver line, told AP he opened the Pats at 27, but his line soon dropped to 24 because of the possibility of poor playing conditions. Other books have it at 24 1/2.

Jay Kornegay is sports book director at the Las Vegas Hilton, whose line opened at 25; now it's 24. "It's something we've never seen before in our era," he said. "It's a very difficult number to make every week. It's a challenge."

Records are not well kept when it comes to spreads, but the Nov. 25 Eagles game and this week's are in the same ballpark as some of the biggest figures on record, including 24 for a Steelers-Buccaneers game in 1976 and 23 for 49ers-Bengals in 1993.

According to The Gold Sheet, the all-time record is 28 for a Colts-Falcons game in 1966.

Dave Tuley, a sports betting columnist for the Daily Racing Form, said, "Everyone talks about parity in the NFL. To have a team favored by more than three touchdowns, it's incredible."

Avello said he gave the Patriots 18 points based on his own power rating formula, five more for home field and another given his sense of where bettors would head.

What about the Spygate Factor? Is there a premium for Bill Belichick's presumed desire to grind the Jets and coach Eric Mangini into a fine green powder?

"The camera deal?" Avello said. "I'm not so sure that's in Belichick's mind. The motivation against the Steelers was much higher. Those guys were trying to do everything in their power to squash Pittsburgh and to also beat that safety .

"The Jets are nowhere near the quality of the Steelers."

Avello said the season's most shocking number was 19½, at which the Patriots-Ravens game opened; he has seen spreads in the 20s for a team at home before, but never that high on the road.

"If it's a Florida Gators team that has a high-powered offense that's blowing everyone out 56-7 every week, it makes sense they're at 29, 30 points," he said. "In the pros? This is very unusual."

What do the Jets' players think of all this? Tom Rock sent this account from the locker room of safety Kerry Rhodes being asked about the spread:

"How big?" he asked.

Twenty-four. And a half.

"One more time?"

Rhodes was just being playful, although he knows things will get serious Sunday. "I guess from those numbers alone, we don't have a chance," he said. "But we don't feel that way. We feel we can play with anybody on any given day."

Neil Best Bio | E-mail | Recent columns

ESPN celebrates

Sure, ESPN's self-promotion is prolific and annoying. And of course, its overly chummy relationship with athletes it covers is journalistically creepy.

Yet there is no disputing the entertainment value of a tradition that boldly commits both sins, the "This is SportsCenter" ad campaign, created 12 years ago by the agency Wieden+Kennedy.

Tonight, ESPN celebrates it with a one-hour special at 8, hosted by Karl Ravech, with highlights of the more than 300 spots produced, including the first, as well as three new ads.

Blue notes

Mike Breen has had much to be disgusted with while calling Knicks games in recent seasons, but in the waning minutes of Saturday's loss, his exasperation reached a new level. "There is no spirit, no fight; this team is desperately missing something," he said, among many other things, telling it like it is as best as can be expected on one of James Dolan's channels ... I wrote a recent blog post about Andy Freed, currently of the Tampa Rays, being in the mix for the Mets' radio booth. It was a good sign that he got only raves in the comments section from those who have heard him ... CBS' late window Sunday, featuring Steelers-Patriots, drew 18.4 percent of homes in 56 large markets, making the three highest-rated NFL slots of the season Patriots games on CBS. The team and network are to consummate their cozy relationship next year with the opening of "CBS Scene, " a theme restaurant near Gillette Stadium in that famed tourist mecca of Foxborough, Mass.

Spread 'em!

The point spread on the Jets-Patriots game is 24 or 24 1/2 at most legal sports books, which should it hold through the week will land it among the top five in the post-merger era. Here are the top four compiled by Dave Tuley, sports betting columnist for the Daily Racing Form:

Team Line Opp. Year Result

Patriots -24 1/2 Eagles 2007 Patriots win, 31-28, but do not cover.

Steelers -24 Bucs 1976 Steelers win and cover, 42-0.

49ers -23 Bengals 1993 49ers win, 21-8, but do not cover.

49ers -23 Falcons 1987 49ers win, 25-17, but do not cover.

KentuckyJet

12-11-2007, 05:42 AM

Jets refuse to spout off and incite Patriots:bazooka:IBG
BY TOM ROCK | tom.rock@newsday.com :rotf::rotf::rotf:
December 11, 2007

The entire foundation of Jets lore is based on a guaranteed win by a lopsided underdog. And then the Jets beat the Colts in Super Bowl III.

So who'll step up this week and make a similar proclamation? Who'll take history in a headlock and give the Patriots a pregame noogie by guaranteeing victory in Foxborough on Sunday? Anyone? The cameras are rolling, fellas. Where have you gone, Joe Willie?

"You won't get any guarantees this week," chuckled Jets receiver Jerricho Cotchery, well aware of the fate the Steelers and safety Anthony Smith met after he said last week that his team would upend New England.

Asked what would happen if someone on the Jets made such a bold statement, guard Brandon Moore shook his head.

"I think Eric [Mangini] would probably be a little --," he said. "I don't think you'll see that out of any of the guys here."

Really, though, would a guarantee inspire the Patriots to beat the Jets any more than the fallout from their first meeting in September already has?

It was the Jets who caught the Patriots using illegal sideline videotaping in that season opener, an act many believe fueled the Patriots' desire to not only win a Super Bowl but demolish the rest of the NFL with the same gusto with which commissioner Roger Goodell destroyed all the evidence from that controversy.

"At least we did something positive," Kerry Rhodes said of having played a part in history during an otherwise forgettable season. "I'm sure they're using it in some kind of way for themselves. Anybody would."

The Jets have done enough to incite the Patriots without needing to plop a halfhearted guarantee in an essentially meaningless game for them on top of the pile.

But Mangini defused the idea of the Jets' motivational role in New England's march toward perfection. He said the Patriots are simply a well-coached team with talented players who focus on the next game.

"Their success is based off that," he said. "Knowing Rodney [Harrison] and Bill [Belichick] and all the different people there, what they're focused on is the next opponent."

Belichick maneuvered around the controversy just as smoothly. And just as unconvincingly.

"We try to win every week, believe it or not," he said. "It may not look like it at times, but we do. We try to play our best game out there every week and we try to win every week, so we're going to try to win this week."

So are the Jets, although few outside the organization give them any sort of chance, especially considering that on Sunday, the Jets scored one touchdown against the NFL's worst defense and the Patriots scored four against the league's top defense.

"Internally, we're going to do everything to beat the Patriots," linebacker David Bowens said. "That's how we'll think, that's how we'll practice, that's how we'll prepare."

It's the only guarantee the Jets are willing to make.

Notes & quotes: Mangini said he had no regrets about the play-calling in the final three minutes of Sunday's loss to the Browns, including the decision to attempt two field goals and three onside kicks. "Those were decisions that I felt good about at the time," he said, "and looking back, there were reasons based on our preparation and understanding ... that I went with the decisions that I did." ... LB David Harris said it was his responsibility to cover Jamal Lewis on his wide-open TD reception late in the first half. Harris got his feet tangled with Dewayne Robertson's and couldn't follow the back on the route ... The Jets were wise to let Lewis score on his 31-yard run late in the game. Had he simply fallen after gaining first-down yardage, the Browns could have run out the clock. Instead, they kicked it back to the Jets, who still had a pulse with more than a minute remaining ... RB Thomas Jones is 56 yards shy of his third straight 1,000-yard season. The Jets haven't had a 1,000-yard runner since Curtis Martin led the league with 1,697 in 2004 ... The Jets are the last team to beat the Patriots in Foxborough, winning 17-14 last Nov. 12. After that muddy loss, the Patriots tore up their grass field and installed artificial turf.

Sunday

Jets at

New England

1 p.m.

TV: Ch. 2

Radio: WEPN

(1050), WABC

(770), WRCN

(103.9)
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KentuckyJet

12-11-2007, 05:46 AM

Underdog Jets watching their words entering showdown with Pats :rant::rant::rant::rant:
By DENNIS WASZAK JR.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

(Original publication: December 11, 2007)
HEMPSTEAD - Laveranues Coles needed a quick lesson on the recent history of bad blood between the Jets and Patriots.

A day after their loss to Cleveland, the questions yesterday were focused naturally on the Jets' next game at undefeated New England. Coles was asked how the spying scandal from their Week 1 matchup might have motivated the Patriots to maul their opponents this season.

He pondered the question for a second and then gave a quizzical look.

"What is 'Spygate?' " the veteran wide receiver asked. And, yes, with a straight face.

When given the basics of the incident - a Patriots employee was caught by the Jets filming their sideline for the purpose of stealing signals - Coles still was puzzled.

"To be honest, I don't know anything about it," he said. "So it doesn't mean anything to me personally."

Either Coles hasn't read a paper or watched TV this season, or he's the best actor on the team. And that's saying a lot, considering safety Kerry Rhodes already has appeared in a few film and coach Eric Mangini made a cameo appearance on "The Sopranos."

All the Jets were careful in their comments, determined not to provide any bulletin-board fodder the way Steelers safety Anthony Smith did last week when he guaranteed a win.

"I think our coach keeps us pretty much in check when it comes to things like that, so you don't have to worry about anybody in this locker room saying anything that's locker-room-board material," Coles said. "That's just not us. That's not the way guys are in this locker room. I think we keep a tight hold on guys pretty much around here to let them know not to step out of line."

It's not as though the Patriots (13-0) need any extra motivation, not when they're playing the Jets (3-10). The teams have harbored ill feelings toward each other dating to the days when Bill Parcells left New England for the Jets. It only increased when Bill Belichick resigned as Jets coach after a day and took the job with the Patriots instead.

After helping Belichick and the Patriots win three Super Bowls as an assistant, Mangini left to become coach of the Jets. The relationship between the two has been frosty since, and only got chillier after the Jets reported the Patriots' rule-breaking in Week 1.

Some have speculated that was the spark that fueled the Patriots' run toward history.

"It's been impressive to see them, even though they're in our division and are foes of ours," Rhodes said. "To see a team playing this well, you can only applaud them."

It's safe to say there won't be any cheering for the Patriots from the Jets' sideline Sunday. The Jets have struggled through a dismal season, and were installed as a 27-point opening-line underdog. That number shrunk to 24 yesterday.

"From those numbers alone, we don't stand a chance," Rhodes said with a grin. "That's outside of this locker room. We don't feel that way. We feel that we can play with anybody on any given day. I'm sure anybody in the league would say the same thing."

Mangini was peppered with questions about his relationship with Belichick and the Patriots, as well as his thoughts on "Spygate." Predictably, he didn't bite - at all.

"You know, I've said how I felt about Bill many times and, really, it hasn't changed from the first time we played each other," Mangini said. "I have a lot of respect for him, and he did a lot of things for me and has helped me significantly throughout my career to develop. That hasn't changed one bit for me."

Mangini wouldn't say if he thinks those feelings have been reciprocated by Belichick, but acknowledged the two haven't spoken since their last game. Mangini also sidestepped numerous questions about the "Spygate" incident, and was asked if he wouldn't report it if he had it to do all over again.

"As I've said, I've really said everything I can say about this," he said. "It's a league matter and it's in the past. We're moving forward."

For the players, that means going up against one of the most dominant teams in league history. The Patriots are 54 points from breaking Minnesota's mark of 556, set in 1998. Quarterback Tom Brady is five touchdown passes away from topping Peyton Manning's record of 49, and Randy Moss is four touchdown receptions from surpassing Jerry Rice's single-season mark of 22.

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KentuckyJet

12-11-2007, 05:48 AM

Jets 24-point underdogs for Sunday's game at New England :pancake::pancake::pancake::coffee4::coffee4::coff ee4::hail2::hail2:

(Original publication: December 11, 2007)
LAS VEGAS - It's safe to say this is not the sort of distinction the Jets craved when the season started.

At a paltry 3-10, the Jets were made 27-point underdogs to the New England Patriots in the opening line for Sunday's game at Foxborough, Mass. The line dropped to 24 today, which would match San Francisco's record point spread over Cincinnati on Dec. 5, 1993, according to Keith Glantz, co-author of the Glantz-Culver Line. The 49ers won that game 21-8.

On Dec. 3, New England was a 20-point favorite at Baltimore, a record for a road team. But the Patriots barely won, 27-24.

New England is 13-0 after routing Pittsburgh on Sunday.

There's much built-up animosity between the teams. Patriots coach Bill Belichick did not want Eric Mangini, then his defensive coordinator, to take the Jets' heading coach job in 2006. And New England was caught using video to spy on Jets assistant coaches during the season opener in September.

"On the Patriots side, the Jets are the team that turned them in, and they're going for an undefeated season," Glantz said of the spying incident that cost Belichick a $500,000 fine, and cost the team $250,000 and a 2008 first-round draft pick. "So they're not going to let up. When the Patriots are not playing the elite, they tend to run up the score. The opponent just can't seem to stop them."

Still, the spread opened at 27 and went down three points.

"Part of the reason for the drop is the possibility of poor playing conditions," Glantz said. "If the weather is bad - ice, sleet or rain - it will affect the game. Cold won't affect the game, it goes more with the field conditions.

"It is very difficult to make a line for this team; I have never seen a team get such high lines. The public has not gotten off the Patriots bandwagon."

Staff and wire reports

KentuckyJet

12-11-2007, 05:51 AM

KentuckyJet

12-11-2007, 05:52 AM

Battle line is drawn
Spygate widens spread between Belichick and his not-so-favorite protégé
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
BY DAVE HUTCHINSON
Star-Ledger Staff
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. -- Bill Belichick still isn't referring to protégé-turned-whistle blower Eric Mangini by name. Or at all.

In fact, Belichick appeared to go out of his way yesterday not to mention Mangini or the Jets coaching staff when asked about the Jets' stunning upset of the Steelers three weeks ago.

"I think I have a lot of respect for the Jets (and the) Jets players," said Belichick, whose 13-0 Patriots are favored by a record-tying 24 points against the 3-10 Jets on Sunday. "They have some outstanding players and they played very well against Pittsburgh."

Estranged after Mangini took the Jets job against Mangini's wishes two seasons ago, the two haven't gotten closer in the wake of "Spygate," when the Patriots were caught videotaping the Jets' defensive signals during the first half of their 38-14 season-opening victory at Giants Stadium. The pair hasn't spoken -- other than a weak postgame handshake -- in nearly two years.

The NFL punished Belichick earlier this season by fining him $500,000, and the league took another $250,000 and a first-round draft choice from the Patriots. It is widely believed Mangini, an assistant for six seasons in New England before taking over the Jets in 2006, knew of Belichick's illegal film work and turned him in. Interestingly, Mangini has done nothing to dispel that notion, saying only that it's a league matter -- a refrain he repeated again yesterday.

New England is going for the NFL's first undefeated season since the 1972 Dolphins finished 17-0, and the 24-point spread against the Jets matches the highest in league history -- these same Patriots against the Philadelphia Eagles last month, the 1993 San Francisco 49ers against the Cincinnati Bengals and the 1976 Pittsburgh Steelers against the expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The opening line for Sunday's game ranged from 24 1/2 to 27 points, then came down overnight -- but could go up again.

Some have speculated Belichick would like nothing better than to run up the score and humiliate Mangini, but the Patriots coach didn't take the bait yesterday any of the five times he was asked -- in varying forms -- what sort of motivation Spygate would provide.

It wouldn't seem the Patriots need much in the way of extra incentive. They already own victories against the Colts, Cowboys and Steelers -- expected to be the three most likely challengers to their march to history. For the season, they have beaten opponents by an average of 21.6 points and have scored a league-high 503 points, 53 shy of the Vikings' league record set in 1998.

All of which adds up to a daunting task for any team, let alone the Jets and Mangini.

"I'm sure it'll be as warm as it always is for us when we head up there," joked Mangini, who continues to take the high road when discussing his soured relationship with Belichick.
The Patriots have used Spygate as their rallying cry while steamrolling through their schedule.

In their first game after Spygate, they beat the Chargers, 38-14, and professed their love for Belichick -- "he always had our backs, now we have his," Laurence Maroney said at the time -- and their disdain for anyone who tried to taint their Super Bowls, suggesting the Patriots cheated to win.

"At least we did something positive in their eyes," deadpanned Jets safety Kerry Rhodes. "It is what it is for those guys. I'm sure they're using it in some kind of way for themselves. Anybody would."

Though the Jets were careful yesterday to not give the Patriots any bulletin board material -- Steelers safety Anthony Smith had guaranteed a Pittsburgh victory last week -- they made it clear they're coming to play.

"We're not going to come out and lie down," Rhodes said. "We're going to play hard. (People) say we don't have a chance. But that's outside of this locker room. We don't feel that way. We feel like we can play with anybody on any given day."

Said Coles: "We were one-point underdogs in Miami. It didn't make a difference then (in the Jets' 40-13 victory), so why would it make a difference now?"

Notes:IBG:rotf::rotf::rotf::clap2::rant: Mangini said yesterday that QB Kellen Clemens (four TDs, nine INTs) remains the starter.... WR Laveranues Coles (high left ankle sprain) is being closely monitored by team doctors to insure he's not risking further injury by continuing to play.

Dave Hutchinson may be reached at dhutchinson@starledger.com

KentuckyJet

12-11-2007, 05:58 AM

:holla:Boston Herald

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Home Sports Patriots & NFL N.E. Patriots Pats all charged up again
Full steam ahead for NY
By Karen Guregian
Tuesday, December 11, 2007 - Updated 58m ago
+ Recent Articles Boston Herald General Sports Reporter and Columnist

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FOXBORO - After two consecutive weeks of subpar performances, there was a renewed sense of confidence in the Patriots [team stats] locker room after Sunday’s trouncing of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

From Tom Brady [stats] to Randy Moss to Vince Wilfork [stats] to Rodney Harrison [stats], they all had that little something extra in their walk and talk. It was something missing after close-call wins against the Eagles and Ravens.

“We played Patriots football, and this is what I’m used to playing since I’ve been here - going out here, not taking any crap, standing up to a big physical team like Pittsburgh,” Harrison said after the game. “It’s going out and doing what we do best, playing sound fundamental football.”

The players were obviously recharged and revitalized following the convincing 34-13 win. And why not? By most accounts, they have cleared their last imposing regular-season hurdle and are headed for home.

The players can smell the finish line. At 13-0, a perfect regular season certainly is within their grasp.

With Brady and his receivers returning to otherworldly status and the defense in bend-but-don’t-break mode, the Pats are back clicking pretty much on all cylinders, and no team seems capable of taking them down at this stage.

Up next, of course, are the New York Jets [team stats].

On paper, they’ve fallen from the ranks of tough division opponent to cream puff for the Patriots. But that’s not taking into account the Camera-gate ramifications.

For the record, Pats coach Bill Belichick, in true form, did not mention Eric Mangini’s name yesterday during his press conference when talking about the 3-10 Jets. He also avoided any and all discussion about the videotaping incident in the first game of the season, which cost him a ton of cash and the team a first-round pick.

The only aspect about the Jets he discussed was the fact they also had beaten the Steelers this season. So there’s some common ground between the teams, but not much more.

The question is, can it even be reasonable to suggest the Jets, 24-point underdogs, are capable of pulling off an upset? A Miracle on FieldTurf, so to speak? Might they fall into the category of having Sunday’s game with the Pats be their Super Bowl, their season?

Sure, it’s possible. Logic, however, says otherwise.

The way Brady, Moss & Co. played against the Steelers suggests no chance for Gang Green. The Steelers were the best team in the NFL against the pass. Brady torched that defense for 399 yards and four touchdowns. The Jets have the 27th-ranked defense. They are a respectable 11th against the pass but 30th against the run.

The Jets offense, meanwhile, is 26th. Think they’ll put up enough points with Kellen Clemens at the controls? Again, the numbers just don’t add up for the Jets, and we haven’t even gotten to the emotional part yet.

Some experts might still play the Mangini card and say because he knows the inner workings of the Pats so intimately, his team could spoil the party. He threw his haymaker last year, beating the Pats in Foxboro during the regular season. Does he have another surprise up his sleeve?

Maybe, but it’s going to be awfully hard to take down the Pats now that they’ve gotten back on the horse and answered the bell against the Steelers.
Be it warped justice or not, there’s a score to settle with the Jets and Mangini, who blew the whistle on the Pats for their wrongful filming activities in the first game of the season. Although, naturally, that’s not what anyone is claiming.

“We want to win every week. That’s all it is,” Wilfork said when asked about the Jets after Sunday’s win. “We won’t do anything different in preparing for these guys than we have in the past in preparing for Pittsburgh or the Eagles. It won’t be any different.”

Tell that to the guarantee man, Anthony Smith.:drunk::drunk::drunk::drunk::compute:

kguregian@bostonherald.com
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KentuckyJet

12-11-2007, 06:01 AM

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Measures Considered to Curtail Fan Behavior :welcome::welcome::holla::holla::holla::holla:

By DAVID PICKER
Published: December 11, 2007
Three weeks after Richard J. Codey, the president of the New Jersey Senate, condemned a ritual of harassment at Gate D of Giants Stadium during halftime of Jets games, he offered stadium security a vote of confidence, even though the abuse has not been stopped.

“I’m not going to criticize because I don’t know what their policy was yesterday, other than what I’ve read,” Mr. Codey said yesterday, one day after hundreds of fans congregated on one of the two spiral ramps at Gate D and chanted for the few women in the crowd to bare their breasts.

Mr. Codey then publicly supported Dennis Robinson, who took over last week as chief executive of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, a state agency responsible for security at Giants Stadium.

“I can tell you this: He is 1,000 percent committed to ending this conduct, which unfortunately was tolerated for too long,” Mr. Codey said of Mr. Robinson.

Mr. Codey, who said he spoke with Mr. Robinson yesterday morning, said that a number of short-term measures were being considered to rein in fan behavior at the Jets’ final game of the season, Dec. 30 against the Kansas City Chiefs. Those measures include blocking access to the stadium’s eight spiral ramps and making a public announcement regarding fan conduct.

Long-term changes, like curtailing alcohol sales, are also being considered, Mr. Codey said. Fans at Jets games are allowed to buy alcohol until the end of halftime, but no more than two drinks at a time.

At halftime Sunday, scores of uniformed state troopers, security guards in yellow jackets and undercover police officers lined the ramp at Gate D, which is beyond the stadium’s concourse of concession stands. No attempt was made to block access to the ramp. In fact, most of the security workers stood by as men hurled insults at women; none of them exposed their breasts. According to some fans, the crowd was bigger than ever.

“The stepped-up security presence by the sports authority was a start,” Matt Higgins, the Jets’ senior vice president for business operations, said in a statement. “Now they must consider what else can be done to create an enjoyable environment for all fans.”

A similar scene took place at halftime of the Jets’ home game Nov. 18 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. At that time, at least one woman complied with the men’s demands. According to several Jets fans and stadium workers, such behavior has been taking place at Gate D for years.

The National Football League, the Jets and Mr. Codey said they had been unaware of the behavior until they saw an article that ran Nov. 20 in The New York Times. Mr. Codey immediately called on the sports authority and the New Jersey State Police to stop the behavior.

Mr. Robinson said that the new measures being considered would be used only for Jets home games; the abuse does not seem to take place at Giants home games. He confirmed that blocking access to Gate D was an option, but he gave no other details.

“In the off-season, we’re going to work closely with our teams to review all of our halftime crowd-management polices,” Mr. Robinson said in a statement. “And at that time, prior to the beginning of the following season, we will let people know what we’re going to do.”

Sgt. Stephen Jones, a spokesman, said the state police was satisfied with the security presence Sunday.

The state police said that eight people, all men, were arrested at the stadium, but none at Gate D during halftime. Six men were removed from Gate D for instigating. Two of them, who were not season-ticket holders, have been barred from the Meadowlands Sports Complex indefinitely, the Jets said. A few women were also escorted from Gate D by security because they were considered instigators or because their safety was deemed to be in jeopardy.

Kim Gandy, president of the National Organization for Women, said that she understood it was difficult to stop 500 men from engaging in mass harassment, but that the Jets and the stadium authorities had to take responsibility.

“People who are harassers do it because they get some pleasure in making other people uncomfortable,” Ms. Gandy said. “And every once in a while, someone actually does what they want. But even the women who don’t comply with their demands are made to feel uncomfortable. And that’s part of the goal of sexual harassment, is to make the target uncomfortable and to send a message you don’t belong here.”
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KentuckyJet

12-11-2007, 06:04 AM

JETSCENTRAL

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12:20AM - Does The Front Office Have The Guts?:drunk::rotf::tex::bazooka:
Tuesday, December 11th, 2007 by Dan Walsh

I have been trying to figure out what possible moves the Jets could make this off-season to improve the team, and I realized that as long as Woody is the owner, and Tannenbaum and Mangini are in charge of the team, they will never make the necessary big move.

Whether it’s because Woody is cheap and doesn’t want to spend all the money he didn’t earn, or that Tannenbaum and Mangini really believe that signing scrubs and castoffs will make them contenders, the Jets don’t appear to be heading in the right direction.

So my question to Woody is this, will you finally open up the checkbook and sign a legit free-agent? Suggs would look awfully good in green and white.

Tannenbaum and Mangini, do you have the balls guts to trade away the former face of the franchise? Or both of them? Pennington cannot be on the roster as a backup next year, he has to either be traded (paging Herm Edwards), or released. Jon Vilma? The last great Jets LB… in the 4-3. He cannot play inside in the 3-4 and it appears like Harris has taken Vilma’s spot. Do you hold onto him hoping he can play inside, maybe try him outside? They will both probably have successful season’s outside of New York, but that’s because they’ll be in systems better suited for them. If Pennington does go to the Chiefs, he’ll have Larry Johnson & co. to bail him out and keep the defenses from completely relying on bad throws like they did in his time in NY this season. Vilma, if traded to a 4-3 team (I’m thinking Ravens will be very interested) will probably become a pro-bowl linebacker again. However, if the Jets could get a 1st round pick for him, I absolutely believe that it is the right move; regardless of what his stats are the next season.

I tip my hat to the Jets, it is impressive that arguably the worst franchise in the NFL has fans who are still so dedicated.

KentuckyJet

12-11-2007, 06:09 AM

NY TIMES- No video in Foxboro ::rotf::rotf::rotf::rotf::rotf::holla::drunk:

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FOXBOROUGH, Mass., Dec. 10 — Now, let’s go back to the videotape.

Since Bill Belichick, left, was questioned about cheating accusations in September, the Patriots have been dominant.

Barton Silverman/The New York Times
Benjamin Watson after a touchdown catch in a season-opening win over the Jets.
Less than 24 hours after the New England Patriots punished Pittsburgh safety Anthony Smith for guaranteeing a victory by throwing in his territory for two touchdowns, Coach Bill Belichick insisted that a spying scandal that has clouded his season would provide no extra motivation when his team plays the Jets here Sunday.

“We’re going to approach it like every other game,” Belichick said. “Get together a game plan, try to figure out a way to attack and defend. We try to win every week, believe it or not. So we’re going to try to win this week.”

Of course. The Patriots have won 13 straight games — many of them blowouts — and Belichick and the Patriots are nothing if not disciplined. In his post-mortem Monday, Belichick faced nine questions relating to the Jets, videotaping and sanctions. He answered every one in the same monotone, as dull as the gray of his cut-up sweatshirt and the cut-off sweat pants he had rolled into shorts.

“I’m telling you, we’re going to approach this game like we approached the last one and the one before that and the one before that,” Belichick said.

Nobody in the rest of the N.F.L. believes that notion. The dust-up that resulted after the Jets discovered that the Patriots were videotaping coaching signals on the sideline during the Jets’ 38-14 loss in the season opener has provided a dark subtext to a season that is headed for the record books. The Jets turned the information over to the N.F.L.

The Patriots were docked a first-round draft pick and Belichick was fined $500,000 by the N.F.L. In the meantime, the Patriots have seemed to take out their anger on their opponents, raising the question of whether catching them in the act was worth the price opponents have paid. Jets Coach Eric Mangini’s honor has even been questioned for allowing Belichick, his former mentor, to be turned in for a transgression he presumably was aware of when he was on the Patriots’ staff.

The privately felt enmity the Patriots have for Mangini and his team is such that one of the parlor games of the season is guessing how many points they will try to score against the woebegone Jets (3-10). The Patriots scored 56 points against the Buffalo Bills and Dick Jauron — a coach Belichick likes. Now that the game is finally here, the gamblers have made clear what they think. The point spread was 24 ½ Monday, which, if it held, would be the largest in N.F.L. history, a record that might last only a week, until the Patriots face the winless Dolphins.

Belichick praised the Jets’ effort in their victory last month over the Steelers, a game the Patriots studied. But it took Belichick almost all of last season to bring himself to mention Mangini by name. When he finally did, in the week before the teams played in a wild-card game, it was perceived as a thawing in a relationship between mentor and protégé that had gone cold when Mangini left the Patriots to coach the Jets.

But the spying controversy has put the relationship on ice — probably permanently — and the most compelling part of Sunday’s game might be the postgame handshake. On Monday, Belichick gave a none-too-subtle clue about his sentiments. “I think I have a lot of respect for the Jets,” Belichick said. “They have some outstanding players.”

One thing is clear: Mangini learned from Belichick how to contain public comments. In his news conference in Hempstead, N.Y., Mangini bobbed and weaved his way through a series of questions about the Patriots, referring to the controversy more than once as “a league matter.” He claimed he still respected Belichick, but acknowledged he had not spoken to him since the season opener. The Jets were even more tight-lipped, with receiver Laveranues Coles claiming — with a straight face — that he had never heard of the spying.

“Who are we playing?” safety Kerry Rhodes asked with a wink.

The Patriots are loath to admit that their rampage through the league might have been sparked, in part, by a desire to prove that their three Super Bowl titles were not tainted by cheating. The Jets have had precious little to be proud of in this disappointing season, so when he was asked if he thought the Jets inspired the Patriots’ dominance, Rhodes chose to look on the bright side. “At least we did something positive in their eyes,” he said.

But Belichick is able to use any slight to convince his players that nobody believes in them. Smith’s transgression was the verbal equivalent of yanking on Superman’s cape, and look what happened to him. Rhodes joked that he would guarantee only that the Jets would show up on Sunday, but turning in the Patriots was akin to the Jets’ trying to run over Superman. Despite Belichick’s best efforts to bore everyone into submission, the topic will not go away. Before the Pittsburgh game, a plane flew overhead, trailing a banner that had an asterisk affixed to the Patriots’ three Super Bowl victories.

“Yeah, I try to control the things I can control, that’s what I’m going to do,” Belichick said when asked about the plane Monday. “I can’t control what else is out there.”

But he can certainly control what the Patriots put out there. The Patriots are renowned for parroting Belichick, practically verbatim, and this week will be no different. The rewind button has been pressed on the season and the Patriots are still on message.

“We’ve played 12 games after that, we’ve done just fine,” Ellis Hobbs said Sunday night. “We’re not worried about what happened then and we’re definitely not worried about what’s going to happen in the future.”

The Jets probably should be.

Judy Battista reported from Foxborough, Mass., and Greg Bishop from Hempstead, N.Y.

KentuckyJet

12-11-2007, 06:12 AM

Belichick questioning Mangini?:rant::rant::rant:
By Tom Rock:tex::tex::tex:

One of the fun parts of this week is monitoring the comments that fly back and forth between the teams. Seldom are they aimed directly at one another, but there is often some purpose or intent when they are made.

So it's interesting that on his weekly chat with WEEI Monday morning, Bill Belichick brought up Mangini's decision to replace Chad Pennington with Kellen Clemens. Here's the nugget I got after listening to the 39 minutes -- yes, 39 minutes! -- of the show on the weei website:

"They must have a lot of confidence in him because they took out Pennington who is, we know how good Pennington is. Pennington took them to the playoffs last year. Pennington, I think he's an outstanding quarterback, I really do. So for them to feel that confident in Clemens, they must really like what Clemens did."

Hmm. So, what do you think, Jets fans? Is Belichick second-guessing Mangini? Is Belichick maybe trying to stir things up in NY, knowing that creeps like me will write things like this? Would Belichick be interested in acquiring Pennington (who just happens to be close friends with the Patriots' best receiver) as a backup to Brady and an insurance policy? Is that the reason for the glowing review?:bazooka:IBG

Let's hear from all you conspiracy theorists and armchair shrinks out there.

Posted by Tom Rock on December 10, 2007 6:23

KentuckyJet

12-11-2007, 06:16 AM

Spread drops to 24 after Patriots open as record 27-point favorite:loco::loco::loco::loco::loco::rotf::rotf:
Associated Press

LAS VEGAS -- The New England Patriots' record-setting pace includes the betting odds, too.

The undefeated Patriots were made a 27-point favorite over the New York Jets in the opening line for Sunday's game at Foxborough, Mass. The line dropped to 24 on Monday, which would match San Francisco's record point spread over Cincinnati on Dec. 5, 1993, according to Keith Glantz, co-author of the Glantz-Culver Line. The 49ers won that game 21-8.

On Dec. 3, New England was a 20-point favorite at Baltimore, a record for a road team. But the Patriots barely won, 27-24.

New England is 13-0 after routing Pittsburgh on Sunday, while the Jets are 3-10.

There's much built-up animosity between the teams. Patriots coach Bill Belichick did not want Eric Mangini, then his defensive coordinator, to take the Jets' heading coach job in 2006. And New England was caught using video to spy on Jets assistant coaches during the season opener in September.

"On the Patriots side, the Jets are the team that turned them in, and they're going for an undefeated season," Glantz said of the spying incident that cost Belichick a $500,000 fine, and cost the team $250,000 and a 2008 first-round draft pick. "So they're not going to let up. When the Patriots are not playing the elite, they tend to run up the score. The opponent just can't seem to stop them."

Still, the spread opened at 27 and went down three points.

"Part of the reason for the drop is the possibility of poor playing conditions," Glantz said. "If the weather is bad -- ice, sleet or rain -- it will affect the game. Cold won't affect the game, it goes more with the field conditions.

"It is very difficult to make a line for this team; I have never seen a team get such high lines. The public has not gotten off the Patriots bandwagon."

Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press

KentuckyJet

12-11-2007, 06:20 AM

PATS FOCUS ON JETS, NOT GRUDGE:bazooka:Belichick:guns2:
By BART HUBBUCH

December 11, 2007 -- FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - No matter how many times and how many different ways the question was asked yesterday, Bill Belichick wasn't taking the bait.

One day after hapless Steelers safety Anthony Smith gave his unbeaten Patriots more than enough ammunition to deliver a 34-13 pounding here, Belichick wasn't going to do the same for the Jets this week.

Listening to the notoriously closed-mouthed Belichick, you would think this Sunday's "Spygate" grudge match with the Jets was just another game on the unbeaten Patriots' schedule.

Never mind that Belichick was fined $500,000 and the Patriots docked $250,000 and a 2008 first-round pick for videotaping the Jets' defensive signals at Giants Stadium during New England's 38-14 win on Sept. 9.

"We're going to approach it like every other game," Belichick said of the Jets matchup after the Patriots improved to 13-0 and guaranteed themselves a first-round AFC playoff bye with a lopsided throttling of the Steelers.

Asked if the fallout from the season-opening incident had affected the rest of the year on a personal level, Belichick pursed his lips angrily.

"I'm telling you that we're going to approach this game like we've approached the last one and the one before that," he said. "That's all I can tell you."

Belichick's players weren't the least bit surprised by his reluctance to talk about the Jets or how his relationship with longtime understudy Eric Mangini was blown to bits by the controversy.

"Belichick does a good job of keeping us focused on what's most important and what has meaning," said tight end Kyle Brady, a former No. 1 pick by the Jets. "He never wants us to escalate the meaning of one game."

Wideout Jabar Gaffney wasn't the only one in the New England camp who refused to vow that the Patriots - who opened as 27-point favorites - plan to pile it on the 3-10 Jets for ratting out their coach.

Offensive tackle Matt Light said he'll be able to tune out the noise this week because, "I have bad hearing," and he insisted with a straight face that Sunday's matchup is no bigger than any Patriots-Jets matchup.

"It's two teams in the same division that are very familiar with each other, so that's all you need right there," Light said. "There's no extra motivation from ('Spygate'). It's a game with the Jets, so there's always motivation."

KentuckyJet

12-11-2007, 06:23 AM

JETS: SPREAD NO DISS TO US:clap2::clap2::clap2::clap2:
By MARK CANNIZZARO
COTCHING ON:Receiver Jerricho Cotchery said the Jets don't feel any disrespect from being 24-point underdogs (down from an initial 27 points) against the Patriots on Sunday in Foxborough, Mass.
December 11, 2007 -- Two weeks ago, in the locker room following a rout of the woeful Dolphins, Jets players expressed outrage at having been one-point underdogs to winless Miami.

The words "disrespect" and "insult" were the most commonly-used by the Jets as they dressed following that 40-13 win in Miami.

On Sunday, the Jets will be staring at an even more outrageous betting line. They'll walk into Gillette Stadium as 24-point underdogs to the Patriots.

That makes the 3-10 Jets a historic underdog to the 13-0 Patriots, who are not only pursuing perfection but hold a grudge against Jets head coach Eric Mangini the size of the Prudential Center.

"From those numbers alone, we don't stand a chance, but that's outside this locker room," Jets safety Kerry Rhodes said of the point spread. "We don't feel that way. We feel that we can play with anybody on any given day."

Laveranues Coles sounded nonplussed by the spread.

"It's just oddsmakers doing their thing," he said. "We were a one-point underdog in Miami. It didn't make a difference then, so why would it make a difference now?"

Receiver Jerricho Cotchery said the spread is irrelevant.

"People are going on what (they see) on paper," he said. "We know what type of team they have over there. They have a great team. We don't feel disrespected by any point spreads or anything like that. We're not playing that well this year."

The world knows the Patriots would love nothing more than to pile on points against the Jets at a faster rate than a good New England snowstorm would dump two feet of snow based on the rift between Bill Belichick and Mangini aggravated by "Spygate" earlier this season.

That, according to Sean Van Patten, an oddsmaker at Sports Consultants in Las Vegas, is "definitely factored into making the line."

"The perception, at least, is that Belichick is running up the score because he's angry over 'Spygate,' and it's going to be payback time," Van Patten said.

Three games ago, the Patriots were installed as 231/2-point favorites against the Eagles. On Dec. 5, 1976, the expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers were 24-point underdogs to the defending Super Bowl champion Steelers, who won 42-0.

The more publicity Belichick's beef with Mangini receives as the week moves forward, the larger Van Patten expects the line to become by game time.

"I can really only see it going up," Van Patten said. "The public is going to hammer this number. Every week they're on New England. And, the more they see ESPN talk about how Belichick is going to want to run it up on (Mangini) they'll likely bet more on New England."

*

The one thing anyone can guarantee won't be heard from the Jets this week is a guarantee of a win over New England - the way Steelers safety Anthony Smith last week guaranteed his club would win.

How would Mangini react to a Jets player issuing a guarantee?

"I think Eric would probably be a little (ticked)," guard Brandon Moore said. "I don't think you'll see that from any of the guys here."

Tight end Joe Kowalew ski went to school with the Steelers' Smith and cringed when he heard the guarantee.

"When I heard it, I was like, 'Oh man, Ant,' " Kowalewski said. "I'm not going to make the same mistake my friend Anthony did. If I made a guarantee I don't think I'd be around here very long."

Rhodes did offer one guarantee: "I guarantee we'll be there to play."

mark.cannizzaro@nypost.com

KentuckyJet

12-11-2007, 06:27 AM

ISN'T THAT SPECIAL?
December 11, 2007 -- QUARTERBACKS D

Kellen Clemens (24-41, 286 yards, 2 INTs, 59.6 rating) was spotty, throwing two killer picks, including one at the goal line in the first half. He looked better in hurry-up situations, but that wasn't enough.

RUNNING BACKS C

Thomas Jones (24-106 rushing, 1-13 re ceiving) ran hard, particularly in the second half (12-70), but was stuffed twice at the goal line before Clemens' first pick. Leon Washing ton, one week after his best offensive output, pro vided no spark (3-5, 4-31).

WIDE RECEIVERS B

Laveranues Coles (bad left ankle) led the team with seven catches for 48 yards. Jerri cho Cotchery returned with a splint on his broken finger and caught six for 119 yards.

TIGHT ENDS C

Chris Baker (3-48) continued to make big plays in the passing game and should have been utilized more against the Browns, who have trouble covering tight ends.

OFFENSIVE LINE D+:rant::rant::rant:

Did a better job run blocking in the second half after blowing that goal line sequence in the first half. Clemens was sacked four times, but sometimes held the ball too long.

DEFENSIVE LINE C-

Though DE Shaun Ellis (one tackle) got close, he didn't get to Derek Anderson. The Jets had no sacks. DE Kenyon Coleman had six tackles.

LINEBACKERS C-

David Harris had a team-high nine tackles, Bryan Thomas had five and Victor Hobson had one. Jamal Lewis rushed for 118 yards on 21 carries.

SECONDARY C

S Kerry Rhodes (four tackles) had an INT for the fourth straight game, a forced fumble and big hits. CB Darrelle Revis struggled vs. WR Braylon Edwards.

SPECIAL TEAMS B+

Wallace Wright had two tackles in kick coverage and downed a Ben Graham punt at the 2-yard line. Brad Kassell recovered an onside kick. Eric Smith made an alert fumble recov ery of the opening kickoff, which Washington muffed. Kick and punt coverage was strong.

KICKING GAME B+

K Mike Nugent was successful on all four FGs and an onside kick. Graham averaged 41.6-yards gross and 36.2-yards net and had a couple inside the 20.

COACHING D

It's time for offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer to put away the too-predict able fade pass into the end zone for awhile. Great job, as usual, by special teams coach Mike Westhoff. Would have liked to see Eric Mangini go for it on fourth-and-1 in the first half and fourth-and- 10 late in the game. An argument could be made for kicking it deep late with three timeouts rather than try a second onside kick.:holla::holla::holla::bazooka:Manfreeni