• Dustin Keller and Jay Feely were at an event to support Muscular Dystrophy.  Both sent a shout-out on Twitter for the cause.
• Kerry Rhodes is expanding his Social Media Footprint by announcing on Twitter that he is now on Locker Blogger.
• Nick Mangold tweeted his appearance on ESPN’s First Take this week. He has a funny story about Mark Sanchez being a “Little Baby”.
• Kerry Rhodes is going to give a Pats fan a prize!? Say What?
• Kerry wants you to show pro-bowl love.  Poll.
• Have we not learned anything David Clowney?  Close the yapper, and play some ball! Oh, and you probably need to Win.

“The real good thing about being on the practice squad,” Cummings said, “is you’re going against our No. 1 offense. You’re going against the best. You’re getting the best practice you can get, you’re getting the best look you can get. That helps so when you do get pulled up, you’ve been doing it every day, going against the No. 1 offense every day. It’s not going to be that big of a deal.”

Cummings’ last game action was in the final preseason game against the Eagles when he grabbed seven tackles and a sack of speedy quarterback Michael Vick. A workhorse since training camp, No. 54 feels he’s continued to improve on several areas of his game.

“I feel like overall I’ve gotten better, better on my feet. I’m able to move and cover guys better,” he said. “I feel a lot lighter on my feet. I like to bring it, so that helps some, too.”

Cummings was a guy I gravitated to following when the team picked him up in 2008. The fact that he’s stayed with the team for the most part during a time where the linebacker unit has only gotten better is pretty impressive. I’d like to see how long the team can keep him around, and I’d like to see whether they can work him into the game plan. For now though, Special Teams is where he’ll have to make his mark.

Just a reminder that with Wes Welker healthy, things will be different for the Jets. Not just because Tom Brady has another receiver, but because it will help him avoid the big hits from the Jets blitzers.

While Brady was not sacked, he was hit 21 times, often finding himself running for cover. Edelman stepped in with eight catches for 98 yards, and was targeted 16 times. The since-released Joey Galloway had five catches for 53 yards, and was targeted 12 times.

What Brady could not do is what he’s done so productively before and since: Communicate telepathically with Welker for a sure completion.

This time, blitzing Brady may create more opportunities than it eliminates. Mentally, Welker gleans the pass protection, how much time Brady will have, and where the holes in the defense are.

“You have to understand who’s blitzing and things like that,” Welker said. “You may have to quicken up your route knowing it’s man coverage and they’re blitzing. You have to make sure you’re getting open quick, because the quarterback doesn’t have as much time as he usually does.”

It’s not just the hot route designed for a quick-hitting catch. Welker is also among the league leaders in yards after the catch, as well as one of its most sure-handed receivers.

When Welker went into RFA, I wanted the Jets to get him, and thought it was a great signing/trade for the Patriots. He and Brady are on fire, connecting for more than 90% of their passes during the last month. With that said, Welker’s more a product of the system than anything else. First, he plays with Randy Moss, who always draws the tougher assignment. Second, he plays mostly out of the slot, where he doesn’t have to worry about the sideline most of the time, so his routes are more multidimensional. Third, he’s got Tom Freaking Brady throwing to him.

Tom Brady has always been a fantastic timing QB, and one of the best ever at short-timing routes. Without Welker in Week 2, he had to hold onto the ball longer to get it to Edelman, Galloway or Moss, and thus he got hit more. The fact that Welker’s routes are often short and quick, means he can get open quickly on the second or third best corner on an opposing team, makes all the difference in the world. Although it would be nice to mark Revis on Welker, it’s probably not the smartest thing for the Jets to do.

I think that Dwight Lowery or Lito will take the bulk of the snaps against Welker, but Rex Ryan made a point to talk up Justin Miller yesterday, and he’s had real success in the past at covering slot guys. It’s going to be interesting …

Washington underwent emergency surgery. Because he broke the skin, the immediate concern was infection. A steel rod was inserted into his leg.

“Infection, infection, infection is the major setback with the type of injury I have,” he said. “Thank god, I’m 98, 99% past that part. The wounds have healed up.”

Doctors told him a full recovery will take six to 12 months.

“Since I beat the infection part, it’s all up to me, what side of the spectrum I’ll be on – the six-month side or the 12-month side,” he said. “They expect me to have a full recovery and they’re real surprised at my mobility right now.”

The fourth-year pro insisted that he has no regrets about his contract situation and perhaps holding out until he got what he wanted. In training camp, he turned down a contract offer worth $5 million per season but the new money wouldn’t kick in until next season, which would drastically lower the average of the contract.

Washington, a fourth-round pick, earned a base salary of $535,000 this season and will be a restricted free agent after the season minus a new collective bargainning agreement. Under terms of that agreement, the Jets could play hardball and sign him to only a one-year deal worth between $1.2 and $1.8 million, the tender for a fourth- or second-round draft choice.

“No regrets,” he said emphatically. “If I could do it over again … no regrets.”

Washington said he has no plans to fire his agent, Alvin Keels.

Leon noted that Tannenbaum had him that the team would address his contract in the off season, but as noted above, it’s going to be interesting to see just what sort of a deal the team will give him.  We’re glad he’s in good spirits, looking forward to coming back to the Jets, and we hope that he can be a productive player for the team for a long time, and be fairly compensated in the process.

We’re cutting and pasting at length here, so we’re sorry, but there’s no other way to do it.

Take it away, ProFootballTalk!

Revis … is taking issue with Randy’s prior comments.

“I was in man-to-man coverage,” Revis said Wednesday, during a conference call with New England reporters.

“[E]veryone saw the game, everybody knows I was in man coverage, that was the case,” Revis said. “He’s supposed to say that because [that day] wasn’t his day, he got shut out and was frustrated about it, which is cool. I don’t have anything against him. I still think he’s one of the best receivers in the league. When we go up against each other, it’s great competition.”

Revis tried to state his case without getting Randy riled up.

“I’m not going to disrespect nobody about anything,” Revis said. “If Randy beat me on a touchdown, yeah, I’ll live up to it. Yeah, he beat me. He’s a great receiver. I believe I’m a great corner, too. That’s just how it goes. When you play against the best, you have to bring your game. You also have to give respect to the guys that you’re going against.

“I mean, they get paid as well as I do. So there’s no trying to get into a jarring match or a trash-talking match with Randy Moss. I say what I believe and that’s it. You live up to it or you don’t. One thing I know is I’m giving him respect, he’s one of their best and it’s great competition between me and him. I love it, and I’m sure he loves it, too.”

Later in the call, a reporter asked Revis whether he played Moss in man coverage, with help “over the top” from a safety. The line of questioning produced an awkward moment, to say the least.

Here’s the excerpt of the transcript.

Q: Is it possible to have safety help over the top, while you’re playing man coverage, so it sort of allows you to be more aggressive when you have the safety help rolled over the top?

Revis: Do you know football?

Q: Well, that’s why I’m asking. You know, if you could clear it up for me.

Revis: Yeah, I’m asking you. I’m asking you a question. Do you know football?

Q: Maybe parts of it, but not that part of it.

Revis: What part do you know?

Q: I said, like parts of it.

Revis: OK, so do you know defensive coverages?

Q: Not very well.

Revis: Cover two, over three, cover one.

Q: Not very well, quite honestly.

Revis: Well, OK.

A reporter than explained that the specific issue arose because Pats coach Bill Belichick has been saying that Revis had “help over the top.”

Said Revis in response, “I don’t believe that statement, so that question is dead from now on. I’m not going to just keep on answering the question.”

It’s silly to say that Revis didn’t have “over the top” help. Yes, Revis was charged with covering Randy Moss. Yes, he did cover him on probably 99% of snaps that Moss was on the field that day. Yes there were times when he was on Revis Island. Did he have a good day on Moss? Absolutely. But the absence of Wes Welker made coverage shell help a lot more readily available for Revis and when you look at the tape, you can see it.

Revis is getting pulled into the dirt with the Boston media about semantics on coverages, and I think that depending on your definition of “man coverage” that would have to flavor how the question is then answered. By the strictest definition, “man coverage” means “isolation” or often referred to as Cover-0 … meaning there’s no help, a player has his charge, and that’s all. That’s what the Boston media is talking about. I don’t know percentages, but in the NFL, very few times are Cover-0 schemes used … it’s extremely risky.

“Man coverage” though can have zone help, and that’s what Revis might be talking about. So that’s where the Cover-1, Cover-2, Cover-3 terms come in. It’s coverage, with a +1, +2, etc. The numerical value explains how many zone coverage personnel there are on that given play. So even though Revis was playing “man coverage” on Moss (Revis had no other responsibilities) there were others during the game (Lowery, Rhodes, Leonhard, etc.) who had the responsibility to help Revis.

Let’s look at Revis’s interception, the play called for a Cover-1. Jim Leonhard blitzed from deep on Moss’s side of the field, while Rhodes who was in “centerfield” rolled on coverage to help, but might have been unecessary, based on Revis’s spectacular play.

Beyond that, there were plenty of other plays that Revis and Moss lined up, and there was often a floating DB fading to that side of the field, or covering inside or “over the top” zone to make Brady throw to a very specific place should he try and get it to Moss. One of the endearing things about Revis to this point is that he’s confident, but with humility … if that makes sense. So where did that interchange come from? It’s never good when players and scribes start getting adversarial about stuff like this. Hey at least it wasn’t with the New York media.

UPDATE: Florio asked a scout with the “All-22″ camera access to take a look at the film.  The conclusion? “”A lot is just semantics and interpretation … [w]ere the Jets truly double covering Moss all over the field?  No.  Did they favor him on most plays?  Yes.”   So basically, what we already thought.

Read about it here.

[Boston Globe - Jets Revis Has Bravado Covered]
[Boston Herald - Jets Revis Says He 'Shut Out' Moss]

Sanchez apologized for his Jaguars postgame presser yesterday to the New York media, chalking it up to youthful inexperience and an eagerness to credit his teammates and take the blame for the loss.

“I just changed things up a little bit,” Sanchez said Wednesday. “I thought I had everything figured out, of course, as a 23-year-old rookie would, but probably not the best way to go about it. It didn’t go over very well, so, trial and error and hopefully a one-time mistake.”

If we’ve seen anything, it’s that Sanchez is a quick study.

Sanchez said he sat at his locker after the 24-22 loss and wrote out his thoughts in anticipation of what he might be asked. He then went to the podium and quickly read from the sheet, rattling off specific key plays and offering a summary of what happened in the loss before taking questions.

“Once I got up there, I kind of got rolling with it and kept going,” he said. “I won’t do that again.”

The awkward moment rubbed some in the media the wrong way as Sanchez was criticized for appearing immature, disrespectful and unprofessional. After thinking about it, Sanchez said he was wrong to have a prepared statement.

“I answer the questions and you guys ask the questions,” he said. “That’s the rule. I’m not here to do your job, just like you’re not here to do mine. That wasn’t the most respectful thing to you guys and ladies. As much as I anticipate the questions and want to have an idea of what’s coming my way, it’s not my job to say, ‘All right, the press conference is over.’”

Apologizing for eating hotdogs and now for preparing statements? You have to feel bad for the kid. Still, Sanchez is extremely teachable, and seems pretty humble when it comes to “doing the right thing” … even when he didn’t really do anything that bad in the first place.

I don’t know how most of the press felt about it at the time, but it was mentioned enough by enough people last weekend that folks clearly thought it was a strange way to start the presser.

In theory, I don’t have a problem with Mark’s prepared words … Rex Ryan does it everytime he’s up there. When players are signed or drafted, they generally have some prepared statements. That’s not the problem with what he did. Where eyebrows were raised was when (1) it seemed out of character and disjointed for Sanchez, and (2) in some ways, dictatorial.

I think Mark hit it on the head by saying that “I answer the questions and you guys ask the questions.” Still, it sounds like the intent was nothing more than wanting to credit his teammates for their actions, and point out his own mistakes. It’s not a big deal, he’s learned his lesson, and I don’t see it as something worth dwelling on.

Moving along …

Writer: Columunist Gary Myers at New York Daily News
Title: Cryin’ shame: Rex Ryan must handle emotions for New York Jets to succeed
Bassett’s Abstract: Though sources close to the Ravens know this is who Rex is, Rex needs to get his junk together.
Snippet: “Players look to the coach to set the tone. He can never let on that the losing is getting to him. The last thing the Jets want is for Ryan to turn into a robot like Eric Mangini. But he can’t lose control of his emotions. Once that happens, he can lose the team … How many times has Ryan already declared the Jets face a must-win? Do that too many times and you lose the attention and respect of the players. Ryan’s biggest problem is he overrated the Jets talent and underrated the history of failure in the organization. His players have been unable to back up his boasting.”
Bassett’s Thought: I can’t believe I’m saying this, but at the least, Gary Myers makes a point. It’s a fair question to ask.

Writer: Reporter JP Pelzman at Bergen Record
Title: Ryan’s message needs bite
Bassett’s Abstract: Ryan needs to rely on more than just emotion.
Snippet: “.. to his credit, Ryan hasn’t changed. He still is the same outspoken person he’s always been in the public eye, and he hasn’t changed behind the scenes, either … Still, even in football, emotion can take a team only so far.”
Bassett’s Thought: I do think that changing his tack, in terms of emotion isn’t the best idea. Still he does need to make some changes to his game management.

Writer: Reporter Mark Cannizzaro at New York Post
Title: Keep on yappin’
Bassett’s Abstract: Rex has made some mistakes, but get off his back.
Snippet: “The same people criticizing Ryan are the ones who wanted Mangini run out of town because he wasn’t filling up their notebooks with pithy quotes or delivering juicy sound bite material to the cameras and microphones.”
Bassett’s Thought: A good defense, but totally disingenuous when you consider what the back cover was yesterday on his very own newspaper.

Writer: Columnist Don Banks at Sports Illustrated
Title: NFL Power Rankings Week 11
Bassett’s Abstract: Banksy is still pissed for getting out his “jump to conclusions matt” after the 3-0 start.
Snippet: “Rex Ryan crying in a team meeting? There’s no crying in football. No crying. Maybe some whining. Sniveling, yes. The occasional whimper. But no crying. Although I suppose with a trip to Foxboro looming and the wheels having come almost completely off for New York, it was certainly time for some over-the-top show of emotion from the Jets rookie head coach. I would have put my money on Ryan doling out a raging butt-chewing after that debacle of a loss at home to Jacksonville, but that’s just the football romantic in me.
Bassett’s Thought: I thought Ryan would have yelled at his guys too at some point after that one.

Writer: Columnist Dan Graziano at SNY.tv
Title: Don’t stop talking, start winning
Bassett’s Abstract: Better to be yourself and it not work than don’t be yourself and it not work.
Snippet: “See, every coach gets fired. Unless you’re Tony Dungy, it always ends badly. Whether Ryan flames out in a year or wins five Super Bowls, eventually he’s not going to be the Jets’ head coach anymore, and the overwhelming likelihood is that he’ll leave on somebody else’s terms. The worst thing would be, on the day that that happens, for Ryan to look around and say, “Boy. I wish I’d done it my way. I wish I’d been true to myself.”
Bassett’s Thought: This probably the best article I’ve read on the subject, seriously.