At 4-5 the Jets find themselves in a hole that they need to climb out of if they are to keep their playoff hopes alive and what better way to do that than with a win against division rival New England? Yes, though the Jets have struggled lately they do have the talent to go out there and win but execution and perseverance will essentially determine who goes home victorious. Here is Rex Ryan who delivers a heartfelt message … again.

Quarterback: It cannot be stressed enough that Sanchez needs to learn to protect the ball and make the right decisions especially up against New England as they will take anything they can get on Sunday. That being said, Sanchez will have to make sure he knows what is going on at all times and be on top of his game. Any bets on if O’Connell will be a captain? Anyone?

Running Backs: Thomas Jones continues to run over opponents week after week and when in Foxboro that shouldn’t change much. The Patriots have come a long way from week two but its hard not to predict a good day for Jones at this point in the season no matter how many games the Jets decide to lose (besides I’m sure they will be a little more preoccupied trying to stop Cotch, Edwards, Keller and Chez). Shonn Greene was a factor against Jacksonville as he would set up Jones’ touchdown run and figures to get some time to wear down the Patriots D.

Wide Receivers: Jerricho Cotchery had a solid day against the Jags and is clearly Sanchez’s go to guy and should be available often on Sunday. With Braylon Edwards climbing aboard (since they last met) it will be interesting to see how the Patriots defense will defend these two playmakers. David Clowney should also factor into the equation but unless someone goes down with an injury his production will be limited but won’t go unnoticed if he gets New York out of a few jams.

Tight Ends: Although he was withheld a touchdown Dustin Keller seems to be getting back on the same page with Mark Sanchez and after grabbing the sole touchdown week two against the Pats, I would expect Sanchez to look for Keller quite a few times. Ben Hartsock has been quiet recently and as long as he can keep blocking without getting penalized I won’t have an issue nor will Ryan.

Offensive Line: The offensive line continues to perform and with center Nick Mangold being the anchor the line is more than stable but Sanchez could definitly use more time as the Patriots will try to employ the “get after the rookie” routine. As long as everyone can keep most pressure off Sanchez the Jets will be able to succeed.

Defensive Line: Although DeVito and Co. had their moments against Jacksonville they would come too late as MJD had already done enough damage in the first half that being said, there shouldn’t be too much of a problem as the Patriots running backs are not always consistent week after week but what they lack in running they make up for in the passing game. Still the line will need to be sharp and ready themselves for any surprises.

Linebackers: With Vernon Gholston sitting this one out (surprise, surprise), Kenwin Cummings was added on to the active roster and brought a can-win attitude with him but whether he acts on it (or if the Jets allow him to) is questionable. David Harris who will be wearing the headset should Leonhard be sidelined looks to see some more action and no doubt be a part of the Brady Blitz packages while Bart Scott will hopefully get a little more vocal defensively rather than employing his colorful vocab. Pace, Thomas and Westerman figure to be also get in on the pressure and can hopefully break the Patriots offensive line early and often.

Defensive Backs: There has been big hype surrounding the one-on-one between Revis and Moss but don’t worry Jets fans Revis knows how to take care of buisness and I believe week two couldn’t have done a much better job of emplifying that. Dwight Lowery appeared to take two steps back last week and the presence of Lito Sheppard didn’t exactly do much for the team but for now I imagine Ryan starting Lowery based on his solid performance save the Jacksonville game. It will be a huge test for Lowery as he will probably be put against Welker but as long as he can keep up, I think it will be possible for him to succeed.

Donald Strickland also hasn’t been up to par lately but will play a major role on defense as should Drew Coleman who has seemingly turned around under the Ryan regime. Jim Leonhard is questionable and it would be a major blow to lose him but Eric Smith is good enough to fill in and will need to be on the mark as he was week two. Kerry Rhodes has been struggling the past few weeks and I’m beginning to question whether or not he belongs on the field but with that said he isn’t exactly tanking and with this being a rivalry I’d imagine everyone is stepping up their game.

Special Teams: They recovered nicely and were able to shut down returns mainly due to Brad Smith who was quite vocal after returning from his injuries. As long as Smith and all the right players are activated, I see no problems here. Jay Feely is still going strong and after getting 95% of the points during the previous meeting, I would expect Feely to be ready for anything. Steve Weatherford may be of good use this week just in case the Jets need to use some trickery but don’t expect too much except for a few good punts when need be.

Manish Mehta of the Star-Ledger tweeted and the Notorious Ohm wrote in the NYDN that Jim Leonhard was in fact practicing for the media today.

S Jim Leonhard, though, was practicing with a cast on his thumb. So we’ll see what Rex Ryan says about the possibility of him playing on Sunday. I’ll hit you guys up later.

Ryan seemed to hint at it yesterday in his press conference, so that Leonhard might play would be a big boost for the Jets and the team’s plan for Wes Welker. Leonhard still might not start, but having him available would be a big plus for this team. For sure, there’s no way he would field punts with three screws in his hand, and a cast over top of it.

Is this a strategic feint by Ryan to get Belichick overthinking? It seems out of character for him to do so … that’s more a Mangini type thing. Ryan doesn’t exactly strike me as someone full of guile.

Shout out to Mike D. who gave me the heads up.

• 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.

This is a clip from last week (since this week’s not up on Hulu yet) but just to say, if you like fantasy football (like me) and are also watching your fun youth get stripped away by other responsibilities (also like me) and enjoy infantile humor (again, like me) then you’ll probably enjoy FX’s The League. Definitely worth checking out.

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 …

The three coordinators took their turns at the podium Thursday. On whether Justin Miller can play defense, covering Wes Welker, the no-huddle, how to get Sanchez started quicker in-game, Ahmad Carroll’s “average” play and much more.

New York Jets Defensive Coordinator Mike Pettine, 11.19

On Justin Miller improving…

I’m sure he was working out when he wasn’t on a team, but there is no substitute for real football action. You need to get back into football shape. That’s something that comes with getting your timing back and just playing. It was good to see today. He really stood out today that he had a good day. I don’t know what he did for Mike Westhoff, but I just know from what he was doing on the scout team, he looked like he’s definitely getting his legs back, which is encouraging.

On if Miller will be ready to help on defense this Sunday…

We haven’t decided the active/inactive. At this point, the work that he’s getting is on the scout team. If he was going to help us on Sunday, it would be in an emergency role.

On where Miller could fit in this season on defense…

It would be a specific role. There would be a specific package of calls. Since he wasn’t here in the spring and for camp and for any off our offseason stuff as far as running the package, it would be too much to try to give him everything. It would be a defined role. Here’s five or six calls you need to know. I think that’s something he could be successful in. That will be a situation where if we feel he’s ready and he’ll be on the active list and he’ll be up, then we’ll find some work for him to do for us that can help us.

On how different it will be for the Patriots to have Wes Welker instead of Julian Edelman…

It’s a big step up. To me, Edelman was a poor man’s version of Welker and he did a good job filling in for him. Now they are getting creative and going to some four-wide receiver groupings that gets them both on the field which is certainly a challenge. Welker is definitely a step up. It’s easy to see that he’s really been a shot in the arm for the offense now that he’s 100 percent. He’s averaging close to 10 catches a game in the last month or so. Yards after catch are his usual. Then, he ignited them the other night as well with the punt return as well. He’s a weapon. It’s certainly justified that the guy is a Pro Bowl guy almost every year.

On how much of Darrelle Revis’ coverage of Randy Moss in the first game was man-to-man…

I don’t have numbers. We mixed our coverages up a lot. You have to do that against New England. You can’t give them one look. I can say this, we weren’t in a lot of true cover zero with no help. Nobody in the League is. Most teams in the League, I would be shocked if they averaged more than four or five snaps a game of straight man coverage (with) no help. That being said, a lot of times when there’s a post player a lot of teams play cover one, man free. A lot of times that safety is never a factor if their route stayed to the outside. That guy is basically on an island. If you play quarter-coverage, you’re four-across, the route can dictate whether you can help or not. It’s hard to put a number on that. What I do know is this, there were a lot of times where he covered him where it wouldn’t have mattered if he had help or not. He was all over the route. He did a great job and our plan will be similar again. We’ll mix what we do and have (Revis) matched up on (Moss) and know that will be a focal point. I’m sure it will be fun to watch.

On not being able to finish games defensively…

It’s frustrating. Sometimes you can handle it a little better when you just get beat physically. A jump ball gets thrown up and their guy out pulls your guy for the ball or it’s a tackle and the guy wins it and he makes a guy miss in the open field. It’s more of a physical thing. It’s frustrating when it’s a mental thing and some of our breakdowns are self-inflicted and that’s certainly been the case. It was certainly the case against Jacksonville. That for us was the most disappointing thing. That last drive where we had three or four mental errors that resulted in big plays for them. It’s hard enough to defend teams in this league from a man versus man standpoint when it’s the physical part of it, but when you’re gifting some yards you’re putting yourself in a position where you’re staring up a hill. That to me, looking back on some of the issues we’ve had, that has been the most disappointing. I think part of that is growing pains. It’s the first year of a new system. Rex and I came from Baltimore where we were four years into it and the guys understood it and they knew where guys were going to be. It was frustrating to not be able to jump right in and have it be seamless where the guys know it right away. We feel it’s a worthwhile system to wait and live through those, but it’s frustrating that we’ve had some issues with it and that it’s cost us some yards and potentially a game or two.

On if the mental errors are communication errors or guys just making mistakes…

It’s a little bit of both. Guys not on the same page. Some were individual things where it was a technique or a guy needed to be aware of more than just the one guy in front of him and made the mistake of playing more of a man-type thing where he needed to account for other receivers in the area. Other ones are communication. The obvious one would be Kerry (Rhodes) and Jimmy (Leonhard). Determining who’s on wheels, a balance formation, one of the safeties was down and one was in the post. They clearly weren’t on the same page. It’s a double-edged sword. At home, you want the crowd to be loud and we have one of the best crowds in the league in making noise for the opponent, but we stress it in practice. That’s one of the reasons we play the loud music in practice for our (defensive) guys when we play at home is because we need to make sure we can communicate when it’s loud as well. We know it’s going to be that way in the Meadowlands. That’s part of it. We stress it to the guys. Everybody knows the defense, but we need to get to the point where it’s graduate level, where we understand the finer points of it. I don’t know if anything other than experience will bring that, but we’re a work in progress.

On if there is a specific person that will cover Wes Welker…

I would say a cast of characters would be a bit more accurate.

On if Drew Coleman will have a role in covering Welker…

He’ll be up, so I’d like to think he’ll be involved with it as well. Sometimes it’s good with a guy like (Welker) to throw some different types at him. He’s a guy you can’t play one coverage against because he’s so good at reading. That’s one of the things, to me, is one of his strengths. He reads the coverage and I don’t think there’s anybody better in the League reading the leverage of a defensive back. If you’re outside, he pushes inside. If he knows you have to work inside because of the coverage, he’s going to push away from you.

On if there is a guy in particular that is better than most at cover a shifty guy like Welker…

I’d put (Donald) Strickland on that list for sure. Dwight Lowery’s played some inside, but I don’t know how great a matchup Dwight would be being a taller, rangier corner than a Strick or Coleman or even Marquice Cole. We had success in Baltimore with Corey Ivy who played well against Welker in 2007. Like I said, you can’t match one guy. You can’t play one guy. It will be a combination of things.

On if Sebastian Vollmer is getting help…

They’re helping some. You can’t go into a game against Indy and not have a plan. I don’t think there are any tackles in the League, I was in Baltimore all those years with Jonathan Ogden, and he had his hands full with (Dwight) Freeney as well. You have to mix it up because (Robert) Mathis on the other side is such a good rusher as well. We have a plan and it’s based on the first game and what they’ve done since and where we are personnel-wise since then. Some of it will involve trying to take advantage of their tackles and some will work on the other part of their offense.

On what he knows about Vollmer…

I can tell you he’s pretty good. He’s big, about 6-8. They do a real nice job technique-wise with their guys. You have a Pro Bowler like Matt Light who know might find himself struggling to get back in the lineup. That tells you something about that kid. He’s solid and he’s a good athlete. He kicks back well and he has such a great wingspan that you can see why a guy like Freeney had some issues on him.

On Kerry Rhodes’ season so far…

I know it’s been a frustrating year for Kerry. The easy assumption to make was you’re going to be the Ed Reed of this defense. Well, there’s only one Ed Reed. The defense wasn’t built for Ed Reed to make plays. It was made to stop people. Our big thing that we stress every week, it’s one of our mottos, is do your job and big things will happen. I can understand why it’s been frustrating from him because the production hasn’t come. As far as him doing his job, we grade guys every week and we plus/minus them on every play, Kerry traditionally grades out as one of our higher guys percentage-wise. Sometimes it’s luck. There was a play earlier in the year where David Harris ended up getting an interception that Kerry would have made if David wasn’t there. I can sense his frustration because I know he wants to be a playmaker and he’s made plays in the past. That’s something that I think will come in time. The more he and Jim (Leonhard) play alongside each other and understand the defense and can position themselves in the right places, most of the times we find the turnovers come and the plays come when you’re doing your job.

On Rhodes’ work ethic…

I don’t have issue with it. To me, Kerry has a good feel for what we’re doing. Can we as a coaching staff police what our guys do when they’re outside the building? No. We can recommend. He’s good in the meeting room. He knows his job. There are some guys where that’s their thing. When they leave the building, they put more on their plate football wise. I think as coaches we all want to be of the mindset that our guys are all going to be gym rats and football junkies and if they leave here, they’re going to go home and study tape. Not everyone is like that. That’s just part of that. As coaches, we all want him to be like us, which probably isn’t a good thing.

On if Marques Douglas is like having a coach on the field…

I don’t think this is anything you can teach. I think Marques has outstanding instincts for the game. When he studies tape, he can get a pretty good feel for whether it’s splits or during an actual game listening to line calls. He gets a good feel for whether it’s a run or pass. He does a good job communicating that with the rest of the defense. When our guys are off on the sideline, he’s a leader that’ll grab that group. To me, that’s one of the reasons we brought him here. He’s obviously on the down slope of his career from an athletic standpoint, but what he brings to us from an intangible standpoint I think is invaluable.

New York Jets Offensive Coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, 11.19

On what he expects from the New England defense…

I think there is one thing that we can be sure of and that is it will be something we haven’t seen. We’ve come to expect that from Coach Belichick and (defensive coordinator) Dean Pees and their staff. They play everybody different. Injuries factor into a lot of things. I think what they are doing a good job of now is earlier in the season they went to the four down. The last couple of games, some of the Miami stuff, they’ve played 3-4. Against us they played all nickel. You really just don’t know. You prepare for everything. Our guys have seen more stuff this week than most weeks because you’re mixing personnel and looking at different things. Everything is different. You have four down, three down, subgroups. We expect to see extra guys in the box, post-safety defense. They feel really good about what they (have) going on on the outside right now. The corners are playing really good. It will be a surprise.

On the Patriots having Jerod Mayo back…

He’s a great player. With what he did last year, sideline to sideline player. I think he has a lot to do with getting people lined up, at least that’s what it looks like on film. He makes a lot of the checks. He and (Brandon) Meriweather are the two guys that you see doing a lot of the communicating. A big-time football player. They don’t bring him all the time, but when he comes he’s a good pass-rusher. He’s good in coverage, he’s just a good all-around player. It definitely helps to have him back. He is the one guy that doesn’t move around too much. You know he’ll be off the ball and the other guys are kind of interchanging. They move them all around. (Gary) Guyton plays different spots.

On if they will come after Mark Sanchez more than the last game…

Going back and looking at the film, they’ve never really been a big pressure team against us. Do I think they’ll pressure us more? Absolutely, I think that is what most teams are doing to us now. Going back and looking, they wanted to be sound in their coverage, they wanted to get the extra guy down in the box and see how Mark would handle throwing into zones with people in his face, but absolutely. I think we’ll get some more pressure. They’re kind of going a little more in that direction anyway. They have a thing that we call cover-nine where they bring six guys and just play man-to-man on the outside and in the middle with nobody deep. Those numbers have jumped up a bunch. You never know, but we are expecting to see quite a bit of pressure.

On if there should be less pressure with Braylon Edwards and Jerricho Cotchery…

It all depends on their corners. A lot of things about pressure is you are trying to get a quarterback unsettled. It’s not so much we know we’re exposed a little bit on the edges, but it wouldn’t get a hit on the quarterback. I think you go back last week against Jacksonville, one of the best plays I think Mark made was the throw he made to Jerricho when Reggie Nelson hit him. Usually hits like that have an affect on a quarterback. I think that is why we are getting so many blitzes. People want to find out how Mark is going to hold up when you have people around his legs and hitting him and knocking him down. I think that is kind of the formula people are trying to use against us now.

On the timeout at the goal-line against Jacksonville…

We hit the big play on fourth down to Shonn (Greene) on the boundary. It was on our boundary, so the look that we had, he was right by the pylon. What we tried to do was hurry-up. We call it an attack formation where we hurry up and get the ball snapped. The ball wasn’t spotted as quickly as we hoped. At that point, once the ball was spotted, Jacksonville had done a good job of adjusting and they had everyone in the gaps, so my concern that point in talking to Rex was we wanted to score. At that point we were behind. I didn’t want a bad play to happen. As we discussed it, we burned the timeout because we felt the most important thing, not that we wanted to burn the timeout obviously, we had to get in the endzone. That was the most important thing. In hindsight, I really believe we’re the best goal-line offense in the NFL, I believe that. We probably shouldn’t have attacked in that situation. We probably should have send our goal-line people out there and gone with what we do best, which is pound the football in down there. I really do believe that we have the best goal-line offense and execution in the League.

Maybe he got in. We just didn’t know. You never know in that situation. He came over and I asked, “Do you think you could have got in” and he said “Probably, I don’t know.” It was one of those deal where we had worked so hard to get down there, we didn’t want to take any chances. Burning the timeout is not a good idea.

On New England not allowing the “deep ball”…

That’s kind of been their M.O. for the last couple of years. The run, if I remember, is a run that Ray Rice had that went for 50-something yards. They do a great job. They call it GTFB, which means stay back. It’s hard because Meriweather is kind of rolling around back there and people get behind him. Again, you have to make the throws and Meriweather is a great player. He kind of reads the quarterback. I think that is kind of a new wave with safeties in this league. They are going to play deep and kind of read the quarterback, so when he is supposed to be in the deep middle of the field, you might see him 15-yards deep on the hash where the quarterback is looking. It’s hard to get behind him with the way the corners play. They are trying to funnel and keep everything in front of him. They are doing a good job tackling. We have some things that we think we can hopefully get and they are not all deep balls. There are some things we think we can get an advantage and find the seam in the crease. It can be yards after the catch as well. They are doing a pretty good job tackling.

On not getting the ball to Braylon Edwards in the first half…

We look at it, we actually kind of keep track up in the press box of where the ball is getting disbursed to different people, how many carries people have, how many does Thomas (Jones) have, how many does Shonn (Greene) have, how many catches. There are some times where we tried to get him the ball in the first half, things just didn’t work out that way. To Braylon’s credit, all he ever said is, “Hey Schotty, I can win on this. I can do that.” We went in and made a couple more adjustments. We reconfigured some things and got him involved. He can help us win and when he gets going, that play he made on that big incut on third-and-nine where he elevated up, we talked about that. His ability to go up and get deep incuts and deep balls is special.

On having Edwards as a “new weapon” in this game…

Coach Belichick and his staff are aware of what he can do. They played him a couple of years ago in Cleveland. It is new. He wasn’t here for us last game. It’s always been said that Coach Belichick is going to play the philosophy and the coordinator. I think this year he is kind of playing different. You have Mark, you have different pieces, now you have Braylon. I think he is going back and looking at our last couple of games this season and saying “What are they doing here? How are they moving the ball?” because obviously he is going to be a guy that they are going to want to stop. I know he always has had respect for our receivers from what I’ve heard, Jerricho, Laveraneus (Coles). Braylon just kind of fits in to that kind of role.

On having not scored a touchdown in the last two minutes of the first half…

(There are) a couple of situations. The one that jumps out at me last week we had a negative run where we lost four yards. Probably got a little bit conservative. The other one that jumps out at me is the Miami game on Monday night. We didn’t have a whole lot of time. He moved us down the field a little bit. At the end of the first half it is a little bit of a risk-reward depending on where you are, how much time you got with how aggressive you want to be. We’ll take into consideration are we getting the ball first in the second half? Is the defense up first? That all kinds of plays into the thinking. I think you are correct, I don’t think we have scored a touchdown to end the first half.

On how often they run the no-huddle…

The Tennessee game and this (past) game. We’ll go in and out of it some. Those have been the ones that it has been featured the most. He (Sanchez) likes it. There are some calls you can’t make at the line of scrimmage, but he likes it. He’s a tempo guy. I tease him, going back to the Houston game. He got really going and looked at me and said, “Come on, come on.” I said, “Settle down, you’re still a rookie right now (laughing).” He likes that tempo, he gets into a rhythm. He feeds off of that. That is what you saw last week with the two long drives at the end. We’re a rhythm offense, it’s not just Mark. We kind of get into a rhythm and make a couple of first downs and find our feel, if you will.

On why Sanchez has slow starts but plays better in the second half…

It’s funny because we look at it every week. One of the things that I will say that we are working with him on is he is really athletic and has really quick feet. I’ll go back to last week, he got sped up a little bit with his feet. There was a throw down in the redzone to Dustin Keller where he was so fast through his progression that it hadn’t really developed and he kind of yanked one because it hadn’t developed and he threw it at Dustin’s feet. The emphasis on him getting away from center and getting a little bit more depth in his drop early on to slow him down because he is an energetic guy who gets sped up. That’s not unusual with young players. I think he calms down as the game kind of gets going. Sometimes getting hit and things like that calm you down as well.

On trick plays…

We always carry a half-a-dozen of them in the gameplan. Quite honestly all of them don’t look good in practice. The ones that don’t look good we take out. That was a design that we feel really good about in seeing some things on film. I’ll go back to the first play of the game. Mathis was a guy that we saw liked to peak around in the backfield a bit. You all saw Jerricho get behind him. It was something that looked good on film, it looked good at practice. My personal opinion on calling (trick plays) is it is kind of a feel thing. I thought it would be a positive play. Looking back on it, I wish he (Edwards) would have run. You hope for a big play, there is a little bit of risk with that, at the very least he can run and make four or five yards. It’s no different than handing the ball off to the other guys. We’ll carry more some weeks than others. When they work they look really good and when they don’t work you look like you’re foolish.

On Coach Ryan wanting to put the ball in the offense’s hand at the end of the game…

It’s flattering. At that point of the game we were playing very well. We had a 13-play drive and a 16-play drive. Rex does a good job of (doing) what it is going to take to win. It had to kill him to make that call, it’s not his mentality. We were aware of what was coming. You have to give Jacksonville a lot of credit. It would have been great to have a done that offensively.

On if game-winning drives are a “right of passage” for quarterbacks…

Other than the Miami game, that was the last one. We got down to the seven or eight yardline then we got sacked and knocked back. That would have been his first comeback win, I guess. Even Brett (Favre) talked about that last year. That is one of the things that I learned from being around him. How he played in the first or second quarter didn’t really bother him. Third quarter, fourth quarter he knew he was going to make some plays. The thing we have to do with Mark is we have to start faster. What we have seen going through most of the games is he has played really well in the second half. You can go back to the last New England game, we struggled a bit in the first half, had some bad field position, but once we got going he came out firing. He has played really well in the second half.

On if he had any words as a mentor for Sanchez about his post-game press conference…

I really don’t get that involved with it. The big thing is he has to be himself. We have a great PR staff. I wouldn’t want to come in here and talk to you guys without getting briefed (laughter). I really think that he cares. It’s funny because he was consoling me after the game, I was really down. Then when I heard about it later I was like what happened? He’s growing. It is all part of the process and he cares. He is not the only guy, I think most of the guys, if not all of the guys in that locker room care. We want to win and we’re doing everything we can and looking under every stone to try to find the solution.

New York Jets Special Teams Coordinator Mike Westhoff, 11.19

On who will be the punt returner this Sunday…

Obviously, with Jimmy (Leonhard) and his hand (injury), he’s out. What’s looked best in practice is Jerricho (Cotchery). Plus I like the fact that he came to me and wants to do it. He looked really good. He looked smooth and we’ll play some two-deep like we’ve done before with he and Brad (Smith). The two of them together, I felt looked really good. Plus with Jerricho being short-handed, then I can play some different fronts and be a little more aggressive at times. I may want to do that some, so I liked what I saw with Jerricho. He looked very good catching the ball.

On when Jerricho Cotchery came to him and asked to be the punt returner…

We put an ad in the paper (laughter). We just talked about it. Everybody knew it because when those things happen, we have back-ups. Of course, Darrelle (Revis) has done it before. Dwight Lowery has done it. We were trying to see who the best was, and we were trying to look at everybody. Lito Sheppard at one time when he was young was very proficient at returning. He hasn’t done it for some time and that’s tough to all of a sudden say, ‘Ok, be the guy.’ Jerricho has always put a hand in and catches punts all the time. He felt real good about doing it. He said, “Hey Mike. I like doing this. Give me a shot.” As we looked at it at practice, I thought that he did the best job from what I saw. Back in the day, before he became famous, that one year when he was our kickoff returner, he had the highest average in the NFL. I think he was short two reps from qualifying because he had gotten hurt, but he can run. We’re not ruling anything out. We kind of catch them by committee which a lot of teams do. New England has basically done that the whole season. Now that (Wes) Welker is more healthy, they’re using him more than anybody but it’s something we’ll do. I really liked what I saw there and felt very comfortable with it. I’m quite certain that’s the way we’ll go.

On who will return kickoffs…

I hope we don’t have too many first of all. I’m just teasing. Justin (Miller) I thought looked better today than I’ve seen him look since he’s been back here. I thought he had an excellent practice. As a DB (defensive back), gosh almighty. He had a great day and he ran well. Part of that has been activation and who we can end up really using. You have to sacrifice a lot of guys (and) you have to be careful when you start getting injuries as to how you do it. These are tough calls. You lose a DB. What’s Jimmy’s (Leonhard) status going to be? Those are things and ramifications that we’re going to have to keep in mind when we do this. I thought he’s looked pretty good at it, but also Dwight Lowery. Now he only had the one he just picked up and ran in the last week. They (Jacksonville) tried the onside, which when they saw Wallace (Wright) leave early on the first one, only problem they had is I saw it too and didn’t warn him even though he still didn’t play it the way he should have. We knew it was coming, so we’ve got that and then they squibbed one to Rob (Turner). He picked it up. Then, they popped one even though our numbers aren’t what you want to be, the field position certainly was. We would take that, but I like what I’ve seen of Dwight. I like what I’ve seen of him at practice. We’re working Brad Smith back with him and I threw David Clowney in for a particular type of return. They all did a pretty nice job, so we’re going to see how it plays out in that regard. Part of that decision will be we’ll see how Jim (Leonhard) is. Do we need the extra DB? All those kind of things because you play a team like New England, you’ve got to dress as many DBs as you can because you play the various packages. That’s all part of the decisions that we have to make, but I feel pretty comfortable with all those guys. Whoever we end up going with, I feel good with it right now.

On if there is worry that Darrelle Revis will get injured if he is a punt returner…

To be honest with you in the heat when it’s going on, to tell you the truth, we don’t think that way. Darrelle has done it before and obviously you look at his numbers and you say, “Gosh.” He cut the one ball, we were in safe because they were in plus territory and yet he gained three yards. If he doesn’t catch it, that ball rolls to the two-yard line. That was a nice play that he made. Now the other one, I tell you the truth, I wish he had run straight ahead. We would have blocked it well. He kind of hesitated and he went inside. It’s tough for him. Here is one of the premier corners in football, maybe the premier guy that has such a burden. We really just don’t want to have to throw him back there and do it if we don’t have to. To use him last week, no we don’t think that way.

On if it is hard to activate Miller if he is only going to be the kick returner…

It’s pretty hard to do because he’s not a punt returner. He’s done it, but I don’t feel comfortable with him doing it. You’re really looking at a guy almost to do one thing if he doesn’t have a role on defense and he’s not been a teams guy. That’s a tough decision. Would I like to have him back there doing it? Sure. Have I seen that he’s head and shoulders (above the rest)? Up until today, probably not, but today I liked what I saw. That makes it a tough call. If we end up with (Dwight) Lowery or Brad Smith, I’ll feel pretty comfortable with them.

On in a perfect world would he like to have Miller returning kickoffs…

Sure. The last time we did, he went to the Pro Bowl. I know he’s a tough kid. He’s really practicing hard. He’s really trying to get himself back. In my opinion, today he practiced like a pretty dog on big-time defensive back. He did a good job. He made a heck of a pick and he’s really trying, so you can see how hard he’s working trying to get himself back in to it. Unfortunately, sometimes he’s got himself painted in a bit of a corner because the fact of being involved in so many other aspects of the game. That’s an issue we’re going to have to face, but I feel ok with it.

On what he lost when Leon Washington broke his leg…

A good friend. He’s just a multi-dimensional guy and a big-threat guy. He’s a guy that can take it to the house, plus he does so many other things for our football team. Tough blow. The thing that I felt really good about and I don’t think we’ve lost all of it is with Jim Leonhard back there was the strength of he and Leonhard together. I hardly got to use it. That’s something I was really counting on doing for a good bit of the year. Then, it never materialized. I have a sign in my office (that reads), “You can’t win with the players you don’t have.” I firmly believe it. I wish I had him, but I don’t, so you move on. You find a way with the next guy. I feel very comfortable with the people we have right now. You see this in the league all the time. It goes on. It’s tough and we don’t like it, but we don’t get to reschedule so we deal with it.

On if he talked to Washington after his injury…

Of course. I talked to him in the hospital when he was out there.

On what he said to Washington…

I don’t think anything earth shattering or that would be quoted. I have a great deal of affection for him and think a great deal of him. I’ve watched how he’s developed the whole time. Justin Miller was our return guy and went to the Pro Bowl. Leon was a blocker for him and really not much else. All of a sudden, Leon became the return guy and next thing you know he’s running touchdowns and then he’s scoring them on offense. I feel like a very intricate part of him and very close to him. I think he’s going to be fine. I looked at his X-Rays. I showed him mine and said, ‘I’ve got one worse than that.’ I was teasing him. He’s going to be fine. He’s a great kid. We see him here a lot. He comes in a lot to try to rehabilitate. As soon as this thing heals, jump back in and continue his career which I can imagine will be outstanding.

On waiving Ahmad Carroll…

There were some issues and things that took place. I didn’t have much to do with that to be honest with you. To tell you the truth, from my perspective it was very average production. I know he made some big plays and there’s big-play capability, but not near as many as you think. They double Wallace (Wright) not him. Sometimes when he’s single (Wright) goes down and makes the play. (Carroll) didn’t make it. He had a number of tackles he could have made. He was from me to you against Reggie Bush and let him run. Nobody blocked him. We automatically checked to a single flyer. It was pretty well-designed. I felt pretty good about it. He should have made the play. There were too many plays he wasn’t making and penalties. When you add that up with some other things that maybe weren’t exactly what you’re looking for, time to move on. It just is what it is. In my opinion, just plays he didn’t make.

On Larry Izzo…

He’s above-average.

On why Izzo is above average…

You have to watch the film. He did miss a tackle. The running into the kicker, he got pushed into it. That certainly wasn’t a penalty that was costly. He’s involved in a lot of intricate things because of so many things he can do. You’re comparing apples and oranges also. Larry has played much better in my system. He’s way ahead. Larry probably gets the most difficult blocking assignment every week. He’s pretty proficient in it. Last time we played New England, the single block, he knocked two guys flat on their (butts). Those were pretty good plays. Is he the guy he used to be? No, probably not. He gets down and covers. He gets in the mix of things in punt protection and punt team he’s on. He’s an integral part. He can fill in at fullback. He plays the wing. He blocks. His roles on all of our teams are pretty integral. For the most part, he’s performed pretty well. You have to sit down and really watch it. Is he the guy that I had down at Miami? No. Probably not. He’s coming to the end of it, but no one has been better than him in my opinion in that particular role. We don’t have anybody that can play as well. He’s done it pretty well.

On Carroll returning kickoffs…

He had no clue how to read it. He just ran. There is talent there. There is some talent there. We gave him an opportunity and tried to resurrect him and there were some things he did well, but not enough.

On what happened when he injured his leg…

First carry of the game, fighting for extra yards and then someone had me at the top and I just fell. I heard a pop – it seemed like the pop came later. After I registered that I possibly broke my leg, so I heard it pop, an automatic pop like I broke my leg. It didn’t feel like an ankle (injury), it just felt like right at that spot (points to tibia and fibula). I broke my leg. At that point, I was kind of in shock. I didn’t really feel a lot of pain. (I) held on to my knees. I stayed down and then saw guys trying to waive the trainers over. When John Mellody came over I said, ‘Hey John. I think I broke my leg.’ (I was) kind of nonchalant. Then, after that coming off the field and getting on the cart (is) when different things started rushing through my mind.

On what went through his mind when he broke his leg…

I broke my leg. I’ve never done anything like this before, so I’m thinking of the ramifications. How long will I be out? What part of my leg did I break? You hear people say tibia and fibula, but most people don’t know exactly where that is. (I was) just trying to register all that information and then got off to the sideline and I saw blood coming through my sock. When I saw that, it’s kind of like ‘OK. That’s a little serious.’ It wasn’t the worst pain I’ve ever felt before. I dislocated my elbow in college and that seemed a lot worse. Maybe my pain tolerance is a lot higher now that I’m older, but it wasn’t the worst pain I ever felt. As I got on the cart, I started thinking that maybe I’m out for the season. Obviously, you start thinking about all type of things. How long are you going to be out? Obviously, the contract situation. I’m like, ‘dang man; I’m out for the season.’ (I) didn’t really expect that to happen. That was the short-term thinking.

On what was going through his mind as he was riding to the hospital to get surgery…

First of all, in Oakland, they’ve got to do better about their X-Ray room. I had to get onto the cart, go out in the parking lot (and) go all the way around the stadium it seemed like to go in the X-Ray room. It was all bumpy going through the parking lot. It seemed like I was riding out with the fans (laughing). I think Dr. Andrew Willis was holding my leg the entire time. That was kind of shaky for a moment. Riding in the ambulance, it was kind of shaky trying to avoid all the bumps. My leg felt like it was loose. When I got to the X-Ray room, I was just trying to call my family, my fiancée, my mom and dad and let them know that I’m OK. I’m doing fine. From the TV copy, what they showed, you can’t really tell what happened. I knew the commentators would try to tell certain things, but I was trying to call my family and let them know I’m OK. I was in good spirits. I didn’t cry, so that kind of gave my fiancée some assurance that I’m going to be alright. I told her what happened and that was good telling my family that I was ok.

On what has gone through his mind as time has gone by…

Things are a lot different. When things like this happen in your life, whether it’s an injury, lose a job or god-forbid somebody in your family passes away. It makes you put a lot of things in perspective. This is the first time something like this happened. (This is) something that has prevented me from just doing the everyday things in life just by walking. People take that for granted. For me, it really made me put things in perspective. It got me back in touch with my faith in God. I really rediscovered my faith in him. Secondly, the main benefit was (that I was able to) spend time with my boys at home. I miss them. In the morning, they weren’t up yet, and when I got home, I was tired too, so (now) I’m able to spend time with them. They don’t know (what happened). They just know that dad is hurt, but they don’t know what’s going on. Spending time with them has been a blessing and also spending time with my family. Seeing a lot of support that I have over the last three-and-a-half weeks has been tremendous. From an organizational standpoint, family, and friends it really has helped me cope with this situation.

On when he started thinking about his future…

I didn’t really mention that until I got back home, when I got back here in New York. I left there on Wednesday. Until I started feeling better because for a while I was feeling groggy trying to deal with the pain. Until I spoke with my agent, that’s when we started talking about it. That was really short, it was real brief. I talked to Mike Tannenbaum for a little bit and he (said), “Hey, take care of that and we’ll worry about that when January comes around or whenever our season is over.” That is my approach. Initially, our main concern with this type of injury is no infection. Infection, infection, infection is the major setback. Thank God I am 98 or 99 percent past that point. My wounds are healed up. Most guys with this injury always have a setback with infection and have to go back in and retake the rod out. Thank God I am past that point. My main concern right now is rehabbing, getting better everyday. I’m trying to get my leg back strong to where I am supposed to be, which I am very optimistic about. When this season is over, my agent and Mike Tannenbaum will sit down and we’ll see where we go from there.

On what the doctors have told him about making a full recovery…

The doctors have been great. Dr. Montgomery, (Dr. Willis) are the Jets doctors. Dr. Chang out in California, those guys were phenomenal. The hospital in Berkeley did a tremendous job. The nurses to the doctors, they really took care of me. Dr. Taylor and Dr. Chang performed my surgery. They are trauma doctors and he said he did thousands of surgeries similar to this. In looking at the x-rays right now, they look great. Dr. Chang gave me a chart of where he expects me to be each month. The expected time of a full recovery is six to 12 months. Since I beat the infection part, it’s up to me whether it will be on the six month side or the 12-month side. They are expecting me to have a full recovery. They are really surprised at my mobility right now, my ability to move around. X-rays look great. The doctors and the training staff here with the Jets, John Mellody, Josh (Koch), Dave (Zuffelato). Especially Dave because he stayed with me in California the whole time. He really took care of me and my fiancée. They are doing a great job of making me feel comfortable with this situation.

On his goal of getting back to football-related activities…

My goal is, which I am very optimistic about, is when we get back in March for initial training I want to be moving around pretty good. I want to be able to work out with the guys. That is around the six-month mark. I am very optimistic about it. I have faith about it. I am looking forward to it. The way I am moving around now, I am right on target.

On if he had any regrets about not getting a long-term contract earlier…

One thing with business that I learned is risk and reward. I knew that coming into the season. Things happen for a reason. With my faith in God, being happy (is more important) than money. Obviously the security part is what you want for your kids and grandkids, but right now I feel better than ever before I got injured. Would I love to be on the football field, absolutely. As far as my emotional standpoint and how I feel now, I feel great.

On if he has any regrets about not holding out…

No regrets, not at all. If I would do it all over again and could flash back, it would be the same thing.

On if he feels that he would have to get back on the field before he received a long-term contract…

Who knows? I remain optimistic about the situation. Like Mike (Tannenbaum) said, when the season is over we’ll revisit and see where we’ll go. I miss football more than anything else. Like I told somebody earlier this year, if football was a sport that we play professionally and not get paid for I would be one of the guys to play. I love to play football and that is what I look forward to getting back to. Once that happens everything else will fall into place for me.

On if he’s talked to anyone who’s suffered a similar injury…

I haven’t talked to anyone personally yet, but our training staff has reached out to Michael Bush with the Raiders. I think he did it in college. Our training staff talked to their training staff. He had it in college and had to go back again and do everything over again. That’s the thing we don’t want to happen. These guys gave me a few pointers on what they did. The running back we had here last year that went to Georgia (Musa Smith), he did it. We reached out to him to see some of the things he did in that situation. There haven’t been a lot of (these) injuries in the NFL over the last six or seven years. The main concern with this injury and what most people tell us is get past the infection stage. If you have an infection, it’ll set you back and they’ll have to go back and do everything all over again. Thank God I’m past that point.

On it taking Michael Bush two years to come back from his injury…

Everybody’s situation is different. Bush had to go in and redo the thing all over again. I don’t remember what the case was. I don’t remember if it was an infection. He’s a bigger guy, and I heard that the rod they put in was too small when he had it initially, so they had to put a bigger rod in. That’s something I’m optimistic that I won’t have to do again.

On his limitations and rehab…

I’m very competitive. Naturally, I always want to do more than what they tell me to do. I have faith in the doctors and the trainers. They are very detailed about it. John Mellody detailed every single thing and every bench goal I have each week. Right now, it’s getting everything around that particular part strong, heel-flexing, toe-flexing, getting quads, hamstrings, getting mobility in my knee and getting everything around that part of my body strong, so that when I am able to walk again, I can start rehabbing and that part will be strong. Also, (I’m working) on my upper-body strength. I’ll tell you one thing that’s been great, this Monday I took my first shower in three weeks (laughter). I’m telling you, it’s the little things in life. I’ve been taking bird baths. That felt really good. I think I stayed in there for 30 minutes with the water running over me. It felt good taking my first shower.

On if it’s harder for him to get back to 100 percent because of the type of player he is…

No, I don’t think so. Talking to the doctors, I have faith in my ability and I have faith in what they’re telling me. The great thing about this injury, there’s nothing good about this injury, but the positive thing that came out of it was that I had no ankle and no knee damage. It’s all bone, so it’s basically just letting that bone heal up. I’m able to move my knee and my ankle, which is the most important thing. I’m glad to be at that point, so I think I’ll be back on track.

On how his teammates have been…

Everybody’s been wonderful. It’s been great. From the moment it happened, I must have received more texts than a Super Bowl winner. I’ve seen a lot of texts. My running back set is a group that stands out. Tony Richardson, Thomas Jones and Shonn Greene, those guys have been so, so supportive and I really appreciate that. The organization has been very supportive. They have done everything possible they could to make me feel comfortable. All of my teammates text me (and) call me to let me know that they miss me and that they’re pulling for me. With the guys in the locker room, I’m trying to pump them up and tell them to have a good practice and to go out there and beat the Patriots.

On who his agent is…

Alvin Keels.

On if he will stay with his agent…

Yeah.

That’s so fake. Like Rex even wears a whistle.

While I don’t enjoy watching my team’s coach get choked to death by a supermodel with stickybuns or seeing Mark Sanchez kicked into the Saarlac Pit by a punk, it’s still amusing.

/Yes, it’s a Star Wars reference on TJB.

//You shut up, Erik Boland.