Jets Team Report

INSIDE SLANT

There were no notes, no crib sheets in Mark Sanchez’s(notes) hands as he strode to the podium Wednesday.

That’s just as well, considering the test he really needs to ace will be administered Sunday in Foxboro, Mass.

Three days after his odd post-game news conference Sunday, when he gave a rambling opening statement in which he referred to notes he had scribbled moments earlier, Sanchez met again with reporters.

“I just changed things up a little bit,” Sanchez said when asked to explain his previous public appearance. “I thought I had everything figured out, of course, as a 23-year-old rookie would, but (it was) 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.

“I answer the questions and you guys ask the questions,” he added. “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.”

While it was bizarre, Sanchez at least didn’t leave without taking questions, so it wasn’t really a major faux pas.

Certainly Sanchez did the right thing Wednesday by showing plenty of respect for New England coach Bill Belichick, whose defense Sanchez will be trying to decipher.

In the first meeting this season, a 16-9 Jets’ victory on Sept. 20, Sanchez was 14-for-22 for 163 yards and one touchdown with no interceptions. But he faced a fairly vanilla defense by New England standards, as the Patriots mostly played coverage and rarely blitzed. Call it Belichick 101, but it probably won’t resemble the advanced version Sanchez likely will see this time.

“I definitely respect Coach Belichick and what he did the first game,” Sanchez said, adding that New England’s game plan Sunday “could be something similar with a couple of tweaks here and there. It might be a whole new approach. … They obviously have the coaching to change things up and be sharp, so we need to expect another great effort as always from a Bill Belichick defense and anticipate as much as we can. We’ll probably have to adjust on the fly.”

Sanchez’s passer rating is 66.5, and he has nine touchdown passes and 12 interceptions. He believes he must be consistent during games to improve those numbers.

“I felt like these last three or four games I am really starting to get in the groove at some point in the game,” he said. “I’d like to do it a little bit earlier and not start quite as slow. Even if it is a slow start, the most important thing is not to make those mistakes early. You can have a slow start, go three-and-out a couple of times and punt or get a field goal or something, but when you throw the first play of the game to the other team, they go down and score in five plays it might as well have been a pick six. You can’t afford to do that. I did feel in the last couple of games I’ve really gotten into the groove towards the end of the game when it really counted.”

But can he ever get into a groove in such a hostile environment as New England? He and the Jets will find out Sunday.

Series History:   99th regular-season meeting. Jets lead series 50-47-1. New England has won 13 of the last 17 meetings, counting a wild-card playoff victory in the 2006 postseason. However, the Jets have won the last two games, including a 16-9 win at Giants Stadium on Sept. 20 in which they kept Tom Brady(notes) and the Patriots’ offense out of the end zone. The Jets also have won two of the last three regular-season games at Gillette Stadium. Brett Favre(notes) threw for 258 yards and two touchdowns in the Jets’ 34-31 overtime win at New England on Nov. 13.

NOTES, QUOTES

Darrelle Revis(notes) doesn’t quite see eye-to-eye with New England coach Bill Belichick.

No, Revis isn’t one of the legion of NFL pundits disagreeing with Belichick’s bizarre decision to go for it on fourth-and-2 against Indianapolis last Sunday. This is slightly more personal.

Just as Randy Moss(notes) did after being limited to four receptions for 24 yards by Revis in the Jets’ win over New England on Sept. 20, Belichick disputed the notion that Revis exclusively played man-to-man against Moss.

“Really, they played a lot of over the top coverage with Revis and (Kerry) Rhodes,” Belichick said. “They played over the top of him quite a bit, not always, but quite a bit.”

“Everyone saw the game,” Revis said. “Everybody knows I was in man coverage, that was the case. (Moss) is supposed to say that because (that) 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. So, if he says that, he does, that’s on him. But we play them twice a year and I have to see him just as much as he has to see me.”

And they will see each other again Sunday when the Jets (4-5) visit New England (6-3) in a must-win for the Jets to stay in the AFC playoff picture. Moss has been on a roll lately, with 28 receptions for 524 yards and six touchdowns over his last four games. And unlike in the first meeting between these teams, the Patriots also will have Wes Welker(notes) on the field. He missed the first game with a knee injury.

“Looking at that film this week,” Revis said, “I think that I had a good game plan, covering him the best way, just switching up certain things off coverage, a little bit of press, just making sure I’m giving him different looks. Just watching the past couple games they’ve played, they’re doing different things with him now in their offense, so I’ll probably have to switch my game up when I watch more film this week on him.”

Revis added that the Patriots currently are putting Moss “in more places to get him the ball. He’s been in the slot a little bit more, so defensive backs can’t get their hands on him. He can get a free release, and sprint down the field and (make) acrobatic catches. … It’s (up to) me to change up my game plan a little bit on him.”

And, for the record, Belichick does respect Revis’ game.

“Revis is a good player,” Belichick said. “He matches up against basically every team’s best receiver. He’s tall for a corner. He has good length, good size, very good ball skills, runs well, good quickness, good on the jam, good tackler, good run-force player. He’s a good, solid all-around player. He doesn’t have any weaknesses. He does everything at least good, if not real good, compared to the other players in his position throughout the league. He’s a smart guy, (he’s) instinctive. He has a good feel for zone coverage. He does a good job of freeing up and helping sometimes when he isn’t threatened by the route, the receiver or a formation.”

And of course, Rex Ryan is even more effusive.

“All I can say,” the Jets’ coach said, “is we’ve got the best corner in the league and I don’t think there’s any dispute about that.”

• Two days after he had three screws inserted into his right wrist, SS Jim Leonhard(notes) sat out practice Wednesday. He rode the stationary bike with his right arm in a sling. He is not expected to play against New England on Sunday, although coach Rex Ryan stopped short of ruling him out of the game.

“He’s one tough kid,” Ryan said of Leonhard. “If there’s any way possible of him playing, I wouldn’t be shocked.” But Ryan conceded, “He’s in a sling, so it doesn’t look real good.”

Eric Smith(notes) would start in Leonhard’s place. Smith has played in extra-defensive back packages.

“It’s an opportunity to get out there and get more (plays) and show people what I can do,” Smith said. “It’s not like I’m just coming cold off the bench.”

Smith called the defensive signals in practice Wednesday, but Ryan said linebacker David Harris(notes) would wear the helmet with the headset and handle that duty Sunday. Leonhard has been calling the signals.

• Wednesday was the Jets’ first day of practice without defensive line coach Kerry Locklin, let go Monday in what Ryan termed a “mutual decision” and replaced by Jeff Weeks and Chuck Smith.

“I think today was our best day out there,” DE Marques Douglas(notes) said. “(The) communication was excellent, we worked as a group (and) our tempo was great.”

When asked if he was surprised at the shakeup, Douglas replied, “It’s kind of something you don’t think about, because we as players are supposed to play, and the coaches and GM (Mike Tannenbaum) make that decision.

“You hate to see a guy lose his job,” Douglas added, “but at the same time, you know that Rex and Mike are going to do the things that are in the best interests of the team. We’re here to play and play hard because we know if we don’t do our job we could be one of those (people) out the door also.”

• Coach Rex Ryan brought a box of tissues to the lectern Wednesday, a takeoff on how he cried during a meeting with his players Monday morning. Obviously Ryan has lost games, but not his sense of humor.

But he didn’t back off from what he did.

“This is who I am,” he said. “I’ve been this way. You can go back and ask anybody that I’ve coached in Baltimore. I’m going to be myself. I’m man enough to be me. It’s more passion than it is anything else. … I have a strong belief in myself and this football team.”

“He knows what we have in this locker room and when we’re living up to our potential and when we’re not,” Douglas said. “When we don’t come through for him, it’s heartbreaking to see him not get what he deserves.

“There is no flinching on our part,” Douglas added. “When you have a good, solid offensive line like we have, we feel good about our chances. These guys have been moving guys around all year. Why not now? We are going to make that claim that we are (a) big and bad team. Why not (this) game?”

By The Numbers:   23—Reported number of hits on QB Tom Brady by the Jets in the first meeting this season, which they won 16-9. Oddly, the Jets never sacked Brady in that game, but they did pressure him into 23-for-47 passing, an unusually low completion rate for the superstar.

Quote To Note:   “I’ll be true to myself. I’m always going to be, and I’ve said that from Day One.”—Coach Rex Ryan on crying in front of his players Monday.

STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

DB Ahmad Carroll(notes) was released Monday after being a healthy scratch for each of the previous two games. The Jets were unhappy with Carroll’s preparation habits and thus may have made an example of him. LB-DE Kenwin Cummings(notes) was promoted from the practice squad to take Carroll’s roster spot.

KR/CB Justin Miller(notes), who was re-signed in the aftermath of the season-ending injury to Leon Washington(notes), was a healthy scratch against Jacksonville. Special teams coordinator Mike Westhoff is concerned that Miller isn’t as explosive as he was during his first tour of duty with the Jets, when he had three kickoff returns for touchdowns in the 2005-06 seasons.

Player Notes  

• SS Jim Leonhard (thumb) didn’t practice again Thursday and isn’t expected to play Sunday. Eric Smith likely will replace him in the starting lineup.

• CB Darrelle Revis, who filled in for Leonhard on punt returns against Jackonsville after Leonhard was injured, likely will not handle those duties at New England. Coach Rex Ryan believes he is too valuable as a lockdown corner to risk injury on special teams.

• KR Justin Miller, who was inactive Sunday, had an “outstanding” practice Thursday, Ryan said. It’s possible that Miller could handle both punt and kickoff return chores Sunday.

• LB Vernon Gholston(notes), who has been relegated to a reserve role after starting the first four games in the absence of the suspended Calvin Pace(notes), has missed practice both Wednesday and Thursday with a hamstring injury suffered last week. He is not expected to play Sunday.

• RB-KR Leon Washington met with reporters for the first time since suffering a compound fracture of his right leg at Oakland on Oct. 25. He was upbeat and expects to play next season. The typical recovery time for such an injury is from six to 12 months.

Game Plan:   QB Mark Sanchez cannot be rattled by whatever Bill Belichick and the Patriots send his way, as they likely will use a lot more blitzes than they did in the first meeting. It’s imperative that the Jets run the ball effectively on first and second downs to keep Sanchez out of third-and-longs. The Jets must do as good of a job on WR Randy Moss as they did in the first meeting, when he was limited to four receptions for 24 yards by CB Darrelle Revis. But the Pats were without prolific slot receiver Wes Welker (knee) in that game, and he is now healthy, which gives the Jets’ defense another weapon to worry about.

Matchups To Watch:   Jets C Nick Mangold(notes) vs. Patriots NT Vince Wilfork(notes). In this matchup of Pro Bowlers (Wilfork in 2007 and Mangold in 2008), Mangold will try to control Wilfork without the benefit of double-teams. Mangold had some success doing this in the first meeting, yet the Jets still only rushed for 117 yards. They must do better this time to take some of the heat off QB Mark Sanchez.

Jets CB Darrelle Revis vs. Patriots WR Randy Moss. Revis almost completely shut down Moss in the first game, limiting him to four receptions for 24 yards, none of them crucial. Moss downplayed Revis’ effect on him after the game, saying the third-year corner had plenty of help as the Jets rolled their coverages toward Moss. Revis’ excellent jams made up for his lack of size in the first meeting, and he must do the same this time.

Jets WR Braylon Edwards(notes) vs. Patriots CB Leigh Bodden(notes). Bodden would be the logical choice to defend Edwards considering the two of them played together in Cleveland from 2005-07, so Bodden should be familiar with Edwards’ repertoire of moves. Although his numbers with the Jets haven’t been eye-popping, Edwards is getting open, but Sanchez hasn’t always seen him lately.