Jets football blog

Jets' Leon Washington is small wonder at running back

Leon Washington has pretty much heard it almost all his life. In fact, it might be the only thing he hasn't been able to outrun or shake. From the moment he put on his first shoulder pads, Washington has always been reminded about his size and stature and been labeled too small to play football.

"When I was younger, a lot of times you would be playing Little League football and I'm 60 pounds and everybody else is 100 pounds," the 5-8 Washington said Thursday. "And I got to high school being 180 pounds and everybody else is big in stature. One thing I do know ... when you are a small guy, your heart doesn't pump Kool-Aid. That is one thing my dad always told me, having heart can overcome a lot of things. Being quick and having heart can overcome a lot of things." Continue

Mangini: Favre must pick his spots

Coach Eric Mangini doesn't want to take away Brett Favre's gambling mentality; he just wants his Hall of Fame gunslinger to dial back on some of his more risky passes. Mangini and Favre yesterday addressed Favre's recent rash of interceptions - seven in the past three games - and came away with their own takes on the subject.

Mangini, speaking about the weekly Tuesday chew-the-fat session he had with Favre this week, used a blackjack gambling analogy when discussing Favre's chance-taking style. "You just stress (that) you don't hit on 20," Mangini said. "Sometimes it's OK to stay and see what the dealer has." Continue

Jets take Schotts at game plan

The Jets locker room is generally a pretty harmonious place. Considering the influx of new talent brought in during the offseason, there's a pretty good chemistry beginning to develop. There is, however, a small crack developing in the foundation of some players' trust in the offensive play calling that needs to be addressed before the fissure widens.

It is something that's been slowly building since the Jets put up 56 points on the Cardinals a month ago and it seemed like the offense was about to take launch. But as the offense has grown more inconsistent, players have become frustrated. In Oakland two weeks ago, there were some players who were frustrated the Jets ran the ball so much in overtime against eight-man fronts and seemed to eschew the play-action pass on a day when they were running all over the Raiders' defense. Continue

Eric Mangini's focus is on Brett Favre's interceptions hurting Jets

Physically, Brett Favre is okay, suffering from what Eric Mangini described Monday as "general soreness" - the residual effect of general beatings by the Bengals, Raiders and Chiefs."He probably just needs to be iced up for a little while," the Jets' coach said with a half-smile.

Maybe they all need to chill. In a sense, they will. In an attempt to curb Favre's rapidly-growing interception total, Mangini said the Jets will take a step back and analyze the offense. Favre threw three interceptions in Sunday's 28-24 win over the Chiefs, bringing his total to 11, tied for the NFL lead with the 49ers' J.T. O'Sullivan. "He's thrown the most touchdowns and the most picks (in history), and I'm not in any way saying we're striving to keep that trend intact," Mangini said. "But we're going to look at it in all of the different levels, things he can do better, things the receivers could do better, the O-line, play selection. It's never one guy's fault." This is a delicate challenge for the coaches. They want Favre to exhibit more caution on certain throws, but they don't want him to abandon the aggressive mentality that made him who he is. Continue

Laveranues Coles' late TD allows Brett Favre, Jets to escape with 28-24 win

After an afternoon of boos and interceptions, Brett Favre walked slowly out of the Jets' locker room, flanked by two team doctors - never good company for a 39-year-old quarterback. As he approached family members in the tunnel, he called out to one, "Stick a fork in me." He said it with a smile. Can there be gallows humors after a victory?

Such is the state of the Jets' curious season. They're 4-3, only one game behind the Bills and Patriots in the AFC East, but there wasn't any bravado in the locker room after Sunday's 28-24 escape against the hapless Chiefs at the Meadowlands. The Jets recognized they needed plenty of luck and a lot of Leon Washington to avoid what would've been a epic loss. Continue

Jets try to figure selves out against lowly Chiefs, Herman Edwards

As he sat alone in a classroom the other day, watching tape of the Jets' recent games, safety Kerry Rhodes decided to try something different. He imagined himself as the opponent, breaking down the Jets' strengths and weaknesses. The more he studied his own team, the question that popped into his head was this: "What are we?"A lot of fans, media and other players besides Rhodes are wondering the same thing.

After six games, the Jets still haven't forged an identity, which is troubling. They have played well in spurts, but there hasn't been a defining characteristic. They're a collection of players, not a team with units that complement each other. In terms of philosophy, their offseason goal was to become a run-oriented team, but along came Brett Favre, changing everything. Continue

Concussed WR Laveranues Coles listed as probable for Chiefs game

Laveranues Coles appears ready to play Sunday after he was medically cleared and practiced fully Friday. Coles, who passed neurological tests, was upgraded to probable with a low-grade concussion, according to a source. The news came one day after Eric Mangini said Coles was suffering from a concussion but did not reveal how severe it was, fueling speculation that the wide receiver would miss Sunday's game against the Chiefs. It's Coles' third head injury in 22 months. Continue

Concussion sidelines Laveranues Coles, may not play against Chiefs

Laveranues Coles spent only one minute, 16 seconds on the bench - nine minutes in real time - after being knocked woozy in the fourth quarter of Sunday's overtime loss to the Raiders. His quick return seemed to indicate everything was okay. It's not okay.

Coles suffered a concussion, coach Eric Mangini acknowledged Thursday - the third head injury in the last 22 months for the Jets' fearless wide receiver. Mangini wouldn't rule him out for Sunday's game against the Chiefs at the Meadowlands, but Coles didn't practice for the second straight day and appears unlikely to play. Continue

Angry Brett denies sabotaging Packers

Brett Favre, conceding to being "angry," yesterday defiantly denied any wrongdoing regarding a report that he sought out Lions coaches last month to help them game-plan against his former team, the Packers, calling the entire incident "ridiculous."

The Foxsports.com report stated Favre "phoned" the Lions and spent more than an hour speaking to Detroit assistant coaches, schooling them on "nuances" of the Packers' offense. Favre, speaking publicly for the first time since the report emerged on Sunday, said he never spoke to any Lions coaches, only to former team president Matt Millen, a friend of his. He, too, said Millen called him and they spoke for 15 to 20 minutes. Continue

New Favre-fueled Jets look a lot like the old Jets

As the Jets were in the midst of their slow-bleed loss to a bumbling Raiders team they absolutely, positively should have beaten Sunday in Oakland, you could hear the familiar angst-filled laments from Jets fans from the Black Hole to Bethpage. Here we go again with an underachieving loss to an inferior team. This was a classic fatalistic wait-for-the-other-show-to-drop moment for a team that has virtually invented them in a Brett Favre year that's supposed to be different from all the rest. Continue