Rex Ryan’s “hometown hero” theory will be put to the test tomorrow in Detroit.
Four prominent Jets — wide receiver Braylon Edwards, linebackers David Harris and Bart Scott and defensive end Vernon Gholston — are either Detroit or Michigan natives, while safety Eric Smith was a standout at Michigan State.
Because of that theory, the Jets coach is looking for great things from all of them when his team takes on the Lions at Ford Field.
“We’re very aware of where guys are from,” Ryan said yesterday. “I’m telling you, there’s something to it. I’m expecting big games from those guys. Any time you go back home, you want to do something special.”
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Safety Brodney Pool
practiced yesterday and is probable against the Lions despite leaving Thursday’s workout early following a helmet collision with Darrelle Revis
.
Pool, who has a history of concussions, was pulled early from the practice as a precaution. He said yesterday the collision with Revis was an accident and only happened because he didn’t have enough time to react.
Harrisalso returned to practice yesterday after being placed on the injury report earlier in the week with a back strain suffered in the weight room.
Ryan said all of the Jets on the injury report are probable against Detroit.
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Backup quarterback Mark Brunell
, an 18-year NFL veteran, says it isn’t up to Mark Sanchez
to spread the ball around to the Jets’ multiple weapons — a criticism leveled frequently in the wake of last week’s 9-0 loss to the Packers.
“It’s not his job to get them the ball,” Brunell said. “His job is to read the coverage and get the ball to where it’s supposed to go. If the coverage tells you to go to a particular place, then that’s where you go.
“Hey, everybody gets the ball when you stay on the field.”
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Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer
credited Brunell with coming up with the fine system for “bad body language” that resulted in Sanchez getting docked an undisclosed amount this week. Brunell, though, was a little touchy when asked about the fine system.
“Can I say ‘no comment’ without being fined?” Brunell said. “That [system] was just a fun thing. It was all about fun.”
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Edwards created a furor Thursday when he was quoted by an Internet outlet as saying Sanchez hasn’t been in the league long enough to criticize teammates. Edwards claimed yesterday the quote was taken out of context and he was talking about quarterbacks in general and not specifically Sanchez.
“It wasn’t about Mark, it was about all quarterbacks,” Edwards said.
