JET NOTES
Nose tackle Jason Ferguson called for the defense to be dominant enough to carry the offense while it gets used to Vinny Testaverde at quarterback again.
“Defensively, we have to step up and play so the offense can lean on us,” Ferguson said. “We’ve got a lot of people here now to make plays. We’ve got to let everyone know we can be someone to lean on. We already knew the offense might be a little slow without Chad [Pennington] and getting Vinny back into the system. We’ve got to step up and be the ones they can lean on.”
The Jets defense, despite being 0-1 entering Sunday’s game against the Dolphins, is feeling a lot better about itself than it did a year ago while being thrashed en route to a 1-4 start with six new starters.
“Last year, Ted [Cottrell, the defensive coordinator] didn’t know us,” Ferguson said. “He would dial a call up and wouldn’t know if we were going to answer the phone. Now he knows our strong points and knows where to put us. A year ago, we just didn’t know where to go.
“This is a whole lot different because we know what we’re doing now.”
* Few players, if any, took more abuse for last year’s early-season swoon than strong safety Sam Garnes, who was signed as a free agent from the Giants after the 2001 season.
Garnes is 15 or more pounds lighter than he was a year ago, he knows the system, and he no longer has the broken wrist that slowed him in the first few games of last season. The result has been remarkable. According to the coaches game film, Garnes had 15 tackles against the Redskins, five more than his nearest teammate, defensive end Shaun Ellis.
When it was suggested the Jets would be going up against a tough Miami offense, led by RB Ricky Williams, Garnes said, “They’re going up against some pretty good defensive players, too, so it’s going to be a will-breaking game.”
* No. 1 draft pick DT Dewayne Robertson played a pretty good game in his debut, making five tackles and collecting a couple quarterback pressures.
“It was a little bit faster and the intensity level was a little bit higher,” Robertson said of the regular-season action. “I never doubted myself. I knew I could play on this level.”
* The Jets waived KR Albert Johnson and, according to sources, likely will replace him with Michael Bates, a former Carolina Panther who made the Pro Bowl five straight times from 1997-2001.
