JET NOTES
Curtis Martin will play against the Bears tomorrow.
Al Groh didn’t announce that yesterday, nor did Martin or any of his teammates.
But Martin, the Jets’ best offensive player and an athlete with rare recuperative powers, will not sit out a game with a sore butt – albeit painful enough to have sidelined him in the second half last week and limited him in practice this week.
Lawrence Taylor never sat out a game with a sore butt, and neither will Martin, whose impressive ability to overcome injuries has become a trademark.
“Whether it’s to make it on third-and-one or to play in the game Sunday, I never sell Curtis Martin short,” Groh said. “He’s in my plans until I see otherwise. I also have a set of otherwise plans.”
Groh said Martin practiced on a limited basis yesterday as he has all week.
“While he’s less than 100-percent we’re hopeful he’ll play [tomorrow],” Groh said. “The next 48 hours will be key, and as we anticipated, it’ll be a game-time decision.”
Bernie Parmalee, who rushed for 57 yards and 2 TDs against Miami last week, will definitely see a lot of action spelling Martin, acknowledged how strong-willed Martin is when he’s injured.
“Curtis is a tough guy; you can never count him out,” Parmalee said. “All I’m doing is staying sharp mentally. Spiritually, Curtis is a strong guy, one of the strong Christians on the team. We talk a lot about overcoming things. There are a lot of things we can overcome mentally. Some people can deal with pain and others can’t.”
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Another game-time decision will be backup QB Ray Lucas, who’s nursing a strained right (throwing) shoulder and, like Martin, is listed as ‘questionable.’
With Lucas hurting, rookie Chad Pennington has been getting added reps this week and could be the No. 2 QB tomorrow.
“He’s got a good grasp of what we’re trying to do,” Groh said, insisting he’d be confident with Pennington as his No. 2.
“I’m not overly anxious about it,” Pennington said.
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Bears’ backup T Rex Tucker (left calf) was added to the injury report as doubtful. QB Cade McNown (left shoulder) remains listed as questionable and won’t play. And WR Eddie Kennison (left ankle) was added as probable.
