JET NOTES

Defeating the Dolphins was something the Jets had to do – but the way they survived the struggle after winning their first two games in more one-sided fashion, Herman Edwards said, was something the team really needed.

“I told them this was a game we needed,” the Jets head coach said. “We needed to play a game without having a big lead to see how we were going to function. Every game we play is a new experience for this team. We needed people’s guts to hurt in the fourth quarter, where if you make an error either way it could be a tie game.

“It worked out well for us, because it tells you a lot about your team,” Edwards added. “I think this was another step we needed to take as a team.”

Curtis Martin said, “Different games give you a different perspective of what you are as a team. It reveals different forms of character you have as a team. We’re getting sort of a revelation of what we are as a team. We fought for 60 minutes. We played a close game. Someone had to step up and make a play at the end.”

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Chad Pennington‘s personal assessment of his mediocre performance: “inconsistent.”

“You have to make the simple plays when you play against a tough defense like Miami has,” Pennington said. “When they’re reeling and you have a drive going, you can’t miss the simple plays, which I did a few times. The biggest key to our lack of success was third down. We were only 1-of-11, and only two of those were third-and-four or less.”

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Edwards gave rookie No. 1 pick LB Jonathan Vilma a positive evaluation in first NFL start.

“He played well,” Edwards said. “He hustled, anticipated some things, made some tackles behind the line of scrimmage and did some good things.”