Everyone wants to know.
That includes you, the ardent Jets fan who’ll either be cheering from the Giants Stadium stands today or watching from the couch at home or from a bar stool at your favorite neighborhood haunt.
It includes those around the league. It includes the Dolphins, whom the Jets play at 4:15 p.m.
today at the Meadowlands.
It also includes the Jets’ coaching staff and their players.
How will the Jets respond to the 41-0 shellacking they took on the chin courtesy of the Jaguars last Sunday in Jacksonville?
No one knows for sure, and that’s the compelling plot to today’s showdown between AFC East ailing rivals, the 2-3 Jets and the 1-4 Dolphins.
“Some teams lose a game like that and go into the tank; some teams come out fighting,” Jets receiver Laveranues Coles said.
“It is a test,” linebacker Matt Chatham said. “I believe in what these guys can do; I think there are great leaders in this room.
But we haven’t gone through this together yet, so you don’t know until you do it.
“[Last week’s loss] was one in 16 games,” Chatham added. “None counts more than the other. There is no BCS here. We didn’t just fall behind the 8-ball here where we can’t recover.” One interesting theme to this week was the fact that Eric Mangini, known for his discipline, didn’t change stripes. He remained even-keel and didn’t carry 41-0 into this week’s preparation.
“We admittedly got our [butts] kicked,” Chatham said. “We all felt that, so the last thing you need when you’re down is to get kicked in the head again. It’s human nature to be depressed, but at same time not the end of the world.” The depression, by Mangini’s five-second rule, didn’t last past Monday or Tuesday. By the time Wednesday arrived, the mood in the locker room was hardly that of a team that just got waxed by 41 points.
“Last week’s gone,” veteran left guard Pete Kendall said. “We’ve got a stiff task ahead of us offensively. [Miami’s] defense is playing very well. Looking back is not going to help us this week. I don’t have any doubts about this team. I believe we’ll bounce back. We’ve bounced back in the past.” Chad Pennington, coming off one of his worst career performances, believes the Jets have what it takes to rebound.
“Coach [Mangini] has done an excellent job – win, lose or draw – throughout these last five weeks, teaching us how to take the same approach,” Pennington said. “Your preparation, the things you do before you get to the game on Sunday, doesn’t change. Now, you learn from the mistakes from the previous game and try to fix those things, but your approach stays the same. And that ultimately produces success.
That’s what we’re focused on. It’s a division game. It’s the next game. It’s very important, so we need to perform well.
“I think with the leadership of [the coaching staff] and with the players on our team, we’ll respond the way we should and not let it hang over our head.
We’ve let it go and we’re moving on. I know I [have] . . . and we have to make the best out of it.
“The best thing for us right now is we have 11 more opportunities, and the opportunity in front of us with the sixth game of the year is the most important. So it’s not like it was the end of the season and we didn’t have any more chances. We are in a good position to do some good things.” Indeed, after 1-4 Miami comes a home game next Sunday against the Lions, who enter this weekend 0-5, and then there’s a road game in Cleveland against the Browns (1-4) before the team’s bye week.
PREDICTION
The Jets might struggle to run the ball on the stingy Miami defense, but Chad Pennington will come back strong and make some big plays in the passing game. Look for the Jets to blitz Miami QB Joey Harrington often and force a turnover or two.
JETS 21
DOLPHINS 14
Dolphins at JETS – Today, 4:15 p.m.
KEY MATCHUP
Jets rookie LT D’Brickashaw Ferguson (one sack allowed) vs. Miami DE Jason Taylor (four sacks).
NUMBER TO KNOW
3. The number of points combined that the Jets (0) and Dolphins (3) have scored in the first quarter this season.
JETS CONCERN
That Miami is able to run the ball as effectively as everyone else does against the Jets’ 28thranked run defense. Miami is ranked 27th in rushing offense.
FOE FACT
Taylor and LB Zach Thomas save their best for the Jets.
Taylor has 12½ sacks, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. Thomas averages nearly 10 tackles per game against the Jets – 176 tackles in 19 games.
ON THE AIR
CH. 2 ESPN (1050 AM) WABC (770 AM)
INJURY REPORT
Jets: QUESTIONABLE: FB B.J. Askew (foot), CB David Barrett (hip), WR Laveranues Coles (calf), WR Tim Dwight (thigh), RB Cedric Houston (knee), G Pete Kendall (thigh), C Trey Teague (ankle). PROBABLE: DE Dave Ball (hand), RB Kevan Barlow (calf), OLB Matt Chatham (foot), T Anthony Clement (shin), DE Bobby Hamilton (knee), FB James Hodgins (knee), T Adrian Jones (thigh), CB Justin Miller (hip), DT Rashad Moore (personal), QB Chad Pennington (calf), FS Kerry Rhodes (thigh), TE Sean Ryan (chest), WR Brad Smith (thigh), SS Eric Smith (knee), DT Kimo Von Oelhoffen (knee), RB Leon Washington (hip).
Dolphins: DOUBTFUL: WR Marty Booker (chest), QB Daunte Culpepper (knee). QUESTIONABLE: CB Travis Daniels (knee), TE Justin Peelle (knee), OLB Derrick Pope (hamstring). PROBABLE: TE Randy McMichael (ribs) TV:
THE LINE
JETS: -21/2
O/U: 36
