NEW YORK JETS DAILY CLIPS

September 12, 2014

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Table of Contents

ASSOCIATED PRESS ................................................................................................................................................ 2

Jets' backfield trio adds versatility to offense (Dennis Waszak) ................................................................................ 2

Jets waive McFadden, Milliner close to return ......................................................................................................... 3

Jets-Packers Capsule ................................................................................................................................................. 4

NEWSDAY .............................................................................................................................................................. 5

Jets try to simulate Lambeau Field crowd noise (Kimberley Martin) ........................................................................ 5

Jets should be able to run on Packers (Colin Stephenson) ........................................................................................ 5

Calvin Pryor hopes to get the last laugh on Packers' Ha Ha Clinton-Dix (Colin Stephenson) .................................... 6

Rex Ryan optimistic CB Dee Milliner will return Sunday (Kimberley Martin)............................................................ 7

THE RECORD .......................................................................................................................................................... 8

Jets' Johnson expects to rip off a long run (J.P. Pelzman) ......................................................................................... 8

STAR-LEDGER ......................................................................................................................................................... 9

Truth or drivel? Parsing the wit, wisdom and cliched comments of Jets OC Marty Mornhinweg (Darryl Slater) ..... 9

Dee Milliner likely to play in Jets-Packers, but Antonio Allen, Darrin Walls probably will start again (Darryl Slater) ................................................................................................................................................................................. 11

Jace Amaro doesn't expect to be 'super human' right now, but says he graded 90 percent in Jets-Raiders (Darryl Slater) ...................................................................................................................................................................... 12

Jets want to avoid huddling, but Green Bay noise might test their ears, force them to hand signal (Darryl Slater) ................................................................................................................................................................................. 14

NEW YORK POST .................................................................................................................................................. 16

Jets seeking to reverse recent woes on the road (Brian Costello) .......................................................................... 16

Boomer sees Geno Smith as solution not problem (Rebecca Rosenberg) .............................................................. 17

Finishing drives focus for Jets offense (Howie Kussoy) ........................................................................................... 18

Packers RB Eddie Lacy tough test for Jets’ run defense (Howie Kussoy) ................................................................ 19

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS ...................................................................................................................................... 20

Jets cornerback Dee Milliner could be cleared to play against Packers (Seth Walder) ........................................... 20

Saalim Hakim is NY Jets’ new project (Manish Mehta) ........................................................................................... 21

David Harris must play on-field NY Jets defensive coordinator against fast Packers (Seth Walder) ...................... 23

WALL STREET JOURNAL ....................................................................................................................................... 24

Ryan Says Milliner Could Return for Jets on Sunday (Stu Woo) .............................................................................. 24

ESPN NEW YORK .................................................................................................................................................. 24

Jets want Jace to be their ace at TE (Mike Mazzeo) ................................................................................................ 24

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Jets prep for fast-breaking Packers (Rich Cimini) .................................................................................................... 25

Rookie's nightmare becomes a fantasy (Rich Cimini) .............................................................................................. 25

Michael Vick tricks need to stop -- now (Rich Cimini) ............................................................................................. 26

METRO NEW YORK .............................................................................................................................................. 27

Jets’ Saalim Hakim not being overlooked anymore (Kristian Dyer) ........................................................................ 27

Bronx native Willie Colon remembers Sept. 11 as freshman at Hofstra (Kristian Dyer) ......................................... 29

NJ.COM ................................................................................................................................................................ 29

Seahawks' Percy Harvin sweep something Jets can use against Packers (Dom Cosentino).................................... 29

Q&A with Packers beat reporter: For Jets, blitzing Aaron Rodgers has risks (Dom Cosentino) .............................. 30

THURSDAY’S SPORTS TRANSACTIONS .................................................................................................................. 32

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Jets' backfield trio adds versatility to offense (Dennis Waszak) Associated Press September 11, 2014

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/jets-backfield-trio-adds-versatility-214618522--nfl.html

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) - Chris Johnson paused for a second to think about the last time he lined up in a wishbone-type formation.

Three running backs. One backfield. Lots of problems for the defense.

"Probably high school," Johnson said smiling.

Well, until last Sunday, when the New York Jets had him, Chris Ivory and Bilal Powell in the backfield at the same time for a few plays in a 19-14 victory over the Oakland Raiders.

"It was pretty cool," Johnson said. "They can't just focus on one guy."

That's how it'll be for defensive coordinators facing the Jets this season. Maybe all three will be out there. Or, maybe just one - but which one?

"We're blessed," coach Rex Ryan said, "to have three really good backs."

Johnson, Ivory and Powell - the Jets' Smash, Flash and Dash backfield - helped power a rushing attack that gained 212 yards last Sunday.

Ivory is Smash, a powerful runner who can plow through defenders. Johnson is Flash, a still-speedy veteran who once ran for 2,000 yards. Powell is Dash, an underrated do-it-all running back.

The three will go up against the Packers this Sunday at Green Bay, hoping for the same type of success as Seattle, which ran for 207 yards last week.

"It gives the defense a different look, something that they're not used to seeing all the time," said quarterback Geno Smith, who ran for 38 yards himself against the Raiders.

Ivory rushed for 102 yards on 10 carries, including a career-best 71-yard burst that put the Jets in control in the fourth quarter. He's a violent runner, a guy who hits defenders with such force that his long dreads fly from under his helmet with each pop of the pads.

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On a 26-yard pass from Smith to Jeff Cumberland in the second quarter, Ivory had a huge blitz pickup of a charging Sio Moore. The biggest play, though, came with the Jets nursing a 13-7 lead when he took the handoff, slipped out of a few would-be tacklers and rumbled down the field.

"Just a great run," Ivory said. "I was able to break one or two (tackles), I saw a cutback lane and took it. And after that, just try to see who's the fastest to the end zone."

Ryan kept telling Ivory on the sideline earlier in the game to keep pounding the ball because he thought he was about to bust through the defense.

The coach was right.

"That big power back at the end of the day, man, that is tough," Ryan said. "And especially if it's not going your way. You love just handing it to the big back and let him roll."

Johnson has the most impressive resume of the three, a three-time Pro Bowl selection and one of just seven players to run for 2,000 or more yards in a season. That came in 2009, when he had 2,006 yards for Tennessee and was the fastest and most dynamic player in the league.

He's 28 now and maybe not as lightning-quick, but he's still faster than most players on most teams. Johnson had 68 yards on 13 carries and five catches for 23 yards - including a 5-yard TD - in the opener, showing a bit of the versatility that could make him a dangerous addition.

"There were a couple of times where it could've been a bigger play than it was," Johnson said. "But that's going to come with repetition and the more games I play and the more comfortable I get, hopefully those 10- or 15-yard run turn into 70 and 80 yards."

While Johnson was used to being the lead back in his six seasons with the Titans, Marty Mornhinweg could use him more in a rotation - depending on how each game is going.

"I think Marty knows what he's doing," Johnson said, "and he knows how to get the ball into his playmakers' hands."

Packers defensive coordinator Dom Capers is also well aware of the challenges the Jets' mix-and-match backfield could pose.

"They have two very good running backs who are different-style running backs," Capers said. "One is the slasher, uses his speed. The other one is a north-south guy who broke a long run (Sunday), a very physical runner. They use all the different personnel groups and they spread you out."

Oh, and then there's Powell.

Sure, he had just one run for 4 yards last week, but the 2011 fourth-round pick finished second to Ivory with a career-best 697 yards rushing last year. He also tied for second with 36 receptions. He's versatile and valuable, and Ryan loves having him.

"I think Bilal Powell is one of the most underrated backs in the league," Ryan said. "We really never used him a whole lot last week. He's a good back as well.

"We have a whole stable of backs and, obviously, that's probably a strength of ours."

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Jets waive McFadden, Milliner close to return Associated Press September 11, 2014

http://m.apnews.com/ap/db_268748/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=kahaKnvv

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FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) - The New York Jets have waived cornerback Leon McFadden, who was claimed off waivers from the Cleveland Browns two weeks ago.

The move Thursday could be another sign that top cornerback Dee Milliner is ready to make his season debut. Milliner suffered a high left ankle sprain on Aug. 10, and only returned to practice this week.

Ryan says he feels "pretty confident" Milliner will play against Green Bay on Sunday. He adds that Antonio Allen and Darrin Walls might start for a second straight game, but Milliner could see action.

McFadden, a third-round draft pick by the Browns last year, was claimed by the Jets on Aug. 31. He was inactive for New York's season opener last Sunday against Oakland.

The Jets didn't immediately announce a corresponding roster move.

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Jets-Packers Capsule Associated Press September 11, 2014

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2014/09/11/jets-packers-capsule/15468447/

NEW YORK JETS (1-0) at GREEN BAY (0-1)

Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET, CBS

OPENING LINE — Packers by 8½

RECORD VS. SPREAD — New York 0-1, Green Bay 0-1

SERIES RECORD — Jets lead 8-3

LAST MEETING — Packers beat Jets 9-0, Oct. 31, 2010

AP PRO32 RANKING — Jets No. 18, Packers No. 6 (tie)

JETS OFFENSE — OVERALL (11), RUSH (1), PASS (24).

JETS DEFENSE — OVERALL (1), RUSH (1), PASS (1).

PACKERS OFFENSE — OVERALL (29), RUSH (23), PASS (26).

PACKERS DEFENSE — OVERALL (21), RUSH (31), PASS (10).

STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES — Jets won previous meeting at Lambeau Field 38-10 on Dec. 3, 2006, when RB Cedric Houston ran for 105 yards and two TDs. ... QB Geno Smith completed 82.3 percent of passes (23 of 28) last week against Raiders, third-highest completion rate in Jets history. Smith won four of past five starts. ... Jets looking to be more efficient after going 1 for 4 on TDs in red zone in opener. ... Since joining league in 2008, RB Chris Johnson's 8,033 yards rushing second only behind Adrian Peterson's 8,849. ... Eric Decker leads AFC wide receivers with 32 touchdown receptions since 2011. ... DE Muhammad Wilkerson has sack in five of past six games against NFC teams. ... Jets C Nick Mangold and Packers LB A.J. Hawk were childhood friends in Centerville, Ohio, attended Ohio State together, and were each first-round draft picks in 2006. ... Packers' .273 winning percentage against Jets is worst against any NFL team. ... Packers two wins away from joining Bears as only teams in NFL history with 700 regular-season victories. ... Green Bay 6-2 under coach Mike McCarthy in home openers, 5-1 with Aaron Rodgers as starting QB. ... Rodgers 8-3 with 30 TDs and six interceptions against AFC teams since 2011. ... WR Jordy Nelson has five touchdown catches in past five against AFC teams. ... Packers started rookies in TE Richard Rodgers and C Corey Linsley last week, second straight year team had two rookies in season opener after RB Eddie Lacy

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and LT David Bakhtiari in 2013. ... Linsley first rookie to start opener at center since at least 1970. ... Since 2010 including playoffs, CB Tramon Williams third in NFL with 19 interceptions, CB Sam Shields fourth with 17 interceptions. ... P Tim Masthay needs three punts inside 20 to tie Craig Hentrich for franchise record of 104.

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NEWSDAY

Jets try to simulate Lambeau Field crowd noise (Kimberley Martin) Newsday September 11, 2014

http://www.newsday.com/sports/football/jets/jets-try-to-simulate-lambeau-field-crowd-noise-1.9292193

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. - The Jets pumped up the volume during practice Thursday for two reasons: to simulate the noise they'll encounter at Lambeau Field and get their defense ready for Green Bay's no-huddle attack.

According to ESPN, the Packers average 35.3 seconds in real time between plays, which ranks sixth in the NFL. And the home-field advantage will work against the Jets -- if they let it.

Linebacker David Harris and safety Dawan Landry have the toughest jobs on defense because they're responsible for relaying the calls to the rest of the unit.

Rex Ryan said practicing no-huddle tends to be difficult, "and so the best way to do that, I've found out through the years, is you give the offense the play and you let them break the huddle and as they're breaking the huddle and are getting to their formation, then you signal in your defense."

Road test

The Jets won only two road games in 2013, so starting with a "W" in Green Bay could set the tone. "Got to start fast," Calvin Pace said. "And don't allow them to have big plays and get the crowd into it. Again, it's a challenge . . . But you've just got to go out and play, keep the ball in front of us and stop the run. I think if we do that, we'll have a chance."

Green Bay is 5-1 in home openers with Aaron Rodgers at quarterback.

Jet streams

Dee Milliner (ankle), Willie Colon (calf) and Josh Bush (quadriceps) were limited and A.J. Edds (hamstring) did not practice. Jeff Cumberland returned after tending to a family matter in Ohio . . . Packers running back Eddie Lacy (concussion) practiced fully and is expected to play . . . Ryan said the competition in practice was "outstanding," adding that "guys were getting after it" and "we had a few little brush-ups." But he was "disappointed" by some practice-squadders who blew their assignments.

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Jets should be able to run on Packers (Colin Stephenson) Newsday September 11, 2014

http://www.newsday.com/sports/football/jets/jets-should-be-able-to-run-on-packers-1.9291769

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FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- All the numbers the Jets' offense compiled in their season-opening victory over the Raiders have to be taken with a grain of salt, of course. The Raiders aren't exactly an elite team. But the Jets did run for a league-high 212 yards.

The team with the second-most rushing yards (207) in Week 1 was the Seahawks, who just happened to be playing the Packers, who host the Jets on Sunday. That would seem to bode well for Chris Johnson, Chris Ivory and Bilal Powell.

With that trio of backs and mobile quarterback Geno Smith, who ran 10 times for 38 yards against Oakland, the Jets have a chance to establish themselves as a running team in a predominantly passing league. The three-headed rushing attack of Johnson, Ivory and Powell offers the opportunity to keep throwing fresh bodies at defenses, with a mix of styles as well.

"Chris Ivory is very aggressive, power -- he's hard to tackle -- and he does a very good job for us,'' tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson said Thursday. "Chris Johnson is a very quick and speedy guy, really catches the edge very well, and then Bilal is so quick and sudden that it's really hard to catch him. And he also runs with a lot of heart. You can see it on the field. He's a very impressive back to watch.

"So I think all those guys put together, it just gives us so many options as to not only when we can use them but how we can use them.''

Johnson was on the field for 33 of the Jets' 70 offensive plays against the Raiders and scored their first touchdown on a 5-yard reception. He had the most carries, 13, for 68 yards (5.2 average) and added five catches. Ivory, in 30 plays, ran 10 times for 102 yards, with 71 coming on a touchdown midway through the fourth quarter that effectively iced the game. Powell played 12 plays on offense, running once for 4 yards, with most of his playing time coming on special teams.

Rex Ryan wasn't ready to commit either way on whether the Jets will continue to go with a committee approach or eventually look to settle on a primary ballcarrier.

"We're blessed to have three really good backs,'' Ryan said. "Sometimes you'll go with the hot hand, but other times, we want to try to get all three guys involved as well.''

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Calvin Pryor hopes to get the last laugh on Packers' Ha Ha Clinton-Dix (Colin Stephenson) Newsday September 11, 2014

http://www.newsday.com/sports/football/jets/calvin-pryor-hopes-to-get-the-last-laugh-on-packers-ha-ha-clinton-dix-1.9291783

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- Calvin Pryor couldn't suppress a grin Thursday when asked about Rex Ryan's comment about him in a conference call with the Green Bay media Wednesday.

"Film don't lie," said Pryor, the Jets' rookie safety. "What's been out there, put on the film, what's been out there put on the football field, it speaks for itself, so I don't even have to speak on that part."

In his conference call with the Green Bay media, Ryan was asked why the Jets took Louisville's Pryor with their No. 18 pick in the NFL draft, instead of Alabama's Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, who many draft pundits thought would be the first safety taken. In typical Ryan style, the Jets coach lauded his player by saying that while both were excellent players, and the Jets would have been happy with either, Ryan decided to take "the guy who would knock your face in."

The Packers took Clinton-Dix three picks later, at No. 21 overall, and when told by the Packers media of Ryan's comments, he vowed to prove a point to Ryan and the Jets on Sunday.

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"If that's what they thought, then hey, that's up on him, and I'm going to show him," Clinton-Dix said of Ryan.

According to Pryor, he and Clinton-Dix are actually friends. Both are from Florida, and they met at a prospects camp back in their junior year of high school. They stayed in touch over the years and after it became apparent that they were the top two safeties entering the draft, they got even closer, helping each other with tips and support. But yes, they do have a friendly rivalry, and they do push each other to be better. Pryor admitted that while his focus is taking care of his own business, he does keep an eye on what Clinton-Dix is doing with the Packers.

"I make sure I keep up with him enough to know, to tell him, 'Hey man, good job,' or something like that," Pryor said. "But I focus on myself the majority of the time."

As for the challenge of going up against Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers Sunday, Pryor said he is looking forward to it.

"I'm ready," he said. "I want to go against the best of the best. [Rodgers is] truly one of the best quarterbacks in the National Football League, so I'm ready. I'm excited for the challenge."

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Rex Ryan optimistic CB Dee Milliner will return Sunday (Kimberley Martin) Newsday September 11, 2014

http://www.newsday.com/sports/football/jets/rex-ryan-optimistic-cb-dee-milliner-will-return-sunday-1.9292314

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. - Rex Ryan expressed optimism that cornerback Dee Milliner will suit up Sunday in Green Bay. But if the Jets' former first-round pick does play, there's a good chance he'll be coming off the bench.

"I feel pretty confident that he'll be able to play,'' Ryan said Thursday, adding that Milliner "moved around pretty good'' on his sprained ankle at practice.

But when he was asked if Milliner will start, Ryan was far more cautious. "I don't know if we're there yet,'' he said.

"If he plays, he'll help us. I would think that we would end up starting Antonio Allen and Darrin Walls. That's my initial thought.''

The Jets have been playing the waiting game all week with Milliner. He hasn't practiced since Aug. 10, when he suffered a high ankle sprain during training camp. Last week, the Jets were forced to start Allen, a natural safety, and Walls at cornerback against Oakland in their regular-season opener.

The Jets on Thursday waived cornerback Leon McFadden, whom they picked up from the Browns on the final cutdown day. That was a clear sign they're confident that Milliner will be on the field soon. It's just a matter of when. He's been limited in practice the past two days, so his game-time status won't be known until Ryan releases the Jets' official injury report Friday.

With or without Milliner, the defense will have its hands full with quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

The Packers, who lost their season opener in Seattle, will have had 10 days to prepare for the Jets. And Rex & Co. are expecting Rodgers to attack them in the air -- and with his feet.

"A guy makes a mistake, he can find it,'' linebacker Calvin Pace said. "And the fact that he can extend the play, it makes it tougher for the guys on the back end.

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"You can't cover forever. And they've got a good receiving corps, so . . . everybody's going to have to do their job up front and on the back end. Our hope is to be good on first and second down, keep 'em to minimal yards, so that way, third down we can kind of pin our ears back and go after him a little bit.''

The problem with Rodgers, from an opponent's standpoint, is that he doesn't do just one thing well. Like the Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger, Rodgers doesn't look to extend plays by throwing the ball underneath, Jets defensive coordinator Dennis Thurman said.

"They're looking to throw the ball down the field,'' Thurman said.

"He's seen about every blitz you can use, he's seen about every coverage you can run. He is one of the best quarterbacks in the league, if not the best, in some people's eyes. So it's a big challenge for us on Sunday.''

Said Ryan: "It's tough to sleep this week as a coach.''

Having Milliner back will be "an added plus,'' safety Dawan Landry said. There's a chance Milliner will be rusty, given his time away from the field. But if he does make an appearance, don't expect the coaching staff to cut him any slack.

Said Thurman: "[If] there is no swelling and he is cleared to play, whatever reps he gets, we expect him to go out and perform up to a certain level.''

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THE RECORD

Jets' Johnson expects to rip off a long run (J.P. Pelzman) The Record September 11, 2014

http://www.northjersey.com/sports/football/jets/jet-vet-all-set-for-a-long-run-1.1086689

FLORHAM PARK – Chris Johnson is the only player in NFL history with six rushing touchdown of 80 yards or more, including a 94-yard burst for Tennessee against the Jets in December 2012.

So perhaps it was a bit strange that the longest run in the Jets' opening day victory over Oakland was a 71-yarder by Chris Ivory, who occupies the role of the bruiser in the team's crowded and talented backfield. Johnson also was effective, with 68 yards on 13 carries, but his longest run of the day went for 11 yards, part of the Jets' 212-yard rushing haul.

But the seventh-year running back fully expects to break a long one — and soon.

"There were a couple of times when it could have been a bigger play than it was," Johnson said, referring to the Oakland game, "but that's going to come with repetition. The more games I play and the more comfortable I get, hopefully those 10-, 15-yard runs turn into 70 or 80 yards."

Certainly Johnson, Ivory and the Jets will look for some big plays on the ground Sunday when they visit Green Bay. The Packers allowed 207 rushing yards at 5.6 yards per carry in their 36-16 season-opening loss at Seattle last week, and Green Bay also missed numerous tackles in that game.

"Any time you go against a defense that's [been] missing a lot of tackles, that's always a good thing for a running back," Johnson said, before adding that the Packers will try to clean that up for Sunday.

"Those guys are going to go back and look at the film," said Johnson, who had a 5-yard score on a shovel pass in Sunday's victory. "You can't go in there and dwell on the things they did wrong against Seattle. We've just got to worry about ourselves."

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Johnson, who made his Jets' debut against the Raiders, was used to being the featured back with the Titans and getting the bulk of the carries. But he had to share the load on opening day. Ivory carried 10 times and veteran Bilal Powell had one rushing attempt. It wouldn't be surprising if Powell becomes more involved in future games, judging by what coach Rex Ryan said Thursday.

"We're blessed to have three really good backs," Ryan said. "Sometimes you'll go with the hot hand, but other times we want to try to get all three guys involved as well. … We feel good about our situation back there. But to say that, 'Hey, this guy is going to carry it 15 times, this guy carries it 15, this guy carries it 15,' that's not realistic."

"We rushed for over 200 yards so there's nothing I can complain about," Johnson said with a smile when asked if he has adjusted to having fewer carries.

"Chris Johnson certainly can do it all," offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg said. … Some guys are just so talented athletically. He can do an awful lot of things at a real high level."

Johnson also likes what he has seen from Mornhinweg.

"I think Marty knows what he's doing," he said. "He knows how to get the ball in his playmakers' hands."

BRIEFS: CB Dee Milliner (ankle) practiced on a limited basis for the second straight day Thursday, and Ryan said, "I feel pretty confident that he'll be able to play" Sunday. The Jets waived second-year CB Leon McFadden, likely a sign they feel Milliner will be ready. However, Ryan indicated he is leaning toward using Milliner in a reserve role.

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STAR-LEDGER

Truth or drivel? Parsing the wit, wisdom and cliched comments of Jets OC Marty Mornhinweg (Darryl Slater) Star-Ledger September 11, 2014

http://www.nj.com/jets/index.ssf/2014/09/truth_or_drivel_parsing_the_wit_wisdom_and_cliched_comments_of_jets_offensive_coordinator_marty_morn.html

FLORHAM PARK – Every week in the NFL, thousands of words are spoken by coaches, coordinators and players in their dealings with reporters. Some of what these guys say is insightful, interesting and amusing. Some of it is just plain drivel.

Every week, on Thursday, we’ll break down what is said by someone on the Jets – and separate the insightful (or even semi-insightful) truth from the pure, unadulterated drivel. Hopefully, it’ll be a fun way to make light of coach-speak and clichés, while also pointing out some of the comments that actually matter.

Here now, is our first edition of Truth or Drivel – off the Thursday press conference given by Jets offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg, who is known for serving up a cliché salad every now and then.

• Mornhinweg was asked about what Seattle did to Green Bay on Opening Night and if the Jets could perhaps take some cues from that, considering the Jets have some similarities, personnel-wise, to Seattle’s offense.

“Seattle sure is a good football team,” Mornhinweg said. “They’ve got it all. They play smart. They play hard. Certainly, you can take some things away. Every game is different. We certainly do have different types of personnel at certain spots. This early in the year, those regular season games are so important,

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as far as studying those games, rather than last year’s games, because the personnel is just a little bit different, and this year’s preseason games, because there’s not many snaps of it with the starters in. That (Packers-Seahawks) game certainly is important this early in the season.”

Truth or drivel?

TRUTH

While not really answering the question directly, because Mornhinweg never answers game-plan questions like this directly, he did make a fairly interesting point about the value of limited regular season film this early in the year, because last year’s film and preseason film really don't provide as much insight into an opponent.

• After answering a question about quarterback Geno Smith’s opener by saying “there were some other things that we have to do a little bit better,” Mornhinweg was asked the logical follow-up question: So what are some of those things?

His answer: “Well, you saw the game. We’re all in this together now. So it’s all of us. You saw the game there. There were some obvious, obvious things there – the penalties, and then taking care of the ball. We just have to become, as a group, situational experts. It’s just that simple. There were a couple things there that we didn’t do as well as I expected us to do.”

Truth or drivel?

DRIVEL

Yes, we saw the game. We probably would’ve been fired if we just skipped it and spent Sunday afternoon, say, trying to avoid serious injuries while riding the rides at Action Park. (Though that would’ve been fun. Maybe during the bye week.)

• Backup quarterback Michael Vick got three gimmick plays in Sunday’s season-opening win over the Raiders. Mornhinweg was asked if he thinks Vick coming onto the field for a play at a time could disrupt the Jets’ offensive rhythm.

“We’ve talked about this,” he said. “That part of it is real, rhythm and all these type of things. That’s a real thing. So I’m very conscious of that. No, I don’t think. It kind of depends on the way you do it. So you’ve got a good point. I understand it. We all understand it. However, there are some great positives of utilizing a man like Mike Vick because he’s so skilled and it creates some things for you, certainly during the game and in the future. That’s about all I want to go into the thought process there.”

By his reference to the future, does he mean making opponents prepare for the possibility that Vick could play?

“It could be,” Mornhinweg said.

Truth or drivel?

TRUTH

That’s something to remember about the Vick Element in the Jets’ offense – the Jets have now forced their upcoming opponents to get ready for Vick, regardless of whether Mornhinweg plans to insert Vick that week. Maybe Mornhinweg was spinning with his comments about how he thinks Vick playing doesn’t disrupt the rhythm. (It's too early to say, for sure, whether Vick playing disrupts or helps, even though his limited presence Sunday did little to help.) But Mornhinweg at least gave a straightforward answer about what he perceives to be the advantages of using Vick.

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• This was actually the second question Mornhinweg was asked about Vick. When asked for his thought process with inserting Vick (to little success) in the opener, Mornhinweg served up this doozy:

“You didn’t like that?” he said with a smile. “We all like it if it worked. In fact, I told my wife, Lindsay, make an appointment for me. What type of appointment, I don’t know, but some type of appointment. So, yeah. Look it, some of these are forward-thinking and so forth. But I think we’re in good shape that way.”

Truth or drivel?

DRIVEL

Um … badum-ching? What an incredibly odd joke. But hey, at least Mornhinweg tried. Maybe he was referring to people thinking he was crazy -- and in need of a shrink -- for how he played Vick. Maybe? Anyway, he completely dodged the actual question, though he did make reference to the forward-thinking nature of playing Vick. Still, this quote was dripping with drivel. If only Mornhinweg sold a better punch line. Alas. But even though Mornhinweg’s joke fell flat, it can’t compete with Rex Ryan’s all-time cheesy line about Andrew Luck. Mornhinweg can give it another try next week.

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Dee Milliner likely to play in Jets-Packers, but Antonio Allen, Darrin Walls probably will start again (Darryl Slater) Star-Ledger September 11, 2014

http://www.nj.com/jets/index.ssf/2014/09/dee_milliner_likely_to_play_in_jets-packers_but_antonio_allen_and_darrin_walls_probably_will_again_s.html

FLORHAM PARK – It looks like the Jets’ top cornerback, second-year pro Dee Milliner, will be able to play at least some of Sunday’s game at Green Bay.

“I feel pretty confident that he’ll be able to play,” Jets coach Rex Ryan said after Thursday’s practice.

Ryan was looking forward to seeing how Milliner – who sustained a high left ankle sprain Aug. 10 – would respond in Thursday’s practice, after he practiced for the first time Wednesday since getting hurt.

Ryan said Milliner did “about the same” amount of participation Thursday, when he was listed as limited, just like he was Wednesday. Milliner worked in positional drills and rotated in during team periods at Wednesday’s practice.

After monitoring Milliner, and how his ankle responded Thursday, Ryan liked what he saw.

“That was the thing where I was concerned, how he’d come back, but today he moved around pretty good,” Ryan said.

Entering training camp, Milliner and Dimitri Patterson were the Jets’ starting cornerbacks – not exactly a sure-thing tandem, considering Milliner’s rocky rookie season in 2013, and the fact that Patterson is a 31-year-old journeyman.

Then Milliner got hurt and Patterson blew off a preseason game, which led to the Jets cutting him. So in last week’s opener against Oakland, the Jets started converted safety Antonio Allen and backup Darrin Walls at the cornerback spots. The Jets also don’t have top backup Dexter McDougle, a rookie who is out for the year with a knee injury – which he sustained on the same day that Milliner sprained his ankle in training camp.

While Milliner probably will play Sunday at the Packers, in what Ryan had previously described as a limited role, don’t expect him to start.

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“I don’t know if we’re there yet,” Ryan said. “If he plays, he’ll help us, but I would think that we would end up starting Antonio Allen and Walls. That’s my initial thoughts.”

As for why Ryan is hesitant to start Milliner, there is the matter of his ankle having not yet been tested in a game situation. And then there is the consideration that he has practiced just two days in the past month. So Milliner might be rusty.

“The health is the No. 1 thing,” Ryan said. “That’s where we’re finding out where he is. Obviously, a little bit of the rust, if you will, timing. There are some things that are involved in it, and just getting back to where you’re at the top of your game. It’s fair to say that that’s – I don’t know if concern is the right word – but you recognize it.”

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Jace Amaro doesn't expect to be 'super human' right now, but says he graded 90 percent in Jets-Raiders (Darryl Slater) Star-Ledger September 11, 2014

http://www.nj.com/jets/index.ssf/2014/09/jace_amaro_doesnt_expect_to_be_super_human_immediately_but_says_he_graded_90_percent_in_jets-raiders.html

FLORHAM PARK – Jace Amaro, the Jets’ rookie tight end, understands it is going to take some time for him to become a major factor in the team’s offense.

And he is fine with going through that process, even as outside observers wonder just when the Jets will lean more heavily on him.

Amaro has high standards for himself. He has said he wants to eventually catch 100 passes in a season “on a consistent basis.” Just three tight ends in NFL history have ever accomplished that feat, and each of them did it once.

Amaro knows that 100 catches is unrealistic for him this year. He is still mastering the Jets’ West Coast offense, after playing in a far simpler, no-huddle spread system at Texas Tech. He and everyone around him – especially the Jets’ coaches – knew his transition to a more complex scheme this spring and summer would not be easy.

But Amaro believes he is beginning to get a more complete grasp on the Jets’ system, so perhaps the toughest days of learning this new language – such as it is – are behind him. Jets coach Rex Ryan sees it this way, too.

"He's going to be a major factor for our football team, and probably very soon," Ryan said.

In last week’s season-opening win over the Raiders, Amaro played 21 of the Jets’ 70 offensive plays. He was targeted four times and made two catches for 7 yards. It was a modest – though not discouraging – debut for Amaro.

Pro Football Focus gave him an average grade (plus-0.2). The website credited him with 22 snaps, including 10 on which he ran a pass route, three on which he pass blocked and nine on which he blocked for a running play. Amaro said that in the Jets’ grading system, he received a score of 90 percent (out of 100) for his debut.

“I felt like I blocked pretty well in the run game,” Amaro said. “I felt like I played pretty well for my first game. I did what I was expected to do. I felt like I could’ve been a little bit more productive on the statistics part – just from breaking a couple more tackles maybe. That will come when you catch a couple more

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balls and feel a little bit more comfortable and confident during the games. I felt good out there. It was a good first game for me.”

Amaro said he “felt really comfortable with all the calls” during the game, as offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg went with a familiar approach for Amaro – no-huddle.

“We went no-huddle most of the game, so I felt really comfortable out there in what he was calling and where I was supposed to go,” Amaro said. “I feel like I’ve come a long way from the Colts game (the Jets’ Aug. 7 preseason opener) – from looks, to knowing what the defense is in, to fronts and all that stuff. I feel a lot more comfortable out there.”

Amaro said going no-huddle against the Raiders “definitely made me feel a little bit more comfortable, just because I had been doing that for three years at Texas Tech. Just listening to the calls and just going with it.”

Run blocking duties are a significant adjustment for Amaro, so it is an encouraging sign for him that he was able to hold up fairly well in that facet of the game. The flashier part of his contributions will come in time, he believes. Right now, he is continuing to make the rookie adjustments that he knew would be part of his summer and early fall.

“I think everybody expected it,” Amaro said of his summer struggles. “I wasn’t going to come in here and know (everything). It’s a totally different offense, a totally different scheme, a totally different skill set than what I had been doing. At Texas Tech, I never blocked on the line. So I had to learn that before I could even begin to think about running routes. It really wasn’t the route-running part. It was more just understanding the entire offense, starting with the foundation of the run, and going from there to the pass. Our offense is built run first, and (then) pass.

“With all the negative comments that I’ve heard about me struggling, it was just a thing that I expected. I knew I was going to make mistakes. I knew I wasn’t going to be perfect out there. I didn’t expect me to be this super human rookie tight end, and come in here and catch 100 balls and 1,000 yards. That’s hard. It’s hard to even catch a couple balls a game. I think everyone knows what I can do and has seen it. I’ve just got to get going.”

Amaro was not surprised that he played just 21 of 70 snaps in the opener. He expected Mornhinweg to ease him in during the first couple games (Oakland, and then Sunday’s trip to Green Bay).

“Marty said it’s the first game, (and) he wasn’t going to throw me in there and make me do a bunch of stuff,” Amaro said. “He was going to work me into it, gradually get me going, so I feel more confident every single game.”

As far as his understanding of the offense, though, Amaro said he is fine.

“I feel as comfortable as I can be, definitely night and day from where I was from the beginning of training camp to now,” he said. “I know the coaches have told me that they thought I looked a lot better than I did at the beginning of camp, and where I’m at now. They just felt like I turned a spin (improved) in the Cincinnati (preseason) game when I got a chance to start. They’re going to work me in more plays these next four weeks. It’ll be fun just to see how they do that.

“I’m still learning. I’ve only played one game, against the Raiders, and it was at home. Who knows how it’s going to affect me on the road? I’ve never played at Green Bay. It’s supposed to be a tough environment. I think with this game, I kind of expect something similar (to the opener) – probably try to get the ball to me like three or four times and see what I can do.”

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Jets want to avoid huddling, but Green Bay noise might test their ears, force them to hand signal (Darryl Slater) Star-Ledger September 11, 2014

http://www.nj.com/jets/index.ssf/2014/09/jets_want_to_avoid_huddling_but_green_bay_noise_might_test_their_ears_force_them_to_hand_signal.html

FLORHAM PARK – For nearly a year, the Jets’ offense has relied primarily on not huddling before plays. Offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg adopted the strategy about midway through last season. His rookie quarterback, Geno Smith, was plenty familiar with running a no-huddle offense, since he did it in college at West Virginia.

Throughout spring workouts and training camp, the Jets continued to implement the no-huddle approach, as more NFL teams are doing, though some run their plays in rapider succession than others.

Not huddling gives the offense options in dictating tempo. The quarterback can line up his offensive teammates and snap the ball immediately. He can go with a hard count and get defenders to reveal how they plan to blitz – “trying to smoke you out,” as Jets defensive coordinator Dennis Thurman said. Or the quarterback can take his time, survey the defense and audible into a more advantageous play.

Either way, the defense must get lined up and prepare for the possibility of an immediate snap.

“It forces the defense to show their hand,” said Jets receiver David Nelson, adding that a no-huddle offense also limits defenders’ ability to make in-series adjustments by talking to each other between plays, because the offense isn’t spending that time in a huddle.

Over the past year, the Jets have gotten comfortable with their predominantly no-huddle offense. They’ve grown accustomed to hearing Smith shout play calls to them from afar, rather than in a traditional huddle.

“A lot of what we do is geared toward being able to hear what Geno’s saying,” Nelson said. “Once you get used to it, huddling up starts to get weird for you. Now, it’s just second nature to us, to hear what he’s saying.”

But there’s the key, and a potential challenge in Sunday’s game at Green Bay: The Jets must hear what Smith is saying. It might be difficult for them to do that Sunday, surrounded by 80,735 Packers fans clamoring for a win in their home opener, after Seattle dropped Green Bay 36-16 in Week 1.

Lambeau Field, always jammed, is the NFL’s fourth-largest stadium, when taking into account complete, standing-room capacity. To prepare his players for the noise, Jets coach Rex Ryan had speakers set up along the sidelines at Thursday’s practice, and blasted music during 11-on-11 periods. Ryan does this before almost all road games.

“But there are some certain stadiums where you’re going to blare the thing as loud as you can get,” Ryan said.

The Jets would prefer to not huddle often, but will they get what they want in Green Bay? Or will the din force them to use a more traditional huddling approach?

Smith should be able to hear Mornhinweg’s play call reasonably well. He has a radio speaker in his helmet through which Mornhinweg communicates the plays. The Jets’ running backs and offensive linemen should be able to hear Smith when he yells the play call to them as the 40-second play clock ticks down.

The biggest issue for a no-huddle offense playing in a loud setting could come with communicating play calls to those farthest from Smith – his wide receivers. Ideally, the play call will be verbally communicated

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from Smith to the slot receiver or tight end, and then out to the primary outside receivers – Nelson and Eric Decker. It is a high-stakes version of the childhood game known as telephone.

“We’re always talking about just kind of relaying it out and making sure that the guys know (the call),” Decker said.

NFL teams generally prefer not to use hand signals to relay plays from the coaches on the sideline. It isn’t necessary, because of the quarterback’s helmet radio speaker. And opponents can watch the signals and decode them, though that is difficult.

“Like baseball, if you see a third base coach giving signals, you still have a hard time picking it up,” Decker said. “But if you’ve got someone that can key on it, or they had a player that was maybe on the team previously and they know maybe a couple signals, it can be hard to disguise sometimes.”

The Jets’ primary hand signaling occurs on the field, when Smith wants to communicate a play call to his teammates in this manner – perhaps because of noise. Decker expects the Jets to “probably signal a little bit” in Sunday’s game. It is a reliable option.

“A lot of what we do can be verbalized or signaled,” Nelson said.

But he said the Jets don’t want to signal a lot, because defenses will catch on. If the current opponent doesn’t, the signals are still on film (or television footage) for the next week’s opponent, which would force the Jets to change their signals rather frequently – something that could potentially confuse their players, Nelson said.

“It’s just too much,” Nelson said of hand-signaling a lot.

So the Jets try to verbally relay plays, from Smith to the outside receivers, “as much as we can,” Nelson said.

But can the Jets rely mostly on verbal communication amid Lambeau Field’s noise? Along their offensive line, they are preparing for the possibility of going with a silent snap count, in case the tackles and tight ends can’t hear Smith’s spoken count.

For a silent count, the linemen pounce out of their stances after center Nick Mangold bobs his head a predetermined number of times. Right guard Willie Colon said the Jets went with silent counts “a lot” last year, regardless of the setting. So they are used to it.

“Sometimes, a stadium doesn’t even have to be loud and we’d just still use it,” he said.

Before the snap count happens, though, the Jets must receive the actual play call from Smith. In a loud road setting, “it’s definitely easier to get in the huddle and just see everything that Geno says out of his mouth,” said fullback Tommy Bohanon.

Mornhinweg said he preaches to his players, before games like this: “Eyes on the quarterback’s mouth.” Watching what Smith says, either in the huddle or out of it, can help a player more accurately understand the play call.

If an outside receiver is scrambling and can’t get the call as the play clock ticks down, there is an “emergency” option, Nelson said. The Jets have signals for individual routes. So in this situation, Nelson would alert the tight end or slot receiver that he didn’t hear the call, and that player would give Nelson one of the Jets’ quick hand signals for the route he is supposed to run on the play.

But this is an extreme situation. A football game does not present steady, deafening noise, like a rock concert. There are lulls, the time right after a play ends, until about 15 or 20 seconds remain on the play clock. This is the critical communication window for a no-huddle offense playing on the road.

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“For the most part, the crowd doesn’t get extremely loud until third downs or close to when (the ball is snapped),” Nelson said. “The crowd doesn’t scream from the end of the play and then 40 seconds long to the next play. There is usually a 20-second span in there that you have, to kind of hear things and get lined up. It usually doesn’t get rocking until 15 seconds on the play clock hits.”

In last year’s Monday night Week 5 game at Atlanta, before the Jets turned to not huddling on a regular basis, Smith was able to execute a no-huddle offense in the final two minutes, leading the Jets’ to a game-winning field goal by Nick Folk.

The Georgia Dome rocked that night, when Smith got a signature win of an uneven rookie season. Lambeau will rock Sunday, another marquee victory on the line, and the Jets will have to assess during the game whether they can avoid huddling as much as they would prefer to.

“If it doesn’t work and we’re struggling with it, then you’ve got to huddle,” Nelson said. “We’ll evaluate that. If it gets to a situation where we want to go no huddle and we have to start signaling, then we will. It just depends on the flow of the game and how we’re handling it.”

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NEW YORK POST

Jets seeking to reverse recent woes on the road (Brian Costello) New York Post September 11, 2014

http://nypost.com/2014/09/11/jets-seeking-to-reverse-recent-woes-on-the-road/

When the Jets arrive in Green Bay on Saturday, maybe they should head over to Lambeau Field and take one of the fan tours for $11 a head. Or they could swing by Vince Lombardi’s old house over on Sunset Circle. Or light a candle at St. Willebrord Church downtown where Lombardi attended church before games on Sundays.

The Jets should try anything to reverse their luck on the road.

The team went 2-6 away from MetLife Stadium last season, and played some of their most dismal football away from home — suffering losses of 40, 25 and 23 points along the way. It has been several years since the Jets have played well on the road. They are 7-17 over the last three seasons away from home.

Not coincidentally, the Jets have missed the playoffs in all three of those years.

If the Jets are serious about returning to the playoffs, they have to solve their road woes. In Rex Ryan’s first two seasons as coach they went 5-3 in 2009 and then 6-2 in 2010 on the road. They followed up each of those seasons with two more road wins in the playoffs. But somewhere along the line Ryan lost his road mojo.

Ryan searched for solutions last year, most memorably by bringing the team to Dave & Buster’s the night before a game in Buffalo, but they got smoked 37-14 the next day. So scrap the skee-ball solution.

“You bring a better team on the road with you. I think that’s the No. 1 thing,” Ryan said when asked how the Jets could turn it around this year. “We feel pretty good about it. We are definitely more comfortable at home than you are on the road. You have your surroundings and all that and also you’ve got 70,000 fans behind you or whatever it is. That’s always a big boost. When you’re on the road, you have each other and you have to tighten up the focus.”

It won’t be easy to reverse the trend this week. The Packers are 30-5-1 at home in the regular season since Week 10 of 2009, the second best home-winning percentage over that time. They trail only the Patriots,

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another trip that awaits the Jets. Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is 28-2 in his last 30 starts at Lambeau.

If history was not a tough enough hurdle for the Jets to clear, they are playing the Packers in their home opener, coming off a tough loss that has fans in Green Bay panicking. The Packers have not started a season 0-2 since 2006.

One of the Jets’ biggest road issues last season was the play of quarterback Geno Smith. He threw 13 of his 21 interceptions on the road and delivered a few epic clunkers (22.3 QB rating in Baltimore ring a bell?).

“I think he will be better,” wide receiver Jeremy Kerley said. “He still has 100 things to worry about, but his poise has definitely grown over the year.”

The Jets blared music during Thursday’s practice to prepare their offense for what they expect to be a rowdy crowd. They worked on communicating with hand signals and how far receivers should be from Smith when running the no-huddle to hear his call.

“I think the biggest thing as far as being a good road team is composure, no matter what happens,” wide receiver David Nelson said. “You could be up 28-10 at halftime and a team is going to come back. They’re going to have motivation. They’re going to have momentum, energy, passion because of their fans, especially at a place like Lambeau. You have to be able to maintain your composure no matter what’s going on.”

It’s something the Jets failed miserably at in 2013. They have a chance this Sunday to prove it will be a different story in 2014.

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Boomer sees Geno Smith as solution not problem (Rebecca Rosenberg) New York Post September 11, 2014

http://nypost.com/2014/09/11/boomer-sees-geno-smith-as-solution-not-problem/

Geno Smith held the Jets back last year, but this season he could be part of the solution.

The Jets head to Green Bay on Sunday afternoon with a chance to back up their season-opening 19-14 win against the Raiders and cement themselves as a legitimate playoff contender.

“What I see this year is a guy that is in complete command of what the offense is asking him to do,” CBS pregame analyst Boomer Esiason said of Smith, who completed 23-of-28 passes for 221 yards with one touchdown to go along with two turnovers last week.

“I know that he made a couple of mistakes, but he is running more, he looks more confident and I imagine his communication skills, after learning a foreign language last year, have come full circle,” Esiason said. “I like what I see, I truly do. Do I expect him to go to the Super Bowl? No. Do I expect him to be the MVP of the league? No. But I do expect him to have a really good season.”

And that might be enough considering Smith was the lowest-rated quarterback in the league last season and the team still went 8-8. The Jets’ strength, though, is up front, where they manhandled the Raiders on both sides of the ball, outgaining them 402-158 in total yards.

“They can make a legitimate playoff push because they have an offensive and defensive line combination that’s as good as there is in the NFL,” Esiason said. “There are very few teams that can say they have two

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sets of lines as good as the Jets have. And that can end up being the reason why they win. … And as the Giants have proved you don’t have to win 12 games to go on and win the Super Bowl.”

Despite the Week 1 dominance, the Jets were unable to put the Raiders away and are more than a touchdown underdogs against the Packers, who were pummeled in Seattle in their opener. Still, Aaron Rodgers and company are a significant step up from the Raiders and quarterback Derek Carr, who was making his first NFL start.

Esiason said he believes the best way for the Jets to neutralize the Packers’ offense is to keep it on the sidelines, something the Seahawks showed was possible.

“When they gave the ball to Marshawn Lynch he wasn’t touched for 3 or 4 yards past the line of scrimmage,” said Esiason, who quarterbacked the Jets from 1993-95.

“So if I am the Jets and I see that I’ve got a three-headed monster at running back [Chris Ivory, Chris Johnson and Bilal Powell] that looks pretty damn good, we should try and play a little bit of defense with our offense and give our defense a break by controlling the football. If I am looking at the film, I’d say I can run on these guys. And I’d imagine that’s where the Jets’ collective heads are at.”

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Finishing drives focus for Jets offense (Howie Kussoy) New York Post September 12, 2014

http://nypost.com/2014/09/12/finishing-drives-focus-for-jets-offense/

Geno Smith isn’t expected to go toe-to-toe and pass-for-pass with Aaron Rodgers, the chances about as good as MetLife Stadium becoming as hallowed as Lambeau Field.

Smith is in his second season and Rodgers is a former MVP with the best quarterback rating in NFL history, a player whose worst performance last season (244 yards) was more prolific than all but three of Smith’s 16 starts.

But Sunday’s matchup is about efficiency, not explosiveness, and against Rodgers, or anyone else, 25 percent red-zone success will not be sufficient.

After ranking 27th in the league last season with a 50 percent touchdown rate in the red zone, the Jets couldn’t convert a touchdown on 3-of-4 opportunities last week against the Raiders, allowing a potential blowout to be left in doubt until the final minutes after running 11 plays inside the 20-yard line for negative-38 yards, which included two sacks, two penalties and a fumble, along with two field goals.

“The good news is you got down there four times,” coach Rex Ryan said after Thursday’s practice. “The bad news is we only scored [a touchdown] once. You want to be at least three out of four down there.

That’s what we pride ourselves on. So, we still have some work, for sure, down there.”

It was ugly and uninspiring, but it was also early.

While Smith said inside-the-20 work has been a point of emphasis this week, first-year Jet Eric Decker, who tied Jimmy Graham for the league lead with 18 red-zone receiving touchdowns over the past two seasons, believes that as the season progresses, so will the team’s understanding of how to best incorporate Chris Johnson’s speed, Chris Ivory’s power, Decker’s route-running and the tight ends’ size, among other options.

“I think you will definitely find what your strengths are when you get down there,” Decker said. “It’s always hard the first game. We definitely want to work and get better at it because that’s gonna win ballgames.”

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Coming from a record-setting offense in Denver, Decker knows the Jets aren’t going to put up the same kind of numbers, but said his new team will have more than enough production as long as it is effective in its red-zone opportunities.

“Here, we don’t have to score 45 points to win ballgames,” Decker said. “The defense is playing really good. We just need to make sure we put points on the board and take some pressure off of them. We definitely have the ability. We have a wide set of skill players, we can change personnel, we have different formations and that’s gonna help as we move forward.

“First, we need to eliminate the penalties, taking us out of the red zone and making things tougher than it already is.”

Decker’s lone target in the red zone against Oakland came on a gadget play involving Michael Vick, an element of trickery which offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg plans on utilizing again in similar situations.

Mornhinweg, who inserted Vick twice inside the 10-yard line, said even though removing Smith could impact the flow of the drive, Vick’s playmaking ability outweighs the potential risk.

“Rhythm, all these type of things, that’s a real thing, so I’m very conscious of that,” Mornhinweg said. “I understand it. However, there are some great positives of utilizing a man like Mike Vick because he is so skilled and it creates some things for you, certainly during the game and in the future.

“Why wouldn’t you use a capable player that you have available? That’s just in me. … If they have the strength and they can help us in that particular game on a particular play… why wouldn’t you use a player that you have available that can help you in some way?”

Mornhinweg also hinted Vick’s usage sets him up as an effective decoy, opening up space for his teammates.

“Some of these are forward-thinking, but I think we’re in good shape down there,” Mornhinweg said.

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Packers RB Eddie Lacy tough test for Jets’ run defense (Howie Kussoy) New York Post September 11, 2014

http://nypost.com/2014/09/12/packers-rb-eddie-lacy-tough-test-for-jets-run-defense/

The Jets’ secondary was already in line for what may be its toughest test all season, going against Aaron Rodgers and the Packers on Sunday, but the team’s stellar run defense’s job just got harder. Now, the Jets will have to face Green Bay’s starting running back, Eddie Lacy, whose status was previously in question after he suffered a concussion last week.

Lacy, last season’s Offensive Rookie of the Year, practiced in full on Thursday for the first time and has been cleared to play against the Jets, coach Mike McCarthy said, giving Green Bay a back who posted nearly 1,200 yards, along with 11 touchdowns last year, instead of having to start career backup James Starks.

“Most big backs are just boom, straight ahead, no fair dodging … but [Lacy] also gives you that element of not only will he finish runs, but he’ll also spin out of tackles as well,” Rex Ryan said. “He’s a big power back, but he’s a spinner, too. So we’ve got to do a great job that way, not only wrapping the guy up, but you’ve got to press your hip when he spins.”

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Dee Milliner practiced for the second straight day on a limited basis. Ryan said he was pleased with how the second-year cornerback responded to his first practice in a month, after he had been sidelined with a high left ankle sprain.

“I feel pretty confident that he’ll be able to play,” Ryan said. “That was the thing where I was concerned, how he would come back, but he was moving around pretty good.”

Though Ryan expects Milliner to play, he doesn’t expect to start the former first-round pick, instead opting for Antonio Allen and Darrin Walls.

“Obviously, a little bit of the rust, timing, there’s some things that are involved in it and just getting back to where you’re at the top of your game,” Ryan said.

Defensive coordinator Dennis Thurman came away from Sunday’s win over the Raiders impressed with rookie safety Calvin Pryor, the Jets’ first-round pick.

“The biggest thing that I took from it was that it wasn’t too big for him,” Thurman said. “That’s rare for a rookie. He’s out there, he’s comfortable, he showed his natural ability to play football. Those are the things that impressed us before we took him in the draft.”

As for the team’s second-round pick, Jace Amaro, Ryan said he believes it won’t be long before the pass-catching tight end becomes a difference-maker. In his first game, Amaro finished with two receptions for seven yards, playing 21 snaps, while Jeff Cumberland lined up for 55 plays.

“[Amaro’s] going to be a major factor for our football team and probably very soon,” Ryan said.

Along with Milliner, safety Josh Bush (quad) and guard Willie Colon (calf) were limited in practice, while linebacker A.J. Edds (hamstring) did not participate.

Cumberland returned to practice after missing the previous day (personal reason), while linebacker Ikemefuna Enemkpali (foot) practiced in full, after being limited Wednesday. … The Jets waived cornerback Leon McFadden.

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NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Jets cornerback Dee Milliner could be cleared to play against Packers (Seth Walder) New York Daily News September 12, 2014

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/jets/jets-insider-dee-milliner-a-ok-play-packers-article-1.1937288

Cornerback Dee Milliner is increasingly likely to play in Sunday’s game against the Packers, but it doesn’t sound like he’ll start.

“I feel pretty confident that he’ll be able to play,” Rex Ryan said Thursday.

Milliner is recovering from a high ankle sprain he suffered in a training camp practice on Aug. 10. He practiced on a limited basis for the first time on Wednesday, and Ryan said a big hurdle would be seeing how the ankle reacted following the increase in activity. From Ryan’s account, Milliner’s ankle responded well.

Even though Milliner is the Jets’ top corner, Ryan said he probably wouldn’t start against the Packers.

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“If he plays he’ll help us,” Ryan said. “I would think that we would end up starting Antonio Allen and (Darrin) Walls. That’s my initial thought.”

Allen and Walls started last week’s 19-14 win over the Raiders. Neither was a starting cornerback when the Jets started training camp in July, but after Dimitri Patterson went AWOL and was released and Milliner and Dexter McDougle were injured, Allen and Walls were moved to the top of the depth chart.

LACY CLEARED TO PLAY

Packers running back Eddie Lacy was fully cleared, Green Bay coach Mike McCarthy said, and will play against the Jets. Lacy suffered a concussion in the Packers’ season opener against the Seahawks.

The Jets’ run-stopping unit was impeccable last week, allowing just 25 rushing yards to the Raiders.

“Twenty-five is pretty remarkable, but again, every week it’s going to be a different back, a different set of (linemen),” Calvin Pace said. “(Lacy’s) a tough guy to bring down. It’s going to take multiple people to bring him down.”

COLON LIMITED

Willie Colon was limited for the second day in a row with a calf injury, although Ryan said he did not believe it would keep the guard out of Sunday’s game. . . . Packers RT Bryan Bulaga (knee) was limited again in Thursday’s practice. . . . The Jets waived CB Leon McFadden. McFadden was claimed off waivers from the Browns last week.

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Saalim Hakim is NY Jets’ new project (Manish Mehta) New York Daily News September 11, 2014

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/jets/mehta-saalim-hakim-jets-new-project-article-1.1937218

Wide receiver/kick returner/gunner/occasional blitzer Saalim Hakim won the coveted DTP (Designated Team Project) Award this summer for being the rawest player on the Jets’ 53-man roster. He replaced failed DTP Stephen Hill, who blamed anyone and everyone not named Stephen Hill for his two-year flop.

The clock is already ticking on Hakim’s future with the Jets even though he has played just nine offensive snaps (in four games), a harsh reminder to DTPs everywhere that job security is a mirage.

Hakim is rough around the edges, a 5-11, 188-pound blur that seemingly violates the laws of physics. His frightening speed makes you wonder whether he’s wearing a red body suit with a yellow lightning bolt underneath his green-and-white uniform.

“He’s fast,” wide receivers coach Sanjay Lal told the Daily News. “You can underline and bold that . . . FAST. Very fast. He’s learning the position. He’s learning not only the nuances, but also route running, the little things and big things. He's raw.”

How raw?

“Like a green tomato,” Lal said with a laugh.

The NFL is sprinkled with unpolished physical freaks who are given small windows of opportunity to shine. Progress buys them more time. However, teams aren’t exceedingly patient in a win-now business where players at the bottom of rosters are routinely axed.

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Hill’s failure to seize his chance opened the door for the undrafted 24-year-old Hakim, whose value as a kick returner and gunner on punts made him a more attractive option than the former second-round pick. There were a few factors that contributed to Hill’s disappointing two years, but the receiver himself was the biggest culprit.

“Was there anything else I could have done?” Lal said of working with Hill. “Could I have worked harder with him? Could I have given him more individual attention? Could I have done anything different? I can look myself in the mirror saying I did everything I could and put all of myself into trying to develop him.”

Hill’s balky knees prematurely ended each of his first two seasons, but he came to training camp with a clean bill of health. His body may have finally been right, but his mind clearly wasn’t. Hill’s lack of a consistent fire and drive was apparent to anyone who watched him for the past two years. He foolishly blamed the media rather than take accountability for why the Jets gave up on him.

“Can he sustain whatever that level of concentration and will he had (in the first couple weeks of camp)?” Lal said. “Can he sustain that over the long haul? If so, then he has a chance to make it. . . . I wanted to finish the job. I wanted to be the guy who helped Stephen go to the Pro Bowl. And I’m sad that I don’t get to complete that. Definitely.”

Hakim is the Jets’ newest challenge, a burner with an unconventional path to the pros. He was a soccer standout for three years in high school before transferring to play organized football for the first time as a senior. He played running back and safety for one year at Palo Verde High School in Las Vegas before two seasons at a junior college in California. He transferred to Division II Tarleton State in Texas, where he ran two consecutive 4.2 40-yard dashes for scouts at his Pro Day.

“That opened up some eyes,” said Hakim, who played on the UFL’s Las Vegas Locomotives in 2011 for Jim Fassel. He bounced around from the Cowboys, Rams and Saints before the Jets signed him to the practice squad last October.

“I learned a lot of things being on those different teams,” Hakim said. “Bouncing around showed me what I needed to be able to do to make a team.”

He also took advice from brother Az-Zahir, a member of the Rams’ Greatest Show on Turf 15 years ago, who preached the importance of versatility.

“He told me that you got to go out there and play more than one position and be available at any position they need you at,” Hakim said. “And that’s what I'm here to do. I’m here to play any position they want me to play and learn.”

Hakim was promoted to the 53-man roster late last season after Hill landed on injured reserve. He barely played.

“He’s blazing fast with a lot of explosion,” Lal said. “He brings some strength to it’ too. He’s powerful. He does have some good release ability. To be fair, not every aspect is blatantly raw.”

He’s asking the right questions, steadily grasping the technical parts of playing wide receiver. Lal spends extra time after practice helping him polish basics like the proper way to position his body to track deep balls.

For now, Hakim is happy to be a Swiss Army Knife for Ryan, who used him as a de facto blitzing safety and deep cover man on a pair of defensive snaps in the season opener. He's willing to do anything to buy himself more time.

He knows the clock is ticking.

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David Harris must play on-field NY Jets defensive coordinator against fast Packers (Seth Walder) New York Daily News September 11, 2014

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/jets/david-harris-play-on-field-jets-defensive-coordinator-fast-packers-article-1.1937201

When the Jets face an up-tempo offense, David Harris is the logistics free safety, the last line of play calling for the defense before the ball is snapped.

The Jets’ defense will have plenty to worry about while dealing with Aaron Rodgers come Sunday, but it’s also working on preparing for the fast-paced nature of the Packers’ offense, and Harris plays a critical role.

Ideally, in a no-huddle situation, defensive coordinator Dennis Thurman radios the defensive play call to Harris, who relays it to the rest of his defensive teammates as they rush back to their positions. Thurman actually gives the inside linebackers a second play as well, a backup that the defense can switch to depending on the opponent’s formation. That’s simple enough, but what about when the call doesn’t make its way into Harris’ helmet in time? That’s when the linebacker briefly becomes the de facto defensive coordinator.

“Sometimes they move so fast that we have to get lined up immediately and I have to make the call,” Harris said. “I have a couple calls in my head that I can rattle off real quick.”

“Dave is excellent when it comes to stuff like that,” teammate Quinton Coples said.

The Packers (0-1) averaged 37.4 seconds between plays last season, the seventh-fastest pace in the league, according to ESPN, although it may feel faster than that to the defense because Harris said he expects Green Bay to get to the line of scrimmage quickly but frequently wait to snap the ball once it’s there.

Playing in a division with New England and Miami, the Jets (1-0) have had plenty of exposure to facing the no-huddle in recent seasons. Although they are experienced against quick offenses, the Jets (1-0) are practicing for when everything doesn’t go according to plan. On Thursday, Rex Ryan said, the defense sometimes didn’t receive the play call until the offense was already lined up over the ball.

“Just mentally and physically prepare yourself for the worst of the worst,” Coples said. “It’s been a challenge. It’s a stressful situation.”

At least on Thursday, Ryan was pleased with the response.

“It’s a big burden on David and Dawan (Landry),” Ryan said. “They’re the guys that are the chief operators back there on defense.”

For an outside linebacker such as Coples, he won’t know which side to line up on until the call comes in. So when facing a no-huddle offense, Coples and fellow OLB Calvin Pace usually both run back to the middle so they can move one way or the other depending on the call. In the worst-case scenario, Coples said, he and Pace know the other’s role on any given play so they can switch if they have to.

As Thurman pointed out, there are plenty of reasons to run a hurry-up offense. It prevents the defense from making substitutions and can tire defensive players out. But it also can give the quarterback more time at the line, allowing him to potentially get a read on the defense.

“They are trying to smoke you out, they are trying to get you to tip off some of what you’re doing, and a lot of it is predicated on the snap count,” Thurman said.

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WALL STREET JOURNAL

Ryan Says Milliner Could Return for Jets on Sunday (Stu Woo) Wall Street Journal September 11, 2014

http://online.wsj.com/articles/ryan-says-milliner-could-return-for-jets-on-sunday-1410486440?tesla=y&mod=WSJ_NY_Sports_LEFTTopStories&mg=reno64-wsj&url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204398304580148780849074248.html?mod=WSJ_NY_Sports_LEFTTopStories

The Jets' best cornerback will probably return to football on Sunday, but not for the entire game.

Dee Milliner appeared healthy in his second straight day of training on Thursday. Until this week, the second-year cornerback hadn't practiced since sustaining a high-ankle sprain on Aug. 10.

Jets coach Rex Ryan said backup Darrin Walls and safety Antonio Allen will likely start at cornerback in Sunday's game in Green Bay against the Packers. Ryan said Milliner would play only part of the game as the team monitors his health.

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ESPN NEW YORK

Jets want Jace to be their ace at TE (Mike Mazzeo) ESPN New York September 11, 2014

http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/jets/post/_/id/42958/jets-want-jace-to-be-their-ace-at-te

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- Jace Amaro may not have a huge role with the New York Jets right now, but it sure sounds like the rookie tight end is going to in the near future.

“I like to stay way from the production thing because a lot of things go into that,” Jets coach Rex Ryan said Thursday. “But he’s going to be a major factor for our football team, and probably very soon.”

Amaro, who set an FBS record for tight ends last season by amassing 1,352 receiving yards at Texas Tech, appeared on the field for just 21 of the team’s 70 offensive snaps.

He had two catches on four targets for seven yards, but the team’s second-round pick was pleased with how he played in his NFL debut.

“I think it’s just a work in progress. They definitely weren’t going to throw me in there 80-plus snaps that first game,” Amaro said. Still gotta feel everything out, but I felt comfortable and confident out there.

“I felt like I played really well and the coaches said I played really well. I’m just going to take that game and try to build on it this week against Green Bay.”

Amaro, who struggled early on in training camp, is making the transition from being flanked out wide in college to having to block as a down lineman on running plays in the pros.

“I think I’m playing a lot faster than I was a couple weeks ago,” Amaro said. “In practice especially I feel a lot more smooth out there. I felt comfortable running routes and there’s multiple things I need to work on, but I felt like I blocked really well this last game. I felt like I did what I was asked to do on the route-running aspect and getting open so I’m just gonna take it from there and see how much I can improve this week against Green Bay.”

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If the Packers focus heavily on stopping the run and the Jets wide receivers, that could open things up for Amaro to have a huge impact. The focus heading into Sunday’s game may be on first-round safeties Calvin Pryor and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, but Amaro may turn out to be the rookie that steals the show at Lambeau Field.

“You wanna hear those things especially from your head coach,” Amaro said when told specifically of Ryan’s vision for him. “That’s why he drafted me. He told me on my pre-draft visit what he expected from me and how good of a player I could be, so I think eventually it’ll come and we’ll see how it goes.”

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Jets prep for fast-breaking Packers (Rich Cimini) ESPN New York September 11, 2014

http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/jets/post/_/id/42955/jets-prep-for-fast-breaking-packers

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- In Week 1, the New York Jets faced a Carr (Derek). This week, it will be a dragster.

The Green Bay Packers run an up-tempo offense, shooting for at least 75 plays per game. Anticipating the fast-break attack, the Jets tweaked their practice routine, trying to simulate the no-huddle.

It's not easy to re-create the fast pace because the scout-team offense, running the Packers' plays, doesn't know them as well as the Packers, obviously. Typically, the scout team reads the next play off a card in a quasi-huddle. You can get around that by giving the scout team two or three plays at a time or you can try the Rex Ryan method.

When facing no-huddle teams, Ryan waits longer than usual in practice before sending in his defensive call to the huddle. Sometimes, he waits until the offense breaks the huddle and is getting into its formation before calling a defensive play. Other times, he waits longer.

"We go to the point where it's absolutely ridiculous," Ryan said Thursday. "(The offense is) over the football and then we give them the call. We do a lot of that stuff to get them used to that tempo."

The idea, of course, is to make the defensive players think quickly. The players have to digest the play call, diagnose the offensive formation and make adjustments -- all in as little as a few seconds, if that.

The call goes to linebacker David Harris, who communicates it to safety Dawan Landry, who makes sure the entire secondary is on the same page.

And, oh yeah, the guy running the show for the Packers, Aaron Rodgers, is one of the best in the league.

"That," nose tackle Damon Harrison said, "makes the situation a whole lot worse."

The tricky part is you never know when the offense will snap the ball. Some no-huddle teams like to use the entire play clock, allowing them to get a read on the defense. It turns into a cat-and-mouse game.

"They're trying to smoke you out," defensive coordinator Dennis Thurman said. "They try to get you to tip off what you're doing."

For what it's worth, the Packers averaged 35.3 seconds in real time between plays last week, the sixth-fastest pace in the NFL -- and that wasn't even a good day for them. The crowd noise in Seattle forced them to slow down; they won't have that issue Sunday at Lambeau Field.

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Rookie's nightmare becomes a fantasy (Rich Cimini) ESPN New York

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September 11, 2014

http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/jets/post/_/id/42982/rookies-nightmare-becomes-a-fantasy?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- Call him the unlikely rookie.

New York Jets linebacker Trevor Reilly is 26 years old, a seventh-round pick, the 233rd player chosen in last spring's draft. Not only did he make the team, but he made opening day. There he was last Sunday, blocking on the opening kickoff, fulfilling a lifelong dream only one year after living every parent's nightmare.

Reilly's daughter, Shayn, was diagnosed with kidney cancer in April, 2013. She was only seven months old. His wife, Jessica, was rubbing lotion on Shayn's belly one day and she detected a lump. The diagnosis was swift, and the kidney was removed. Eight months of chemotherapy ensued, with the good news coming last December: remission.

"The doctor says she's cancer free and doing really well," Reilly said Thursday in the Jets' locker room.

After several months of gut-wrenching stress, Reilly is loving life again. He finished his college career at Utah, got drafted into the NFL, beat the odds by making the team and dressed for the Jets in Week 1. He plays on most of the special teams.

"It was a dream come true," said Reilly, reflecting on his opening-day experience at MetLife Stadium. "This is gravy. Making it has been the biggest thing for me. Ever since I was a kid, for more than 20 years, this was a dream and I saw it come to fruition. It's pretty awesome. Hopefully, the gravy train continues."

Reilly is older than most of the veterans because he spent three years out of football, serving a church mission in Sweden. He got a late start, but he impressed the Jets' scouts with his toughness and versatility. He arrived at training camp as the fourth (and last) strong-side linebacker on the depth chart, but he beat out veteran backup Garrett McIntyre. His upper body isn't chiseled, like most of the players, but Reilly is a substance-over-flash kind of guy.

"I have a lot on the line here," he said. "This is a job for me. It's a ruthless business. They can let you go at anytime and they don't have to pay you anymore. You have to be locked in."

Now it has a permanent feel to it. His wife and two daughters arrived this week, and they've living in a house near the team's facility. And, oh, yes, they received more good news recently. The couple is expecting their third child.

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Michael Vick tricks need to stop -- now (Rich Cimini) ESPN New York September 11, 2014

http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/jets/post/_/id/42973/vick-tricks-need-to-stop-now?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- The subject was Michael Vick -- specifically, his small, puzzling and unsuccessful role in last week's win. Marty Mornhinweg tried to diffuse a pointed question with humor.

"You didn't like that?" the New York Jets' offensive coordinator asked a reporter Thursday, feigning incredulity.

No, there wasn't much to like.

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The Jets used Vick for three plays in their 19-14 win over the Oakland Raiders, deploying him twice as a slot receiver near the goal line. He was a decoy on the first play, with Geno Smith giving him a quick look -- as if he were going to throw him a pass. Smith ran the other way, as designed, and he fumbled. A little later, they drew up a schoolyard play, with Chris Johnson taking a direct snap and pitching to Vick, who missed a wide-open Eric Decker in the end zone.

As kids, we all used to run those plays in the street -- you know, the kind of plays in which we used the telephone pole and the blue Chevy as landmarks.

Mornhinweg is a good play-caller, a sound coach with a little riverboat gambler in his DNA (which is a good thing), but this Vick stuff has to stop. All it does is disrupt Smith and the offense, torturing the fan base with bad memories of the Tim Tebow debacle. It also exposes Vick to potential injury, and we all know he isn't exactly the Iron Horse when it comes to durability.

On Sunday, the Jets marched 82 yards to the Raiders' 3, when Mornhinweg sent in Vick for gadget play No. 1. All they needed to do was hand the ball to Chris Ivory or Chris Johnson to finish the job, but Mornhinweg got too cute. Smith fumbled. To be fair, they scored after the Vick-to-Decker incompletion, on Smith's 5-yard shovel pass to Johnson (a great call), so they avoided a second disaster.

There's a time and place for the change-of-pace plays. A few years ago, Brad Smith was ideal in the Wildcat because he wasn't the No. 2 quarterback; he was a former college quarterback with the body and toughness to handle a variety of physically demanding jobs, including returning kickoffs and covering kickoffs. Some felt it messed with the rhythm of the offense, but the package produced yards. This was back when the Wildcat was in style. Now, it's a dinosaur.

Mornhinweg acknowledged the rhythm issue, but he believes the pros outweight the cons.

"There are some great positives of utilizing a man like Mike Vick because he's so skilled, and it creates some things for you certainly during a game and in the future," he said. "That's all I'm going to say about the thought process."

Mornhinweg didn't want to go there because he was afraid of revealing secrets to the Green Bay Packers and others on the Jets' schedule. Pressed, he added, "Why wouldn't you want to use a capable player that you have available? That's just me and the way we operate."

He has known Vick for five years, dating to their years in Philadelphia. Maybe he wants Vick to feel like he's part of the team, keeping him involved, albeit in a small way. Thing is, Vick is the backup quarterback on a team in which the starter still is unproven. In other words, they may need him at some point.

Vick, still a dangerous runner at 34, said he expects his appearances to be "few and far between." He doesn't love the role -- he, too, has expressed concern about disrupting the starter -- but he's not complaining about it. He's a good soldier.

But not all soldiers belong on the front line.

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METRO NEW YORK

Jets’ Saalim Hakim not being overlooked anymore (Kristian Dyer) Metro New York September 11, 2014

http://www.metro.us/newyork/sports/nfl/2014/09/11/jets-saalim-hakim-overlooked-anymore/

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Saalim Hakim had a 44-yard kickoff return to open the Jets’ 19-14 Week 1 win over the Raiders, but that wasn’t his highlight of the game. Instead, it was getting snaps on the defensive side of the ball. The most versatile athlete on the roster is a secret no more.

Hakim’s path to the NFL was anything but ordinary. He didn’t play high school football until his senior year and then went to a junior college followed by a Division II school before he landed in the now defunct UFL in 2011. The next season, he had stints with the Cowboys, Rams and Saints — all teams that unceremoniously cut him. The Jets offered him a spot on the practice squad, choosing to take a flyer on his athletic talent. Yet for someone so new to the sport, he came to New York still very much learning the game.

He was often looked over by fans and the media when projecting the team’s 53-man roster but his speed and special teams play stood out in training camp and preseason. He made the roster but the Jets upped the learning curve last week when the coaching staff approached Hakim with the idea of him not just playing on special teams and on offense

“I’m here to play any position they want me to play,” Hakim said. “On Sunday, I was a nickel safety. I’m here to do whatever they want me to do. I’m here to learn; I’m here to play.

“You will see things. We’ve got things planned for other teams. We’ve got things planned.”

He said the role could call for him to blitz or drop back into coverage. The Jets did this before with Joe McKnight, who was listed as a running back, but would return kicks, split out wide as a receiver and once played cornerback during an injury crunch.

Hakim, whose older brother Az-Zahir played in the NFL for nine seasons, has such versatility because of his world-class speed. He clocked a 4.2-second time in the 40-yard dash at his pro day in 2010.

He admits he is a work in progress but he’s come a long way.

Hakim often pauses to collect his thoughts when asked questions and punctuates statements with a soulful “mhmmm.” But on the field, he’s a blur of speed. He may have been on NFL rosters and practice squads in the past but he wasn’t always a football player.

“I didn’t play football very long, so at first I didn’t know certain routes and certain positions,” Hakim said. “So being on different teams and learning and being available, you learn different positions and learn different plays. I feel more like a football player now. Since I’ve been here, they’ve really taught me. They showed me how to play receiver, showed me how to play different routes.”

There have been three other NFL stops for Hakim before he landed with the Jets and four including his season in the UFL. He’s thankful for those places and the opportunity to learn. Never, he says, did he think about quitting.

“When you always dream about doing something you want to do, you want to keep trying, keep having faith and that’s what it’s all about,” Hakim said. “Don’t let your dreams stop. You always have to keep going. I’ve learned different things from different teams that brought me here. Those lessons from all those places, just learning and growing, got me here right now. I’m blessed.”

Hakim said he will get more plays on defense, along with his role as a wide receiver and on special teams.

But playing on three units means getting three paychecks, right?

“They pay me enough to do what I do,” Hakim said with a laugh. “That’s why I’m here to do whatever they want me to do to help us win.”

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Bronx native Willie Colon remembers Sept. 11 as freshman at Hofstra (Kristian Dyer) Metro New York September 11, 2014

http://www.metro.us/newyork/sports/nfl/2014/09/11/bronx-native-willie-colon-remembers-sept-11-freshman-hofstra/

As someone who saw the second plane slam into the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, Bronx native Willie Colon has a more unique view on the day than many of his teammates.

He was 18 years old on that beautiful day 13 years ago, and in his first day as a freshman at Hofstra. Colon was in his first college class when the discussion on the syllabus was interrupted with the news a plane had flown into one of the Twin Towers.

“We were in class and a young lady came in and was like, ‘I think like one of the towers came down,’ and we were looking at her, not believing,” Colon told Metro. “Then a professor came in and said, ‘You guys have to get in touch with your families, this is serious.’ Then we looked outside and people were running out to their cars.

“You really didn’t know what to make of it all. I remember Hofstra has those tall towers and there are study rooms up top and you can see into the city. I was up there and saw the second plane go into the second World Trade Center. People were screaming. It was unreal, a very unsettling time. We thought it was an accident at first. We were watching it on TV and then watching it there. We had a direct line to it. We were like, ‘Whoa.’ It was such an eerie feeling.”

It wasn’t until later that he began to hear about the link to terrorism and he began to piece together that it was a deliberate act.

There was no power for a couple days on campus and the opening game of the football season was cancelled. He checked in with his family and he remembers that one of his best friends from high school had a mother working across the street from the Twin Towers.

She was trapped in her building and would later tell Colon about what she saw that day, including panicked people jumping to their deaths rather than burn in the building. She couldn’t return to work for a year due to the trauma she suffered.

“It’s a day you can never forget. We can’t take our liberty and the freedom to live life for granted,” Colon said. “You just try to say a prayer for those who are lost. Afterwards, I remember people coming together, all races and faiths. We seemed united, really patriotic at that time.”

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NJ.COM

Seahawks' Percy Harvin sweep something Jets can use against Packers (Dom Cosentino) NJ.com September 11, 2014

http://www.nj.com/jets/index.ssf/2014/09/seahawks_percy_harvin_sweep_something_jets_can_use_against_packers.html

FLORHAM PARK -- In their game last week against the Packers, there were a handful of plays in which the Seahawks' offense looked more like the sort of thing you might see on the field at your local high school on a Friday night.

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Not in terms of execution, mind you. Seattle's offense was devastatingly efficient in handing Green Bay a 36-16 defeat. But with their use of the "jet sweep," the Seahawks made wideout Percy Harvin look like a Wing-T back whose play was likely attract the attention of college recruiters.

It's the sort of simple gadgetry the Jets could use when they face the Packers this Sunday at Lambeau Field, especially since the Packers had what at least one observer totaled up to be 17 missed tackles.

"We've been working on those types of things in camp," running back Chris Johnson said. "If that's something that we feel like that we can be successful with, I'm sure it'll be in the game plan."

Jets head coach Rex Ryan, as one might expect, wouldn't tip his hand.

"Maybe," he said. "We’ve got some pretty good speed. Chris Johnson can run, there’s no question about that. Mike Vick can run. We’ve got some guys that can run."

Johnson's versatility allows him to be used in all sorts of different ways. And Vick was used on three gadget plays last week against the Raiders, including twice when he lined up at receiver. Another option could be wideout Saalim Hakim, who didn't play any offensive snaps in the season opener. Hakim could even be a decoy to get the Packers thinking the Jets might try him on the sweep.

"We certainly do have different types of personnel in different spots for these types of things," Jets offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg said.

The Seahawks used Harvin in the jet sweep four times, to the tune of 41 yards. In each instance, Harvin began the play in the slot to the left of the line of scrimmage:

Twice, the Seahawks had Harvin take off in motion so he could take a handoff from quarterback Russell Wilson just after the ball was snapped:

And two other times, Harvin shifted before the snap to line up just to the left of quarterback Russell Wilson, who then quickly handed him the ball.

Harvin also caught seven passes for 59 yards and returned three kickoffs for 60 yards.

"He’s an explosive guy," Ryan said. "I don’t know if it’d be as effective as it was with Percy Harvin. He’s pretty special."

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Q&A with Packers beat reporter: For Jets, blitzing Aaron Rodgers has risks (Dom Cosentino) NJ.com September 11, 2014

http://www.nj.com/jets/index.ssf/2014/09/qa_with_packers_beat_reporter.html

FLORHAM PARK -- With the Jets preparing for Sunday's game in Green Bay, we decided to do a Q&A with Tyler Dunne, the Packers beat writer for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Dunne was gracious enough to accept, and to provide us with some insightful replies. Must be that midwestern nice in him.

You can find all of Dunne's writing and reporting—as well as the rest of the Journal Sentinel's Packers coverage—by clicking here. If Twitter's your bag, be sure to give Dunne follow.

Now, where were we? Oh, right ...

Q: We all know how NFL fans can be after a loss. But how would you characterize the panic level after the Packers' Week 1 loss in Seattle?

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A: From the fans? The panic level is sky high. But that’s the norm in Green Bay after losses like this. You hear calls for Dom Capers firing and approximately 8-10 personnel moves that must be made pronto. Part of the anger is justified. The Packers spent all off-season reconfiguring their defense with “elephant” ends Julius Peppers, Mike Neal, et al. They planned to unleash their 4-3 defense in a blaze of fury in Seattle … and were promptly run over.

The Packers themselves aren’t panicking much. They say the tackling problems—and they missed 17(!) in Seattle—are correctable. Capers plans on still using that 4-3 alignment. And offensively, Aaron Rodgers brushed aside criticism that he avoided Richard Sherman all game. It’s one game, sure. But it’s one team the Packers must beat eventually to get through the NFC.

Q: Pro Football Focus says the Seahawks blitzed just three times. But they seemed to get after Aaron Rodgers quite a bit. I know J.C. Tretter is out, and Bryan Bulaga got hurt, but how big a concern is the O-line right now, and any chance Bulaga can play this week?

A: Before Derek Sherrod replaced an injured Bulaga, the offensive line actually gave Rodgers a lot of time. Bulaga went down. Then, the roof caved in the third quarter. As we chat here now, Bryan Bulaga is trying to practice through his MCL sprain on a limited basis, so maybe he’ll be a go. The Packers will need to be careful—this is the same knee Bulaga tore his ACL in a year ago. But they also know the alternative.

Sherrod, who hadn’t played extensively since December 2011, was beaten badly on the two plays that totally changed that game. They are keeping the faith in Sherrod, a former first-round pick. But he hasn’t proven he’s a NFL-quality tackle yet and that has to be a concern. It’s wishful thinking to count on your two starting tackles both lasting all 16 games.

Q: The Jets' strength is their D-line. Does Aaron Rodgers tend to get rattled a lot by pressure?

A: He’s not necessarily rattled by the pressure, and defenses often blitz at their own peril. Unlike other elite passers like Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, Rodgers will escape the pocket to make a play. That can be a blessing and a curse, as Green Bay learned last year with his fractured collarbone. Keep an eye on this, though. Over the summer, Rodgers worked with Alex Van Pelt, the QB’s coach, on ripping through his progressions more quickly. Rodgers told me in our sitdown in the spring that if it was up to [general manager] Ted Thompson, he’d probably stay in the pocket more often to avoid injury. He loves using his legs, showing off his athleticism. We’ll see how he balances this all through the year.

Q: The Packers switched to a 4-3 but went back to their base 3-4 the other night. What's the reason for the switch this year, and why are there problems?

A: Mike McCarthy needed to do something after Colin Kaepernick and the 49ers sent his team packing again. The defense—specifically the run defense—regressed sharply through November and December a year ago. So instead of firing Capers and his staff, McCarthy and Capers worked on adding a 4-3. It sounds like the Packers will be using both fronts this season and roll with whatever works, but the personnel (with Julius Peppers) is suited for a 4-3.

The problems in Seattle were rooted in communication. Capers waited to see which personnel the Seahawks used before making his defensive calls from the sideline. The delay fed confusion, scrambling. On Marshawn Lynch’s 9-yard touchdown run, the Packers had 10 players on the field. On Russell Wilson’s read-option touchdown pass, players said they were in a bad defense.

They’re counting on this all as a trial by error in Week 1. Capers will stick with the 4-3 to some extent against New York, which might be a problem against such a great running team like New York.

Q: It looked like Rodgers threw nothing in Richard Sherman's direction. (Or am I wrong by that?) Did Rodgers address that at all? Was that just because Sherman blanketed that side of the field?

Daily Clips Cont.

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A: You’re right. Rodgers did not throw one pass in Sherman’s direction and he rarely ever even looked his way. The Packers all say this is just the way it worked out. In the no-huddle, they wanted to keep Jordy Nelson on the left side of the field and have him work against a lesser talent in Byron Maxwell. That’s fine. But as the game progressed, the Packers were basically playing with half the field. Even when safety Earl Thomas cheated Nelson’s way, Rodgers didn’t look for Jarrett Boykin on the other side.

Creativity was lacking. You could even say the Packers played a very scared football game against Seattle. Only two wide receivers caught passes.

Against New York’s young secondary, Rodgers will need to spread the ball out a lot more. And historically, he has broken out for big days after rough losses.

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THURSDAY’S SPORTS TRANSACTIONS

Associated Press September 11, 2014

http://www.sfgate.com/sports/article/Thursday-s-Sports-Transactions-5748454.php

FOOTBALL National Football League CHICAGO BEARS — Signed WR Chris Williams to the practice squad. Terminated the practice squad contract of LB DeDe Lattimore. Canadian Football League CFL — Fine Edmonton DB Patrick Watkins an undisclosed amount for making offensive and inappropriate comments directed towards an opponent during a Sept. 6 game against Calgary. Fined Winnipeg OL Steve Morley an undisclosed amount for punching an opponent during a Sept. 7 game against Saskatchewan. Fined Saskatchewan DB Paul Woldu an undisclosed amount for making avoidable physical contact with an on-field official during an Aug. 31 game against Winnipeg. HOCKEY National Hockey League COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS — Signed F Sonny Milano to a three-year, entry-level contract. COLLEGE FELICIAN — Named Mike Mobbs assistant baseball coach. PRESBYTERIAN — Named Tristan Toorie assistant baseball coach. RUTGERS — Signed football coach Kyle Flood a two-year contract extension through 2019. SHAW — Named DiShondra Goree women's volleyball and softball coach.

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