The NFL Network is counting down the top 100 players of 2012, and the only New York Jet on the list in spots No. 70-100 was Tim Tebow, who ranked No. 95.

With the top 70 players yet to be revealed, I am wondering how many New York Jets will make it onto the list. The team had a miserable 2012 season overall, but there were several standout performers who deserve to be recognized.

Here’s my predictions for the rest of the New York Jets who will make it onto the list of the NFL Network’s Top 100 Players of 2012:

1) Darrelle Revis: There’s no question that Revis will be on the NFL Network’s Top 100 Players of 2012 list, and I can see him ending up perhaps in the top ten overall.

He’s a perennial Pro-Bowler who rarely gets beat in coverage, and he has lived up to the hype as the premier shutdown corner in the league. Revis has been to four consecutive Pro-Bowls, and he’s coming off a stellar year of notching four interceptions.

2) Sione Pouha: I would have guessed that Pouha would rank somewhere between No. 80 and 90 on the list, but his name hasn’t popped up in the bottom 30 athletes named. That makes me wonder if he’ll be on it at all.

Pouha definitely should be considered one of the top 100 players in the game today, as he’s an elite defensive tackle who always gives opposing offensive lineman a lot to handle.

3) Nick Mangold: Much like Pouha, I thought Mangold would have earned a spot somewhere in the bottom 30 spots on the list. He should be ranked somewhere between No. 80 and 90 in the league, which makes me question whether he’ll be on the list at all.

With the top 70 spots remaining, it would be a stretch to say Mangold is a true top 70 player in the NFL. Nevertheless, his 6-foot-3, 300-pound frame doesn’t stop him from exploding off the line and doing his fair share to protect Mark Sanchez.

4) D’brickashaw Ferguson: Ferguson, a 6-foot-6, 310-pound beast of an offensive tackle, is coming off a Pro-Bowl season. He is the complete package – an elite blocker with superb field vision, brute physicality, the will to win, and superb lateral movement.

Ferguson uses his hands well and stays cool under pressure. I would have guessed that Ferguson would rank between No. 90 and 100 overall, so I’m not sure that he’ll find his way onto the list since he hasn’t made it by now. Is he a top 70 player in the NFL at this point in his career? Probably not.

Which New York Jets will make it onto the NFL’s Top 100 Players of 2012 list? Let me know in the comments.

Eric Holden is a lifelong New York Jets fan. Follow him on Twitter @ericholden.

Sources

www.nfl.com, NFL, player and team stats

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs have signed former Jets defensive end Ropati Pitoitua.

The team announced the move Tuesday. Pitoitua was a free agent after playing in 22 games over the past two seasons with the Jets.

The former Washington State defensive end joined New York as an undrafted free agent in 2008, spending his first season in the league on the team’s practice squad. Pitoitua played in eight games in 2009 before playing in 14 games last season.

He has 22 tackles and one sack in his career.

The NFL Draft is just a day away, and the Jets will be looking to improve their team for the upcoming season.

New York had one of the more disappointing seasons in 2011, and has a lot of needs heading into next season. ESPN draft expert Mel Kiper Jr. said the Jets have as many holes as any potential playoff team.

The Jets will be very active during the draft. They have 10 picks in total, including six in the last two rounds. New York has the 16th pick in the first round. Their next two selections come at 47 and 77.

Here are the biggest needs the Jets will look to fill in the draft, and the top players they will be targeting.

Pass Rusher

Despite Rex Ryan’s reputation as a great defensive coach, his Jet teams have yet to have a great pass rushing defense. The Jets were tied for 17th in the NFL last year with 35 sacks. Ryan prides himself on coaching teams that can wreak havoc on the quarterback, and will likely make it a point to upgrade in the draft.

New York can afford to upgrade at defensive end with Mike DeVito and Muhammad Wilkerson as the team’s starters. The Jets also got subpar performances from veterans Calvin Pace and Bart Scott at the linebacker position in 2011.

Defensive end Melvin Ingram from South Carolina would be a perfect fit on the Jets line. He recorded 10 sacks 13 games last season. Courtney Upshaw also fills the Jets need for a pass rusher. In 27 starts at Alabama, Upshaw had 16.5 sacks and could fit as a linebacker in the Jets 3-4 defense.

If Ingram or Upshaw is off the board when the Jets are ready to pick, they could go after Dont’a Hightower of Alabama or Whitney Mercilus of Illinois. Chandler Jones from Syracuse has been getting a lot of buzz lately, and has an outside chance of being taken by New York. .

Wide Receiver

The Jets certainly could use a wide receiver to help out Mark Sanchez next season. New York didn’t have a thousand yard receiver in 2011, and their number one wide out, Santonio Holmes, only caught 51 balls for 654 yards. Plaxico Burress is a free agent, leaving the Jets without a proven number two option at the position.

New York was near the bottom of the league in passing in 2011, coming in at 21st with 3,297 yards. The Jets certainly don’t need any depth at quarterback after trading for Tim Tebow and signing Sanchez to a contract extension. Therefore, they will likely have to draft a few receivers to help solve the problem.

If the Jets decide to reach for a wide receiver in round one, Michael Floyd from Notre Dame would be the most like pick. Kendall Wright could also be their guy if Floyd is off the board. However, New York is more likely to wait until the second grab a wide out, like Stephen Hill from Georgia Tech.

Safety

One half of the Jets secondary is perhaps the strongest in the league. Darrell Revis is the best cornerback in the NFL, and Antonio Cromartie is also one of the better players at his position.

The Jets safeties are a different story.

New York recently signed LaRon Landry, but he has been injury prone since entering the league. Eric Smith is expected to be a starter, but New York doesn’t have much depth at the position. Jim Leonhard is a free agent, and Brodney Pool left in free agency. The team’s safeties only had a combined two interceptions in 2011, and they are looking to improve.

Mark Barron out of Alabama is the best safety in the draft, and could be taken by New York if he’s still available. Unfortunately for New York, there’s a good chance he won’t be around to be taken at 16. Harrison Smith out of Notre Dame is an option too, but the Jets will likely wait to grab a safety if Barron is off the board.

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By
Eben Novy-Williams
-

Fri Mar 09 05:00:01 GMT 2012

The only quarterback to lead the New
York Jets to a Super Bowl championship said he doubts Peyton Manning would be interested in trying to match his feat.

Joe Namath told Bloomberg News that Manning wouldn’t want
to join the Jets with their present roster and locker-room
dysfunction, and said current quarterback Mark Sanchez has the
ability and work ethic to be the signal-caller of the future.

Manning, 35, was released two days ago by the Indianapolis
Colts after 11 Pro Bowl appearances, four league Most Valuable
Player awards and a Super Bowl title following the 2006 season.
The Jets finished 8-8 in 2011, the end of the season marred by
locker-room controversy including verbal altercations between
Sanchez and receiver Santonio Holmes.

“The Jets have to get things together on their own turf
before someone with his background would be interested in
coming,” Namath, 68, said yesterday in a telephone interview
from his Florida home.

The Reno, Nevada-based Cal Neva sports book gives the Jets
a 9.5 percent chance of signing Manning. The Arizona Cardinals
are favorites with a 19 percent chance, followed by the Miami
Dolphins at 16.5 percent.

“We appreciate Joe and he is entitled to share his
opinions,” Jets spokesman Bruce Speight said in an e-mail.

Running back LaDainian Tomlinson, a free agent after two
years in New York, told the NFL Network that Manning could help
the Jets win. He called the team’s locker-room issues last
season the worst he’d seen in his 11-year National Football
League career.

Sanchez, 25, will be entering his fourth NFL season.

Desirable Free Agent

Manning’s release by the Colts made him one of the most
desirable free agents in NFL history. He won 141 games in
Indianapolis, where he helped the Colts become one of the
league’s elite teams with a $720 million stadium.

Manning turns 36 on March 24 and is working his way back
from at least three operations on his neck that kept him
sidelined for all of last season. He said he has no plans to
retire and is eager to play again.

By cutting Manning, the Colts avoided having to pay him a
$28 million bonus. The team has said it will select Stanford
University quarterback Andrew Luck with the No. 1 pick in next
month’s draft.

Namath said that with Manning’s absence last year, the
bonus and Luck’s availability, he wasn’t surprised the
quarterback was released.

“Your heart might be in one place, but business is
business,” he said. “The No. 1 question is, ‘Is he going to be
satisfied with the strength in his throwing arm?’”

Namath’s Prediction

Namath led the American Football League in passing in 1966
and 1967, and became a national celebrity after he delivered on
his prediction that the Jets would beat the heavily favored
Baltimore Colts in the 1969 Super Bowl. He retired after the
1977 season and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in
1985.

Namath changed teams late in his career. In 1977, at age
33, he was waived by the Jets and signed with the Los Angeles
Rams, where he played four games in one season.

Namath started eight games for the Jets in 1976, and said
yesterday that he didn’t think he would have regained the
starter’s spot and wanted to play with a contender. He said the
process of leaving New York was “excruciating,” and that he
struggled to adjust to the new life and team in Los Angeles.

‘Wasn’t Prepared’

“What was difficult for me, that I didn’t anticipate, was
how much all the newness could get in the way and be a
distraction,” he said. “I wasn’t prepared for that feeling.
The new faces, new places, new system.”

Namath said Manning’s attention to detail and preparation
may allow him to adjust faster to a new team.

“He’ll handle it much better than I did,” Namath said.

If he could do it again, Namath said, he would have stayed
in New York. Due to knee and hamstring injuries, he found out in
Los Angeles that he was no longer physically able to play to his
satisfaction.

“I didn’t know that when I made the decision to make the
move,” Namath said. “Knowing that I wasn’t up to par
physically, I wouldn’t have left the Jets, absolutely not.”

To contact the reporter on this story:
Eben Novy-Williams in New York at
enovywilliam@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Michael Sillup at
msillup@bloomberg.net

By Ed Valentine

– Regional Editor

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Dec 23, 2011 – Let’s continue our position-by-position look at the New York Giants and New York Jets with a look at the special teams units for each team.

Giants

When the Jets let punter Steve Weatherford go after last season the Giants snapped up the veteran free-agent punter to avoid the disastrous inconsistencies experienced a season ago with rookie punter Matt Dodge. Weatherford has responded with a career year. His 46.3 yards per punt average is the best of his career by nearly three yards and his net average of 40.0 puts the Giants seventh in the league, a vast improvement from a season ago. 

Placekicker Lawrence Tynes is having an excellent season. He is 16-of-20 on field-goal attempts, with two of his misses coming from outside 50 yards. Thirty-three of Tynes’ 70 kickoffs have been for touchbacks, a percentage of 47.1. That puts Tynes, historically near the bottom of the league in kickoffs, in the middle of the pack for NFL kickers.

The problem for the Giants has been in the return game, where they simply have not generated any big plays all season.

The Giants’ average of 23.0 yards per kickoff return is 19th in the league and they have only one return longer than 40 yards all season. Devin Thomas handled the job early in the season, and rookie speedsters Da’Rel Scott and Jerrel Jernigan have been the primary returners recently.

Punt return has been even worse. The Giants average just 7.4 yards per return, 28th in the league. Aaron Ross handled those duties early in the season and Will Blackmon has taken over recently. The Giants are one of only two NFL (Carolina being the other) that does not have a punt return of 20 yards or longer this season.

Jets

The Jets replaced Weatherford with T.J. Conley and the rookie from Idaho has done a decent job. He has a 43.0 yards per punt average. His net average of 38.7 puts the Jets 17th in the league. Conley leads the league in forcing fair catches, with 25.

Placekicker Nick Folk is 18-of-23 on field-goal attempts, including thee-of-six from more than 50 yards. Folk’s difficulty comes on kickoffs, where only 16 of his 73 kickoffs (20.9) have gone for touchbacks. That puts the Jets 31st in the league in that category.

Where the Jets are clearly superior to the Giants is in the return game.

The Jets are third in the league with an average of 26.8 yards per kickoff return, and have a league-best of seven returns of 40 yards or longer. Joe McKnight leads all regular NFL kick returners with a 32.3 yards per return average and has five of those 40+ yard runbacks. Antonio Cromartie has the other two.

The Jets average 8.6 yards per punt return. Rookie Jeremy Kerley has been the primary return man, averaging 9.4 yards per return.

Advantage: Jets … based purely on the quality of their return game

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FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP)—The New York Jets know they’re going to have their
hands full with Michael Vick.

That is, if they can get a hand on the elusive Philadelphia Eagles
quarterback Sunday.

“You can’t stop him alone,” nose tackle Sione Pouha said. “There’s no one
person that can just match up with him.”

Vick returned last week from broken ribs, but wasn’t 100 percent in the
Eagles’ 26-10 win at Miami. Still, the Jets expect Vick, still dealing with sore
ribs, to provide a tough test. Mobile quarterbacks have given the Jets fits this
season by slipping out of pressure, and now they’re facing perhaps the NFL’s
best ever at creating plays out of nothing with his legs.

“You just have to make sure that everyone assumes the responsibility of
getting him down,” linebacker Bart Scott said. “He’s a playmaker who can keep
plays alive and he has the uncanny ability, with his strong arm, to throw the
ball across his body and across the field with just a flick of the wrist.”

Coach Rex Ryan even had a few speedy defensive backs simulate Vick’s running
skills to get the defensive linemen prepared for what they’ll see at
Philadelphia. Isaiah Trufant and newly signed Gerald Alexander were out there on
the practice field, zipping around in the backfield and trying to make guys
miss.

“They had to chase me around a little bit, so I was giving them a little
bit of the run-around,” Trufant said with a big laugh. “It gave them an early
look of what to expect and what we will get from Michael Vick. When he’s moving
around back there in the pocket, he’s hard to contain.”

And, judging from his teammates’ comments, Trufant was doing a pretty good
job being Vick.

“Slow down,” Trufant said they told him. “Stop!”

If it were only as simple as that against Vick, though. The Eagles (5-8) are
holding on to slim playoff hopes, so Vick will surely be motivated to do
whatever he can to keep them going. Despite missing three games because of the
rib injury, Vick has rushed for 544 yards—second to only Carolina’s Cam Newton
among NFL quarterbacks.

“There are times you understand he’s going to get out,” defensive
coordinator Mike Pettine said. “That’s where the challenge really starts, and
you have to prepare for it. You have to practice it. So, coverage-wise, the guys
in the back end know that they have to plaster, latch on to their receivers and
cover for a lot longer than normal.”

Linebacker David Harris says there is some danger in focusing too much on
Vick because he has so many options with running back LeSean McCoy and speedy
receivers DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin, and sure-handed tight end Brent
Celek.

“If you worry (about) him running, you might lose track of one of those
fast wide receivers getting downfield,” Harris said. “DeSean Jackson and
Jeremy Maclin have been thriving off of that, so you just have to play
all-around good defense. They’re one of the top rushing teams in the league and
everybody knows what type of athletes they have on that side of the ball, so we
have to go out there and do our thing.”

As long as they don’t repeat some of their previous performances against
some of the league’s other elusive quarterbacks. Denver’s Tim Tebow might be the
best example, running for 68 yards against them—including a 20-yard dash for
the winning score last month—and being sacked just once.

“Tebow has more called quarterback runs, but they’ve done some with Vick,”
Pettine said. “I don’t know how many we’ll get now that he’s a little banged
up. I would say Tebow’s a little more like (Ben) Roethlisberger in the style of
running where it’s hard to bring them down. It’s hard to bring Vick down, but he
makes guys miss a lot more. He’s like a wideout in open space where
Roethlisberger and Tebow are more like fullbacks.”

Blitzing Vick is almost a no-no because of the way he can side-step a
rushing linebacker or defensive back, and then take off.

“It takes all 11 guys,” Pouha said. “And, I promise you, he’ll make three
or four of you miss. That’s why you’ve got to make sure that you’ve got the
other seven or eight guys right behind you. It’s all about pursuit and being
around the ball. I think that’s how you do it, just swarm the ball.”

Ryan has previously coached against Vick twice in the regular season, both
when he was an assistant in Baltimore and the quarterback was still with the
Atlanta Falcons. Vick was 11 of 21 for 127 yards and a touchdown, while running
six times for 54 yards in a 24-10 loss in 2006. He was 12 of 24 for 136 yards
and an interception, and was held to minus-5 yards rushing on seven carries in a
20-17 win in 2002.

“We’ve done OK against him in the past,” Ryan said. “But, again, you’re
never going to be comfortable until the bus is heading home and the game’s over.
He’s a scary athlete.”

From Florham Park, N.J. — For the past couple of years, we have heard a lot from the bombastic New York Jets about what they are and what they’re capable of doing.

On Thursday, the loudest voice in the locker room disclosed what the Jets are not.

“I don’t think we’re a Super Bowl team,” linebacker Bart Scott said. “Right now, we’re not even a playoff team.”

That might sound like blasphemy in Rex Ryan country, where the Lombardi Trophy isn’t just mentioned but is promised — “I guarantee we’ll win it this year,” the coach said at the scouting combine in February — yet these Jets have had a bit of the edge knocked off them this season.

Still, they control their destiny. If they run the table in these final three weeks, they will secure at least the No. 6 seed in the AFC. That will require some strong play from their No. 6, quarterback Mark Sanchez, and knocking off Philadelphia, the New York Giants, and Miami.

The Jets (8-5) are perfectly capable of doing that, seeing as they typically have gotten better at the end of the season under Ryan, the Giants could have their playoff spot locked up when they play the Jets, and the Dolphins won’t be overflowing with incentive in their finale.

But the real measuring stick for the Jets will be Sunday’s game against the Eagles, a team similarly loaded with talent and likewise capable of laying an egg. Philadelphia should have banged-up Michael Vick and receiver Jeremy Maclin in the lineup, is coming off its most complete defensive effort of the season (a 26-10 victory at Miami), and has a wisp of hope of winning the NFC East (the Eagles must go 3-0; Cowboys and Giants 1-2 or worse).

As pleased as the Jets are that they’re riding a three-game winning streak, they know that those triumphs came against downward-spiraling Buffalo, Washington with Rex Grossman and Kansas City with Tyler Palko.

Vick and the Eagles should be a real test, a way for the Jets to determine whether they truly belong in the upper echelon of teams, or if all those championship promises were just more hype by the Hudson.

This much we know: In each of their first two years under Ryan, the Jets surged at the end of the season and made it to the AFC championship game despite never playing host to a postseason contest. The Jets are loaded with experienced players who have come within one step of the NFL’s biggest stage.

“I think there’s benefit of going through the playoffs and gaining that experience,” Ryan said. “Well, no team has won more playoff games than the New York Jets have over a two-year period — not Green Bay, not anybody — so that’s going to help us. We have to get there first, obviously, but that could make us dangerous.

“The fact that we’re the No. 1 red-zone scoring team in the league. The fact that we’re built to win games in December and January with the way we attack people offensively.… And then our defense, we’re starting to hit our stride.”

Some of the Jets’ biggest talkers have been more muted in recent weeks as the team has struggled to regain its equilibrium after the one-two punch of losses to New England and Denver over a five-day stretch in mid-November. The Denver loss was particularly deflating because the Jets played 55 minutes of outstanding defense, only to lose down the stretch when Tim Tebow directed a 95-yard scoring drive to steal the victory for the Broncos.

Two weeks later, Jets guard Matt Slauson confided: “There was a point after the Denver game there where it did seem like the panic button had been pressed a little bit.”

So far, pushing that button has worked. Clearly, the Jets recognize the urgency of the situation and that they have the potential to do some damage in the playoffs with the way the AFC appears to be so wide open.

Denver leads the AFC West, and no one knows how far the Broncos can go without a consistent passing attack. Houston, which won the AFC South, has a rookie quarterback in T.J. Yates who’s largely untested. New England has Tom Brady and a dazzling record of success, but also the league’s last-ranked defense. Ben Roethlisberger is dealing with a bum left ankle, and Pittsburgh might have to start Charlie Batch in San Francisco on Monday.

As it stands, Baltimore looks like the most complete team in the conference, and the Ravens stomped the Jets in Week 4, 34-17, scoring three touchdowns off Sanchez turnovers. The Jets didn’t have Pro Bowl center Nick Mangold in that game, so that played a part in their inability to handle the Ravens’ rush.

In his first year as Jets coach, Ryan mistakenly thought his team was eliminated from the playoffs after a home loss to Atlanta in December 2009. He was barbecued for that in New York, considering the Jets were not only still alive but also went on to reach the postseason.

This time, it’s some of his players who are managing their expectations, making sure they don’t get too far ahead of themselves.

“We’re still trying to play our best football,” Scott said. “We’re still trying to play completely as a team.… You just don’t wake up and say, ‘We’re a Super Bowl team.’”

Coming from the chest-thumping Jets, that’s growth.

sam.farmer@latimes.com

twitter.com/LATimesfarmer

NEW YORK, N.Y. – Eight days after a sensational performance against the New York Jets, Denver linebacker Von Miller was fined Von Miller US$25,000 for roughing the passer in that game.

The rookie pass-rusher was confused Friday about which hit got him in trouble. He said his letter from the league noted he was getting docked for hitting quarterback Mark Sanchez in the chest, although he suspected the fine was actually for a late hit in which he struck Sanchez in the back.

“The hit that has all the controversy was the one where I hit him in the back a couple of seconds late,” Miller said. “On that play, my shoulder hit him in the back. I’m kind of foggy about which hit it was. I’m sure it’s one of them.

“I’m not saying that I didn’t commit a hit that I should be fined for, because I did get to him a couple of times, but that’s part of the game now,” Miller said. “It’s all about player safety and I don’t have anything to say about player safety. We’ve got to make adjustments to take the quarterback down in other ways.”

It’s Miller’s second infraction this month. He also was fined $15,000 for hitting Raiders quarterback Carson Palmer in the chin three weeks ago.

Miller’s was one of several fines the league handed down Friday.

San Francisco safety Dashon Goldson was fined $25,000 by the NFL on Friday for punching Arizona receiver Early Doucet in last Sunday’s game. Doucet was fined $10,000 for unnecessary roughness when he struck Goldson in the helmet area. Goldson then threw his punches.

At the end of a play early in the fourth quarter, Goldson was down away from the ball when he got blindsided and slapped on the back of the helmet by Doucet. Goldson jumped up, confronted him and both began swinging wildly. Goldson then threw a series of punches to Doucet’s facemask and received a 15-yard personal foul penalty before being ejected.

Seattle safety Kam Chancellor was fined $40,000 for unnecessary roughness against Rams tight end Lance Kendricks. The previous week, Chancellor was docked $20,000 for a helmet-to-helmet hit against Baltimore wide receiver Anquan Boldin.

Philadelphia receiver-kick returner DeSean Jackson was fined $10,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct; he flipped the ball toward Giants defensive co-ordinator Perry Fewell after a 50-yard reception.

“When that incident happened I just thought that it was a hotly contested game at that moment and I just thought he made an error in judgment,” Fewell said. “He was just excited about the catch and I think he probably just did it by mistake. I don’t think he did anything intentionally.

“It shocked me. I was surprised by it, but it wasn’t about me and it wasn’t about him at that time.”

Eagles DT Trevor Laws was fined $7,500 for unnecessary roughness; he struck Giants QB Eli Manning late and away from the play after an Eagles interception.

Miami’s Tyrone Culver was fined $20,000 for unnecessary roughness for striking a defenceless player, Buffalo receiver Stevie Johnson, in the head and neck area.

Miller, the second overall draft pick had his best game yet in the Broncos’ 17-13 win over the Jets, making 10 tackles, nine solo, three tackles for loss, 1 1/2 sacks, a forced fumble and a pass breakup.

Now he’s got a $25,000 fine to go with it.

“I mean, it stings, but it really doesn’t hurt that much, because I play the game for my teammates,” Miller said.

And some of those teammates were bemused by Miller’s latest run-in with the league’s disciplinarians.

“The league is so touchy-feely what we can and cannot do running full-speed, so there’s no use in me sitting here and going on a tantrum on what we can and can’t do,” safety Brian Dawkins said. “We just have to go out and play full-speed and whatever happens, happens.”

Miller said that while he’ll try to adjust his tackling technique, he won’t be holding back.

“I’m definitely going to keep playing with fanatical effort and relentless pursuit to the ball,” he said. “As far as hits … I’ve just got to make those adjustments so I don’t get fined.”

MIAMI (Reuters) – The New England Patriots and the New York Jets clash on Sunday with top spot in the National Football League‘s (NFL) AFC East division at stake while the Big Apple’s other contenders, the Giants, face the San Francisco 49ers in a match-up of divisional leaders.

After contrasting starts to the season – the Patriots racing out of the traps and the Jets making a false start – the two teams both enter Sunday’s game with 5-3 records.

The Buffalo Bills, the early pacesetters, have fallen back to 5-3, meaning there is intense competition for the playoffs in what has been, in recent years, one of the toughest of divisions.

The form team are the Jets – they are 3-0 since losing to the Patriots in week five while the Patriots have lost their last two games, including a dramatic late loss to the New York Giants last week.

The rivalry pits some of the league’s big characters against each other – Tom Brady, the Patriots’ quarterback always relishes taking center stage in the Boston-New York City sporting rivalry, while Darelle Revis, the Jets cornerback, loves nothing more than picking off the Patriots.

On the sidelines are two of the league’s most fascinating coaches – the stern, austere-appearing Bill Belichick of the Patriots and the larger and louder than life Jets boss Rex Ryan.

“You want to win your division, that was our goal. The two years I’ve been here, obviously New England has won the division both times. They’ve beat us already. So we know what this game represents, we’re not afraid to talk about it,” said Ryan.

“We’re approaching it like we have to have this game. We want to win our division. We think it goes through New England. There’s that old saying: ‘To be the champ, you have to beat the champ’, and they’re sitting right in front of us,” he added.

Belichick, typically, was more circumspect.

“The Jets are certainly playing well – have a three-game win streak, scoring points, not giving up many. They’re doing a good job,” said Belichick.

“I don’t think there are a whole lot of new things, just they’re doing a good job. It’ll be a big challenge down there for us this week. I’m sure it will be a very lively crowd, emotional atmosphere.”

SMART FOOTBALL

The Giants are buzzing from their victory over the Patriots, which recalled the Super Bowl triumph at the end of the 2007 season, but now the NFC East leaders face the NFC West’s top dogs in San Francisco.

Eli Manning, who in the absence of his injured brother Peyton, is enjoying some positive time in the spotlight, knows a tough task awaits at Candlestick Park.

“You have to play smart football. They are really talented on defense. Their front seven is really good and you don’t see a whole lot of teams running against them. They get good pressure on the quarterback, just bringing four guys a lot of times. They don’t turn the ball over on offense and they get turnovers on defense,” said Manning.

“They have a great turnover margin so I think it is a matter of playing football. Don’t give them easy breaks and make it tough on their offense. They don’t give up many big plays so it is a matter of being consistent and getting in good third down situations and trying to convert there,” he added.

Monday night’s game sees the rivalry between the Green Bay Packers and the Minnesota Vikings return to normality without the additional presence of Brett Favre in the Vikings quarterback role.

The Packers (8-0) are the only unbeaten team in the league while Minnesota are struggling this year on 2-6.

(Editing by Clare Fallon)

When discussing New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez(notes), it always comes down to the 25-year-old’s struggles with accuracy and—this year especially—getting familiar with his receivers. Sanchez has thrown 12 touchdowns against six interceptions this season, but his 55.8 percent completion percentage—which is actually an improvement over his first two years—ranks 28th among the league’s 34 qualifiers.

The Jets (4-3), who’re coming off a bye week, play the Buffalo Bills (5-2) on Sunday at Ralph Wilson Stadium (1 p.m. ET). They are expected to operate out of a run-first offense, but Sanchez and his receiving corps needs to show signs of improvement this weekend.

Gang Green ranks 24th in passing yards (1,454) and 27th in first downs by passing (72). The Bills’ defense isn’t particularly strong, allowing an average of 265.9 passing yards per game (ninth most in the NFL). Buffalo is also tied with four other teams for the league’s third lowest sack total (13), so if that trend continues vs. New York, Sanchez will have ample time to get the ball to Plaxico Burress(notes) (18 receptions, 243 yards, 5 TD), Santonio Holmes(notes) (22 receptions, 311 yards, 3 TD) and Dustin Keller(notes) (25 receptions, 372 yards, 2 TD).

Running back LaDainian Tomlinson(notes) (20 receptions, 260 yards, 1 TD) acts as Sanchez’s safety blanket when coverage is strong downfield, but this may be a game the Jets can use to develop an identity in the air. No matter how much they’re bent on returning to their ground-and-pound roots, the league’s stronger defenses will start stacking the box if New York shies away from using its receivers more.

Sanchez’s performance on Sunday will illustrate whether he and his teammates were able to develop some much-need chemistry during the extra time off.

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The New York Jets signed former
Buffalo Bills tight end Shawn Nelson, one week before the
division rivals face off at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

The Jets signed Nelson to the active roster today, team
spokesman Jared Winley said in an e-mail. American Football
Conference East division rivals, the Jets and Bills play for the
first time this season on Nov. 6 in Orchard Park, New York.

Nelson was the Bills’ fourth-round pick in the 2009
National Football League draft and played two seasons in
Buffalo, catching 20 passes for 181 yards and one touchdown. The
26-year-old missed the first four games of the 2010 season for
violating the league’s substance-abuse policy and was released
by the team in September.

The Bills (5-2) beat the Washington Redskins 23-0
yesterday, and are tied with the New England Patriots for first
place in the AFC East. The Jets (4-3), who were on their bye
week yesterday, are in third place.

Nelson hasn’t appeared in an NFL game this season.

To contact the reporter on this story:
Eben Novy-Williams in New York at
enovywilliam@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Michael Sillup at
msillup@bloomberg.net

By DENNIS WASZAK Jr.
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Plaxico Burress predicted big things for his NFL return a few months ago, convinced he would show everyone he was still one of the game’s best wide receivers.

Well, the New York Jets are still waiting.

“Man, I’ve been in this league a long time,” Burress said Wednesday. “All it takes is a game or two.”

And, chemistry with your quarterback. That, however, is a work in progress.

“It’s just working and coming to work every day to get better,” Burress said. “One thing’s for sure: It can’t get any worse.”

Burress, signed as a free agent in late-July after spending 20 months in prison on a gun charge, has just 14 catches for 218 yards and two touchdowns in six games. Despite the long layoff from football, he was expected to be a dominant red-zone threat for quarterback Mark Sanchez.

“We are not on the right page right now,” Burress said. “But we’ve got to just work on getting on the right page, even if it calls for us to have some practices where we are hitting it, we’ve still got to keep working because that’s the only way you are going to get better at it.”

Burress feels good physically and knows the offense, and he’s confident he’ll click with Sanchez.

“The more and more we get comfortable, when we start playing pitch-and-catch and I’m doing my thing out there, this offense is just going to go through the roof,” he said. “It’s only a matter of time.”

On Tuesday, coach Rex Ryan said the two are “just a little off,” an assessment Sanchez agreed with.

“It’s one of those things where that kind of stuff doesn’t happen overnight,” Sanchez said. “You see quarterbacks and receivers that really click, they’ve been together for a while. They’ve missed a lot more throws than they’ve hit, and then they start to equal those numbers up. It’s a process.”

Burress knows that well. He has played with plenty of quarterbacks during his career, including Kordell Stewart, Kent Graham, Tommy Maddox and Ben Roethlisberger in Pittsburgh, and Eli Manning with the Giants.

“All the quarterbacks that I’ve played with over time, all that didn’t happen in the first six games — anywhere that I’ve been,” Burress said. “But when it comes, it’s going to be the right time. That’s just always how it’s been.”

He said it’s clear when a quarterback and wide receiver have established a certain comfort level when they see the same defensive coverages, give the same hand signals and “are just going out there pitching and catching.” Burress, who missed some time in training camp with a sprained ankle, acknowledged it took him some time to get the offense down. He’d come out of the huddle during practices and games and head the wrong way.

“I’ve got those things settled,” he said. “Now it’s just a matter of us executing.”

Ryan said Burress has been getting double-teamed a lot, although Burress doesn’t necessarily think that’s the case. To Burress’ credit, Sanchez said, the wide receiver has not sulked because he hasn’t been getting the ball much in recent weeks. Burress had four catches and a touchdown in the opener, nothing in the next game and three catches in each of the next three games. He had just one catch for 16 yards in New York’s 24-6 win over Miami on Monday night, but was targeted four times and dropped a pass.

“Being a wide receiver, if you are competitive, like I am, you definitely want to go out there and compete and perform at a high level,” he said. “Playing this position, you have to understand you control the things that you can control. And for me, that’s catching the football. I’ve let a few passes get away from me the past few weeks and I’ve got to correct that first before I even start doing anything else because if I don’t have the ball, I can’t perform anyway.”

Burress thinks he has gotten lazy at times with technique, being so confident in his abilities that he’ll lose focus and not look the ball into his hands all the way. Seems simple enough, but Burress is still shaking off the rust — although he insists that’s not the case — from being away from football for so long.

“It’s just wanting to catch the ball and go and do something exciting and get back to that feel and having fun,” he said. “So you’ve just got to slow it down, catch the football and let it come to you, and then go back to having fun.”

Sanchez has had his share of struggles this season: His 56.1 completion percentage is near the bottom of the league rankings. Part of that is working with a new set of wide receivers — Santonio Holmes is the only starter from last season still with the Jets — and trying to get them all involved and learning their tendencies.

“We talk a lot about it,” Sanchez said of Burress. “He talks to me about, ‘OK, this is what I really like. If I had my way, I hope these calls are in. OK, good.’ When we get the right looks, the ball’s coming.”

And as far as those training camp declarations that he’ll be as dominant as he once was, Burress isn’t backing down.

“When I lose that mindset,” he said, “I’ll walk away from the game.”

By DENNIS WASZAK Jr.
FLORHAM PARK, N.J.— Mark Sanchez is used to all the criticism by now.

The New York Jets quarterback sure has gotten plenty of it during his short career, and that’s OK with him.

“You know, that’s a part of this job and what you sign up for playing in New York,” Sanchez said Thursday. “If you can handle the praise and everything going well — playing in the AFC championship game, beating the Patriots in the divisional game and playing well — you’ve got to be able to handle the flip side. And when things don’t go right, you’re still the guy that takes the praise or the blame. So that’s the way it goes and I just need to play better and help these guys execute.”

With his team in a three-game skid and fighting growing speculation that the season is on the brink of taking a terrible turn, Sanchez knows the doubters are in full force right now.

Can he carry the team in his third season? Can he step up his game? Can he fix this offense?

“I’m not worried about proving anybody right or wrong,” he said. “I’m worried about playing for these guys on the team and playing well for the players in this locker room. It’s not about setting the record straight or anything. That’s the last thing on my mind. I’m worried about getting completions, taking care of the football and I thought we made great strides on that last week. We just need to do it earlier.”

While he might feel the Jets are close to solving their woes, wide receiver Santonio Holmes said the team is heading into its game against the Dolphins with “a feeling of desperation.”

The Jets (2-3) have lost three straight on the road and have a game against the winless Miami Dolphins (0-4) on Monday night. Sanchez acknowledged that he hadn’t anticipated going through such a tough stretch. He also knows he’s been part of the problem, as his 56.1 completion percentage ranks him 28th in the league.

New York has tried a few things to help improve the tempo of the offense, including using buzzers at practice to make sure Sanchez gets passes off faster and the receivers are quicker to complete their routes.

“You try to find what it is,” coach Rex Ryan said. “Last year, was it warming up more, come out to throw 100 balls? I don’t know. We’re still looking for it.”

Ryan said Sanchez got to the stadium late before games and never warmed up as part of the plan to change up the routine.

“We’re looking for anything,” Ryan said. “It’s just one of those things, because he’s been absolutely terrific as the game goes on. We just have to find that groove.”

Sanchez said everyone can talk about routines, buzzers and everything else, but the keys to success are getting off to faster starts and converting on third down. The Jets were just 3 for 11 on third-down opportunities in last Sunday’s 30-21 loss at New England.

“You lose three games, people are searching,” Sanchez said. “Everybody wants an answer, everybody wants one thing that you can fix. … Our routine, we know our routine. If we win these games, nobody is questioning anything.”

Holmes said the team believes in Sanchez as its leader, and acknowledged that the quarterback is far from the only one at fault. The Jets have seldom thrown deep passes this season in offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer’s system, and Holmes believes the offensive line needs to play better for that to happen.

“The big guys know it: If they give Mark enough time to sit in the pocket and complete passes, I think everything changes,” Holmes said, reiterating comments he made two weeks ago. “The routes that are being run are short routes: ‘Hey, let’s get the ball out of Mark’s hands quick, let’s move the ball down the field, let’s go from there.’ But if you can’t protect the quarterback for 4 or 5 seconds, then there’s no point of dropping back 7 yards to throw a football when he doesn’t have enough time.”

Sanchez has also had to work with a fairly new set of receivers this season, and now one of them is gone with the trade of Derrick Mason to the Houston Texans. Mason made some pointed comments about the offense having “cracks” that needed to be fixed, but the team said it parted ways with him not because of his mouth but because he was not performing as they expected.

Holmes said the trade “shook up a lot of guys,” and added that he had “not one clue” why Mason was traded. Sanchez spoke to his teammates early last week about maintaining a good locker room, where criticisms of individuals would not leave team meetings.

Still, Holmes did all he can to keep from speaking his mind about the Jets’ problems, saying “I can’t go that route with you.” But, he then offered up his opinions about the offensive line being a large issue. Holmes was then asked if this might be the game where New York might throw a few deep against Miami’s 31st-ranked pass defense.

“Obviously, it doesn’t make a difference on our team because New England was ranked what in pass defense, and what did we do against those guys?” he said, referring to the Patriots being ranked last entering last Sunday. “So, it really doesn’t matter what defenses are ranked. It’s according to how well guys play on the field at that time.”

The Jets have only 15 pass plays of 20 or more yards, tying them for 18th in the league. They also have just one of 40 or more yards, tied for last, and that was a 74-yard catch by LaDainian Tomlinson — who turned a short pass into a huge gain.

“We have to honestly run with the plays that are being called,” Holmes said.

Sanchez is saying all the right things, though, and insists the offense will be fine, and so will the Jets.

“We rattle off a couple of wins in a row, all that criticism and doubt, that stuff kind of fades away, and guys are confident again and ready to play,” Sanchez said. “I’m not too worried about it.”