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NFL Awards Jets 4 Compensatory Draft Picks

The Jets, who received only five compensatory draft choices in the previous 18 drafts combined, learned today they will receive four compensatory picks in the 2012 draft, scheduled for April 26-28.

Specifically, the Jets have been awarded two picks at the end of Round 6 and two picks at the end of Round 7. Therefore all four picks will be used on Saturday, April 28.

The four additional picks gives the Jets 10 in this draft. They have their own picks in the first three rounds (16th, 47th and 77th overall). They have no choice in Round 4, having sent it to Denver as part of last week’s trade for QB Tim Tebow. They then have their own pick in the fifth round, three choices in Round 6 and three in Round 7.

If the Jets were to hold onto those 10 picks, that would be the most picks the Green & White spent in a single draft since 2004 and ’06, also with 10 each. The last Jets draft with more picks was in 1998, when they had 12 selections.

The exact positions of the compensatories will not be known until the NFL releases all the “comps” along with the positions of all selections for all teams in the draft, which is expected today at the NFL owners’ annual meeting in Palm Beach, Fla., currently under way.

The NFL awarded 32 compensatory picks but only to 15 teams. The Jets, Packers and Browns received the maximum of four. The Jets’ four picks were based on losing CB Drew Coleman, WR Braylon Edwards, DE Shaun Ellis, WR Brad Smith and P Steve Weatherford.

Under the rules for compensatory draft selections, a team losing more or better compensatory free agents than it acquires in the previous year is eligible to receive compensatory picks. The number of picks a team receives equals the net loss of compensatory free agents, up to a maximum of four.

The five compensatories the Jets have received previously:

2004, Round 4 (132nd overall) — T Adrian Jones, Kansas

2004, Round 7 (234th overall) — DE Trevor Johnson, Nebraska

2004, Round 7 (235th overall) — RB Derrick Ward, Ottawa (Kansas)

2004, Round 7 (236th overall) — S Rashad Washington, Kansas State

2007, Round 3 (97th overall) — S Eric Smith, Michigan State

‘Bama’s Barron Plans on Being a Hit at NFL Level

The Jets need a safety or two and their shopping may start in a couple of weeks when the NFL’s league year commences. Both Jim Leonhard and Brodney Pool will be unrestricted free agents on March 13, so that leaves starter Eric Smith and reserve Tracy Wilson on the roster. Even if the Green & White add a safety in free agency or via a trade, they may be looking to add another one on draft weekend.

Alabama’s Mark Barron is the top safety prospect in the draft and he will probably be the only S selected in April’s first round. The 6’2”, 218-pounder will likely merit strong consideration from the Jets if he is still on the board in the middle of the opening round.

“You keep on hearing about Mark Barron, the safety from Alabama, is a good fit for what they need and that’s kind of where he should go,” ESPN’s Todd McShay told newyorkjets.com at the combine. “He had double-hernia surgery last month, and everyone says it’ll be fine and it’s something that will not affect him long-term or even in the short term when you’re talking about his rookie season. I think he would be a great fit there.”

Barron, who plans on working out in late March, is NFL-ready after playing both safety positions for Nick Saban at ‘Bama.

“We played in a very difficult defense, first of all,” he said. “We did a lot of different schemes. My role was, as far as communicating, I had a lot to do with that on the back end. And I felt like sometimes I brought some energy to it with the hits I make and things of that nature. I did a lot of different things, so I can’t pinpoint one exact role for me on defense.”

The versatile Barron lined up at free safety this past season and strong safety the year before. He was known not only as a big hitter — he collected 12 interceptions during his collegiate career.

“He is physical. He will come up and hit you,” McShay said. “The thing about Barron is there is no aspect of the game that he doesn’t do well. He’s not the best cover safety, if you will. He has some limitations in terms of man-to-man, but he can cover the tight end. He has good range in terms of being back. In being the high man in the three-safety or three-defensive-backs look, he comes up and is physical against the run. He can play in the box.

“I just love the way he plays the game, the tempo he brings and the leadership he brings in the secondary. It’s hard to imagine that he’s not a successful impact type of player who can be a leader on a defense.”

When asked by a reporter if he prefers to make a bone-crushing hit or an interception, Barron leaned to the takeaway but acknowledged both have their place.

“I like making plays, period. I would say interception because that’s more of a game-changer. That affects the game more,” he said. “But I like hitting and making interceptions.”

Quality safeties often have to wait around for a bit on draft weekend. Ed Reed, the Miami product who played for Rex Ryan in Baltimore and already has a jacket ready at the Hall of Fame, was selected No. 24 overall by the Ravens in the 2002 draft. A year later, USC’s Troy Polamalu went No. 16 overall to Pittsburgh. The 49ers’ Dashon Goldson, a Pro Bowler who had six interceptions in 2001 and is scheduled be a prized free agent this spring, was a fourth-round selection out of Washington in the 2007 draft.

“If a guy is a good player, then he’s just a good player,” Barron said. “I don’t see why position-wise, if you have a better player that’s a safety and then you have a corner that may not be a better football player than that guy, I don’t see a reason why that corner should go ahead of that safety if that safety is a better player. I’ve seen that happen, so I just don’t understand it. But that’s not my position to pick players and who gets drafted where.”

Not a huge fan of the NFL’s safety rules, Barron plans on continuing his aggressive play at the next level.

“Honestly, I don’t like them because the way I’ve been taught to play the game is hit and I hit hard,” he said. “I guess I’ll have to make some adjustments. Hopefully I’ll definitely make them — I’m not sure if I will because like I said that’s the way I was taught to play the game.”

Draft Analysts’ Opinions on Jets’ Round 1 Pick

Updated, 2:53 p.m. ET

Although the 2011 NFL season ended not more than two weeks ago, it feels like forever since the Jets last took the field. Unfortunately, it’s only February and we have a long way to go until the Green & White head to Cortland, N.Y., for 2012 training camp.

For now, winter continues to roll toward spring, which signals one of the more exciting dates on an NFL fan’s calendar: the draft. The annual April football extravaganza provides for a long weekend full of anticipation and optimism as the top college players wait to see whose NFL colors they will don in the fall. Fans will glue themselves to the television as their team selects the next piece to a championship puzzle.

The draft is still more than two months away, but it’s never too early to speculate, right? We won’t make any premature guesses, but we can take a look at what the experts are saying right now about the Jets and their first-round selection, 16th overall:

Today — Charley Casserly, NFL Network: Courtney Upshaw, OLB, Alabama

“At some point, the Jets need to find a linebacker that can get to the passer.”

Tuesday — Rob Rang, CBSSports.com: Mark Barron, S, Alabama

“The Jets have struggled against tight ends this season and could use an instinctive, big-hitting safety to fall into their lap. While the team certainly has other needs to consider, if Alabama’s Mark Barron is available, perhaps it might be wise to take the easy way out.”

Tuesday — Dane Brugler, NFLDraftScout.com: Melvin Ingram, OLB, South Carolina

“Ingram might be the most versatile defender in this draft. He finds ways to create pressure in the backfield.”

Feb. 10 — Russ Lande, The Sporting News: Trent Richardson, RB, Alabama

“Mark Sanchez regressed in 2011, and the Jets need a strong rushing attack to help him. Richardson has the talent to be a dynamic offensive weapon.”

Feb. 7 — Chad Reuter, NFL Network: David DeCastro, G, Stanford

“The Jets averaged 3.8 yards a carry in the running game and gave up 40 sacks this season, meaning changes are coming on the offensive line. DeCastro possesses everything a team could want up front, so he won’t escape the top 20 overall selections of this draft.”

Feb. 6 — Robert Davis, FootballsFuture.com: Michael Floyd, WR, Notre Dame

“Floyd has the size and leaping ability to do what Plaxico Burress did for the team last year, but can do a lot more damage outside of the red zone. He would be a great complement to Santonio Holmes, but he also has the ability to become the team’s #1 target one day.”

Feb. 6 — Evan Silva, Rotoworld.com: Justin Blackmon, WR, Oklahoma State

“Blackmon is a media darling after twice winning college football’s Biletnikoff Award and scoring three touchdowns in the Fiesta Bowl, two on busted coverages and the third on a badly blown tackle. NFL teams will not grade Blackmon as a top-ten prospect after he runs a 4.55-4.60 at the Combine. Blackmon would fit in New York, however, as a physical, possession-type No. 2 receiver to bookend Santonio Holmes.”

Feb. 2 — Todd McShay, ESPN: Mark Barron, S, Alabama

“The Jets need help in the secondary to deal with the Patriots’ tight end duo of Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez twice a season, and Barron is the only 2012 safety prospect with a first-round grade. He does everything well, showing instincts and playmaking skills in coverage and the ability to be a physical run defender when playing near the box.”

Jan. 27 — Bucky Brooks, NFL.com: Courtney Upshaw, OLB, Alabama

“The Jets desperately need a pass rusher to help their defense return to the ranks of the elite. Upshaw’s motor and relentlessness will allow Rex Ryan to scale back the risky blitzing in critical situations.”

Jan. 18 — Mel Kiper Jr., ESPN: Mark Barron, S, Alabama

“In Barron, the Jets would get the best safety in the draft, a big, rangy talent with big-game experience and the ability to match up against taller receivers and tight ends. The Jets have schemed around a weakness at safety, but it’s time to put a better talent back there.”

Jan. 17 — Elliot Harrison, NFL.com: Mark Barron, S, Alabama

“The sooner Jets fans don’t have to see Eric Smith running five yards behind a receiver, the happier they’ll be. Rex Ryan, too.”

Jan. 16 — Charles Davis, NFL.com: Nick Perry, DE, USC

“The Jets have a glaring need for a pass rusher, and this youngster really came on late.”

According to these experts, Barron is the early favorite for the Jets in the first round. Considered the top safety in this year’s class, he was a key to the Crimson Tide’s national championship run in 2011. He is coming off a campaign where he was a consensus All-American, leading the nation’s top overall defense.

Despite the success he enjoyed this past season, Barron’s current injury situation serves as a proverbial fly in the soup for NFL teams needing secondary help. He underwent double-hernia surgery in January and will need at least two months to recover. He will not be able to participate in the combine and is doubtful to take part in Alabama’s pro day set for March 7.

While Barron currently stands as the top safety prospect, look for players like Oklahoma State’s Markelle Martin, South Carolina’s Antonio Allen and Boise State’s George Iloka to climb up draft boards in the coming months.

Among the remaining opinions, four experts believe a pass rusher (Ingram, Upshaw, Perry) is the right choice, two are looking for a wide receiver (Floyd, Blackmon), one thinks an offensive lineman (DeCastro) is the call, and another sees a standout running back (Richardson) joining RB Shonn Greene in the Jets backfield.

Take these projections with a grain of salt. Mock drafts are only now starting to trickle out of the national media, and many more are on their way. Nonetheless, it’s a good starting point for all Jets fans itching to hear the first name called on April 26.

Some of Our Plans Moving Forward into 2012

The Jets’ offseason started a whole lot sooner than any of us wanted. And this past week has been, to say the least, interesting.

We’ll continue to monitor the Green & White scene, writing about developments as we can, and of course posting as many of your comments on all Jets matters as we can.

In the meantime we’ll look forward to the 2012 season, which won’t start for the NFL until March but has started for the Jets now. We’ll bring you player features as those players become available here at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center, through videos, stories and blogs, slideshows, or all of the above. We’ll visit with the team’s alumni throughout the offseason and see what their thoughts are for their team going forward.

We’ll have a number of other features for the fans. One coming up will be a Select Al Pereira’s Best Jets Action Shot of 2011. We’ll present you with about 20 of the best shots from Pereira, our staff photographer, from all games this past season and ask you to vote for the top four and then, in a separate vote, pick the best of the best photo. We’ll be getting Al’s images up to speed a week from Monday. Keep an eye out for that.

In the short term, besides Jets news, we’ll be doing capsules on each of this season’s playoff games, complete with a section we call “Jet Fuel,” citing Green & White connections to the current teams in the postseason. Andrew LeRay wrote up Saturday’s two capsules — Bengals-Texans and Lions-Saints — that went live on newyorkjets.com this afternoon. Eric Allen and I will have the capsules for the Sunday games — Falcons-Giants and Steelers-Broncos — live tomorrow during the day.

And in the coming weeks and months, we’ll bring you exclusive features, from our staff and from the personnel people at Real Football Services, on the Senior Bowl, the NFL Combine workouts, the Jets position by position vis-a-vis the free agency signing period, the draft, and the Jets’ offseason training program, their OTAs and minicamp all to come.

Player Procedures

The Jets have confirmed surgical procedures for four players following the rigors of ’11. Surgeries have already been performed on DT Mike DeVito (shoulder), S Eric Smith (knee) and G Matt Slauson (shoulder). And a surgery is scheduled for DL Marcus Dixon (shoulder).

Bart’s Fine

And as you may have heard earlier today in a tweet from us or from your favorite Green & White news outlet, the Jets issued a statement through a team spokesman: “Bart Scott was fined $10,000 by the team for his obscene gesture to a member of the media. Bart’s actions were inappropriate and unacceptable.”

Why at Seattle?

When the NFL officially announced the 2012 opponents for all teams earlier this week, several of you asked the question: Why are the Jets at Seattle again after they just went to the Pacific Northwest four years ago?

The short answer is that, as we explained a year ago regarding yet another Jets trip to Oakland in ’11, the NFL has tweaked its scheduling rotation as it regards all teams in both conferences playing the AFC West and NFC West teams.

For the longer answer (if you’re of strong constitution), let’s reflect on 2008, when the Jets made four West Coast trips, to Oakland, San Diego, San Francisco and Seattle. How did that happen? For starters, it began with the way, since the divisional realignment in 2002, that teams in one division are scheduled to play teams in every other division.

It was and still mostly is alphabetical.

For instance, in ’05 when it was the AFC East’s year to play the AFC West, Buffalo and Miami played home against Denver and Kansas City and away at Oakland and San Diego, while the (New York) Jets and New England played home vs. OAK and SD and at DEN and KC. In ’08, the home and away sites for all teams were flipped.

With this rotation, every AFCE team would play one home game and one away game against every AFCW team every six years.

Similarly, in ’04 it was the AFC East vs. the NFC West, so BUF and MIA were home for ARZ and STL and at SF and SEA, while the NYJ and NE were at ARZ and STL (Saint Louis, spelled out) and home vs. SF and SEA.

The problem: Every 12 years, the AFC East would play the AFC West and NFC West in the same season at the same sites. And so every 12 years, the stars and divisions would align and the Jets and Patriots would either have home games against four West Coast teams. And then 12 years later they’d both have four West Coast games in the same season.

That sounds like not so big a deal, once every quarter of a century. But in different years the same West Coast problem also hit all the Eastern Time Zone teams in the two North and two South divisions as well.

The NFL, which clearly likes the eight divisions and the rotation concept, wanted to break up the scheduling imbalance that resulted every year that an Eastern team found itself on the road for four West Coast trips.

The solution was to reorder the Western divisions. That began in 2009, when in the AFC West, Denver was paired no longer with Kansas City but with Oakland and KC was newly coupled with San Diego, while in the NFC West, it was Arizona-San Francisco and St. Louis-Seattle.

All Eastern TZ teams are affected, so with this new wrinkle, no Eastern team will ever have more than two West Coast trips in a season.

In 2012, with the AFCE and NFCW once again scheduled to play, it’s the first year of the Jets going on the road to play St. Louis and Seattle while staying at home for Arizona and San Francisco.

So why at Seattle? It’s because of this new rotation formula. But it was going to be either at Seattle or at San Francisco in 2012. And Arizona, almost as long a road trip, will be at the Jets’ home for two consecutive cycles (’08, ’12) for the same reason.

One more good thing: Unofficially speaking, if the Jets play Oakland in ’13 because the teams finish in the same position in their respective divisions, the game will be at the Jets. And in ’14, when it’s AFC East vs. AFC West again, the Jets-Raiders game also is set for MetLife Stadium. Possibly two consecutive home games vs. the Raiders. Who’d've thunk it?

Told you it was a long answer.

Screen Game’s Been Sterling the Past Four Games

The Jets offense lately has been passing its screen test again.

The screen game, which can be so important to defeating an ultra-aggressive pass rush by picking up big chunks of yardage at a time, looked pretty impressive in the Jets’ first three games, particularly on LaDainian Tomlinson’s monster 74-yard catch-and-run from Mark Sanchez.

Then the screen started to get holes in it. In the six-game span from Baltimore through the home game against New England, the Jets completed only eight screens, and only one of them went for at least 10 yards.

But Joe McKnight breathed life into the screen game at Denver, and with two big plays out of it Sunday vs. the Chiefs — Shonn Greene’s 36-yard play to set up the Jets’ second TD and Tomlinson’s ice-breaking 19-yard TD play late in the first half — in the last month the devastating screen play is back on the front burner.

“It’s something we put a big focus on coming into training camp,” guard Brandon Moore said following today’s practice at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center. “They weren’t working as well in the beginning of the year. Just like everything else we try to correct … the things we’ve been working on have been showing up on Sundays. That’s the encouraging thing to see, especially this time of year.”

The screens were a big reason that Greene and Tomlinson were the major targets for Sanchez on Sunday. Greene had three receptions for 58 yards, Tomlinson two for 50. It was the first time in eight seasons and just the 14th time in franchise history that two Jets running backs each had 50-plus receiving yards in the same game.

So if it worked so well against the hard-charging Chiefs’ front seven, surely Brian Schottenheimer and Sanchez will be dialing the screens up against the harder-charging Eagles, the NFL’s top-sacking team?

“Well, they’re easy completions and if they make their way into the game plan this week, that’s great,” Sanchez said. “If not, we have to do it with runs and completions down the field or whatever it is. It’s just a good changeup for us, but you can’t just rely on something like that. We need to be good running the ball and throwing it downfield as well.”

Safety Dance

With Wednesday comes the full-fledged start of the next week of the season. And this time it marks the next December day that Rex Ryan is having to move on down the home stretch without his safety.

“Jimmy Leonhard had surgery today. Everything went well,” Ryan said of the procedure to repair Leonhard’s torn right patella tendon. “And again, they always say that as long as you come out of it, so it went well.”

Ryan said at least he doesn’t feel that the defense will need a game to regroup from the loss of their quarterback as they did last year, when they went from the last practice of the week on Friday, when Leonhard broke his leg, into the Monday night 45-3 loss at New England.

“I think there was some unusual circumstance because he got hurt with one day left in the week for practice,” Ryan recalled. “I think that was what really contributed to that, and the fact that we were playing the Patriots. I don’t want to take anything away from them, but that was part of the issue, part of the problem.

“Right now there are no excuses. We have a full week’s preparation with Brodney Pool and Eric Smith, the same guys that closed out all the playoff games and everything else, so we feel really comfortable with those guys. Obviously, it’s an unfortunate injury, it’s a huge loss to us, but we’re built to still be effective.”

Tracy Wilson moves in behind Smitty and Brodney, and behind them will be Gerald Alexander, the interesting veteran signing announced late Tuesday. Rex said after today’s practice he’s still not certain where his new No. 42 factors into Sunday’s plan for the Eagles.

“We just had him out there today. We have a great deal of confidence in our scouting department. I know they were trying to get us the best player,” Ryan said. “Right now he’s swimming. He just came out there and we’ll see. Obviously, if we signed him, then upstairs feels pretty good about him. And seems like a nice young man.”

We spent some locker room time with Alexander today and we’ll bring you a profile on him Thursday. For now two notes to pique your interest: He was Boise State teammates with Kyle Wilson for one year. And he’s an avid Tweeter who can be found at twitter.com/galexander21

Injury Reports

On the injury report front, the “swelling” on the Jets’ list in recent weeks has been reduced to 11 players. Only two didn’t practice today — G Brandon Moore (hip) and CB Marquice Cole (knee). Three more were listed as limited — DT Mike DeVito (knee), DL Marcus Dixon (hip) and S Eric Smith (knee).

“I feel pretty good about everybody, really,” said Ryan. ‘With Brandon, this was what we had talked about. We’ll probably limit him tomorrow, then have him full Friday. ‘Quice, we’ll see how his knee is. He’s probably questionable right now. All the other guys I think will be able to play, DeVito, Dixon and Smith.”

The coach added that DeVito, who has sat out four of the last seven games with knee issues, worked some 9-on-7 drills, handled some double teams, and “looked pretty good out there.”

For the Eagles, QB Michael Vick (ribs) led the four-man contingent that did not practice today. Also DNP were T Todd Herremans (ankle), DT Cullen Jenkins (groin) and DE Darryl Tapp (ribs). WR Jeremy Maclin (hamstring/shoulder) was limited, but coach Andy Reid said on a conference call with Jets reporters today that he thinks Maclin will play against the Jets.

Jim Leonhard’s Season Ends Prematurely Once Again

The injury looked bad right after it happened, and today Rex Ryan made it official: S Jim Leonhard will not finish the season for the second consecutive year.

“We lost Jimmy, torn patella tendon,” the Jets head coach told team reporters on a conference call this afternoon. “You feel absolutely terrible for him. This team means everything to Jim. His leadership is obviously going to be missed. I know he’ll get this surgery and I’m sure he’s going to be around the building and be part of us anyway. He just can’t do it physically.”

The silver lining to Sunday’s second-quarter injury, not for Leonhard but for the Jets, is that similar to last year, when Leonard broke his leg in practice on Dec. 3, Brodney Pool is ready to step in, play alongside Eric Smith and keep the deep middle contributing to the Jets’ defensive efforts down the stretch.

“We’re fortunate to have as a team a player like Brodney as a backup safety. Now he’ll come in at starting safety with Eric,” Ryan said. “Brodney’s a guy who has man cover skills, he’s got range, he’s smart, he’s in our system now for the second season, so we’re fortunate to have him.

“It’s obviously a huge blow for our football team,” Ryan added, “but it’s one we think we can overcome.”

The difficult part may be in filling in behind Smith and Pool. Undrafted free agent Tracy Wilson, signed in late August, waived in September, signed to the practice squad in October and to the active roster in November, is the lone backup on the depth chart at the moment. Ryan said GM Mike Tannenbaum and his team are seeking available help “maybe not for the short term but to help us with depth maybe in the long term.”

But the long term doesn’t have much longer to go this season. Three more weeks of the regular season — which, if the Jets navigate with three victories, will get them their third AFC Wild Card playoff berth in the three Ryan seasons — plus however long the Green & White would continue into the postseason.

However, for the front line, Pool showed after Leonhard’s injury a year ago that he could accelerate his learning curve in the Ryan/Mike Pettine scheme and had a strong finish, particularly in the Indianapolis playoff game. Now it’s time for No. 22 to stand out one more time.

On the punt-returning front, no sooner had Ryan established his preference for Leonhard’s sure-handedness as the main punt returner than Leonhard went down after his lone return vs. the  Chiefs for 1 yard.

But rookie Jeremy Kerley stepped right back into the role and did a solid job with 42 yards on three returns — 14- and 26-yard runbacks to set up two second-quarter TD drives and a 2-yard return that saved a tough hopper from being turned into an inside-the-5 punt in the third — plus two flawless fair catches.

“Jeremy was in this morning catching punts,” Ryan said. “He takes it on himself to get better — over 200 passes on the JUGS gun every day and I can’t tell you how many punts. … I think Jeremy’s done a tremendous job. Obviously he’s got to do a great job catching the football, first, and worrying about the return, second.”

Ryan said Leonhard will be “almost taking over a coaching role right now” and that he doesn’t think this injury in any way ends Leonhard’s playing career. But for one more stretch run the Jets will be without their heady, competitive back-end field general. We’ll add our condolences to those from around the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center and from around Jets Nation: We’re sorry to hear that you’re going to miss the end to another season, and we wish you a speedy recovery and rehab.

Nuggets from the Chiefs Game

KC coach Todd Haley was dismissed today, less than a day after Sunday’s 37-10 Jets verdict. Ryan on the firing: “As a member of the coaching community, it’s always tough when you hear news like that. I never knew Todd well, but when I’ve been around him, I’ve had a lot of respect for him. I think he did an outstanding job as a coordinator and obviously he took his team to the playoffs last year. It’s just an unfortunate thing. These things happen. I wish him the best.” Romeo Crennel, the former Jets and Patriots assistant and Browns head coach, was named as the Chiefs’ interim HC.

A couple of notes on Mark Sanchez’s recent run: Passer ratings sometimes not terribly revealing but they’re often interesting just the same. For instance, Sanchez’s second quarter vs. the Chiefs was one of three “perfect passing” quarters in his Jets career. He completed seven of eight passes for 120 yards and both his touchdown passes in the second frame, giving him a “perfect” rating of 158.3 for that quarter.

His other such ratings came in the fourth quarter of last year’s AFC Divisional Round game at New England (3-for-3, 72 yards, one TD) and in the third quarter of this year’s Game 2 vs. Jacksonville (5-for-5, 78 yards, 1 TD).

And Sanchez has been at the helm of 13 touchdown drives over the current three-game winning streak. The last time a Jets QB had 13 TD series in a three-game span was Chad Pennington during that golden stretch run in 2002 (3 @ NE, 5 vs. GB, 5 vs. IND in the AFC Wild Card Game). The last time a Jets QB had more was Ken O’Brien, who personally directed 14 TD possessions in 1985 (5 in Game 9 @ IND, 2 in Game 10 @ MIA, 7 in Game 11 vs. TB).

The Jets were the beneficiaries of seven first downs by penalty Sunday. That’s the same total they got in the 2000 Monday Night Miracle OT win over the Dolphins. The last time they got more in a game was in 1988, when the Houston Oilers helped them move the chains nine times via penalty.

The two Jets RBs with the most yards from scrimmage in a game in the last seven seasons were on the MetLife field at the end of the day Sunday. Thomas Jones, now of course a Chief, had 227 yards of offense vs. Buffalo in 2009. And Shonn Greene had a career-high 187 yards in the just-completed win. Crunching the numbers one more way, Greene has the most YFS by a Jets RB with at least 50 receiving yards since Curtis Martin racked up a franchise-record 228 yards in the snow against Pittsburgh on Dec. 14, 2003.

“Inside the Jets”

Tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson and defensive tackle Marcus Dixon will be the special guests at tonight’s “Inside the Jets” radio show from 7-8 p.m. ET. You can attend the show at Grasshopper Off the Green in Morristown, N.J., or listen to the proceedings, hosted by voice of the Jets Bobby Wischusen, on ESPN 1050.

STS*: McKnight, Smith, Westhoff in the Spotlight

Kickoff returns and kickoff coverage will be under the Green & White microscope Sunday at Buffalo.

Joe McKnight, packing an NFL-leading 40.3-yard kickoff return average and coming off of Thursday’s announcement that he is the AFC Special Teams Player of the Month for October, will be trying to crack the Bills’ coverage unit, fourth in the league in opponents’ return average and sixth in opponents’ average start after return (20.1).

And when the Bills drop back for Nick Folk’s kickoffs, it’ll be Brad Smith in the end zone. Jets fans all know what Smitty can do, although the Buffalo approach to running kicks out of the end zone has been conservative and has led to Smith averaging 20.6 yards on only five returns. And he’ll be trying to slice through the Jets’ coverage, which is second in the NFL in opponents’ average drive start (19.5) with a league-high 14 inside-the-20 starts.

Can you say key matchup?

Jets ST coordinator Mike Westhoff said this week that at first, when McKnight replaced Antonio Cromartie for the final return at Oakland, he didn’t expect him to blossom into his latest monster returner.

“Now as I watched Joe develop and saw how hard he worked in practice, and you do see that speed and ability, then yes, then I believed he could do it,” Westhoff said. “He deserves the accolade but there’s a whole group of guys that when they go out they have a firm belief and they practice exceptionally hard. So I have a lot of confidence in them. To me it’s a singular award but it ends up showing what a whole group can get done.”

Many of those blockers also opened those seams for Smith to rip through last season, when he came in second in the NFL with his 28.6-yard average. And many of the Jets cover men haven’t had a chance to take a whack at Smith before as they may get to do Sunday.

“I talk to Eric [Smith] all the time and I thought I told him he’s not allowed to hit me,” Brad said about Eric’s offer to hit him on the opening kickoff. “I’m looking forward to seeing him. It’s going to be different. They’re football players that know what they’re capable of. Special teams is a really good unit and we’ve got our work cut out for us.”

Smith said the philosophy of Buffalo and its ST guru, Bruce DeHaven, is different than Westhoff’s approach of “We run ‘em from the bleachers.” The Bills have taken touchbacks on 25 of the 31 kickoffs they’ve received, an 80.6 percent rate that’s highest in the NFL. And all TBs plus returns have given them an average drive start of their 19.2-yard line, next-to-last in the league.

“It’s tough, if I’m being honest with you, knowing we can make plays,” Smith said, “but at the same time it’s more about the team. There are times when you can take a chance and hit a couple but at the same time, you get tackled at the 10- or 15-yard line, that hurts the team. So we have to be smart back there. We’ll do our best.”

There’s no question all returners get to do their best under Westhoff, who head coach Rex Ryan touted for the assistant coaches’ wing of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

This prompted my good friend Rod Boone of Newsday to ask the coach if he’d rank those seven returners he’s had since 2002 who have run back at least one kickoff for a touchdown. “Someday maybe I’ll rank them,” said Westhoff. “I don’t want to do that right know. Each guy’s different.”

Yet while he put off the ranking, he still provided a skinny on most of those returners:

McKnight — “The thing that Joe’s done the best, that he’s doing right now very well, is he’s believing in his reads. As he hits it, he hits it really hard. … Unfortunately last week he didn’t believe in his second read [vs. San Diego]. They only had one guy who could’ve tackled him and he runs the other way. He could’ve [scored] easily. But that’s what he’s done well and he’s gotten better and better at it.”

Smith — “Brad would see things a little bit and then burst.”

Leon Washington — “Leon was just a real natural running back who had great running skills.”

Justin Miller — “He had incredible speed. He just exploded. Before you knew it, he was past you.”

One thing Westhoff took playful issue with Smith on was about Smith saying of Westhoff on his conference call with Jets reporters this week that “Sometimes he can be very harsh.”

“I was disappointed he said that, to tell you the truth,” the coach said. “I don’t think I’m harsh … I don’t know, maybe I am.”

Maybe “gruff” fits Westhoff better. Gruff but always with the ulterior motive of optimizing his players’ individual skills and his team’s ability to win a particular game. He used to guide Smith, who returned three kickoffs for touchdowns in his two years handling that job. Now on Sunday Smith will be the bad guy in white with blue and red trim that the Jets want to shut down, McKnight, the good guy in green they want to turn loose.

That’s the Westhoff way.

*Special Teams Saturday

One Key if Jets Want to Take Away a Sunday W

There have been many positives to take from the Jets’ 2-0 start, but nothing stands out more than their NFL-leading five interceptions and their seven takeaways.

“We put an emphasis on that this season and it’s been turning out great for us,” said LB David Harris. “We had four interceptions last week and that’s a good number for us. Hopefully we can do it again this week.”

If the trend continues Sunday in Oakland, the Green & White will remain unbeaten. The season’s first two weeks have been just what Rex Ryan/Mike Pettine prescribed for one of the NFL’s top defensive units.

There was the timely Mike DeVito game-saving fourth-quarter strip-sack of Tony Romo in Week 1, with Sione Pouha recovering the fumble and keeping the comeback alive. Then Darrelle Revis intercepted Romo in the final seconds to set up Nick Folk’s gamewinner from 50 yards.

Facing a journeyman quarterback in Week 2, the Green & White victimized Luke McCown for four interceptions. Corner Antonio Cromartie had a pair and LB Josh Mauga and S Eric Smith had one apiece as the INTs led to 13 points in the rout at MetLife Stadium.

“It’s something that we’ve been focusing on,” said Smith. “It’s something we talked about after last year — we need to cause more turnovers and get the ball back to our offense in scoring position.”

The Raiders, who have averaged 29 points through Week 2, have turned the ball over three times and Jason Campbell has only been intercepted once while completing 66 percent of his passes with three touchdowns. In 13 games last season Campbell threw only eight interceptions, and he owns a career TD/INT ratio of 71/47.

“He makes all the good reads for them. He puts the offense in right plays in certain situations,” Harris said. “He can make any throw, and he’s a good passer outside the pocket because he’s so mobile and you have to keep your eyes on him at all times.”

The 6’5”, 230-pound Campbell has a lot of speed to work with on the outside with Darrius Heyward-Bey expected back and rookie Denarius Moore ready for an encore after breaking out against the Bills, but both Jacoby Ford (hamstring) and Louis Murphy (groin) are unlikely to go. Regardless who is in the lineup, shots will be taken and Campbell has the arm to get the ball downfield.

“Some of those balls he throws, he’s even overthrowing some of his receivers and those guys are moving,” Smitty said. “You’re not deep enough when you’re in the half field or in the middle of the field.”

While TE Kevin Boss isn’t a burner, the Raiders will be excited to add him to the lineup after an MCL sprain kept him on the shelf for the first two weeks. Campbell might elect to attack the middle of the field with the 6’6”, 255-pounder.

“He’s a very good receiving tight end. He does a good job using his body, getting open,” Smith said. “He’s not necessarily as fast as those guys, but he does a good job getting open and being like a possession tight end.”

The Raiders offensive line, considered a question mark before the season, has allowed just one sack and Campbell has solid feet. Darren McFadden (42 carries, 222 yards, 5.3 avg., 1 TD) and Michael Bush (13-53-4.1-1) provide a nice speed-power 1-2 punch at RB and the Raiders will challenge the Jets’ stout rush defense.

“McFadden is a good back. He can hit the home run any play,” Harris said. “He’s a tall [6’2”, 220], fast guy who likes to run on the perimeter. But they also have a good running back in Michael Bush [6’1” 246], who’s come in and is more of their inside, powerful runner. They have a good overall offense. They can hit the deep ball on you anytime with those speedy wide receivers and Jason Campbell can make any throw, so we have to be on our ‘A’ game.”

This is a far different offense from the bunch the Jets dominated by 38-0 at the Coliseum in 2009. Former No. 1 pick JaMarcus Russell turned the ball over three times in the first half of that shutout and the Raiders gave it away four times overall. But the Jets’ goal will be the same: Turn it over and get out of Northern California with another win.

Sione Pouha Puts In His Two PDs’ Worth

So who were the major contributors to the Jets defense’s Sunday smothering of Luke McCown, whose 1.8 passer rating is the lowest of the last three seasons for all QBs with at least 15 passes in a game?

Well, there was Antonio Cromartie, of course, who had the fifth multi-pick game of his career and his first twofer since Game 3 of the 2008 season for the San Diego Chargers against a certain Jets quarterback with the name of Favre.

Then there was Eric Smith, who had his first interception since 2009. And there was LB Josh Mauga, who came up with his first pro pick.

But after those guys, who else, who else …

Pouha, perhaps?

Sione Pouha continues to show that he’s a pigskin magnet. Against Dallas he made it three fumble recoveries in two opening days, and a big one it was, coming in the shadow of the Jets goal line in the fourth quarter. And against the Jaguars, Big Bo was a brick wall for McCown passes coming over the middle.

On the Jaguar’s first pass of the game, Pouha stuck up his left hand and swatted the ball to the MetLife Stadium turf. And on the first pass of the second quarter, McCown tried to find Mike Thomas over the middle, Pouha elevated with that killshot left hand, and got a piece of the ball — with his left shoulder pad.

“I’ve been working on my volleyball skills,” Pouha told me afterward. “I played in high school. We all played volleyball. I played outside hitter. Now I’m an inside hitter.”

As a result Pouha achieved a rarity for a D-lineman — a two-PD game. Only nine other times since 2000 has a Jets lineman broken up at least two passes in a game. Shane Burton, a pass and kick blocker extraordinaire, had a pair of three-PD games, and the dearly departed (for New England) Shaun Ellis had four two-breakup games.

But the only true inside linemen to do it in that span before Pouha were Steve Martin in 2001 at Oakland and C.J. Mosley (who in fact played for the Jaguars vs. the Jets on Sunday) at New England in 2008.

As for McCown’s microscopic rating, Pouha said: “Big ups to the DBs, to those guys. They did their thing, everybody did his job. It was a great effort by us, plus we can improve.”

Not good news if you’re Jason Campbell, up next against the Jets D at O.co Coliseum this weekend.

Yes, O.co … Et Al

The Jets and Raiders will be playing at the same stadium they’ve (almost) always played in, popularly known as the Oakland Coliseum, but it will be the first regular-season game for the Raiders, in their home opener, under the place’s new name, O.co, which took effect June 6.

The Green & White have played the Silver & Black under two of the previous Coliseum names, Oakland–Alameda County and Network Associates. But despite their frequent trips to the Black Hole over the last two decades, they never played at McAfee Coliseum (2004-07) and no football was ever played at Overstock.com, a name that lasted about a month and a half earlier this year.

The Jets/Titans also played road games against the Raiders at Kezar Stadium (1960) and Candlestick Park (’61) in San Francisco, at Frank Youell Field in Oakland (1962-65), and, in the La-La years, at Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles (1982, ’85 and ’93).

So for those scoring at home, the Jets have played at the Raiders under seven different stadium names at five different venues.

Welcome Back

The Jets have announced this afternoon that they have filled the two practice squad spots that opened up Monday with two names familiar to Jets fans from the summer — seventh-round WR Scotty McKnight and LB Matt Berning.

Rankings Report

Here is where the Jets stack up in different categories after two weeks of the NFL season:

The overall offense is ranked 21st in yards per game, the Jets’ lowest since they were 29th after two weeks last season.

The rushing O is 28th in yards per game (and 27th in yards per attempt). The last time the Jets ground game was ranked lower was when they were 29th after five weeks in 2007.

The passing offense is 13th in net yards per game, the third-highest weekly ranking for Mark Sanchez’s offense behind last week’s seventh and the No. 9 position after the ’09 season opener at Houston.

The overall defense is eighth in yards allowed per game, back in the top 10 after starting out at 23rd due to yielding 390 yards to Dallas in the opener. The Jets’ D has been in the NFL’s top 10 for 28 of the 36 weeks of the Rex Ryan/Mike Pettine regime.

The rushing defense is ninth in yards allowed per game, marking the 21st consecutive top 10 week for the run D.

The passing defense is No. 1 in the league in interception percentage. The Jets have intercepted 8.2 percent of opponents’ passes (five out of 61). They’re also first in interception-return yards, 96, mostly as the Cro flies.

And scoring defense is third in points allowed per game, marking the 12th week under Ryan/Pettine that the Jets have had a top-three scoring defense.

Finally, the Jets are third in the NFL in something I like to call YPPD — Yards Per Point Differential — that measures how efficiently teams score points against yards from scrimmage gained and allow points against yards from scrimmage allowed. The No. 1 team in the NFL is Houston, No. 2 is Detroit. New England is seventh and Buffalo ninth.

200K Tweetahs

One more note: Thanks to all Jets fans who are tweeting along with the Green & White. This morning the Jets’ Twitter account cleared 200,000 followers.

Just Can’t Wait to Get on the Road Again

Updated, 6:30 p.m. ET

My good friend Steve Serby from the New York Post popped the question to Rex Ryan today: To what do you attribute your success on the road?

You know Rex wasn’t going to blink at that question.

“If you bring a good team with you, you’ve got a chance,” Ryan said at his news conference today about 24 hours after the conclusion of Sunday’s second home win of the season by 32-3 over the Jaguars. “I think that’s the big thing. What we bring to the road is that we’re bringing a good team with us. We’re not intimated by any of the surroundings we’re going into. We’ve been together now for a third year and we know what it takes to prepare to go to the West Coast.”

That of course is a good thing because the Jets are about to begin preparations to embark on a most unusual three-game road trip in this still most unusual NFL season. It’s unusual for the Jets because they don’t normally play three away games in a row in the regular season. In fact, the last time it happened was in the early Eighties.

But the Jets have gotten much experience at these extended stays in NFL America due to their playoff exposure, which has given them unscheduled three-game road trips in the ’09 and ’10 postseasons.

And there’s no question Rex knows road. His away record as Jets head coach including those playoff games is a sterling 15-7 record. Not only is that the best road record among all head coaches in franchise history but he’s one of only two Jets field bosses to have a road record of better than .500. (The other: Bill Parcells at 13-12.)

But this trip looms large in the Jets’ 2011 season. Arguably, it could have a lot to say about the Jets’ ’11 season. The three-pack:

At Oakland (1-1) — The Raiders are improved from recent years, it’s their home opener, they’re packing the No. 4 rushing attack led by No. 2 NFL rusher Darren McFadden, and they’d no doubt love some payback for the Jets’ 38-0 whitewash administered at the stadium formerly known as Oakland Coliseum in 2009.

At Baltimore (1-1) — Another big Rex game, since he’s lost to his former employers twice (2009 preseason, 2010 regular-season opener). Jets are 0-3 all-time at the Ravens. And the Birds will be returning home off their own two-game road trip after opening with an impressive 35-7 thumping of the Steelers at M&T Bank Stadium.

At New England (2-0) — The Jets have shown themselves to be perhaps the NFL’s most adept team at winning at Gillette Stadium, since they’ve done it three times in the previous five seasons, including last season’s remarkable 28-21 AFC Divisional Round triumph. But the fact remains that in the regular season the Patriots have ruled their roost with 18 consecutive wins including Sunday’s 35-21 powering down of the Chargers.

One more factor to keep in mind, which is actually logical and yet the numbers bear it out, is that teams with three-game RS road trips find it harder to win Game 2 than Game 1 and Game 3 than Game 2.

There have been 36 scheduled three-game trips in the NFL since 2000. The teams involved in those trips have a robust winning percentage of .639 (23-13) in the first games of those trips. In the second games the figure slips to .444 (16-20), and in the third games the road-weary warriors’ success rate goes down to .389 (14-22).

It’s a tough road to hoe, but the Jets are getting ready to take it away. Yet just in case there’s any doubt, Ryan assured reporters and fans: “We’re confident on the road … but we’d much rather play at home.”

Injury Report

Ryan’s normally optimistic about his players’ return to action, so his day-after prognosis on Nick Mangold’s high ankle sprain said a lot.

“I would say his status for the game would be … very iffy,” Ryan said of his seemingly indestructible center.

“With that being said,” the coach added, “he thinks he can go. … I wouldn’t count him out. He’s a tough guy. The trainers will always do what’s in the best interests of the player. We’ll never put a guy out there who shouldn’t be out there.”

Andrew LeRay writes further about Mangold and his replacement for the last three quarters of Sunday’s win over the Jaguars, Colin Baxter. That story is now live on newyorkjets.com.

Ryan said three starters who were questionable for the Jags but started as usual came out of the game “no worse now than they were”: LB David Harris, WR Santonio Holmes and S Eric Smith.

Rex Cetera

Here’s a trivia question significant of nothing but still interesting: When was the last time the Jets started the season 2-0 and had seven takeaways in the two wins? The answer is that while the Jets have had 10 two-win starts in their history and while they’ve had 10 starts with at least seven takeaways in their first two games, they haven’t put those two pieces together in the same season since 1968. We all know what happened that year.

Ryan said the main reason Plaxico Burress had no receptions Sunday was because the Jaguars respected the heck out of the big wideout. That manifested itself in the Jags’ coverage. “Almost every snap in that game he was doubled, almost every snap,” Rex said. “Does he still have that respect? Absolutely. He’s a special player and people know it.”

Another OL alignment just in case would be LG Matt Slauson going to C and Caleb Schlauderaff going to LG. As for bringing in another O-lineman from outside, Ryan said, “I’m comfortable with the guys we have. I feel good about who we have.” … Early this evening the Jets announced they have released G Trevor Canfield and CB Julian Posey from their practice squad.