NEW YORK JETS DAILY CLIPS

September 3, 2014

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Table of Contents

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

Jets S Allen cleared, says he'll start at CB (Dennis Waszak) ...................................................................................... 2

NEWSDAY .............................................................................................................................................................. 3

Michael Vick to do weekly spot on WFAN with Mike Francesa (Neil Best) ............................................................... 3

Former Jet Stephen Hill signed to Panthers' practice squad (Kimberley Martin) ..................................................... 4

Antonio Allen cleared for debut at cornerback (Kimberley Martin) ......................................................................... 5

THE RECORD .......................................................................................................................................................... 5

Jets look ahead: Raiders (J.P. Pelzman) ..................................................................................................................... 6

Jets: Newbie on the corner (J.P. Pelzman) ................................................................................................................ 6

STAR-LEDGER ......................................................................................................................................................... 7

Jets 53-man roster, position-by-position: How it looks after all of the weekend's transactions (Darryl Slater) ....... 7

Antonio Allen out of red (non-contact) jersey at Jets practice, Dee Milliner still sidelined (Darryl Slater) ............ 10

Calvin Pryor on his debut in Jets-Raiders: 'I expect they'll try to go after me here and there' (Darryl Slater)........ 10

Jets complete practice squad by adding rookies Quincy Enunwa, Jeremiah George (Darryl Slater) ...................... 12

Has Darrin Walls improved enough at securing interceptions? Jets-Raiders could test that question (Darryl Slater) ...................................................................................................................................................................... 13

NJ.COM ................................................................................................................................................................ 14

Antonio Allen to start at cornerback for Jets against Raiders (Dom Cosentino) ..................................................... 14

Muhammad Wilkerson still mum on contract after J.J. Watt gets big extension (Dom Cosentino) ....................... 15

Jets' IK Enemkpali has plantar fascia injury; Nick Bellore says he'll play against Raiders (Dom Cosentino) ........... 16

NEW YORK POST .................................................................................................................................................. 17

Jets can look forward to crashing Raiders rookie Carr’s debut (Brian Costello) ..................................................... 17

Jets preview: More weapons doesn’t mean more wins (Brian Costello) ................................................................ 17

Up to Jets, Giants to rescue New York from sports depression (Mike Vaccaro) ..................................................... 21

Antonio Allen talks big game about Week 1 start at corner (Brian Costello) .......................................................... 22

Up to new WR to earn his paycheck, lead receiving corps (Mark Cannizzaro) ....................................................... 23

Jets mum on cornerback Dimitri Patterson (Brian Costello) ................................................................................... 25

How J.J. Watt’s big deal could help Wilkerson break the bank (Brian Costello) ..................................................... 26

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS ...................................................................................................................................... 26

NY Jets backup QB Michael Vick gets spot on WFAN with Mike Francesa (Seth Walder) ...................................... 26

In NFL Week 1, NY Jets defense needs to put Raiders rookie QB Derek Carr in his place (Manish Mehta) ............ 27

NY Jets cornerbacks prepared to be targets (Seth Walder) .................................................................................... 29

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WALL STREET JOURNAL ....................................................................................................................................... 30

Jets Secondary Isn't as Defenseless as It Seems (Alex Raskin) ................................................................................ 30

ESPN NEW YORK .................................................................................................................................................. 32

Antonio Allen gets call at corner (Mike Mazzeo) .................................................................................................... 32

Adams prepares to face Carr, Raiders again (Mike Mazzeo) ................................................................................... 33

What Carr should expect: 'Pure dominance' (Rich Cimini) ...................................................................................... 33

METRO NEW YORK .............................................................................................................................................. 35

Jets expect to make playoffs after sitting on sidelines for three years (Kristian Dyer) ........................................... 35

Antonio Allen returns to practice (Kristian Dyer) .................................................................................................... 35

TUESDAY’S SPORTS TRANSACTIONS .................................................................................................................... 36

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Jets S Allen cleared, says he'll start at CB (Dennis Waszak) Associated Press September 2, 2014

http://pro32.ap.org/article/jets-s-allen-cleared-says-hell-start-cb

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — The experiment in the New York Jets' secondary is about to get its first true test.

Safety Antonio Allen was medically cleared after suffering a concussion on Aug. 22, and has been told he will start at cornerback in the regular-season opener against the Oakland Raiders on Sunday.

"I feel good," Allen said Tuesday. "I'm ready to go, ready to play ball."

It appeared to be a bit of a desperate move in training camp when the Jets switched Allen from safety to cornerback because of injuries in the secondary. Defensive coordinator Dennis Thurman called it an "experiment" at the time.

Now, it's a reality. Allen, in his third season, will be making his first NFL start at cornerback.

"I feel pretty good with my preparation," Allen said. "Went out there and had a decent day today. I didn't give up any deep balls, just competed well, and hopefully I can do that in the game."

The Jets are counting on that.

"I wouldn't say I'm comfortable," Allen said, "but I'm getting there."

And, as for the other cornerback spot, that's still a bit unsettled.

Dee Milliner, expected to be the top cornerback in his second season, is still recovering from a high ankle sprain that has his status uncertain. Dimitri Patterson, signed in April to start opposite Milliner, is no longer with the team after an unexcused 48-hour absence led to him missing a game, being suspended and ultimately cut. Third-round draft pick Dexter McDougle, expected to be a major contributor, is done for the season after tearing a knee ligament during camp.

The Jets have also tinkered with the roster, bringing in Leon McFadden, formerly of Cleveland, and Phillip Adams, who was with Seattle, to add depth to the cornerback spot.

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So, it could come down to career backup Darrin Walls starting with Allen at cornerback against rookie Derek Carr. It all has some fans downright nervous, wishing for the days when their team had Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie prowling the secondary.

"No panic at all for us," safety Dawan Landry said. "We're the guys that play the game, so we approach it that way. We can't worry about outside sources. The game is played on the field, not played on paper."

Allen played linebacker and safety in college at South Carolina, but has been working at cornerback this summer before he injured his head when he collided with teammate Demario Davis against the Giants.

"It's been going pretty well," Allen said of the transition. "Safeties know the defense, and as a safety, you've got to tell the corners what to do, so I've pretty much got the scheme down for what the corners are supposed to do."

Allen, able to shed the red no-contact jersey he wore Friday, realizes that opposing quarterbacks will look at the Jets' cornerbacks and could test him immediately.

"Maybe," he said. "I hope so."

After Carr and the Raiders, the Jets take on a stretch of pass-happy teams that includes Green Bay, Chicago, Detroit, San Diego, Denver and New England in consecutive weeks.

"I haven't looked at the quarterbacks," Allen said, "but I'll be ready when they throw the ball my way."

Allen trusts his athletic abilities to make a seamless transition. And, Walls, who has four career starts, including three last season, isn't worried about the two of them being a so-called glaring weakness in the Jets' secondary.

"People can look at it like, 'Yeah, these guys are inexperienced,' or whatever, but I have confidence in us and I have confidence in our coaching staff," Walls said. "They're not going to put us out there in situations that we can't handle. I think we're pretty good guys when it comes to being corners, so I don't think there should be a panic at all."

Walls had a solid summer, but one knock has been his inability to hold on to the ball and make interceptions. So, he has been working with former New York safety Eric Smith, now an intern with the coaching staff. Smith has been acting as a quarterback, helping Walls sharpen his breaks on balls and overall instincts. He has also spent a lot of time catching passes after practices.

"I think I'm a lot better than I was last year," said Walls, who has one interception in 27 games. "I've watched a couple of games last preseason and I watched this preseason and I think I've improved tremendously."

Walls is also in the strange position of suddenly being one of the veterans in the Jets' secondary.

"We look at it as a challenge," Walls said. "Everyone pays attention to the secondary and puts so much emphasis on the secondary, and we look at it like, 'Well, they can say whatever they want about us. We've got to go out here and prove them right or prove them wrong.'

"And that's what's going to happen."

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NEWSDAY

Michael Vick to do weekly spot on WFAN with Mike Francesa (Neil Best) Newsday September 2, 2014

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http://www.newsday.com/sports/media/michael-vick-to-do-weekly-spot-on-wfan-with-mike-francesa-1.9207036

If all goes well for Geno Smith and the Jets, Michael Vick will not see much, if any, action this season. But he will have a regular spot on Mike Francesa's radio show.

The WFAN host announced Tuesday that starting next week, the backup quarterback will join him on Tuesdays, a seemingly improbable notion given Vick's status on the depth chart and Francesa's long-strained relationship with the team.

"I'm surprised by that myself," Francesa said on the air. "It was started by the Vick camp. They wanted to do something this year on Tuesdays. I'm glad to do it with them. We will have Vick with us every week, I believe on Tuesdays.

"And remarkably the Jets said yes. That surprised me. We held it up because we didn't know if the Jets would say yes. They did. It was something the Vick camp came to us with and we were glad to do it. I'm looking forward to it."

The Giants' Eli Manning also appears weekly on Francesa's show.

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Former Jet Stephen Hill signed to Panthers' practice squad (Kimberley Martin) Newsday September 2, 2014

http://www.newsday.com/sports/football/jets/former-jet-stephen-hill-signed-to-panthers-practice-squad-1.9210473

FLORHAM PARK. N.J. - Stephen Hill has a new home.

A day after working out for Carolina, the Panthers signed the former Jets receiver to their practice squad Tuesday.

However, the news wasn't a surprise. During a recent interview with Newsday, Hill's agent, Alan Herman, said he expected the Panthers or Browns -- two receiver-needy teams -- to show interest in his client. Herman also represented Panthers receivers coach Ricky Proehl during his playing days.

The Jets moved up to draft Hill 43rd overall in 2012, but his time in Florham Park ended on Saturday. The wideout wound up on injured reserve the past two seasons and caught only 45 passes for 594 yards and four touchdowns in 23 games.

Decker believes in offense

The Jets finally have more playmakers on offense, but will the offseason additions yield more points? Free-agent pickup Eric Decker believes so. "I can't speak on what happened last year, but we feel that we have the ability to do good things," he said. "Every year is different. I feel like this year, offensively, we're going to be a lot better than we were last year.

"I can't assume what's going to happen. I can't give you numbers. I can't give you speculation. But I can say that we are confident going into this year and letting all that work speak for itself."

Jet streams

The Jets' practice squad is complete after signing rookie draft picks Quincy Enunwa and Jeremiah George . . . As of Tuesday morning, the Jets have over $21 million in cap space, second only to the Jaguars.

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Antonio Allen cleared for debut at cornerback (Kimberley Martin) Newsday September 2, 2014

http://www.newsday.com/sports/football/jets/antonio-allen-cleared-for-debut-at-cornerback-1.9210591

FLORHAM PARK. N.J. - The bright light in the Jets' bleak cornerback situation is this: Antonio Allen has been medically cleared to face the Raiders on Sunday for his first NFL start at corner.

The converted safety delivered the news Tuesday, hours after his first practice without a red, non-contact jersey.

"I'm ready to go and play ball," he said. "I feel pretty good with my preparation. Went out there, had a pretty decent day. I didn't give up any deep balls, just competed well. And hopefully, I can do that in the game."

Allen hadn't addressed the media since suffering a concussion Aug. 22 against the Giants. It was a "friendly fire" hit by a teammate, Allen said, and it sent the Jets scurrying to find more depth at corner.

Their secondary is in flux after the departures of cornerbacks Dimitri Patterson and Ellis Lankster and the recent signings of Leon McFadden and Phillip Adams. Rookie Dexter McDougle was lost for the year after tearing a knee ligament in training camp, and starter Dee Milliner is still rehabbing a high ankle sprain.

Milliner and Kyle Wilson are the only corners on the roster who played at least 400 snaps last season, according to ESPN Stats and Information. But the inexperience doesn't appear to be an issue in the locker room.

"We'll get it done," safety Dawan Landry said. "The new guys that we brought in, they obviously have the ability to play in this league."

Sunday will be the first official test for this makeshift group, and the game is personal for Adams. The fifth-year cornerback spent two seasons in Oakland before joining Seattle this summer. On Thursday, Raiders rookie quarterback Derek Carr burned him for a 36-yard touchdown. On Saturday, Adams was released.

"He kind of came at me last week," Adams said of Carr, who will start over Matt Schaub after leading four scoring drives against Seattle. "I'm looking forward to the matchup.''

Adams primarily has played in the slot during his career, but he said he can play inside and outside. The Jets hope that's true, because they need him to get up to speed ASAP.

"Hopefully, I won't go out there not knowing any of the terminology," he said. "My goal is to know everything. It's going to be hard. But I'm going to try.''

While he and McFadden study, each of the other defensive backs is preparing not to be the weak link. Former backup Darrin Walls, whose reps increased recently, said he understands the doubts of outsiders.

" 'Double A' [Antonio Allen] hasn't taken any snaps at corner in a real game,'' Walls said. "I started three games. So people can look at it and say, 'Yeah, these guys are inexperienced.' But I have confidence and I have confidence in our coaching staff. They're not going to put us out there in situations we can't handle."

Landry shrugged when asked about the naysayers. "No panic at all for us," he said.

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THE RECORD

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Jets look ahead: Raiders (J.P. Pelzman) The Record September 2, 2014

http://www.northjersey.com/sports/249231911_Jets_release_CB_Antonio_Cromartie_to_Cromartie.html

Raiders (0-0) at Jets (0-0)

At MetLife Stadium

Sunday, 1 p.m.

TV: CBS

Radio: ESPN-FM 98.7

Early line: Jets by 5

Year Two of the Geno Smith era opens with the Jets facing a rookie QB trying to do what Smith did last season, win while making his NFL debut in a season opener. But Oakland’s Derek Carr faces long odds — rookie signal-callers are 1-7 in their first starts against the Jets under Rex Ryan. They have compiled a 61.1 passer rating and have completed only 48.3 percent of their passes.

In the spotlight

Jets CB Antonio Allen. He will be making his first start at the position, less than a month after the Jets moved him from safety because of their multiple injuries at corner. Allen suffered a concussion in the Aug. 22 loss to the Giants, and thus lost valuable practice time at his new position before being cleared for full contact Tuesday. Carr figures to test him early.

Game plan

Smith ran a mostly vanilla offense during the preseason, and it will be interesting to see if coordinator Marty Mornhinweg opens things up a little, or relies on RBs Chris Johnson, Chris Ivory and Bilal Powell. The injury-ravaged secondary will need the front seven to put pressure on Carr, and look for Ryan to show some confusing looks to the second-round pick from Fresno State. The Jets also need to clamp down on RB Maurice Jones-Drew, the former Jacksonville star taking over as Oakland’s featured back. Former Giant Justin Tuck is expected to start at LDE for a Raiders’ defense that struggled in a 37-27 loss to the Jets last year.

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Jets: Newbie on the corner (J.P. Pelzman) The Record September 2, 2014

http://www.northjersey.com/sports/football/newbie-on-the-corner-1.1079756

FLORHAM PARK — Antonio Allen has been playing cornerback for less than a month, yet he’s expected to start at that position Sunday against Oakland in the regular-season opener.

The third-year Jet showed Tuesday that although he has limited time at his new position, he has plenty of experience in Rex Ryan’s system.

Not merely physically, but emotionally.

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When asked if he believes opposing quarterbacks will pick on him, Allen replied, "Maybe. I hope so. … I’ll be ready when they throw the ball my way."

In other words, bring it on.

That’s been the attitude of Ryan and his beleaguered, injury-depleted secondary as they prepare for the 2014 campaign.

The Jets appear to have caught a break in the first game, as the visiting Raiders have announced they will start second-round pick Derek Carr, a raw rookie who could turn out to be easy pickings against Ryan’s sophisticated coverage schemes and complicated blitz packages.

But after that, barring any injuries, Gang Green will be facing the likes of Aaron Rodgers, Jay Cutler, Matthew Stafford, Philip Rivers, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady in consecutive weeks.

If the Jets keep former safety Allen in his new role, he’ll receive some interesting on-the-job training facing those quarterbacks.

Allen, who suffered a concussion against the Giants on Aug. 22, practiced full Tuesday for the first time since before that game.

"I wouldn’t say I’m comfortable," he said, referring to his new position, "but I’m getting there.

"I feel pretty good with my preparation," he said. "Went out there and had a decent day [Tuesday]. I didn’t give up any deep balls, just competed well, and hopefully I can do that in the game."

It’s a bit less clear who’ll start opposite Allen at the other cornerback spot.

Projected No. 1 corner Dee Milliner (high ankle sprain) hasn’t returned to practice, and it’s unlikely he’ll play.

Fourth-year pro Darrin Walls appears to be in line to get the start. He sat out the preseason finale at Philadelphia last week, and that’s a privilege Ryan historically has reserved for first-stringers.

"We look at it as a challenge," Walls said of the negative attention being garnered by the defensive backs. "Everyone pays attention to the secondary and puts so much emphasis on the secondary, and we look at it like, ‘Well, they can say whatever they want about us. We’ve got to go out here and prove them right or prove them wrong.’

"And that’s what’s going to happen."

Fifth-year cornerback Phillip Adams, signed two days after being released by Seattle, practiced for the first time with the Jets on Tuesday.

He gave up a 36-yard touchdown pass to Carr in the Seahawks’ preseason finale against the Raiders on Thursday.

"It was all on me," he said of that play, noting he got caught looking at a play-action fake.

However, he also tipped a pass that resulted in an interception and a touchdown for teammate DeShawn Shead. That play came against third-stringer Matt McGloin.

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STAR-LEDGER

Jets 53-man roster, position-by-position: How it looks after all of the weekend's transactions (Darryl Slater)

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Star-Ledger September 2, 2014

http://www.nj.com/jets/index.ssf/2014/09/jets_53-man_roster_how_it_looks_after_all_of_the_weekends_transactions.html

With Labor Day weekend complete, the Jets are fast approaching Sunday's regular season opener against the Raiders.

It was a busy weekend, transaction-wise, for the Jets. Saturday brought most of their cuts, as they trimmed their active roster from 75 players to 53.

Sunday and Monday brought a few waiver claims, some more cuts, and the formation of a practice squad, which now numbers eight players, leaving two more spots open. (Don't be surprised if they are soon filled by two rookies who were released over the weekend: linebacker Jeremiah George and wide receiver Quincy Enunwa. And sure enough, on Tuesday, the Jets put both players on the practice squad.)

On Saturday evening, we brought you a complete analysis of the Jets' 53-man roster. Obviously, some things have changed since then.

The Jets claimed cornerback Leon McFadden, cornerback Phillip Adams and wide receiver Walter Powell off waivers. To make room for those players, the Jets cut cornerback LeQuan Lewis, Enunwa and George. The Jets also cut cornerback Ellis Lankster and brought back linebacker A.J. Edds, who was cut Saturday. Here is a good explanation from Dom Cosentino about why the Jets made the Lankster-Edds swap.

OK, so after all that, what does the Jets' position-by-position 53-man roster look like? Funny you should ask. Here is what it looks like.

Note that, after all of the additional cuts and acquisitions, following Saturday's cuts, the Jets still have the same number of players at each position on their 53-man active roster. They essentially swapped a receiver for a receiver (Powell/Enunwa), two cornerbacks for two cornerbacks (McFadden and Adams/Lankster and Lewis) and a linebacker for a linebacker (Edds/George).

QUARTERBACK (2): Geno Smith, Michael Vick

ALREADY CUT: Nobody

FINAL CUTS: Tajh Boyd, Matt Simms

PRACTICE SQUAD: Matt Simms

RUNNING BACK (3): Chris Johnson, Chris Ivory, Bilal Powell

ALREADY CUT: Michael Smith

FINAL CUTS: Alex Green, Daryl Richardson

PRACTICE SQUAD: Daryl Richardson

FULLBACK (1): Tommy Bohanon

ALREADY CUT: Chad Young

FINAL CUTS: Nobody

TIGHT END (3): Jeff Cumberland, Jace Amaro, Zach Sudfeld

ALREADY CUT: Colin Anderson

FINAL CUTS: Chris Pantale

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PRACTICE SQUAD: Chris Pantale

WIDE RECEIVER (7): Eric Decker, Jeremy Kerley, David Nelson, Jalen Saunders, Greg Salas, Saalim Hakim, Walter Powell

ALREADY CUT: Jacoby Ford, Michael Campbell

FINAL CUTS: Stephen Hill, Clyde Gates

ADDITIONAL CUTS: Quincy Enunwa

PRACTICE SQUAD: Quincy Enunwa

OFFENSIVE LINE (9): Nick Mangold, D'Brickashaw Ferguson, Willie Colon, Brian Winters, Oday Aboushi, Breno Giacomini, Dalton Freeman, Dakota Dozier, Ben Ijalana

ALREADY CUT: Bruce Campbell, Patrick Ford, Markus Zusevics

FINAL CUTS: Brent Qvale, Caleb Schlauderaff, Will Campbell

PRACTICE SQUAD: Brent Qvale

DEFENSIVE LINE (6): Sheldon Richardson, Muhammad Wilkerson, Leger Douzable, Damon Harrison, Kenrick Ellis, T.J. Barnes

ALREADY CUT: Anthony Grady

FINAL CUTS: Zach Thompson, Kerry Hyder, Tevita Finau

PRACTICE SQUAD: Kerry Hyder, Tevita Finau

LINEBACKER (9): Quinton Coples, David Harris, Demario Davis, Calvin Pace, Nick Bellore, Jason Babin, IK Enemkpali, Trevor Reilly, A.J. Edds

ALREADY CUT: Steele Divitto

FINAL CUTS: Troy Davis, A.J. Edds, Garrett McIntyre

PUP (doesn't count against 53): Antwan Barnes

ADDITIONAL CUTS: Jeremiah George

PRACTICE SQUAD: Jeremiah George

CORNERBACK (5): Dee Milliner, Darrin Walls, Kyle Wilson, Phillip Adams, Leon McFadden

ALREADY CUT: Ras-I Dowling

FINAL CUTS: Jeremy Reeves, Johnny Patrick, Brandon Dixon, Dimitri Patterson

ADDITIONAL CUTS: LeQuan Lewis, Ellis Lankster

PRACTICE SQUAD: LeQuan Lewis

SAFETY (5): Antonio Allen, Dawan Landry, Calvin Pryor, Jaiquawn Jarrett, Josh Bush

ALREADY CUT: Nobody

FINAL CUTS: Rontez Miles

PRACTICE SQUAD: Rontez Miles

SPECIALISTS (3): Nick Folk, Ryan Quigley, Tanner Purdum

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ALREADY CUT: Andrew Furney, Jacob Schum

FINAL CUTS: Nobody

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Antonio Allen out of red (non-contact) jersey at Jets practice, Dee Milliner still sidelined (Darryl Slater) Star-Ledger September 2, 2014

http://www.nj.com/jets/index.ssf/2014/09/antonio_allen_out_of_red_non-contact_jersey_at_jets_practice_dee_milliner_still_sidelined.html

FLORHAM PARK -- It appears Antonio Allen is on his way to being ready to play in Sunday’s season opener against the Raiders.

Allen, who is recovering from a concussion sustained Aug. 22 in a preseason game against the Giants, practiced Tuesday without wearing a red (non-contact) jersey.

Allen, a converted safety who has been playing cornerback, wore red on Friday. Jets coach Rex Ryan said he was “very encouraged” by Allen’s progress, based on what he was able to do Friday, when he did some running.

The Jets did not practice Monday, and instead took their weekly off day, which is normally Tuesday during the regular season.

It is unclear if Allen has been cleared for full participation in practices and games, and taken out of the NFL’s post-concussion assessment protocol. Ryan is not scheduled to speak with reporters Tuesday because he held a teleconference Monday.

If Allen can play against the Raiders, he presumably would be one of the Jets’ starting cornerbacks. Darrin Walls could be the other, because Dee Milliner continues to be sidelined by a high left ankle sprain, suffered Aug. 10 during training camp.

Milliner did not participate in Monday’s practice, at least not during the 30-minute portion that was open to reporters. He worked with trainers on the side, doing some agility work and stretching. Milliner's status for the opener is very much in doubt.

Also in the rehab area with trainers Monday: backup safety Josh Bush (quadriceps), backup linebacker IK Enemkpali (foot), tight end Jeff Cumberland (Achilles tightness) and backup linebacker and special teams contributor Nick Bellore (calf).

Cumberland eventually exited the rehab area and joined his teammates for position drills. So did Walls and running backs Chris Johnson and Chris Ivory, all three of whom spent some time in the rehab area during a special teams drill.

Walls is dealing with a minor leg ailment. Johnson and Ivory typically do some work in the rehab area during the special teams portion of practice. Johnson is coming off offseason knee surgery. Ivory has dealt with periodic hamstring injuries since joining the Jets last year.

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Calvin Pryor on his debut in Jets-Raiders: 'I expect they'll try to go after me here and there' (Darryl Slater) Star-Ledger September 2, 2014

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http://www.nj.com/jets/index.ssf/2014/09/calvin_pryor_on_his_debut_in_jets-raiders_i_expect_theyll_try_to_go_after_me_here_and_there.html

FLORHAM PARK -- When Calvin Pryor played at Louisville, his coach sometimes told him stories about a player whose career path Pryor would love to follow – Charles Woodson.

Woodson played at Michigan from 1995-97, and then was drafted fourth overall in 1998 by the Raiders. Pryor does not remember Woodson’s college career. Pryor was 5 years old during Woodson’s final year at Michigan.

Vance Bedford coached defensive backs at Michigan from 1995-98. He later became Louisville’s defensive coordinator, from 2010-13, and now has that role at Texas. Though Bedford was Louisville’s coordinator, he also worked with the defensive backs, since he is a former cornerback.

During Bedford’s time with Pryor, he relayed memories about Woodson.

“He was always talking about what a great person he is and the way he prepares and the way he tries to get ready for the game,” said Pryor, the Jets’ rookie safety. “I did take heed of that. As for watching him play, I really never watched him play.”

Pryor said Bedford’s stories about Woodson involved “him being in practice and just not letting receivers catch the ball on him.”

Woodson, who will be 38 in October, is still in the NFL, in his second season back with the Raiders after seven in Green Bay. Woodson was a cornerback until 2012, when he moved to safety. Now in his 17th season, Woodson has 56 career interceptions. He is an eight-time Pro Bowler and three-time first-team All-Pro.

Woodson, second on the NFL’s all-time list with 11 career interceptions returned for touchdowns, is undoubtedly a future Hall of Famer.

It would be foolish to peg Pryor, the Jets’ first-round pick, as being destined for any of those accomplishments. Pryor hasn’t played a real NFL game yet. Woodson and Pryor didn’t even play the same position until Woodson moved to safety in 2012.

But on Sunday, when the Jets open the season at home against the Raiders, Pryor will cross paths with a player he has heard so much about.

Pryor is looking forward to his debut, even as he expects the Raiders’ quarterback, rookie Derek Carr, to target him in the secondary. Pryor will start next to ninth-year veteran Dawan Landry at safety.

“I expect they’ll try to go after me here and there,” Pryor said. “I have all the confidence in the world in myself. I’ll be ready when the time comes.”

Pryor was limited in training camp by a concussion. But he was able to play 49 snaps in the Jets’ second preseason game, against the Bengals, and 48 in the third game, against the Giants. For what it’s worth, Pro Football Focus rated Pryor the NFL’s top safety in the preseason.

Jets coach Rex Ryan, who runs the defense, used Pryor in a bunch of different ways in the preseason. Pryor had four quarterback hurries, one batted-down pass, nine solo tackles, one pass defended and zero missed tackles in the preseason, according to PFF.

Pryor’s favorite part of his role so far?

“In this defensive scheme, I love blitzing,” he said. “I would say I do feel comfortable with being in the box and blitzing a lot.”

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Playing in the box and being physical has long been one of Pryor’s strong points. It will be interesting to see how he handles whatever coverage responsibilities Ryan gives him this week, when the Jets will start converted safety Antonio Allen at one cornerback spot, and probably backup Darrin Walls at the other.

“I’ve been ready,” Pryor said.

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Jets complete practice squad by adding rookies Quincy Enunwa, Jeremiah George (Darryl Slater) Star-Ledger September 2, 2014

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

FLORHAM PARK -- As expected, the Jets on Tuesday completed their 10-member practice squad by adding wide receiver Quincy Enunwa and linebacker Jeremiah George.

Both are rookies who were cut over the weekend to make room for two of the three waiver claims the Jets made. The practice squad's maximum membership this season was increased by the NFL from eight players to 10.

The retention of Enunwa and George means the Jets have kept 10 of their 12 draft picks from this spring -- either on the 53-man active roster, injured reserve or practice squad. Here's a look at where they all landed:

ACTIVE ROSTER (6)

S Calvin Pryor (first round)

TE Jace Amaro (second round)

WR Jalen Saunders (third round)

OG Dakota Dozier (fourth round)

LB IK Enemkpali (sixth round)

LB Trevor Reilly (seventh round)

INJURED RESERVE (2)

CB Dexter McDougle (third round)

WR Shaq Evans (fourth round)

PRACTICE SQUAD (2)

LB Jeremiah George (fifth round)

WR Quincy Enunwa (sixth round)

CUT AND GONE (2)

QB Tajh Boyd (sixth round)

CB Brandon Dixon (sixth round)

And here is a look at the Jets' practice squad, as it is constituted right now:

WR Quincy Enunwa

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LB Jeremiah George

QB Matt Simms

S Rontez Miles

DT Tevita Finau

DL Kerry Hyder

OL Brent Qvale

TE Chris Pantale

RB Daryl Richardson

CB LeQuan Lewis

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Has Darrin Walls improved enough at securing interceptions? Jets-Raiders could test that question (Darryl Slater) Star-Ledger September 2, 2014

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

FLORHAM PARK – Darrin Walls remained on the field after Tuesday’s Jets practice, catching balls fired out of a Jugs machine. The passes released from Raiders quarterback Derek Carr’s hand Sunday won’t look exactly like this. Walls knows this. But until Sunday’s season opener, Walls is doing everything he can to make sure he hangs on to balls that come his way.

In an ideal situation for the Jets, Walls’ catching ability would not matter. The Jets entered training camp with Dee Milliner and Dimitri Patterson as their starting cornerbacks. Then, on Aug. 10, Milliner suffered a high left ankle sprain in practice. Twelve days later, Patterson no-showed without an excuse for a preseason game.

The Jets cut Patterson on Saturday. When they resumed practice three days later, on Tuesday, Milliner still rehabilitated with trainers on the sideline. His status for Sunday’s opener is very much in doubt.

Milliner, the ninth overall draft pick last year, will return at some point, as he attempts to build on a strong finish to an otherwise-rocky rookie season. (He had all three of his interceptions last season in the final two games.)

Patterson, a 31-year-old journeyman, is gone for good. That made another sight at Tuesday’s practice all the more welcome for the Jets. Antonio Allen, a safety who moved to cornerback after Milliner’s injury, practiced Tuesday without limitations for the first time since sustaining a concussion Aug. 22 against the Giants. Allen said he will start against the Raiders, even as he still adjusts to playing corner.

"I wouldn't say I'm comfortable, but I'm getting there," said Allen, a third-year pro with 10 career starts, including nine last season.

If Milliner can’t play Sunday, the Jets likely would start Walls opposite Allen. Walls is more familiar with cornerback than Allen, but is far from a proven player. He is in his fourth NFL season, and third with the Jets. But he has started just four games, including three last season in Milliner’s place. Walls was thrown at 32 times last year, with 19 completions against him for 164 yards, according to Pro Football Focus.

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Walls’ biggest problem, according to coach Rex Ryan, was his inability to secure interceptions. Walls was credited with six passes defended last year, but had no picks.

That’s why he stays after practice and works on the Jugs machine, and why he also spends extra time honing his technique with former Jets safety Eric Smith, a seasonal coaching intern. Smith acts as a quarterback, throwing passes that Walls breaks toward at different angles and attempts to nab.

“I think it’s a lot different in the game or in real-time speed, to simulate that kind of thing,” Walls said. “But it’s a matter of focus for me, I think.”

Walls recently watched a couple preseason games from last year, and compared them with his performance this preseason. He thought he “improved tremendously” over that time, primarily with the certainty he feels on the field when surveying an offensive formation and predicting how a play might unfold.

“I think it’s more, for me, just confidence, just believing in what I see, believing what I think is going to happen, is going to happen,” he said.

The Jets’ cornerback questions have lingered for weeks now, and they aren’t going away any time soon. Not with the likelihood that Allen and Walls will be the starters Sunday. The Jets’ other defenders recognize that the uncertainty in the secondary is very real, even as they try to put it aside.

“I can’t be out there on the field and have doubt in my mind about guys holding it down on the back end,” said defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson. “The best thing I can do is not worry about it. Then if the game comes and it’s presenting a problem, we’ll address the problem on the sideline. No need to put any pressure on (the cornerbacks) or put a target on their back, because they know they’ve got something to prove. It’s an opportunity for those guys to come in and make plays.”

Allen and Walls could have chances to do it against the Raiders, who will start rookie Derek Carr.

“We throw a lot of things at quarterbacks – different coverages, different packages,” Walls said. “He’s probably going to have a hard time reading a lot of those things.”

Ryan’s defense usually requires heavy lifting from his cornerbacks, by putting them in one-on-one coverages with little to no help behind them. Just two years ago, the Jets began the season with Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie as their cornerbacks – the best corner in the NFL, and an established veteran, respectively.

The Jets’ cornerbacks now approach their vastly different situation, and the doubts about it, “as a challenge,” Walls said.

“They can say whatever they want about us, but we’ve got to go out here and prove them right or prove them wrong,” he said. “That’s what’s going to happen. (Allen) hasn’t taken a snap at corner in a real game. I started three games. So people can look at it and say, ‘yeah, those guys are inexperienced,’ but I have confidence in us. I don’t think it should be a panic at all.”

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NJ.COM

Antonio Allen to start at cornerback for Jets against Raiders (Dom Cosentino) NJ.com September 2, 2014

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

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FLORHAM PARK -- It's official: The Jets' Week 1 starter at one of their cornerback spots will be a safety who's been practicing at corner for less than three weeks, including more than a week in which he didn't practice at all because of a concussion.

Antonio Allen, out since Aug. 22 with a concussion, practiced Tuesday without having to wear a red no-contact jersey. He had worn the red jersey on Friday during his only other practice since getting concussed.

And after practice, Allen said he was fully cleared medically and that would start when the Jets host the Raiders on Sunday at 1 p.m.

"I feel good," Allen said. "I'm ready to go."

So there you have it. As recently as Aug. 10, Allen was in training camp working to be a safety, the position was drafted to play when the Jets took him in the seventh round in 2012. But injuries that day to Dee Milliner (high ankle sprain) and Dexter McDougle (torn ACL), plus all the issues with the since-released Dimitri Patterson (leg, AWOL) forced the Jets to get creative and move Allen over to corner. And now he'll be starting a season opener, with Darrin Walls likely manning the other side.

The Jets are confident they can make it work, even if a sizable portion of the fan base might be inclined to put on a blindfold and light a cigarette shortly before kickoff Sunday.

"Safeties know the defense, and as a safety you have to tell the corners what to do, so I've pretty much got the scheme down for what the corners are supposed to do," Allen said. "Once you get out there, it's like mano e mano; you've got no help."

In a strange twist of fate, Allen had been cut by the Jets when they set their final roster at the start of his rookie season. He was added to the practice squad a day later, and the Jets promoted Allen to the active roster that October after—guess who?—cornerback Darrelle Revis went on injured reserve after tearing his ACL. Revis, who was traded to the Bucs in April 2013 and now plays for the Patriots, would not play another game in a Jets uniform.

Two weeks ago, defensive coordinator Dennis Thurman—a former NFL cornerback—called the use of Allen at corner "an experiment," adding that the Jets are "not sure how far it’s going to go."

But with Patterson having since been cut, and Milliner still not practicing because of his injury, the Jets have little choice but to carry the Allen experiment into the regular season. They get rookie quarterback Derek Carr on Sunday. But after that, they have to face (in order) Aaron Rodgers, Jay Cutler, Matthew Stafford, Philip Rivers, Peyton Manning, and Tom Brady.

Allen said he's still adjusting.

"I wouldn't say I'm comfortable, but I'm getting there," Allen said. "I feel like I'm getting there."

Asked if he thought teams might look to target him, Allen said, "Maybe. I hope so. I haven't taken a look at the quarterbacks [the Jets will face], but I'll be ready when they throw the ball my way."

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Muhammad Wilkerson still mum on contract after J.J. Watt gets big extension (Dom Cosentino) NJ.com September 2, 2014

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

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FLORHAM PARK -- One of the reasons the Jets are sitting on approximately $20 million in cap space is the likelihood that one day they'll have to lock down some of their young stars once those young stars' rookie contracts expire.

Most prominent in that group is the Jets' best player, defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson, who is under contract for the next two seasons, including a team option for 2015. And now, just days before the Jets open the season against the Raiders, there's a baseline from which both sides can work: The Texans late Monday night came reached an agreement with J.J. Watt, their star defensive end, on an extension reportedly worth more than $50 million in guaranteed money with a max length of up to six years.

Not that Wilkerson, a Linden native, wants to talk much about this stuff. Asked about Watt's deal and how it might affect his own, Wilkerson approached the question as if it were just another overmatched offensive lineman. Which, going back to the spring, is pretty much Wilkerson's way of talking about any contract details to anyone who asks.

"Congrats to him," Wilkerson said of Watt. "That's about it."

Watt, like Wilkerson, entered the league as a first-round draft pick in 2011, the first year of the new collective bargaining agreement that mandated all draftees receive four-year deals, with first rounders also getting a team option for a fifth.

If Watt isn't the league's best defensive player, he's certainly in the conversation. Wilkerson's next deal might not be in Watt's stratosphere, but it ought to be for a lot more than the $1.2 million he's due to make this year and the $6.7 million his 2015 option year calls for, per overthecap.com.

The Jets, if they so wanted, could then franchise Wilkerson in 2016 to keep him from testing his market value for the first six seasons of his career. Does Watt getting a new deal place any urgency on the Jets to do the same for Wilkerson?

Wilkerson wouldn't say.

"That's something you've got to ask the people upstairs," Wilkerson said. "Right now, I'm focused on the Oakland Raiders."

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Jets' IK Enemkpali has plantar fascia injury; Nick Bellore says he'll play against Raiders (Dom Cosentino) NJ.com September 2, 2014

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

FLORHAM PARK -- Two of the Jets' backup linebackers, IK Enemkpali and Nick Bellore, both shed some light on their injuries Tuesday.

Enemkpali, a sixth-round draft pick who made the final roster despite not practicing or playing since the third preseason game Aug. 22, has an injury to the plantar fascia in one of his feet.

"Rest is a big part of it," said Enemkpali, who's listed on the depth chart behind Quinton Coples and Jason Babin as a third-string rush linebacker. "Right now, I'm just leaving it in the hands of the training room staff to see when I can get back on the field."

The plantar fascia is the connective tissue that supports the arch on the bottom of the foot. Enemkpali said the injury has bothered him "off and on throughout my career." He's not sure how long he'll be out.

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Bellore, meanwhile, is a backup inside linebacker and special teams ace. He said he strained his left calf during pregame warmups in Philadelphia on Thursday night, but that "it kind of went away" before flaring up again early in the second quarter, which is when Bellore left the game for good.

"It didn't pop or anything like that," said Bellore, who hasn't practiced since Thursday.

Bellore did say he would be practicing again before the week was out and that he expects to play in Sunday's opener against the Raiders.

"I'll be good in a couple of days here," he said.

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NEW YORK POST

Jets can look forward to crashing Raiders rookie Carr’s debut (Brian Costello) New York Post September 2, 2014

http://nypost.com/2014/09/02/jets-can-look-forward-to-crashing-raiders-rookie-carrs-debut/

The Jets will face a rookie quarterback in Week 1.

Rookie Derek Carr will start for the Raiders over Matt Schaub on Sunday at MetLife Stadium.

Carr, the 36th overall pick in May’s draft, started just one preseason game, but that and Schaub’s balky elbow were enough for Raiders coach Dennis Allen to give the rookie the nod.

Carr started the preseason finale against the Seahawks and threw for 143 yards and three touchdowns, and finished with four touchdown passes in the preseason. Schaub, the former Texans quarterback, had zero.

Besides getting outplayed, Schaub has missed practice recently with elbow soreness. He was 24-of-47 passing for 218 yards in the preseason with one interception.

Rex Ryan feasts on rookie quarterbacks. He is 7-3 as Jets coach against them. The Jets beat the Raiders in December with another rookie quarterback, Matt McGloin.

Even with the Jets’ shaky secondary, they should be able to confuse and disrupt Carr in his first NFL start.

Carr was taken in the second round out of Fresno State. He is the brother of former No. 1 pick David Carr, who was a Giants backup late in his career.

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Jets preview: More weapons doesn’t mean more wins (Brian Costello) New York Post September 2, 2014

http://nypost.com/2014/09/02/jets-preview-more-weapons-doesnt-mean-more-wins/

The 2013 Jets season ended with the team dousing head coach Rex Ryan with Gatorade and having a raucous postgame celebration in the locker room. It was a strange scene for a team ending a season 8-8 and without a playoff appearance, but it showed how good the Jets felt about the way they finished.

Now, they hope to start 2014 as they finished last season, when they won three of their final four games. That goes especially for quarterback Geno Smith, who ended his rookie year on a high note, playing his best football of the season.

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Ryan is back for his sixth season, something that seemed unlikely at this time last year. He feels good about a team that upgraded on offense and returns one of the best defensive fronts in football.

The biggest question about the Jets is their secondary, where injuries and a lack of talent could cause Ryan headaches.

Offensively, new wide receiver Eric Decker and running back Chris Johnson could be just what Smith needs to take the next step as an NFL quarterback. They have had some good moments in the preseason and the optimism around the Jets offense is the highest it’s been in three years.

Ryan is coaching for his job … again. The team gave him an extension after last season, but it is truly just a one-year deal unless he makes the playoffs. The Jets have missed the playoffs for three straight seasons. They have not missed the postseason for four consecutive years since the six-year drought between 1992 and 1997.

If the Jets are home again in January, it’s hard (but not impossible) to imagine Ryan returning in 2015. Ryan and the Jets are confident that won’t happen.

A look at the 2014 Jets:

Offense

The Jets were encouraged by what they saw from Smith at the end of his rookie season, when he led the team to wins in three of the final four games and cut down on the turnovers. Smith finished his rookie year with 12 touchdowns and 21 interceptions. If he could reverse those numbers this year, the Jets would take it. If Smith stumbles, backup Michael Vick is waiting in the wings and the Jets won’t hesitate to turn to him.

The Jets finished 25th overall in offense last year and 25th in passing offense. The 2013 team had fewer weapons than a world peace rally.

General manager John Idzik went out and got some help for Smith and offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg. The Jets signed Decker, the top wide receiver available when free agency began, to a five-year, $36 million deal. There are questions about whether Decker is a true No. 1 wide receiver and how he’ll fare away from Denver and Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning. Make no mistake, though, Decker is an upgrade over what the Jets had.

The Jets have some unknowns playing opposite Decker. David Nelson looks as if he’ll be the other starter when the season starts. Nelson is a sure-handed receiver, but he is not going to overwhelm opponents.

Slot receiver Jeremy Kerley is underrated. The Jets went 0-4 when he was injured last season.

In the backfield, the Jets added Johnson, who never has rushed for fewer than 1,000 yards in any of his six NFL seasons. He is coming off knee surgery, but has looked fast in the preseason and could give the Jets a home-run threat out of the backfield. He will be teamed with bruising Chris Ivory and versatile Bilal Powell to give the Jets a strong rushing attack.

Rookie Jace Amaro and veteran Jeff Cumberland should give Smith two nice targets at tight end. Amaro had some early struggles in training camp, but finished strong and could have a major impact.

The offensive line returns almost intact with one new addition at right tackle, Breno Giacomini. Stalwarts Nick Mangold at center and D’Brickashaw Ferguson anchor the line. Willie Colon returns at right guard. Second-year player Brian Winters should be the starter at left guard again after beating out Oday Aboushi in camp.

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Vick may see time in this offense even if he is not the starting quarterback. The Jets have talked about using his talents in the wildcat formation and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him out there with Smith at times.

Grade: C+

Defense

You almost have to give the Jets’ defense two different evaluations. The front seven looks as if it can be one of the best in the NFL. The secondary looks as if it might be one of the worst.

Ryan is going to have to spend some extra time in his laboratory devising defensive game plans this year to cover up for the deficiencies at cornerback. If the Jets can pressure the quarterback, it might not be too bad. If they give the QBs too much time, watch out.

Muhammad Wilkerson and Sheldon Richardson, last year’s Defensive Rookie of the Year, anchor the line. The duo was a big reason the Jets were third in run defense last season. Wilkerson also had 10½ sacks, a number he thinks he can increase in 2014. Richardson had 3½ sacks as a rookie and spent the offseason working on pass-rushing moves.

Veteran Calvin Pace is back on the outside after a 10-sack season in 2013. The Jets are counting on improvement from third-year outside linebacker Quinton Coples, who had just 4½ sacks last year. Coples was slowed last year by an ankle injury and the adjustment to linebacker. This year, there are no excuses for the 2012 first-round pick. The team added veteran Jason Babin just before training camp to bolster the pass rush.

David Harris and Demario Davis are back at inside linebacker. Davis could be the most improved player on the team.

That leaves the secondary where there are more question marks than the SATs. Dimitri Patterson was the projected starter when training camp began, but then he went AWOL and the team released him. With no Patterson it will be Dee Milliner, who is nursing a high left ankle sprain and may miss the season opener, and either Antonio Allen, who moved from safety to corner in camp, or Darrin Walls. Quarterbacks could light this group up this year.

At safety, the Jets have veteran Dawan Landry and first-round pick Calvin Pryor, who looks like the real deal.

Grade: B

Special teams

The Jets are on their third special teams coach in as many years after having stability at the position for years with Mike Westhoff. Thomas McGaughey takes over for departed Ben Kotwica, a Westhoff disciple. It will be interesting to see if there are many philosophical changes.

Nick Folk is back at kicker, armed with a long-term deal now. Folk made 33-of-36 field goals last year, including a few game-winners. He has become a reliable kicker for the Jets after a few inconsistent years.

Ryan Quigley returns as the team’s punter. He averaged 45.5 yards per punt in his first season with the Jets.

The Jets drafted Jalen Saunders in the fourth round to be their primary punt returner. A mysterious medical incident — later revealed to be a seizure — led to him driving off the road before a preseason game, and now his status is a question mark.

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Kickoff returns barely exist in the NFL anymore, and that’s good news for the Jets. They don’t have a standout returner. Saalim Hakim is the most likely man for the job.

Grade: C

Coaching

The Jets players showed how much they love playing for Rex Ryan last year with the way they finished to save his job. The team rallied around him with little to play for and won three of their final four games.

Ryan has his work cut out for him this year as a defensive coach. The deficiencies at cornerback are glaring. Can Ryan hide them? Defensive coordinator Dennis Thurman is by Ryan’s side again, trying to help him out.

Mornhinweg had a strong first season as the Jets’ offensive coordinators. The statistics did not reflect the job Mornhinweg did with a rookie quarterback and little around him. This year, Mornhinweg is going to have to manage a running back group with three legitimate runners and just one ball. He also has to figure out who can play receiver besides Decker and Kerley.

Grade: B

Three bold predictions

1. Michael Vick won’t start a game this year. The minute Geno Smith was named the starting quarterback, people began wondering when Vick would replace him. He won’t.

2. Despite another mediocre year, the Jets will bring back Rex Ryan for the 2015 season. It’s a similar script to last year with a strong finish and endorsements from players keeping him safe.

3. Tight end Jace Amaro will win Offensive Rookie of the Year. Amaro had some early struggles in training camp, but finished strong. He gives Geno Smith a reliable target that Smith will lean on.

Brian Costello’s yardsticks

MOST IMPORTANT OFFENSIVE PLAYER: This team will go as Geno Smith goes. It’s always easy to point to the quarterback, but the Jets need him to take a step forward if they are going to do anything this year.

MOST IMPORTANT DEFENSIVE PLAYER: The secondary looks as if it will struggle. The antidote for that could be a strong pass rush and the Jets need 2012 first-round pick Quinton Coples to provide it. Coples is out of excuses. It’s time to produce.

ROOKIE TO WATCH: Tight end Jace Amaro can cure a lot of the Jets’ offensive woes. It won’t be a big deal who is at wide receiver opposite Eric Decker if Amaro can be a reliable receiver. The Jets expect big things from him.

STAR ON THE RISE: The most impressive player in training camp was third-year linebacker Demario Davis. This will be his second season as a starter and he looks comfortable. He has become the leader of the defense and people are going to notice him this year.

BIGGEST GAME: Dec. 21: vs. Patriots. I expect the Jets to be in playoff contention in December and this game will be huge. Their rivals will come to MetLife Stadium in Week 16, and there should be a lot riding on this one. Will Tom Brady end the Jets’ postseason hopes?

BIGGEST COACHING DECISION: The Jets signed Chris Johnson in April to bolster the rushing attack, but they already have Chris Ivory, who played well last year. It’s going to be interesting to see how they divide the carries and keep both guys happy.

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DON’T BE SURPRISED IF … Jeremy Kerley leads the team in receiving again. The Jets signed Eric Decker to the big contract, but defenses are going to focus on him, leaving Kerley one-on-one opportunities. If Kerley can stay healthy, expect a big season in his contract year.

SURE TO MAKE FANS GRUMBLE: The first time the Jets run the wildcat this year … and the second time … and the third. The Jets are toying with using Michael Vick in the wildcat. It will still drive fans crazy.

PREDICTION: 8-8

This Jets team is improved from last year, but a brutal schedule early on and a shaky secondary are going to keep them from improving on last year’s record. Another season at .500 and another year of no playoffs.

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Up to Jets, Giants to rescue New York from sports depression (Mike Vaccaro) New York Post September 2, 2014

http://nypost.com/2013/10/13/jets-report-card-22/

Nobody in their right mind wants to shorten the summer, not after the winter we had last year, not after the winter all the almanacs tells us is coming for us soon. Nobody would ever wish for a fast-forward button. Life moves pretty fast and, as Ferris said: If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.

Sage advice.

But, then, Ferris was a Cubs fan, and we will assume he was a Bears fan, so we can also figure that he knows a thing or two about wishing away lost causes and looking forward to fresh starts and new beginnings.

And let’s face it: If you are a baseball fan with a team in this city, your summer hasn’t exactly been one for the ages. If you care for the Mets, you saw another season enter its denouement phase before the Fourth. If you are a Yankees fan, you’ve seen a few stops and a few starts and they all left you more frustrated the deeper we pushed into summer.

So there is this: There is football. There are summer days dwindling down to a precious few, the calendar eager to hand the baton to football, and this much we know for sure: We have never welcomed the football season with more fervor than we do now, if for no other reason than the promise of a fresh page, a new agenda, a reboot.

“I know I’m excited, but then I’m always excited when football’s about to heat up because that’s my life,” Jets coach Rex Ryan said a few weeks ago. “But I really get a sense that our fans are every bit as eager as I am.”

Said his counterpart with the Giants, Tom Coughlin: “We’ve been looking forward to this season for a long time, for a lot of different reasons. I think everyone has.”

Right now the Jets and the Giants have the opportunity to do their city a huge solid and end the endless cycle of mediocrity and worse that’s infected our blah sporting existence. After all, the Mets and the Yankees were supposed to help us forget the Knicks and Nets, who were supposed to help us forget the Giants and Jets, who were supposed to help is forget the Mets and Yankees the last time around.

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Thankfully the Rangers fell out of the sky to break up the city’s sporting funk, however temporarily. But this has gone on long enough that we are rapidly running out of time to call this a sporting recession, and we are dangerously close to welcoming in a full-blown sporting depression.

A 6-10 on one side of the great football divide and a 7-9 on the other could certainly help that along. So could 8-8 for the blue and 8-8 for the green. And there are a lot of folks who think that’s pretty much all we can expect from the locals.

You can understand the cynicism: The Jets might play as well as they’ve played in years and still only be 4-4 at the midway break, so grueling is the opening half of their schedule. The Giants? We have seen how deliberate the learning curve for Eli Manning the new offense has been. And we saw how quickly last year got away from them. It really doesn’t take jaded eyes alone to wonder if we could be yearning for the NBA by Columbus Day.

And yet … the Jets do have a hell of a front seven (even if their back four could be anything from a worry to a calamity at any given time). The offense looks better, with more firepower. And Ryan will certainly have urgency with him at all times. And the Giants? Well, if the Coughlin-Eli partnership has told us anything, it’s that the precise instant you wonder if they’re down for the count, that’s when they are at their most dangerous.

Can football end our blue sporting mood? We’ll see soon enough. Something we already know? We can’t wait to find out. Can’t the season start yesterday, already?

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Antonio Allen talks big game about Week 1 start at corner (Brian Costello) New York Post September 2, 2014

http://nypost.com/2014/09/02/antonio-allen-talks-big-game-about-week-1-start-at-corner/

When the Jets moved Antonio Allen from safety to cornerback three weeks ago, they labeled it an “experiment.”

Now, they better hope that experiment does not blow up in their faces.

Allen said the coaches have informed him he will start at cornerback in the season opener Sunday against the Raiders. It appears the other cornerback will be Darrin Walls, with Dee Milliner still rehabbing a high ankle sprain.

So the Jets starting cornerbacks will be a 2012 seventh-round pick who moved from safety to cornerback and a cornerback who was on the practice squad two years ago and has made four career starts.

It’s a far cry from the days when Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie patrolled the secondary for the Jets.

Everyone in the Jets’ locker room is throwing his support behind Allen and Walls. It’s not like they have a choice. And both players say they are ready.

“We look at it as a challenge,” Walls said. “I feel like there’s so much that everyone pays attention to the secondary and everyone puts so much emphasis on the secondary. We look at it as they can say whatever they want about us. We’ve got to go out here and prove them right or prove them wrong. That’s what’s going to happen.”

The Jets’ cornerback situation has gone from bad to worse since March, when they released Cromartie. General manager John Idzik pinched pennies so hard when it came to the cornerbacks that Abraham

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Lincoln sustained some bruising. He passed on a Revis reunion and then let Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie escape to the Giants. Idzik signed journeyman Dimitri Patterson to a one-year, $3 million deal to be the starter opposite Milliner. That plan looked flawed from the start, and then looked awful when Patterson flaked out on the Jets and failed to show up for a preseason game. The team cut Patterson over the weekend.

That leaves Walls and Allen lining up Sunday against the Raiders and rookie quarterback Derek Carr. The Jets have not said Milliner is officially out, but he was riding a stationary bike during the period of practice open to the media on Tuesday and those around the team don’t believe he will play.

It was the day after Milliner’s injury at training camp the team moved Allen to cornerback. Allen was shaky in a preseason start against the Bengals and then suffered a concussion in his next game against the Giants. Tuesday’s practice was his first full practice since the injury.

Even after missing time, Allen said he feels confident about the position change.

“It’s been going pretty well,” Allen said. “The safeties know the defense. As a safety, you have to tell the corners what to do, so I pretty much have the scheme down from what the corners are supposed to do.”

Walls joined the Jets in 2012 as a member of the practice squad. He went undrafted out of Notre Dame and spent part of two seasons with the Falcons. Walls moved up to the active roster late in the season and started the final game as a reward for his work that year.

In 2013, Walls made three starts while Milliner was injured. He also replaced Milliner when he was benched three times. The Jets re-signed Walls in March.

“I think I’m a lot better than I was last year,” Walls said. “I watched a couple games from last preseason and I watched this preseason. I think I improved tremendously. I think my biggest thing is just remaining consistent and being that consistent player.”

The Jets secondary as a whole is inexperienced with rookie Calvin Pryor starting at safety. The lone veteran is safety Dawan Landry, who said there is no reason to worry.

“No panic at all for us,” Landry said. “We’re the guys who play the game. We approach it that way . We can’t worry about what the outside says or anything like that. The game is played on the field, not on paper.”

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Up to new WR to earn his paycheck, lead receiving corps (Mark Cannizzaro) New York Post September 2, 2014

http://nypost.com/2014/09/02/up-to-new-wr-to-earn-his-paycheck-lead-receiving-corps/

For the last three seasons, the Jets’ receiving corps has put fear into exactly zero opposing defenses. Not for one Sunday. Not for one series. Not for a single play.

Not coincidentally, the Jets have failed to make the playoffs the last three seasons.

A fair argument can be made the Jets have not even fielded an actual NFL-caliber receiving corps the last three seasons.

Peruse some of the names Mark Sanchez and now Geno Smith have been throwing passes to since 2011 — where have you gone Chaz Schilens, Patrick Turner, Jordan White, Mardy Gilyard, Dedrick Epps and Hayden Smith? — and it becomes easier to understand how offensively challenged the team has been.

Daily Clips Cont.

24 | P a g e

Along the way, the Jets have — as they’ve done far too often in their history — unsuccessfully chased production from previously productive players past their primes with Braylon Edwards, Plaxico Burress and Derrick Mason brought in for various stints.

The Jets receiving situation over the course of the last three years has resembled a disorganized fire drill.

This 2014 Jets receiving corps has a chance to dramatically change the script, possibly even become a strength instead of the liability the position has been. This season could represent a new beginning of sorts for their receiving corps.

That improvement has come first through subtraction and then by addition. The Jets no longer have Santonio Holmes poisoning their locker room with his selfish, sulking behavior.

They, too, rid themselves of 2012 second-round draft pick Stephen Hill and his unfulfilled potential.

The Jets go forward with Eric Decker, their prized offseason free-agent acquisition ($36.25 million over five years with $15 million guaranteed), Jeremy Kerley in his fourth season with the team and dependable veteran David Nelson, who should benefit from a year in offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg’s system and a full offseason with the team.

There also are possible X-factors in the receiving group that could contribute in time such as speedy rookies Saalim Hakim and Jalen Saunders as well as Greg Salas, who had such a strong training camp he refused to be cut.

“I feel like this year there are no excuses,” Nelson said Tuesday. “We’re just a bunch of guys who are out there playing free and utilizing their skill set and their abilities.

There were just a lot of things that were happening last year — Santonio wasn’t healthy, Stephen was battling injuries, we had a brand-new offense, we were going through growing pains with a rookie quarterback [Smith].

“This year, all of those elements are out of the picture.”

The most important piece to that puzzle is Decker, who comes to the Jets needing to answer two questions:

- Is he the true No. 1 receiver the Jets paid him to be?

- And is he as good as his numbers the last two seasons — an average of 86 catches and 12 touchdowns — or were those numbers a product of Peyton Manning as his quarterback in Denver?

Pre-Peyton, Decker had 44 catches for 612 yards and eight TDs in 2011, catching passes from Kyle Orton and Tim Tebow. Those numbers would still make him the best receiver on the Jets.

But the Jets need better from him than that — much better.

Decker will face the pressure as a high-priced free agent trying to prove his worth in New York. The Jets hope he’ll work out better than Brian McCann has for the Yankees.

“He’s now THE GUY,” Nelson said.

Asked if more pressure comes with that, Nelson said, “If it does, I haven’t seen it from him. He’s handled it extremely well.”

Decker, of course, has not played a regular-season game or endured a regular-season slump yet, either.

“You can tell he’s come in with a chip on his shoulder and is hungry to prove that he lives up that money that he got and to the past success that’s he’s had,” Nelson said.

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25 | P a g e

“I don’t look at it as pressure; I look at it as an opportunity for me to be a leader in receiver room as well as in this offense through my experience being on a winning team and knowing what it takes to get to a Super Bowl,” Decker said.

“I feel confident with the guys that we’ve got, the pieces we have now with Eric and Nelson,” Kerley said. “I feel like we’ve got all the right tools to be great. We’ve just got to go out there and perform now.”

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Jets mum on cornerback Dimitri Patterson (Brian Costello) New York Post September 2, 2014

http://nypost.com/2014/09/02/jets-mum-on-cornerback-dimitri-patterson/

The Jets returned to work Tuesday with a few less teammates. The team went from 75 players to 53 over the weekend, and the players were getting used to who was gone and who was new.

One of the most noteworthy cuts was cornerback Dimitri Patterson, whom the team dumped after his disappearing act the week before. Players were cautious to say too much about Patterson, but no one seemed too upset Patterson was gone.

“I don’t have any reaction,” guard Willie Colon said. “I didn’t know enough to feel any emotion toward him. I just know he wasn’t there for a game and everything else was he said/he said, so to speak. I’m not going to comment on how he’s been disciplined because I don’t know enough.”

Colon said he thinks Patterson may have been able to come back to the team if he had taken responsibility for his actions.

“I think there’s always some level of accountability you have to have, especially when you’re new to a team,” Colon said. “I think he would have had to come in and say, ‘Hey, this is what happened X, Y and Z,’ whether he’s right, wrong or indifferent. That didn’t happen so it is what it is.”

The team dumped Patterson after he failed to show up for the Giants preseason game two weeks ago, then disappeared for two days without telling them where he was. The Jets initially suspended Patterson for the rest of the preseason, but he sealed his fate when he issued a statement to ESPN basically calling general manager John Idzik and coach Rex Ryan liars.

“It was shocking,” safety Dawan Landry said about the whole situation. “I can’t really say too much about it. The GM and those guys made their decision. We just have to roll with it.”

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First-round pick Calvin Pryor is excited about making his NFL debut on Sunday. The hard-hitting safety will start against the Raiders.

Asked if he feels like he is ready, Pryor smiled and said, “I’ve been ready.”

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The Jets do not have to release an official injury report until Wednesday.

While the media was watching practice, CB Dee Milliner (ankle), S Josh Bush (quad), LB Nick Bellore (calf) and OLB IK Enemkpali (foot) were on the stationary bikes. TE Jeff Cumberland (Achilles) began practice in the trainer’s area, but joined practice. … Former Jets WR Stephen Hill, who was cut over the weekend, signed with the Panthers to their practice squad. … The Jets signed draft picks LB Jeremiah George and WR Quincy Enunwa to their practice squad.

Daily Clips Cont.

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How J.J. Watt’s big deal could help Wilkerson break the bank (Brian Costello) New York Post September 2, 2014

http://nypost.com/2014/09/03/how-j-j-watts-big-deal-could-help-wilkerson-break-the-bank/

Jets defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson shrugged off the news that Texans star J.J. Watt received a six-year, $100 million contract extension Monday.

“Of course I’m happy for him, but there’s nothing much I can do about it,” Wilkerson said.

The “it,” of course, is his own contract. Wilkerson continues to wait for general manager John Idzik to reward him with a new contract. It looks like he is going to have to wait until the offseason, because deals like this rarely are done once the regular season starts.

“I’m just patiently waiting like I’ve always been doing,” said Wilkerson, who does not enjoy speaking about his contract situation. “That’s all I can say. There’s not too much I can say or do about the situation.”

Wilkerson is due to earn $1.2 million this season. The Jets exercised their fifth-year option on him for 2015 that would pay him $6.97 million. Those numbers are nowhere close to what Wilkerson could get on the open market.

Watt is considered the top defensive end in football and probably the top defensive player. The $16.6 million average annual salary he received now will be viewed as the ceiling for defensive players. Several people around the league said Wilkerson could command $12 million per year based on what Watt received.

“And that number can only go up,” one league source said.

Wilkerson was named second-team All-Pro last year and is considered by most people to be the best player on the Jets. He has 18.5 career sacks, six forced fumbles, one recovered fumble, one interception and nine passes defended.

Watt and Wilkerson both were taken in the first round of the 2011 draft. Watt went 11th and Wilkerson was selected with the 30th pick. That was the first draft under the new collective bargaining agreement, which limited how much draft picks can be paid early in their careers.

Some people believe Wilkerson should have held out to force the Jets’ hand, but Wilkerson has maintained all along he would not do that to the team. On Tuesday, he said he is not thinking about his bank account.

“I’m worried about Oakland,” Wilkerson said about the regular-season opener with the Raiders on Sunday. “I’m not worried about no contract, to be honest with you.”

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NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

NY Jets backup QB Michael Vick gets spot on WFAN with Mike Francesa (Seth Walder) New York Daily News September 2, 2014

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/jets/jets-insider-backup-michael-vick-spot-wfan-article-1.1925736

Daily Clips Cont.

27 | P a g e

Mad dog lovers, you might want to tune in to WFAN. No, Chris Russo is not returning to the station from satellite radio. But Michael Vick will appear on WFAN for a weekly spot with Mike Francesa, Russo’s ex-partner, on Tuesdays, the radio station announced. Francesa, who has been feuding with the Jets organization over the last few seasons, said on the air Tuesday that the Vick camp approached the station about the weekly interview.

“I’m surprised by that myself,” Francesa said on the air. “It was started by the Vick camp. They wanted to do something this year on Tuesdays. I’m glad to do it with them. Remarkably, the Jets said yes. That surprised me. . . . I’m looking forward to it.”

The Jets’ backup quarterback is expected to make his debut on Tuesday.

New York’s other backup quarterback, Ryan Nassib, was apparently driving too hard of a bargain as Giants QB Eli Manning will return for another exclusive weekly spot with Francesa.

FOR WATT IT’S WORTH

Texans defensive lineman J.J. Watt got his big pay day, and it could pave the way to an eventual extension for Muhammad Wilkerson. Watt signed a reported $100 million extension with more than $30 million in guarantees that will increase to more than $50 million in guarantees if he’s on the roster at the start of 2016.

Wilkerson, who was drafted the same year as Watt, may not be quite the player the Texan is, but the Watt contract could influence a future deal with the Jets.

“Congrats to him,” Wilkerson said of Watt. The Jets defensive lineman declined to comment on his own contract situation with the Jets. He has previously expressed belief that a deal will eventually get done, even before the end of this year.

HILL JOINS PANTHERS

Former Jets WR Stephen Hill signed with the Panthers practice squad. The 2012 second-round pick was cut three days ago after a bust of a Jet career.

After two seasons marred by injuries, drops and problems running routes, Hill was released and not claimed off waivers by any other NFL team.

His agent, Alan Herman, ripped the Jets after the receiver was cut, saying that the team didn’t put Hill in a good position to develop, didn’t throw enough to him in the preseason and that Ryan didn’t support him enough publicly.

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In NFL Week 1, NY Jets defense needs to put Raiders rookie QB Derek Carr in his place (Manish Mehta) New York Daily News September 2, 2014

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/jets/mehta-jets-defense-dominate-raiders-rookie-qb-opener-article-1.1925722

The Jets had been eagerly anticipating the Human Pick-Six Dispenser for months, amped to get the 2014 season off the right way before those tricky Raiders flipped the script to shift all of the pressure on Rex Ryan’s defense this Sunday.

The Jets maligned secondary would have welcomed 33-year-old turnover magnet Matt Schaub, whose propensity for picks became the stuff of legend last season.

Daily Clips Cont.

28 | P a g e

Alas, these Jets — who have spent the past 72 hours desperately swapping suspect cornerbacks for other suspect cornerbacks thanks, in part, to general manager John Idzik’s mistakes in free agency — weren’t so lucky.

Raiders coach Dennis Allen, perhaps realizing that Schaub, does, in fact, stink, announced this week that he’s hitching his Silver-and-Black wagon to rookie second-round pick Derek Carr’s star.

The team that lost its swagger sometime during the Reagan Administration is riding with the kid quarterback, which puts the onus squarely on Ryan’s cornerbacks to not screw it up before they face a Murderer’s Row of signal callers.

The Raiders are playing with house money, flying 3,000 miles from the Worst Coast, losers of 13 in a row in the Eastern Time Zone, with a guy playing in his first NFL game. Nobody expects Oakland to win. Oakland doesn’t expect Oakland to win.

The Jets defense cannot to lose to a grasshopper.

The consequences might be disastrous for a unit that will face Aaron Rodgers, Jay Cutler, Matthew Stafford, Philip Rivers, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady in Weeks 2-7, a frightening stretch that could bury the Jets before Halloween.

In other words, Carr must go down. And he must go down hard.

“I don’t know what to expect,” defensive lineman Sheldon Richardson said of the uncertainty of facing the rookie. “We should be able to handle any quarterback in this league whether he’s a rookie or a 10-year vet. We look at them all the same: Get to him.”

The good news: Ryan’s Jet defenses have typically driven rookie quarterbacks batty.

The bad news: Ryan has never had such a ghastly secondary since taking over in 2009. Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie, who were given the Heisman stiff arm by Idzik this offseason, aren’t walking through that door.

Shaky cornerbacks can ruin even the most creative defensive schemes, turning smart men such as Ryan into mumbling head-shakers on the sideline.

Ryan has history on his side. The Jets are 7-3 against starting rookie quarterbacks since he took over in 2009.

Only Russell Wilson and EJ Manuel played four quarters to beat Ryan’s team. (Ryan Tannehill played two drives before getting injured in a Dolphins win in 2012). Rookie quarterbacks have only a 50.7% completion rate with eight touchdowns and eight interceptions against Ryan’s defenses. The Jets have 29 sacks in those 10 games.

Past performance, of course, doesn’t guarantee future results.

“He’s a rookie and it’s his first game starting, but as an opponent, you can’t go in thinking like that,” linebacker David Harris said. “Because you’ll get lax and get beat. You have to always be on guard for anything they try to throw at us . . . because you never know.”

Carr’s sharp preseason made it a no-brainer for the Raiders, who saved themselves the agita of witnessing Schaub’s turnovers up close and personal after his record-setting 2013 season (pick sixes in four consecutive games) made Houstonians violently ill on fall Sundays.

Carr had a 66.7% completion rate with four touchdowns, one interception and a 108.2 passer rating in the preseason. He led three touchdown drives on his only three possessions against the Seahawks in the preseason finale, sending Schaub and his sore elbow to the bench.

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29 | P a g e

The Raiders have taken the anti-Jets approach with their young quarterback. Allen didn’t slap the week-to-week label on Carr like Ryan has done with Geno Smith. Carr is the Raiders starting quarterback. Period.

“He’s not your typical rookie,” Raiders center Stefen Wisniewski told reporters this week. “He understands defenses at a very advanced level more than most rookies would. Derek gets way more prepared than most rookies would be.”

Carr is going to need to be prepared for Ryan, who will present a schematic puzzle unlike anything he’s seen in his NFL debut. The problem will be whether a patchwork secondary that includes Darrin Walls, converted safety Antonio Allen, underwhelming Kyle Wilson and recently claimed castoffs Leon McFadden and Phillip Adams can execute Ryan’s plan.

Carr was impressive against the Seahawks’ Legion of Boom secondary last weekend. Ryan’s group is about 20-25 notches below that elite group. The Raiders don’t have dynamic playmakers at receiver, but raise your hand if you’d be surprised if the Jets cornerbacks made Denarius Moore look like Fred Biletnikoff on Sunday. (No hands in the air).

Ryan will need his defensive linemen and outside linebackers to bring consistent pressure on Carr to mitigate the issues on the back end and avoid the embarrassment of tripping up at home against a rookie quarterback.

“We treat everybody the same,” Harris said of facing an inexperienced signal caller. “We’re equal opportunists, you could say.”

It’s only Week 1, but losing isn’t an option.

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NY Jets cornerbacks prepared to be targets (Seth Walder) New York Daily News September 2, 2014

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/jets/ny-jets-cornerbacks-prepared-targets-article-1.1925717

The Raiders’ offensive game plan this week should be pretty easy to guess: attack the cornerbacks.

With the Jets secondary in disarray and the front seven healthy and formidable, the obvious move against Rex Ryan’s group, even with rookie quarterback Derek Carr, is to throw the ball until the new corners prove themselves.

“That’s what I’d do,” Sheldon Richardson said Tuesday.

The Jets are shockingly thin against the pass: safety-turned-cornerback Antonio Allen has been told he’ll start at one corner spot, and with Dee Milliner likely out with a high ankle sprain, Darrin Walls is expected to take the other spot. Between them, the duo has four starts at cornerback in their career.

“Odds aren’t in our favor (against the pass) some people might say,” Richardson said. “Somebody’s got to step up and make a play.”

Not long ago, cornerbacks anchored Ryan’s defense. The Jets were the envy of the league with Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie, proven stars who could dominate opposing wide receivers, as their starters. That’s a stark difference from what the team boasts at the position now. Cornerback was an area of concern even as the Jets were heading into training camp. Then Milliner and Dexter McDougle (torn ACL) got hurt. Then Patterson went AWOL and was released. And that left Walls and Allen.

Daily Clips Cont.

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“I think now that there’s so much turnover in that room and everyone’s . . . newer, we look at it as a challenge,” Walls said. “Everyone pays attention to the secondary, there’s so much emphasis on the secondary. Well, we look at it as, they can say whatever they want about us but we’ve got to go out there and prove them right or prove them wrong.”

Teammates think the new cornerbacks will prove doubters wrong starting Sunday at MetLife Stadium.

“I think so,” Muhammad Wilkerson said. “It’s all about doing your job out there. Guys have been doing a good job of handling their business.”

“Double-A (Allen) has unlimited athletic ability,” veteran safety Dawan Landry said. “Walls, he’s a student of the game. So I’m confident in those guys.”

After Oakland, the tests get much more difficult as the defense will have to go up against Aaron Rodgers, Jay Cutler, Matthew Stafford, Philip Rivers, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady in the following six weeks.

Walls didn’t make any bold predictions about Sunday, but said he thinks he’s improved as a player and believes in the secondary.

“Double-A hasn’t taken a snap at corner in the regular season, I’ve started (four) games,” Walls said. “So people can look at it and say, yeah, these guys are inexperienced and whatever, but I have confidence in us and I have confidence in the coaching staff. They’re not going to put us in situations that we can’t handle.”

Allen, who shed the red non-contact jersey at Tuesday’s practice after being fully cleared following the concussion he suffered against the Giants in the preseason, faces an especially steep learning curve because he started playing the position only a couple of weeks ago.

“I’ll be ready when they throw the ball my way,” Allen said. “I wouldn’t say I’m quite comfortable, but I’m getting there.”

For now, that’s as good as it’s going to get for the Jets.

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WALL STREET JOURNAL

Jets Secondary Isn't as Defenseless as It Seems (Alex Raskin) Wall Street Journal September 2, 2014

http://online.wsj.com/articles/jets-secondary-isnt-as-defenseless-as-it-seems-1409707719?KEYWORDS=new+york+jets

FLORHAM PARK, N.J.—Within an hour of the announcement that he would start at cornerback for the Jets in Sunday's season opener against Oakland, converted safety Antonio Allen's name began trending on Twitter Tuesday afternoon.

Allen was an unlikely candidate to start for several reasons, primarily because of a recent concussion, but also because he had never played the position before training camp.

"I haven't given up anything deep," Allen said, referring to one of several potential catastrophes facing cornerbacks every Sunday.

According to his teammate and fellow cornerback, Darrin Walls, who will likely start opposite Allen, every game "comes down to how the secondary plays." So it's significant that Allen has more experience at linebacker, a position he played in college, than at cornerback.

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31 | P a g e

"I wouldn't say I'm quite comfortable yet, but I feel like I'm getting there," Allen said.

This would normally be reason for panic.

In the coming weeks, when the Jets face Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks Aaron Rodgers (Green Bay), Peyton Manning (Denver) and Tom Brady (New England), the consequences for poor play in the secondary will be severe. But this Sunday, with rookie Derek Carr under center for the Raiders, the Jets have a chance to minimize their vulnerability and get off on the right foot.

Obviously there was concern when Dee Milliner suffered a high-ankle sprain in training camp and when rookie third-round pick Dex McDougle tore his ACL. And Dimitri Patterson's release, following what the team described as an unexcused absence, didn't help matters. Three cornerbacks, three sudden vacancies.

But there are a few legitimate reasons for optimism around the Jets's facility. One of them is the Raiders, who sport an offense that ranked 23rd in the NFL last season before Carr was taken in the second round of May's NFL Draft.

That's not to say that Carr isn't capable. He completed 67% of his passes during the preseason, and one of his four touchdown passes came against former Seattle cornerback Phillip Adams, who, along with former Cleveland Browns third-round pick Leon McFadden, was one of two cornerbacks signed by the Jets on Monday.

But the Jets are 7-3 against rookie quarterbacks under coach Rex Ryan. And Adams, a 26-year-old journeyman, is already familiar with the Raiders' offense, having spent the entire 2013 season in Oakland. So even if he's not starting, Adams can still help his new teammates decipher Raiders offensive coordinator Greg Olson's scheme.

"I pretty much know a lot of the things they're doing," Adams said.

That could be a boon for Walls, who is coming off a quietly impressive preseason. Only seven cornerbacks were targeted more often during the preseason than Walls, who was thrown at 16 times, according to Pro Football Focus. Only six of those passes were caught, and Walls allowed just four yards after those receptions. He ended the preseason with one interception and a pass defended.

"I watched a couple of games last preseason and I watched this preseason and I think I improved tremendously," Walls said.

And it's not all on Walls. McFadden and Adams can also participate, despite being so new to the defense. Both have played in similar schemes, so it's more a matter of learning the terminology.

When all that fails, fellow defensive backs can still describe the coverage in more generic terms on the way out of the huddle. "Yeah," Walls said, "you just help him out as much as you can."

Some of that help will come from a solid defensive front that includes All-Pros like defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson and outside linebacker Jason Babin, as well as the reigning AP Defensive Rookie of the Year, defensive end Sheldon Richardson, and former first-round picks Quinton Coples and Calvin Pace.

And it's not as though the Jets's secondary is completely vacant. Veteran safety Dawan Landry is back, and the team took Louisville safety Calvin Pryor in the first round of this year's draft.

In fact, Coples doesn't even see the secondary as a weakness. He conceded that there has been a lot of turnover at the position, but he thinks the group has an abundance of one significant trait: athleticism.

Daily Clips Cont.

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"I think we have a good back end," Coples said. "Looking at who we got back there, they're good. It's not what it appears to be. We got some good athletes back there. We have an athletic defense. We just have to pay attention to our coaching."

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ESPN NEW YORK

Antonio Allen gets call at corner (Mike Mazzeo) ESPN New York September 2, 2014

http://espn.go.com/newyork/nfl/story/_/id/11455035/antonio-allen-new-york-jets-start-cornerback

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- Antonio Allen said Tuesday he has been told that he will start at cornerback for the New York Jets in Sunday's regular-season opener against the Oakland Raiders at MetLife Stadium.

Allen had been out since suffering a concussion in the team's third preseason game against the New York Giants, but was medically cleared to return to practice on Tuesday. He wasn't required to wear a red (non-contract) jersey at practice, as he did last Friday.

Allen, a converted safety who is entering his third season in the NFL, will be making his first career start at cornerback. The 25-year-old had to switch positions because the Jets are extremely depleted in the secondary.

Their most experienced cornerback, Dee Milliner, didn't practice on Tuesday and is not expected to play against the Raiders due to a high-ankle sprain, which has kept him out since Aug. 10.

Third-year pro Darrin Walls, 26, is expected to make just his fifth career start opposite Allen.

"I feel pretty good with my preparation," Allen said. "I went out there, had a decent day today, didn't give up any deep balls. I just competed well and hopefully I can do that in a game. ... I wouldn't say I'm quite comfortable yet but I feel like I'm getting there."

Allen had made two starts at cornerback in the preseason before going down with the injury, which occurred in the first half when he accidentally collided into linebacker Demario Davis.

Asked if he expects quarterbacks to go after him given his lack of experience at the position, Allen responded, "Maybe. I hope so. ... I'll be ready when they throw it my way."

Allen said his transition from safety to cornerback has gone "pretty well." He certainly didn't expect to switch positions, but feels like he has the team's schemes down.

"It's been different," he said. "But you've got cornerbacks going down, and we have a lot of safeties, so mostly everybody will probably get to play, and guys just have to fill in at other positions and be ready to play when their number is called."

Allen and Walls certainly weren't the cornerbacks the Jets expected to start in Week 1. But Milliner got hurt, and the other projected starter, Dimitri Patterson, who went AWOL last week, was released by the Jets last Saturday.

The Jets signed cornerback Phillip Adams for depth purposes on Monday after releasing fellow cornerback Ellis Lankster two days earlier.

According to ESPN Stats & Information, Walls and Milliner are the only cornerbacks on New York's roster who played at least 400 snaps last season.

Daily Clips Cont.

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The Raiders will start rookie quarterback Derek Carr on Sunday, and the Jets are 7-3 against first-year signal-callers under head coach Rex Ryan.

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Adams prepares to face Carr, Raiders again (Mike Mazzeo) ESPN New York September 2, 2014

http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/jets/post/_/id/29159/sage-steelers-school-jets-rookie-qb

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- It was a play Phillip Adams would’ve liked to have back.

During a preseason game a week ago, Adams, then a member of the Seattle Seahawks, was beaten badly on Oakland Raiders wideout Denarius Moore’s 36-yard touchdown reception.

The 26-year-old cornerback hesitated slightly as rookie quarterback Derek Carr looked off the safety following a play-action fake, allowing Moore to get behind him along the right sideline for an easy catch and score.

“It was all on me,” said Adams, who signed with the Jets after being released by the Seahawks. “As a player, I pride myself on being disciplined, and I got caught up in the backfield a little bit too much. But that’s in the past, and I’m looking forward to what’s ahead of me right now.”

What’s ahead of Adams now is Sunday’s regular-season opener against the Oakland Raiders, the team he played for the previous two years of his career. If he does get some defensive snaps -- which might be tough given that he only has a week to learn the Jets’ scheme -- Adams would have an opportunity to exact some revenge on his former team.

“[Carr] came at me last week and I’m looking forward to the matchup,” said Adams, who plans to share his knowledge of the Raiders’ system with the rest of his teammates. “I know pretty much what they’re doing and our coaches have been doing a good job game-planning, so I’m looking forward to Sunday.”

The Jets decided to take a flyer on Adams by signing him to a one-year, $730,000 contract with no guaranteed money, according to ESPN.com’s Rich Cimini. Carr ranked 107th out of 110 cornerbacks, according to ProFootballFocus, but the Jets, with their secondary decimated by injury, figured they might as well take a shot.

Perhaps Adams can provide some depth in the slot. If not, it appears easy for them to cut the cord.

Adams was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the seventh round of the 2010 NFL Draft. The Jets are his fifth team. He has three career interceptions -- two of them coming in 2012.

“I felt like it was a good opportunity for me,” he said. “I learned a lot in Seattle and I’m confident that I can carry that over [here]. ... I feel like a person can be overlooked a lot, but I’m looking forward to the challenge.”

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What Carr should expect: 'Pure dominance' (Rich Cimini) ESPN New York September 2, 2014

http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york-jets/post/_/id/42461/what-carr-should-expect-pure-dominance

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- The New York Jets like to believe they have one of the best front sevens in the NFL. No argument here. With the cornerback position in a state of emergency, it needs to be the

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Magnificent Seven, especially with a rookie quarterback coming to town. Derek Carr gets the start for the Oakland Raiders, and the Jets have to treat him as harshly as big brother David was treated during his years in the NFL.

The ever-confident Sheldon Richardson was asked Tuesday what Carr can expect Sunday from the Jets' front seven.

"Gotta be pure dominance, if (nothing) else," Richardson told ESPN.com in a matter-of-fact tone. "Pure dominance. That's all I can think of right now, just dominating and dominating the run, because this team last year was the only team that ran for over 100 yards (against us)."

Actually, it was 150, the most allowed by the Jets, but that's ancient history. If the Jets want to make it to Halloween still in contention, their defensive line and linebackers must rise up, protect the depleted secondary and carry the team through a potentially lethal run of top quarterbacks.

Everybody knows the story at cornerback. Right now, it looks like Darrin Walls and converted safety Antonio Allen will start the opener. They have a grand total of four career starts, all by Walls. This week shouldn't be a difficult test, at least not compared to next week (Aaron Rodgers), the week after (Jay Cutler) and the few weeks after that. Carr is a warm-up act, as long as the Jets take care of business at the line of scrimmage.

Naturally, they were delighted by the news that Carr, not Matt Schaub, will start for the Raiders. Every defense loves to face a rookie, especially in their own building -- especially in the opener. Under Rex Ryan, the Jets are 7-3 against rookie starters. Ryan's defense is predicated on causing confusion for the opposition. His clever schemes have baffled the best of the best over the years, so they should be able to feast on Carr.

"We lick our chops against every quarterback, not just rookies," linebacker Demario Davis said. "We kick our chops against anybody who is trying to move the ball on us."

The Jets' front seven should be better than a year ago because their top young players -- Davis, Richardson, Muhammad Wilkerson, Damon Harrison and Quinton Coples -- are on the ascent. They added a proven pass rusher in Jason Babin, who should be able to provide sacks off the bench.

The Jets did a lot of chirping in training camp, especially on defense. Now is the time for the big fellas to back it up, because there's no way these corners can hold up in coverage if the quarterback -- any quarterback -- can stand comfortably in the pocket.

"Do I think we have the potential to be (the best)? Yes, I think we have the potential to be the best," Richardson said, referring to the front seven. "Do we have the potential to stay the best? That's the way we're trying to keep it."

They can start by roughing up Carr. Rookie safety Calvin Pryor said the plan is to bring early pressure, trying to rattle the second-round pick. In his final year at Fresno State, he completed only 29 percent of his passes while under duress, the worst among the top quarterback prospects, according to ESPN Stats & Information. Carr put up crazy stats in college, but it should be noted that a good amount of his throws were screen passes.

The game has changed in recent years, turning the NFL into a pitch-and-catch league. Spread offenses can negate a strong pass rush, which is why we probably will never see another defense like the '85 Chicago Bears. But a formidable front seven is better than a weak front seven, and the Jets will have to ride their horses for as long as their secondary needs protection.

On Sunday, they can test drive a green Carr.

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"This is his first official game, he's the starter and it's the NFL," Richardson said. "That's a big plate to handle."

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METRO NEW YORK

Jets expect to make playoffs after sitting on sidelines for three years (Kristian Dyer) Metro New York September 2, 2014

http://www.metro.us/newyork/sports/nfl/2014/09/02/jets-expect-make-playoffs-sitting-sidelines-three-years/#sthash.pgfVorl3.dpuf

The same pundits who predicted the Jets would be woeful a season ago are now eying the playoffs for this revamped team. What a difference a season of exceeded expectations makes.

“I think the bottom line is you have to prove it,” guard Willie Colon said. “You’ve got to do it on Sunday and stack wins and be competitive in your division.

“I think right now is all or nothing. Rex [Ryan] stressed it that we have to win now. We’ve stomped our feet and pounded our chest enough. Now it’s put up or shut up. We have to be ready to go on Sunday. It’s time for us to show the world what we have, what we’re about. It’s about us winning now.”

The idea the Jets are postseason bound might be a bit optimistic, even if the locker room sells it as a possibility. In many ways they are still in the midst of a roster overhaul.

Sports stars hit by Labor Day weekend hacker scandal The Jets were a veteran-laden team that whimpered to a pitiful end to the 2012 season, with big money contracts that were mostly all purged by the end of last season — Mark Sanchez and Santonio Holmes chief among them.

“There’s also a lot of supposed-to-be’s. We can’t control that,” running back Chris Ivory said. “The players are here, the coaches are here. We are the ones putting in the work. … There’s always high expectations. We added a few great players to our team. Let’s see what we do and where we go.”

There are 32 new players added to the 53-man roster since John Idzik took over prior to last season — a staggering number as part of their overhaul.

Yet there is a sense of optimism this team is headed in the right direction. They added key pieces on offense, such as wide receiver Eric Decker, running back Chris Johnson and right tackle Breno Giacomini. The defense — even with concerns over the cornerback position — looks like it could be a top-10 unit in the league.

After three years without a winning record, the locker room is on board with the idea this can be a winning team once again. But there is caution that it won’t be done one giant step at a time. Instead, in the words of Colon, the Jets will have to take baby steps to become a playoff team.

“We haven’t been to the postseason for awhile. We can’t wear the title of a playoff team yet,” Colon said. “We have to focus on the Oakland Raiders. If we focus on the ‘coulda’ or the ‘woulda’ or the ‘shoulda’ then we aren’t going to get there.”

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Antonio Allen returns to practice (Kristian Dyer) Metro New York September 2, 2014

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http://www.metro.us/newyork/sports/nfl/2013/10/13/geno-smith-still-with-much-to-learn-after-struggles-against-steelers/

While an injury to Dee Milliner continues to be a giant question mark for the Jets’ depleted secondary, the team did receive good news on Tuesday with Antonio Allen being cleared to practice again following his concussion.

Allen suffered a concussion in the first half of the Jets third preseason game two weeks ago. He had been moved from safety to cornerback that week given the team’s thin depth at the position and his injury only added to the team’s woes in the secondary.

He did not wear the red no-contact jersey in practice Tuesday, signaling he’s ready after going through the concussion protocol.

He said he is completely recovered from the concussion.

“It was sort of a friendly fire [injury],” Allen said on Tuesday. “I got hit by one of my teammates. I feel good, I’m ready to go. I’m ready to play ball.

“They did hold me out for a little bit but once they told me I could go back in with the team and watch film, I did that.”

Allen said he had a “decent day” on Tuesday and wasn’t beaten on any deep balls.

There is still a concern about Milliner, who has been out since the first game of preseason with a high ankle sprain suffered in practice. He was very solid in the preseason opener against the Colts, where his coverage was solid and he looked more confident in his physicality at the line.

“[It is] unlikely that Milliner will play Week 1,” a team source told Metro New York. “It would take a monumental leap for him to be ready by Sunday.”

Jets notes …

» Michael Vick will do a weekly radio spot this season on WFAN with afternoon host Mike Francesa, who has been critical of the Jets organization over the past several years. The weekly hit will take place on Tuesdays during the show, which is also simulcast on FoxSports 1. Francesa has taken shots at the Jets, including over the trade for Tim Tebow and the signing of Vick.

» Wide receiver Jalen Saunders said he is practicing with no limitations following his car accident three weeks ago and he plans to be full ready for Sunday’s opener.

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TUESDAY’S SPORTS TRANSACTIONS

Associated Press September 2, 2014

http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/Tuesday-s-Sports-Transactions-5729058.php

BASEBALL

American League

CLEVELAND INDIANS — Activated OF Ryan Raburn from the 15-day DL.

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KANSAS CITY ROYALS — Recalled INF Christian Colon, OF Terrance Gore, RHP Aaron Crow and RHP Liam Hendricks from Northwest Arkansas (Texas). Announced Northwest Arkansas manager Vance Wilson will join the staff as an additional coach.

TEXAS RANGERS — Recalled RHP Lisalverto Bonilla, INF Luis Sardinas and RHP Nick Tepesch from Round Rock (PCL). Purchased the contract of LHP Michael Kirkman from Round Rock. Transferred RHP Tanner Scheppers from 15- to 60-day DL.

TORONTO BLUE JAYS — Reinstated RHP Brandon Morrow and 1B Dan Johnson from the 15-day DL. Recalled 2B Ryan Goins, OF Anthony Gose, RHP Kendall Graveman, LHP Sean Nolin and LHP Daniel Norris from Buffalo (IL). Selected the contracts of OF Dalton Pompey and OF George Kottaras from Buffalo.

National League

PITTSBURGH PIRATES — Recalled LHP Jeff Locke, RHP Casey Sadler, RHP John Holdzkom, LHP Bobby LaFromboise and OF Gregory Polanco from Indianapolis (IL). Selected the contract of INF-OF Chase d'Arnaud from Indianapolis. Designated INF-OF Michael Martinez for assignment.

ST. LOUIS CARDINALS — Activated RHP Jason Motte from the 15-day DL. Recalled LHP Marco Gonzales, LHP Nick Greenwood, LHP Tyler Lyons and C Tony Cruz from Memphis (PCL).

American Association

AMARILLO SOX — Traded 1B Andres Rodriguez, INF Joe Weik and future conisderations to Fort Worth to complete a previous trade.

GRAND PRAIRIE AIR HOGS — Exercised the 2015 contract options on RHP TJ Bozeman, LHP Jared Gaynor, RHP Danny Gutierrez, LHP Alex Hinshaw, RHP Jason Jarvis, RHP Tobin Mateychick, RHP Hayden Shirely, RHP Brett Wallach, LHP Ben Whitmore, C Ryan Gasporra, INF Matthew Burns, INF Frazier Hall, INF Brian Myrow, OF Eric Baker and OF Madison Carter.

ST. PAUL SAINTS — Released RHP Mike Mehlich.

FOOTBALL

National Football League

NFL — Suspended Indianapolis owner Jim Irsay six games and fined him $500,000 for violating the league's personal conduct policy.

BUFFALO BILLS — Signed TE D.J. Tialavea to the practice squad. Waived/injured CB Bobby Felder.

CHICAGO BEARS — Placed WR Marquess Wilson on the injured reserve/return list. Signed CB Kelvin Hayden.

CLEVELAND BROWNS — Signed FB Kiero Small to the practice squad.

MINNESOTA VIKINGS — Signed OT Austin Wentworth to the practice squad. Released CB Kendall James from the practice squad.

WASHINGTON REDSKINS — Signed OL Braxston Cave and LB Jackson Jeffcoat to the practice squad. Released LB Chaz Sutton and OL Tevita Stevens from the practice squad.

Canadian Football League

EDMONTON ESKIMOS — Acquired OL Steve Myddelton from Hamilton for a 2015 conditional draft pick and a 2016 fourth-round draft pick.

HOCKEY

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National Hockey League

WINNIPEG JETS — Agreed to terms with F Nikolaj Ehlers on a three-year, entry level contract.

American Hockey League

SPRINGFIELD FALCONS — Named Andy Zilch manager of broadcasting.

COLLEGE

CASTLETON — Named Steph Moberg women's hockey coach.

HIGH POINT — Sloane Serpe women's assistant lacrosse coach.

KANSAS — Announced junior DB Kevin Short has withdrawn from school for personal reasons.

LENOIR-RHYNE — Named Katie Pate women's basketball coach.

NEW ROCHELLE — Named Michelle Duffy cross country coach.

UTSA — Named Cayte Billman assistant softball coach.

WINTHROP — Named Josh Odean volunteer assistant baseball coach.

YESHIVA — Named Joseph Agrest women's volleyball coach.

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