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Florham Park – Huge game for the Jets this week. It’s essential they get to 4-4 entering the bye-week. Let’s get into some important notes and Whispers from One Jets Drive . . .
I asked Sione Pouha as he left the locker room for treatment on his bad back, if he was going to play on Sunday, and his response was “I’m optimistic.”
I did see Pouha with the starting defense today in practice.
“He’s out there giving it a shot this week, so we’ll see,” Rex Ryan said.
“Shot” is probably the operative word here. While Pouha is getting better, he will likely need a cortisone shot of his back to help him get on the field . . .
Bilal Powell was wearing a red jersey in practice today, so it’s unlikely he’s going to play on Sunday. The red jersey in practice means “don’t touch.” . . .
After Mark Sanchez played pretty well at New England, you would think that the media would give the Tebow thing a rest for a week.
No way. They are double-down.
Plenty of divide-and-conquer questions for Rex and the two quarterbacks this week.
One team official told me today he thinks that some of these reporters, who continue to write Sanchez-Tebow, even during a week like this after a good game by Sanchez, are getting marching orders from their editors, and aren’t doing it on their own . . .
Joe McKnight had one of the best quotes I’ve heard in a long time.
“If Mike Westhoff can coach with a rod in his leg, I can play with an ankle injury,” McKnight said.
Westhoff had leg cancer over a decade ago, and has a titanium rod in his bad leg, which snapped last year, and he had to get a new one.
After McKnight finished his press briefing, he walked out of the locker room with a bad limp.
On Monday, he had his bad ankle in a boot, and was on crutches.
But he says he will play on Sunday . . .
Vlad Ducasse is dealing with injuries to his left elbow and left knee . . .
Expect a little bigger role for wide receiver Jason Hill this week as he’s getting more comfortable with the offense.
“I’m asking less and less questions,” Hill told JC about his comfort level with the playbook.
This is a player who can help the Jets. He has 4.3 speed, and a lot of experience. He’s not some kid off the street. He has 78 career catches to go along with nine touchdowns. This is an underrated pickup for the Jets. I’m not saying he’s a star, but he’s very capable. I get the sense he’s going to be more involved this week . . .
Rex Ryan is pissed at some reporters questioning what they consider his conservative decision-making on Sunday, and he’s not hiding it . . .
Lex Hilliard (pictured above) was an integral part of the Miami Dolphins’ special teams from 2008-2011. While the Dolphins have almost an entirely new coaching staff with the arrival of head coach Joe Philbin, they did retain special team’s coach Darren Rizzi.
Hilliard told JC today he thinks Rizzi is going to tweak some of his strategy this week because of the extensive knowledge the Jets fullback has of the Dolphins’ special teams playbook.
Hilliard also told me that Rizzi is very aggressive going for blocked punts . . .
October 24, 2012
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