JETS: LOOKING BACK
Dwight Lowery's lot in life is this: With second-year cornerback Darrelle Revis on the other side of the field, the rookie from San Jose State will get picked on this season. That was apparent the first week of the season, and Lowery responded by breaking up several passes against the Dolphins.
And during the first half of Monday night's loss against the Chargers, Lowery was again holding his own. On the Chargers' second possession, Lowery chased down Vincent Jackson and deflected away a pass. He later came over the top of Antonio Gates and broke up another pass inside the Jets' 10-yard line.
But even if you give Lowery a pass on Gates' touchdown in the second quarter -- the coverage was nearly perfect, but Philip Rivers' throw was better -- it's hard to overlook how he was beaten on the Rivers-to-Jackson, 61-yard connection that sealed the game in the fourth quarter. That converted a third-and-5 from the Chargers' 38-yard line with the Jets trailing 38-23.
"Giving up long plays on defense, not getting off the field on third down,"
Jets coach Eric Mangini said, "... we can't do that and expect to win games, especially to win games on the road."
LOOKING FORWARD
You'd think the Jets, as the home team this week, would have an advantage. However, the Cardinals haven't had to fly across the country twice. The Jets have. The Cardinals played in Landover, Md., against the Redskins on Sunday and already had it set up to stay in the D.C. area. Meantime, as the Jets flew to and from San Diego, the Cardinals were preparing for a week of practice at Catholic University and will take the train to New Jersey on Saturday.
LOOK AT THEM
Mike Gandy vs. Calvin Pace
In his first season with the Jets, Pace has been solid (17 tackles, 1 1/2 sacks) if unspectacular. He'd probably like to have a breakout game against Gandy and the Cardinals, with whom he played for the first five seasons of his career.
-- STAR-LEDGER STAFF
MOVING THE CHAINS
There's something to be said for the job security an NFL quarterback enjoys. He doesn't always have to be a winner. He doesn't always have to have a strong arm. He doesn't always have to even be able to keep track of the jersey he's wearing.
Okay, so those aren't necessarily all true. But for every Eli Manning and Peyton Manning and Ben Roethlisberger -- prototypical-sized, franchise quarterbacks who seem likely to spend their entire careers with one team -- there is a journeyman who, when he resurfaces, begs the question: "He's still in the league?"
Today's NFL is the home of the retread. In fact, with some of the guys who have moved back under center this season, another question can't help but be asked: "Do they even have any tread left?"
-- Brian Griese, Buccaneers. He hasn't played a full season as a starter since 2001, so that would explain why his arm was fresh enough to hoist up 67 passes Sunday against the Bears -- one of four previous teams that discarded him. (Broncos, Dolphins, Buccaneers, Bears, Buccaneers)
-- Kerry Collins, Titans. His resume at least has some credentials, having taken the Panthers to the NFC Championship Game and the Giants to the Super Bowl. In NFL years, however, that was eons ago. Still, he gives the defense-first Titans a QB who might have learned how not to lose games. (Panthers, Saints, Giants, Raiders, Titans).
-- Gus Frerotte, Vikings. Think he was sweating out the Vikings' flirtations with Brett Favre this summer? With no Favre, he had to know it was only a matter of time before he got the call to take over for Tarvaris Jackson. (Redskins, Lions, Broncos, Bengals, Vikings, Dolphins, Rams, Vikings).
-- Kurt Warner, Cardinals. Matt Leinart has been given three years to become the guy in Arizona, and Warner was supposed to hold a clipboard and be Leinart's mentor. In 14 games since taking over as the starter, Warner has thrown for 3,587 yards and 29 touchdowns. (Rams, Giants, Cardinals).
-- Trent Green, Rams. He was supposed to be the starter in St. Louis before he blew out his knee and gave way to ... Warner. A decade later, he has his shot. Of course, he was knocked silly in Kansas City and in Miami. Given the Rams' line, we're not sure things will turn out any better. (Chargers, Redskins, Rams, Chiefs, Dolphins, Rams)
QUICK HITS
-- Things could get ugly in a hurry for the banged-up Steelers, who will be without star running back Willie Parker (knee) in their Monday night AFC North battle against the unbeaten Ravens. That means quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who took a beating last week against the blitz-happy Eagles, will need to stand tall against a stout Ravens defense -- literally. Pittsburgh's offensive line is in shambles and without the explosive Parker around to keep defenses honest, Roethlisberger is an injury waiting to happen. You think the Steelers are regretting not signing All-Pro guard Alan Faneca?
-- Three cheers for Lions vice-chairman Bill Ford Jr., who finally said out loud what we've all been saying for years -- team president Matt Millen has to go. Fortunately for Millen, Junior doesn't have the power to pull the trigger. Memo to team owner William Clay Ford: listen to your son.
-- Rumor has it Raiders fans have started their own version of the survivor pool starring lame-duck coach Lane Kiffin. Problem is, Al Davis needs to find a replacement crazy enough to work under his watchful eye before he can pull the trigger. Many moons ago, coaching the Raiders was a privilege. Now it's a sentence.
-- The 1-2 Vikings "saved"
their season last week with a comeback win over the Panthers, but they are still on life support. This Sunday they face the unbeaten Titans on the road and next week they face the Saints in a prime-timer in New Orleans. A 1-4 start is not what owner Zygi Wilf had in mind when he opened his checkbook this offseason and coach Brad Childress might find that out the hard way.
THE TOP FIVE
1. COWBOYS (3-0): Another convincing prime-time win, this time at Green Bay. 'Boys need to prove it in playoffs but look great now.
2. GIANTS (3-0): Any given Sunday ... how else do you explain how they struggled to beat the Bengals? Looked good, though, on that OT drive.
3. EAGLES (2-1): McNabb and Westbrook are hobbled, but after putting a hurting on AFC's previous best (Pittsburgh), it's hard to not rank them high.
4. TITANS (3-0): A home win away from best start in franchise history, but they still have the Vikings (this week), Colts (twice) and Steelers on tap.
5. BILLS (3-0): Tough call, but we give them the nod over the Broncos for two reasons: 49 points against, three legitimate victories.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
28. BROWNS (0-3): Call us crazy, but the only reason this 2007 playoff team isn't lower is because at some point, the talent there should win some games.
29. RAMS (0-3): They are 87 under on points for/against on the season (116-29). Didn't they used to win games by that score?
30. TEXANS (0-2): They've given up 69 points (in two games), have used their bye and play in same division as Jags, Colts and Titans. Long season ahead.
31. CHIEFS (0-3): They knew they were going to be bad ... they just didn't expect to be on their third QB. Three wins is a lofty goal at this point.
32. LIONS (0-3): Remember when you thought they were good? Not when they had Barry Sanders or Bobby Layne. Last year, when they started 6-2. No more.
GIANTS
LOOKING BACK
The Giants used the no-huddle offense to take the lead late in the fourth quarter. When the Bengals tied the game to send it to overtime, the Giants could have gone back to varying formations and personnel to confuse Cincinnati's defense. Instead, they stuck with the shotgun formation and either three or four receivers for 10 of their 12 offensive snaps in overtime.
It was basically the hurry-up offense without the hurry up, and it allowed the Giants to build off the momentum of their final drive in regulation. It was a wise decision because, if they had gone back to switching personnel from play to play, perhaps the sluggish offense they displayed for three quarters would have returned.
"We didn't have to get into any kind of hurry-up, so we huddled,"
coach Tom Coughlin said. "But we thought our best chance to have some versatility with our attack with the run and the pass was to be in that (shotgun) formation or that personnel set."
The only time the Giants broke the formation was on the first play of their second drive when they thought they could connect on a deep ball for WR Domenik Hixon. When that didn't work, they put QB Eli Manning back in the shotgun until the final offensive play when they wanted to get a play off quickly before the replay official could check WR Amani Toomer's sideline catch.
LOOKING FORWARD
The Giants have their bye a bit earlier than they would have liked, which will force them to play 13 consecutive weeks to close the regular season. Accepting their fate and not getting frustrated with the schedule makers is the first challenge they'll face in the next two weeks.
The second challenge will be to win the first game after the bye week for only the fifth time in team history. The Giants fell to 4-15 in that scenario when they lost to the Cowboys in Week 10 last year. Under Coughlin, they're 1-3 in the week after the bye.
"Whatever you want to ask,"
Coughlin said when asked if he's ready for two weeks of questions about the team's post-bye record. "I may not be able to come up with the answer."
The Giants signed TE Martrez Milner, the Falcons' fourth-round pick last year, to their practice squad, the team confirmed Tuesday night.
-- MIKE GARAFOLO
