E-Boland & Gang Green

Jesse Chatman's agent, Brett Tessler, called me back a few minutes ago to give this statement regarding Chatman's suspension:

“Jesse never tested positive for a steroid or any other performance-enhancing drug. Near the end of last season the League claimed he had a diuretic in his system that they said could also be used as a masking agent. After spending great time and money defending his innocence, the League made its final ruling and now Jesse has no choice but to look ahead to week 5.”

Obviously, the Jets weren't caught by surprise here. Don't mean that in a judgmental way, just saying.

Also, totally unrelated, not a good debut by Rich Rodriguez's spread offense at Michigan. But his defense was even worse. The Michigan/Notre Dame game in two weeks looks just huge now. That game should be sponsored by Zoloft.

All right, back to newspaper writing. We'll have some thoughts on the roster later tonight or tomorrow morning. Depends how good the Clemson/Alabama game is. Not that I'm leaving the blog unprotected tonight by any stretch.

A statement from the NFL on Jesse Chatman:

"Jesse Chatman of the New York Jets has been suspended without pay for the team’s first four regular-season games of 2008 for violating the NFL Policy on Steroids and Related Substances. Chatman's suspension begins on Saturday, August 30. He is eligible to return to the Jets’ active roster on Monday, September 29 following the team’s September 28 game against the Arizona Cardinals."

"I'm disappointed," Eric Mangini just said on a conference call with reporters.

Mangini said Chatman had a job waiting for him when the suspension ends.

As for the roster moves, note the surprise of the Jets keeping four quarterbacks. I was way off on that one.

Here goes...

Injured Reserve:

S Cameron Worrell

Released:

LB Matt Chatham

DB Hank Poteat

Waived:

WR David Ball

OL Jacob Bender

WR Larry Brackins

DB Rudy Burgess

RB Jehuu Caulcrick

OL Stanley Daniels

OL Kyle DeVan

OL Nate Garner

DB James Ihedigbo

DL Thomas Johnson

DL Bryan Mattison

OL Matt McChesney

LB Blair Phillips

DL Ropati Pitoitua

TE Jason Pociask

WR Paul Raymond

LB Brandon Renkart

TE A.J. Schable

"Sometimes it's hard to find three (QBs) that you like," Mangini said. "It [keeping four] is unique but all four guys we like."

More to come but now I have to write some newspaper stuff.

The Jets just announced Eric Mangini's press conference, scheduled for 1 p.m. this afternoon, has been postponed until 6 p.m. Clearly, to use a Mangini-ism, the roster is a "fluid situation" right now, with more going on than simply trimming the roster to 53. The day's No. 1 question has turned into, what in the heck is going on with Jesse Chatman? His agent has told a few outlets that Chatman isn't going to be traded or released. Word is the Jets are looking into a few trade scenarios, with the obvious areas of need depth on the O-line - big time - and at safety.

So concrete answers to all this have been delayed for a bit, until early this evening. The league deadline for the roster cuts is 4 p.m. Back with more as answers come in. Now, back to tracking this stuff and, in the background, watching the Northwestern/Syracuse game, which is 3-2 in midway through second quarter. Yes, I'm a junkie.

Before packing up the Solara (103,000 miles and going strong) and heading back to New York, a short (we hope?) look back at tonight's Jets 27-20 victory in the final preseason game.

* Erik Ainge, it was probably too late to make the 53-man roster but good job showing the Jets you have some potential. A nice, strong throw on the 6-yard touchdown to David Ball, and the 13-yard sideline pass to Marcus Henry was solid. Ainge, who went 10-for-16 for 131 yards, is likely headed for the practice squad but, hey, that's where Brett Ratliff was last year. It's not a death sentence.

"I think they drafted me for a reason but things happen, you just have to roll with it and I'm not really going to worry about that," Ainge said of his roster future.

* Favre didn't play, as you know, spending the night wearing a green Jets baseball cap on the sideline. Turns out, he never got around to lobbying Mangini for playing time.

"I understood why he [Mangini] didn't want to play the starters," Favre said. "Sure I wanted to play but it wasn't a big deal. I never really brought it up."

* Jesse Chatman, take the weekend off. Monday, too, if you need it.

* Hear me out on this: after the dreadful first quarter, the backup offensive line actually opened up some holes for Chatman to run through. But Jacob Bender...eh.

* Kenwin Cummings, welcome to the bigs, kid. Marques Murrell, maybe you, too.

* FOB (Friend of the Blog) dmb, I will tell you I think it's 51-49 David Barrett gets cut Saturday.

* Yes, Vernon Gholston looks completely lost out there at times, but I'm not making any long-term judgments on four preseason games. It's logically unsound.

* Chansi Stuckey, who played some nickel corner, didn't look terrible and showed some decent tackling skills (he had 4).

"I found out Monday from the coaches that I might get some plays on defense," said Stuckey, who later added he had never before played the position in high school or college. "It was fun but I really did not work that much on defense during the week. Earlier in camp, we went over some defensive options with me and I just remembered what to do."

* Eric Mangini said we should NOT assume Dwight Lowery will start opposite Darrelle Revis in the opener because the rookie wasn't on the field tonight. I think I'll go ahead and make that assumption anyway.

* Marcus Henry had two catches for 40 yards. That 27-yarder he hauled in was a real beauty, reaching behind AND low to make the catch on the run, and then producing significant YAC afterward. David Clowney going down hurt, but it did allow Henry some playing time he wouldn't have had otherwise. And he's taken advantage, securing a roster spot, which two weeks ago seemed unlikely.

*Finally, a mea culpa here. I incorrectly, during Wednesday's live chat, said the Jets had the option of PUP'ing Clowney. But that is not an option because he started training camp on the active roster and practiced with the team. The Jets did PUP Matt Chatham last Aug. 28 but he had not practiced all of training camp. The guess here is the Jets will likely put Clowney on the 53 man roster and he will be inactive the first few weeks of the season. My apologies for adding to the confusion more so than usual. I'll blame it on watching too much Democratic Convention coverage (relax, as an RIB - Registered Independent Blog - the Republicans will provide us with fodder as well).

And now, I will leave the press box.

Jets (2-1) vs. Eagles (2-1)

Eric Mangini has chosen to give his starters the night off, so have the Eagles. So it is Back Up Bowl time tonight in Philly.

You won't see Brett Favre, but you should get a looked at rookie quarterback Erik Ainge under center. The focus should be on quarterback play night. Kellen Clemens has not stood out this preseason, but Brett Ratliff has. Will that trend continue tonight?

The key tonight is no injuries and a few clear cuts as the roster will have to be dwindled down before the Jets open in Miami.

Joseph Staszewski is here to take you through all the big hits and the big scores.

First Quarter

Scoring:

PHI- David Akers 40-yard FG (Eagles 3, Jets0)
8 plays, 40 yards, 3:21
Highlight: Kolb hits Celek with consecutive passes to gain 22 yards. The second pass went for 14 yards.

PHI- Booker 3-yard run (Eagles 10, Jets 0)
9 plays, 60 yards, 8:58
Highlight: Kolb connects with Baskett fro a 25-yard pass to the Jet 3-yard line on Third and 3.

Positive Plays

Vernon Gholston rebounds from a missed tackle to hold Buckhalter to just a 3-yard gain on the next play. On the Jets third series, Jessie Chatman did a real good job cutting into the holes and moving the piles. Chatman rushes for 15-yard on 3rd and 15 after a delay of game penalty.

Negative Plays

Vernon Gholston missed a tackle and allows Buckholter to gain nine yards on first down during the Eagles opening drive. Wayne Hunter gets beat at the line. It leads to a sack of Brett Ratliff on third down during the Jets second possession. Clemens takes a delay of game on 3rd and 10 during the Jets third series.

End of the First
EAGLES 10, JETS 0

Second Quarter

Scoring:

NYJ- Nugent 22-yard FG (Eagles 10, Jets 3)
17 plays, 72 yards, 8:06
Highlight: Raymond runs 21 yards to the Eagles 15 on a reverse to the left side.

PHI-Akers 28-yard FG (Eagles 13, Jets 3)
11 plays, 38 yards, 5:20
Highlight: Demps starts the drive with a 51-yard kick-off return.

NYJ- Ratliff 11-yard pass to Raymond (Eagles 13, Jets 10)
7 plays, 55 yards, 3:45
Highlight: Ratliff goes 3-of-4 for 56 yards and a touchdown on the drive

Positive Plays
Chatman runs for 46 yards on the Jets first scoring drive. Carrol has a 40-yard kick-off return after Akers made it 13-3 Eagles. Ratliff hits Marcus Henry for a 27-yard gain to the Eagles 11 to set up a touchdown pass. Abram Elam picks off Feeley on the right side line on 3rd down from the Jets 30.

Negative Plays
The Jets could not punch in a touchdown after starting 1st and Goal on the Eagles 6. Jets did not record a sack in the half.

Halftime: Eagles 13, JETS 10

Third Quarter

NYJ- Ainge 6-yard pass to Ball (Jets 17, Eagles 13)
9 plays, 67 yards, 4:54
Highlight: Ainge goes 4-of-4 for 62 yards on the drive throws his first career touchdown pass as a Jet.

Positive Plays
Chatman gains 39 yard but taking a short pass from Ainge up the right sideline on a drive that ended with a touchdown pass for Ainge.

Negative Plays
Ainge fumbles the snap on second and goal, but recovers on the second and goal from the Eagles 5.

End of the Third: Jets 17, Eagles 13

Fourth Quarter

Scoring:

NYJ- Nugent 34-yard field goal (Jets 20, Eagles 13)
13 plays, 61 yards, 6:40
Highlight: Chatman carries the ball eight times for 40 yards.

PHI- Feeley 3-yard pass to Childress (Jets 20, Eagles 20)
4 plays, 60 yards, 1:55
Highlight: Feeley hits Gasperson for a 54 yard pass to the Jets 6 to help set up a touchdown pass.

NYJ- Chatman 2-yard run (Jets 27, Eagles 20)
3 plays, 17 yards, 1:28
Highlight: Ainge finds Marcus Henry for a 13 yard strike to the left sideline.

Positive Plays

Carroll recovers a fumbled kick-off on the Eagles 17. Hank Poteat picks off Feeley just outside the end zone with under 3:00 left in the game.

Negative Plays

Jets give up an easy first down over the middle on a 3rd and 7 with under 3:00 left in the game.

JETS 27, EAGLES 20

Analysis: No injuries and no sacks for the Jets. The backup quarter back spot is still muddled, but Ratliff has certainly made a strong case. Erik Ainge was sharp tonight. The back up offensive line played well Chatman was the star thought with 29 carries for 93 yards and a touchdown. He also caught six passes for 87 yards.

First things first.

I will continue to refer to PSLs as Personal Screw Licenses because I find the underlying principle behind the PSL – a user’s fee – objectionable. It’s the equivalent of going to King Kullen and having to pay $100 at the door, THEN paying for my groceries.

And no more of the “Costco” argument, which I’ve heard from quite a few people when I’ve mentioned the grocery shopping analogy. Okay, let’s deal with that. Yes, you pay a $50 "user's fee" per year to belong to Costco. But in exchange, you gain entrance to a club that sells everything at DISCOUNT prices. There’s no discounts available to PSL holders. Come back with the Costco example when teams start using PSLs as a path to discounted ticket prices, parking and concessions. Actually, if teams did that, the whole PSL concept would be a great deal more palatable. But right now the PSL simply gives holders the rights to pay exorbitant dollars for everything else.

So that’s where I’m at on PSLs and nothing in the Jets plan sways me from that opinion. Nor from the opinion that fans never wanted a new stadium in the first place. To date, no one has produced a survey of any kind showing public demand that the Jets and Giants build a new stadium, let alone one costing $1.6 billion. But that’s wholly irrelevant now, so let’s deal in the here-and-now.

I can’t completely kill the Jets on their plan, which I’ve gone over carefully. And I liked their literature’s straight-forward address. There was no talk about PSLs as investments or taxi medallions (thanks), and while I disagree with the second paragraph claim, “While a PSL program is necessary to help finance this new building…” there was little in the way of condescension.

It is a savvy PR move to have the upper bowl without PSLs, though from looking at those non-PSL ticket prices and the seats that do have PSLs, the money is being recovered elsewhere. Here’s part of an email blog reader Mark McGillicuddy, a 23-year-old Financial Analyst, sent me earlier today:

“The upper bowl really isn’t THAT much better, if at all better for Jets fans. In the upper level, Giants tickets per seat will cost $95. Times 10 games a year that’s $950 + $1000 one time PSL.
In the upper level, Jets tickets per seats will cost $105. Times 10 games a year that’s $1050 + no psl fee.
I think it’s fair to assume most season ticket holders plan on keeping their seats 10+ years. Each seat for the Giants will break even after 10 years, AND they’ll own their PSL. Given that most people have 2-4 seats, a 5 year payment plan of $2000-$4000 now, plus the fact that in 10 years your seats will be cheaper (assuming the same percentage increase in ticket prices for both teams) seems like a better deal to me.
Not to mention the fact that at any time you can sell your PSL for the Giants, which will undoubtedly appreciate and would be worth more than the Jets PSL (most likely).”

Mark makes some interesting points, although to be clear, you do get ownership of your Jets PSL and, like the Giants’, those PSLs can be sold as well. Bottom line: how many of you thought there’d be any seats, let alone 27,000, without PSLs in the new place? The Jets did at least dare to be different.

No one was ever going to be completely happy with whatever plan the Jets released, but when Woody Johnson said in his letter, “We listened to our fans in designing the plan,” it seems like more than empty verbiage. He gets some credit for that.

But I would have liked to seen more value-added things for PSL holders. For example, PSL owners in the lower bowl and mezzanine seats ($4,000-$20,000) “will also receive these exclusive rights and privileges,” according to the Web site newjetsstadium.com:
" Incredible sightlines
 Access to VIP reserved parking
 More legroom and cupholders at every seat
 Option of purchasing tickets to other events and concerts (Subject to terms and availability.)
 Right to transfer or sell PSL in the future
 Ability to finance over 5 years”

It remains to be seen how much benefit is contained in some of those above mentioned benefits. Access to VIP reserved parking COULD be a tangible benefit but is it really if it costs $75 a game? I’m not saying it does or it will, but if it’s included in the price of the PSL or the season tickets, then we’re talking about a real benefit and not something nebulous or open to interpretation.

I’ve always thought some kind of price-lock guarantee would be a concrete PSL benefit. Such as, plunk down your $4,000 PSL (or $10,000 or whatever) and, in return, the team gives assurance that your ticket prices won’t increase for, say, four or five consecutive years. Just a thought. And throw in some parking and concession vouchers. Something from the team that says, “Ok, we’re asking you for some major up-front money to help pay construction costs, but as a gesture of goodwill, you’ll never pay to park as long as you have the PSL.” That's one example, anyway.

I love the idea of auctioning off the Coaches Club seats, which the organization says, “is the ultimate, premium Jets fan experience. Members can even watch the game standing right behind the Jets bench - any closer and you’ll risk getting tackled.”

A cap-tip to the Jets for out-of-the box thinking on that one. Not sure if that was Executive Vice President for Business Operations Matt Higgins, Executive Vice President for Finance and Stadium Development Thad Sheely, Woody Johnson himself, or someone else in the club hierarchy who came up with it. But it is, to use an Eric Mangini favorite, “a pretty unique approach.” Well done. Some people might be upset at the sanctity of the sideline being invaded, but c’mon, this isn’t an auctioned off seat at the table for a president’s morning cabinet meeting. It’s a football game. Let’s not take ourselves too seriously.

Overall, the Jets showed some ingenuity on this. As mentioned earlier, the only way they could have pleased everyone would have been no PSLs. But following the Patriots' model might not have been the best for fans, either. The Pats have some of the highest ticket prices in the league so hold the Bob Kraft-as-fan-philanthropist thoughts simply because he didn't do PSLs. Could the Jets plan be better? Yes. Could it have been worse? Absolutely. I thought it would be.

Sorry for the The Count of Monte Cristo-length post (yeah, I know I keep saying I'll be briefer. Next time. There's always next time).

Thanks to one and all for reading/participating in this morning’s live chat. We’ll do another one next week sometime to look ahead to the opener in Miami. Back at you tomorrow from Philadelphia.

Erik Boland answers your Jets questions in a live chat today at noon.

A few quick notes from the 45 minutes we were able to watch practice, the last one the Jets will ever have at Hofstra.

Veterans on this beat like Cimini, Cannizzaro and Hutch might have some fond memories to share of this place but this being my first year here, this is all I have:

Getting made fun of for wearing a blue “Hofstra Women’s Lacrosse” golf shirt during training camp; getting made fun of by some readers of this blog who showed up at camp (and some who didn’t); getting made fun of for a variety of things by artful Jets interns Matt Hintz and Christie Upton who, though I can’t confirm this, I suspect inserted their pictures into the media guide without permission; and, finally, some very bizarre press conference exchanges with Eric Mangini. Today’s retired the trophy on “odd” and if you’re really interested, you can look it up on line. I wouldn’t. As an aside I think I held up quite well to Mangini’s piercing wit. And, emphatically, I can say I didn’t take umbrage with anything that was said.

So in regard to practice today we did get to see three 7-on-7 plays before our allotted time to watch was up. With Brett Favre leading the way, those plays, against the “show” defense were:

1. A dump off over the middle to Thomas Jones
2. A short out for Dustin Keller that James Ihedigbo deflected away.
3. A 20-yard deep out to the right side that Chansi Stuckey caught between Ihedigbo and Ahmad Carroll.

Other than that, what we saw was special teams work and position drills.

* We did get to see a non-tackling version of the tackling drill. Among the top moves: Stuckey getting around Vernon Gholston, Marcus Henry juking out Mike DeVito and Brad Smith making a nice move to go past Darrelle Revis.

* Dwight Lowery, once again, started opposite Revis. In a drill with the dime package, we saw Revis and Lowery on the outside, with David Barrett and Drew Coleman inside.

* In one goal line shell, Favre connected on a fade to Jerricho Cotchery in the right corner of the end zone, just out of the reach of Revis.

* Stuckey had to run a penalty lap after dropping a punt. Jesse Chatman and Paul Raymond joined Stuckey, Leon Washington and Dwight Lowery as punt returners.

* Despite reports elsewhere, Kellen Clemens is still the Jets backup quarterback and every indication is he will start Thursday’s game in Philadelphia. He did say, “if all goes well,” it will be the last time we see him in a game this year. Clemens has been, and continues to be, a good sport. Classy guy with a sense of humor.

* In one drill near the goal line, Erik Ainge threw a fine pass to the back of the end zone that Hank Poteat stripped out of the hands of Marcus Henry at the last moment.

“Great throw!” an assistant coach exclaimed.

Ainge’s next pass, intended for Brad Smith near the right pylon, was intercepted by Revis.

* And this is for commenter Roger, who asked earlier about the tight ends: Mangini was asked about that group of four - Keller, Pociask, Franks and Baker - today and said, "I think there's definitely a very good chance that all of them could stay."

And with this being the final Jets practice at Hofstra, I’ll get the lights.

The Jets will not charge PSLs in the upper bowl of the new stadium, appx. 27,000 seats. Bob Glauber is at the presser but my initial reaction is...wow. I'm not at that press conference so that's the only thing I know but if there's no strings attached on this, good for the Jets. Much more to come from practice here, and from Glauber regarding the PSL specifics. Check out his blog to comment about the Jets PSL program.

Mangini announced OL Thaddeus Coleman, DB Ron Girault, RB Rodney Kinlaw and RB Musa Smith were released this morning. The roster gets cut to 53 on Saturday, Aug. 30. Just one more cut-down day to survive, Jehuu Caulcrick fans.

Oh, and the Jets press conference announcing the specifics of their PSL plan is today at 12:30 p.m. at the Meadowlands. Newsday's Bob Glauber is there. Out to practice...

Eric Mangini in the press room at 10:15 this morning and then player access and practice coming up afterward. I'll have details on all that but while waiting, this announcement: Back from the confines of the World's Most Famous Futon (trademark), it's our fourth live chat, tomorrow at noon.

Sharp.

Start lining up a few minutes before for the moderator's benefit. Brett Favre, PSLs, Calvin Pace, roster cuts, Democratic Convention, etc. so a lot to talk about. Mangini coming up shortly...

I know. These practice reports don’t read the way they used to. I’ll have to talk to Eric Mangini allowing me to document these regular season practices as thoroughly as those in training camp. I’m sure we can work something out.

So today we saw 45 minutes of practice with none of that time seeing the Jets do any 7-on-7 or 11-on-11 drills. It was stretching, special teams and individual position drills. Still, there’s always something:

* Both Laveranues Coles and Shaun Ellis went through the full practice, or at least the time we watched. Neither appeared to be limited in either way, which is a good sign. Justin Miller spent the practice on a hand bike on the sideline.

* While the defensive backs worked together, rookie Dwight Lowery worked almost exclusively as the starting corner opposite Darrelle Revis. Mangini, earlier in the morning, was asked about the Jets plans there.

“Well, Dwight has worked with the first team, David Barrett has worked with the first team, Hank was worked with the first team, and that’s part of the thought process there is to have multiple guys that can fill in,” Mangini said. “You saw last week we worked a lot of guys in a lot of different spots [including Barrett at safety] in the secondary to build that flexibility.”

I’ve commented before about how Lowery carries himself and here’s another example: before practice Lowery was asked if the prospect of starting in Miami for the opener was “daunting.”

“It’s not a daunting thing,” Lowery said. “Your teammates depend on you, regardless of who is in there they expect you to contribute as if no one ever went down. I think that is the biggest thing I place upon myself. I don’t want to let my teammates down.”

* The first 11-on-11 situation we saw was the Favre-led offense against the “show” defense [in this case, impersonating the Eagles]. The only plays run, however, were rushes by Thomas Jones and Leon Washington. Yes, Jones got a couple more carries.

* Mangini commented on the lack of running game thus far in the preseason this morning.

“I really think that it’s not something that is inherently flawed in terms of the way that we’re approaching it,” Mangini said. “I don’t think that the blocking has been poor. I think it’s been a function of some individual breakdowns. And we have transitioned over the last two weeks to radically different fronts than what we’ve seen, and very stylistically different.”

Mangini did mention – as some blog readers pointed out – playing against some 4-3 fronts has been the cause of the run game’s struggles, but here’s some more of the full text on what he said:

“That’s not in any way an excuse for the numbers that we’ve had,” Mangini said. “It’s got to be better. We’re going to face 4-3 teams and we’ve got to do a better job of understanding how we fit, how the linebackers are going to throw, where the hole is and prevent the negative plays. “

After Favre slung a 12-yarder over the middle to Chansi Stuckey (Revis was in coverage), a horn went off and an assistant coach said, “7-on-7s!” And with that, our time watching practice was done.

Same schedule tomorrow as today: Eric Mangini’s press conference at 10:15 a.m. followed by locker room access. While headed for that locker room access today, Dave Hutchinson of the Star Ledger offered this on the exceedingly quotable Favre, to whom we had just spoken to.

“You ask him what time it is and you can write 15 inches,” said Hutch, not a bad quote himself, of what would be a medium-length newspaper story.

Anyway, back to tomorrow: open practice follows locker room access from 11:40-12:25. OK, time to write newspaper things and I look forward to watching Seahawks/Chargers along with Democratic National Convention coverage tonight. Don’t judge my hobbies.

Brett Favre, while talking with reporters earlier, said, while he hasn't made his pitch yet to Eric Mangini to play Thursday night in Philly, he anticipates what the answer will be.

"I would assume he'll probably say no," Favre said, not sounding terribly disappointed. "And if that's the case, so be it."

Favre took a common sense approach to not playing. If he were to play, it would likely be for a series or two and he questioned how much really could be gained.

"I don't know if three plays or six plays, although I would like to do that, I don't know what you get out of that really," Favre said.

Mangini didn't tip his hand on the Favre front and didn't offer much more on the condition of Justin Miller, though he, in his own way, disputed the reported severity of the corner's injury.

Asked the chances Miller could play in Miami, Mangini said, "I haven't gotten a line out of Vegas, but I'd say pretty good."

Could be posturing. Tough to call with Mangini on those things.

Also, on the Mike Westhoff front, Mangini praised the former Jets special teams coach, who stepped down after last season because of medical issues, but said nothing was imminent yet. From listening to Mangini it's pretty clear Westhoff, if he receives doctor's clearance, would return more as a special assistant than an outright replacement for current special teams coach Kevin O'Dea, whom Mangini said he was "happy with."

"I'm not opposed to Mike coming back in some capacity," Mangini said.

He later added: "Medically there's still things he has to take care of. Mike to me was a lot more than a special teams coach. That's the most visible of what he does but he was really a big asset in terms of game management, penalties, some of the decisions. He's coached offense, he's coached different positions. I can go to him and say, 'Hey, take a look at look at this group here, let me know what you think,' totally separate from special teams because he's coached those positions. And you know with Mike, he's brutally honest. He doesn't sugarcoat very many things."

Ok, out to practice now. Back afterward.

Sort of. Short week with the Jets playing at Philly Thursday but today and tomorrow are similar to the days you'll see in the regular season.

Eric Mangini's press conference is at 10:15 this morning with the locker room open after that from 10:35-11:20 a.m. The media gets to watch practice from 11:40-12:25 p.m. As I mentioned last week, the long - some, maybe most, would say drawn out - practice reports are a thing of the past as we won't see nearly as much as we did during training camp. But we'll have something.

Expect the topic of the day - probably the next two days - to be whether Brett Favre will play Thursday. There are good arguments to be made why he should play and good arguments to be made for why he shouldn't. Right now I lean toward not playing him because I'm not sure one series is going to accelerate his progress much more. The work he needs to get done can be accomplished in practice. That said, if Eric Mangini decides to play him a series or two, it's tough to hammer him for that. How's that for fence-sitting?

Also today perhaps we'll get some official word on Justin Miller, not to mention something on the possible return of special teams guru Mike Westhoff. Back in a bit.

Some final thoughts on the Jets 10-7 victory over the Giants:

* No one has bragging rights from a game that was 0-0 at the half. Just had to put that out there.

* Eric Mangini left open the possibility that Brett Favre could play Thursday in Philadelphia.

“I’m open to it,” Mangini said. “I just want to see how practice goes. We have a short week. The penalty issue is going to be a real focus of mine over the next couple days.”

Favre, naturally, wants to play. I’ll call it 50-50 that he does. A real limb-crawl there, I know.

* But let’s go back to the penalties. Mangini certainly did, repeatedly, and he was steamed about them to say the least. His team was penalized 12 times, 10 times – 10! – on offensive plays. False starts were an issue, though none, ironically, by Damien Woody, training camp’s poster boy for early-start lap running.

* The Jets also had more illegal formations than there are formations. Mangini said an officiating point stressed this week from the league was having the tackles "up" at the line.

“This week’s point of emphasis was to have the tackles up,” Mangini said. “That was something we knew was going to be an issue and we should have done a better job with that close to the line of scrimmage.”

* Favre played well enough, going 9-for-12 for 96 yards. He had a 49-yard touchdown pass to Jerricho Cotchery – a perfectly thrown ball down the right sideline on a pump-and-go – wiped out because of an illegal formation on Bubba Franks. A 29-yard pass to Brad Smith, who made an incredible one-handed grab with his left hand that would have put the ball at the Giants 23 in the first quarter, was negated because of, all together now, an illegal formation penalty. Favre’s best throw that counted was the 30-yarder on a deep cross to Jerricho Cotchery. Get used that play.

“We had some big plays that were unfortunately called back,” Favre said. “All we have to do is watch the film to see that we have a lot of potential. I just goes to show how little things can lead to big things. They are things that can be corrected rather quickly and easily but you can’t win making those types of mistakes.”

* I don’t know how long it took for the Jets to amass eight sacks last season – I wasn’t covering the team then and it’s late and I’m not going to look it up because it really doesn’t matter – but that’s how many the defense produced tonight. Two from Calvin Pace, who also showed up in run support. Had to like what you saw out of him, along with David Harris, David Bowens and, yes, Cody Spencer, who now has three sacks in the last two games. Kareem Brown played well again and I have to think he’s secured himself a roster spot. Not to speak for Mangini, of course. Not a great night for the secondary but two nice pass deflections by the veteran, Hank Poteat. And Kris Jenkins improves by the week. Not much of a learning curve for him, apparently.

* I’d say Bill Callahan’s offensive line more than passed this test. One sack, which occurred on Favre’s first pass attempt, charged against the starting unit is a pretty good night against a pass rush that completely embarrassed Cleveland last Monday night. D’Brickashaw Ferguson stood up just fine to Osi Umenyiora, who unfortunately got hurt in the second quarter. Speaking of Callahan, he spoke! Not tonight, but I sat down with Callahan recently and this is the story I did on him for Sunday's Newsday.

* Who do you like as the No. 2? Kellen Clemens finally got some help from his receivers, meaning they caught the ball. Clemens had by far his best game, finishing 9-for-12 for 83 yards. Ratliff, however, rebounded from his ugly interception to throw what turned out to be the game-winner, the 24-yard touchdown to Paul Raymond. Nice to see for Raymond, who probably isn’t going to make this team but at least his enduring memory from the experience won’t be – or shouldn’t be – the potential touchdown he dropped last week against the Redskins.

* No. 2 isn’t settled, how about the No. 3…receiver? Mmm. Brad Smith had two receptions for 37 yards but the most impressive catch of the night was the one mentioned above, the one-handed grab with Corey Webster in good coverage, that didn’t count. Smith just might have surpassed Stuckey tonight.

* That deep seam pass that Clemens hit Dustin Keller with in the third quarter, the 34-yarder, I think we’ll see about 25 more times this year.

* Jehuu Caulcrick, you may just make this team.

* No word on Justin Miller, who left the game late in the second quarter with what was announced in the press box as a “foot injury.” Miller sustained the injury coming up to make a tackle on Giants running back Derrick Ward. Asked for details after the game, Mangini said, “It is his foot.”

And there you have it. The Jets are off tomorrow, back at it on Monday.

Good evening Jets fans, welcome to another night on the Jets blog. Tonight the Jets will be taking on the reigning Super Bowl Champion Giants at the Meadowlands. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m.

On the Jets: Despite the improvements and major offseason acquisitions, the Jets have many questions that need answering.

On offense, who will emerge as the main receiving threat behind Laveranues Coles and Jerricho Cotchery? Brad Smith, Chansi Stuckey, David Clowney? All three have the ability.

How much will Brett Favre play tonight? The third preseason game is usually when the starters play at least a half and into the third quarter. Look for Favre to play at least until the half.

Defensively, will rookie linebacker Vernon Gholston begin to emerge as the top playmaker the Jets think he can be?

In the secondary, Drew Coleman, Hank Poteat and David Barrett all have incentive to play well as Dwight Lowery has emerged as a threat to their playing time. Kickoff is minutes away. Enjoy the game.

First quarter recap:
Score: 0-0

Nothing doing in the scoring department as both teams failed to put any points on the board. Both defenses tightened up on third down.

Brett Favre completed 4-of-5 passes for 32 yards.

Positive plays: Brad Smith, trying to emerge as the Jets third receiver, caught a screen pass and took it 20 yards on the Jets second drvie, setting up the Jets with a 1st-and-10 from the their own 39. Second-year linebacker David Harris burst through the middle on a blitz on the Giants second possession and sacked Eli Manning for a 10-yard loss forcing third and long. Rookie defensive back Dwight Lowery followed up that play, tackling Brandon Jacobs after he gained just five yards on a screen to force a punt.

Negative plays: Rookie linebacker Vernon Gholston lost contain and allowed Brandon Jacobs to pick up 19 yards on the first play of the Giants third possession. An illegal shift by Jets wide receivers nullfied a 20-yard catch by Brad Smith on the Jets second drive. Favre was sacked by Justin Tuck on the Jets first drive forcing a third and long.

Second quarter recap:
Halftime Score 0-0

Still nothing on the scoreboard as both teams have played solid defense. Both teams also have seemed to catch the penalty bug. But it is the preseason and a little rust is expected.

Positive plays: Calvin Pace picked up his second sack of the game, causing a 17-yard loss and forcing the Giants to kick a field goal. The Giants had the ball 3-and-7 from the 7 with less than 20 seconds left. The Giants' Josh Huston missed on a 42-yard FG attempt.

Favre hooked up with Brad Smith for 17 yards on the Jets second drive of the second quarter. He later connected with Jerricho Cotchery for a 49-yard score, but the play was nullified because of an illegal formation penalty. The play didn't count, but the penalty cleary didn't effect the outcome of the play.Farve completed 3-of-4 passes for 30 yards. It would've been 4-of-5 for 79 yards.

Favre showed he still had some gas in the tank and scrambled eight yards for a first down on the Jets first drive of the second quarter. He found Jerricho Cotchery on a crossing pattern two plays later for a 30-yard gain. Thomas Jones carried three times, but gained just three yards on the same drive.

Negative plays: Bubba Franks was the guilty party on the penalty that nullified Cotchery's touchdown. The Jets had three procedure penalties on that drive, including one by Alan Faneca.

The middle of the Jets defense gave up a 18 yards to Derrick Ward on a counter play, setting up first and goal for the Giants at the 7.

Third quarter recap:
Score: Jets 3, Giants 0
Scoring drive: 17 plays, 72 yards. 9:18
Scoring play: Mike Nugent, 24-yard FG
Key Plays: Kellen Clemens hooked up with Dustin Keller for a 34-yard pass play. The Jets converted two fourth-down plays; Wallace Wright on a nine-yard catch and Jesse Chatman on a five yard catch.

Positive plays: Clemens' 34-yard pass to Keller. C.J. Mosely and Drew Coleman had sacks on consecutive plays. Clemens finished the drive 8-for-11 for 80 yards. The Jets defense limited the Giants to 17 yards.

Negative plays: Brett Ratliff, who was in at quarterback for the Jets second possession of the third quarter, was intercepted by Giants DE Renaldo Wynn.

C.J. Mosely was penalized 15 yards for taunting after his sack. The Jets began their first possession of the third quarter on a dubious note, commiting three straight procedure penalties. They added a fourth procedure penalty later on the drive. Chris Baker Will Montgomery, Jacob Bender and Matt McChesney were guilty of the infractions.

Fourth quarter recap:
Score:Jets 10, Giants 7
Jets scoring drive in the fourth quarter: 2 plays, 51 yards, :39 seconds.
Scoring play: Brett Ratliff, 24-yard TD pass to Paul Raymond.
Key Plays: Ratliff completed a 25-yard pass to Jason Pociask.

Positive plays: Linebacker Cody Spencer and defensive back Abram Elam had sacks on consecutive plays, forcing the Giants to punt. Kareem Brown sacked Giants QB Andre Woodson. Jets DBs Drew Coleman and Hank Poteat broke up pass plays on consective plays that would've been a first down for the Giants. Drew Coleman intercepted Andre Woodson on the Giants final drive of the game.

Negative plays: Giants rookie WR Mario Manningham beat Jets DB Ahmad Carroll for a 32-yard catch.

Final score: Jets 10, Giants 7

Analysis: Brett Favre had a strong day. He didn't throw any TD passes, but he was accurate, completing 9-of-12 passes for 96 yards. He had a 49-yard scoring play to Jerricho Cotchery wiped out because of a procedure penalty. The running game still left something to be desired as Thomas Jones gained 11 yards on six carries. Kellen Clemens was solid as he completed 9-of-12 passes for 83 yards. Third string QB Brett Ratliff made up for a third-quarter interception as he found Paul Raymond for a 24-yard scoring play. The Jets defense had five sacks, an interception and made big plays when it had to.

The Jets defense had a day to write home about, while the offense needs to cut down on the penalties.

The Jets are back in action next Thursday at 6:30 to take on the Philadelphia Eagles in their final preaseason game of 2008.

My thanks to Katie Strang for filling in yesterday and, apparently, based on some of the comments in her post, winning you over in that short time.

But I completely understand.

Everything.

Katie will be joining me at for the game tomorrow night and here are a few things I'm looking for from the Jets in their third preseason game:

- How good or bad will Favre play? If he duplicates - over the course of a half or more - what he did in two series last week against the Redksins, Favre will probably not play next week against the Eagles. I know the conventional wisdom is that Favre definitely won't play in Philly but I'm not sure. If - and it's a big IF - Favre stinks it up against the Giants, I think he almost has to get some time in Philly.

- Some more carries for Thomas Jones. Eric Mangini said Jones has gotten plenty of reps in training camp, which is true as Jones clearly is the team's No. 1 back. He's looked it, too, in camp, but as Favre has said, there's no substitute for game experience. Jones doesn't need 15 carries tomorrow night but more than two or three wouldn't be a bad thing.

-The O-line vs. the Giants D-line. This is probably tied with Favre - and is obviously related to - for the No. 1 storyline in this game. Mangini has raved about the job Bill Callahan has done with the line and it gets about as stiff a preseason test as possible against a D-line that completely overwhelmed a good Cleveland line last weekend.

- Who's No. 2, Ratliff or Clemens?

- Can Dwight Swipe a starter's job? Mangini made it clear late this week that the corner job opposite Revis was wide open. My thought is if Lowery plays as well tomorrow night as he did the first two preseason games, he'll nail down the job and be the starter in Miami. A certain commenter (hello, dmb), I will expect cartwheels from if that's the case.

- There's plenty more to watch, including Mike Nugent rebounding, Kris Jenkins continuing his progress and Vernon Gholston doing the same. Also, with the first round of cuts upcoming, the interest doesn't end when the starter's depart. Should be a fun night.

Now, you may stop reading and I encourage you to do so. For [or "fore"] the rest.......

* I do wish Katie Strang could have filled in for me today during the annual Writer Cup matches, which took place at Emerson Golf Club in New Jersey. It pits the Jets reporters against those reporting on the Giants in a match-play format. I took copious mental notes, and a couple physical ones, and had a long post prepared. But since the Giants writers beat the Jets writers pretty soundly, I'll let those wordsmiths over there handle the details. I will simply say Mike Dougherty of the Journal News beat me 1-up and my partner, WFAN's Jerry Recco, was beaten by Mike Garafolo of the Star Ledger, also 1-up. Or maybe it was 2. Whatever. And I know what you're thinking here and I agree: Yeah, I thought Recco would be better, too. Sounds like an athlete, looks like an athlete but, well, um, not so much. Yes, Jerry, straight under the bus for you.

In truth, though, I wasn't very good and Jerry had reason to say under his breath - or out loud - "14 handicap my ***."

How bad was it? I hailed the beverage cart girl after pulling a 7-iron into the trees on the par-3 second hole and was on my first beer by 9:14 a.m. I got to know Marissa the cart girl quite well during the course of the morning. And strangely, my game gradually improved, though not nearly enough.

There's a problem when your best moment of the day is finding a sand wedge that you hurled, after flubbing consecutive sand shots, into some wickedly deep thicket. I'm really not that tempermental usually but the pressure, not to mention the majesty and potential glory, of the Writer Cup, can bring even the calmest to their respective knees. The wedge throw happened on the 15th hole and God, showing the supreme sense of humor He's known for, saw to it that my tee shot on 16 also found sand. Then again, it was probably just another bad swing by me.

The highlight of the day for Team Jest? Recco burying a downhill 18-footer on 16 to halve the hole and keep us 1 down. But we still lost by a hole to Garafolo and Dougherty. A tip of the cap to those two guys and the rest of the Giants writers who earned their victory and the spoils that go with it.

If there are mistakes in this post - misspellings, misstatements, misinformation - it's because I'm writing while on a LIRR train on my way into the city. Yeah, we'll go with that.

With E-Boland's comprehensive blog reports detailing every nuance of practice, so today is the tough transition back to reality. Boland begrudgingly took a day off, and even Mangini inquired as to his whereabouts. He must've thought Erik took his advice and found a date, but since I just got off the phone with Erik and he was parked on his futon, I'm guessing that's not the case:) Anyways, while even if I tried to mimic Erik's play-by-play rundowns (which I probably couldn't), today was the first installment of a very truncated practice viewing. Reporters were allowed to watch about 20 minutes of the team workout today, which consisted largely of stretching, footwork drills, and special teams, so nothing too exciting. Baker and Franks both made a couple nice grabs on 15-yard out routes, and I kid you not, Favre was dropping back into coverage on receivers for a couple practice reps...no need for a heart attack, he was just being playful and talking to some guys after their routes...he didn't pull a hammy or intercept any long balls:)

On a more serious note, Gene Upshaw was one of the main topics of conversation today in the locker room. Most players were shocked upon hearing the news and had no idea Upshaw was ill. Here are a couple of reax from the players:

FB Tony Richardson, NFLPA Exec Committee-
People are still in shock. We haven't had a chance to speak to anyone from the league yet or our union office. We're definitely going to miss Gene because he was a tremendous leader for our organization.

Hopefully, everyone in this locker room recognizes that they're a lot better for having Gene as their leader. He did so much. Every guy in this locker room can say they benefited from his leadership.

Brandon Moore, Jets NFLPA player rep-
His services to the leage won't be questioned. I think he'll be remembered as a guy that had the best interest of the players and took a stand and started out when there wasn't a lot of people in favor of that transition. He'll be remembered greatly by the players in the NFL.

Damien Woody, OL-
First and foremost, he was a Hall of Fame player, that’s the number one thing, great career, part of some great Oakland teams, but the big thing for people that really don’t know is, for a negotiator, he was really tough as far as really getting the players what they wanted out of the deal and a lot of things we have now in our cba's were from making a stand and just standing strong as an organization, and you have to give credit there to Gene Upshaw.

Another popular topic of conversation today was the Giants' formidable pass rush, and how that will provide the Jets O-line a gauge for their progress.

Nick Mangold, C-
They did a lot of great things on their defense. It'll be a good opportunity to see where we're at and see how things are doing.

Damien Woody, OL-
They were really good against Cleveland and they’ve got some really good athletes in the front seven. We feel like we're pretty good up front and it's gonna be a really good test, guys are definitely looking forward to it. We’re cleaning some things up today, and we'll just keep making progress up until the game and just go out there, most importantly have fun and see how it goes.

Tony Richardson, FB
Their front four is phenomenal. Anyone of those guys could have been up for MVP of the Super Bowl. They took over the game. It’s going to be a good task for us and it’s going to be a good measuring point.

--Katie Strang

A good crowd attended the final training camp practice today at Hofstra, though they had to wait toward the end of practice to see Brett Favre’s best throws.

* And they came in his two-minute situation, which was the offense trailing 24-20 with 1:59 left. On first down, Favre threw a nice ball down the right sideline that a diving Brad Smith caught for a 35-yard pickup. On the second play, Favre faked and then hit Jerricho Cotchery, running a stop-and-go, for a 19-yard gain down the left sideline. A quick out to Chansi Stuckey gained six yards but the drive stalled from there, with Favre’s fourth-and-3 pass from the 19 sailing high over the head of Smith. Good overall camp for Smith and Stuckey, whom I would pronounce about even for that No. 3 receiver spot.

* Favre is making his way through the ranks of the Jets receivers. He established an early connection with Cotchery and then started working Dustin Keller in after that. The last couple of days of practice there’s been a lot of balls thrown Stuckey’s way. As the tight ends go – I’m not counting Keller in that category – Chris Baker has seen as many passes as Bubba Franks, a good sign.

* Brett Ratliff threw a perfect spiral that traveled about 40 yards in the air, hitting Jerricho Cotchery for a 50-yard touchdown during one 11-on-11. Burgess left defensive backs Rudy Burgess and Ron Girault far, far behind on the route. Rookie receiver Marcus Henry, getting more and more time with David Clowney out, had a drop but also two nice catches. Ratliff fired an 18-yarder over the middle to Henry in one 11-on-11 and he hit the rookie for a 23-yard gain on a deep seam route during a two-minute drill. That drill, incidentally, ended when safety Cameron Worrell intercepted a Ratliff pass, intended for Wallace Wright, at the 12. Just to be clear: Ratliff did get to run the two-minute offense today but that’s not an indication he’s not the No. 2 QB. Kellen Clemens ran the two-minute offense yesterday; Ratliff didn’t. But that said, I have a suspicion we might see Ratliff first - after Favre - on Saturday. If I’m wrong, I’ll do my laps.

* We know this almost certainly: David Barrett will not be the starter opposite Darrelle Revis. Rookie Dwight Lowery was in by the defense’s third series today and overall played more with the “1s” than did Justin Miller. Miller is still the starter but I’m not sure that’s going to be the case in Miami Sept. 7.

* Mike Nugent went 6-for-6 in field goals in the middle of practice, with plenty of distance to spare on his makes from 43 and 48 yards.

* With Erik Ainge running the Giants scout team, Hank Poteat made an interception on a ball that was deflected at the line.

* At various points, Calvin Pace (a very underrated camp performer), Kareem Brown and Marques Murrell put pressure on the quarterback. Brown keeps looking better and better. Same for Murrell, who might be able to provide some LB depth. And C.J. Mosley continued to be worked in with the first team defense.

A couple of training camp-enders, courtesy of the great Randy Lange at newyorkjets.com:

* Today’s practice went 2 hours, 17 minutes, the second-longest session of camp. Only the 2:18 practice on Aug. 13 was longer. The average length for the 25 practices of this year’s camp was two hours, which was Mangini’s stated goal before camp started.

Also from Lange: an estimated crowd of 4,100 watched today’s practice, bringing the combined attendance for camp to over 70,000, a Jets training camp record. This was aided, of course, by the addition of Brett Favre on Aug. 9, with that day’s attendance of 10,500 a single-day record.

* Today’s Hempstead Mini-Marathon participants: Chris Baker (false start), KRIS (Wow, I can't believe I spelled it 'Chris' for the first time in my last TC post. Bad job, Erik) Jenkins (off sides) and Ratliff and Will Montgomery (fumbled center exchange).

* Laveranues Coles and Shaun Ellis were again limited in practice, though Coles saw his first 11-on-11 work in a while.

And finally, we on this blog went through training camp without a day off and Eric Mangini made me feel bad about myself today, so I’m taking tomorrow (Thursday) off. Katie Strang will quite ably be filling in for me. But though I am far, I will be near.

Anyway, straight from the reporter-insert-foot-in-mouth category, here was an exchange with Mangini from today’s presser:

Mangini: “I don’t get out much. I talk to Mike (Tannenbaum) and a few other people. How do you guys feel?”

Me: “I don’t get out much either.”

Mangini: “You’re single, though, right?”

Me: “Yes.”

Mangini: “You might have to get out a little more.”

Then I seamlessly transitioned into a question about Dwight Lowery, although as I did so I concluded Mangini had somehow been in contact with my parents. The advice sounded strikingly similar.

And therefore, while I will not be going out tonight upon finishing this blog post, I will be taking tomorrow off as I need to get a start on writing things for Newsday’s special NFL pullout section. As an aside, I have about eight things to write for that section, as does Tom Rock, our Giants – and former Jets – reporter. Our NFL columnist, Bob Glauber [who continues to take Cleveland shots at me], I believe, has the responsibility of putting together a 50-word chart for the section. As the old saying goes, to whom much is given, little is expected.

And speaking of little, before I go here, this will be the last of the super-sized practice reports. Starting tomorrow the Jets, as do most teams, move into in-season practice mode meaning reporters' access is somewhat curbed. But there will be stuff nonetheless. Good night. K-Strang fills in tomorrow, but I'll probably be lurking about for questions/comments, etc.

Sorry for the delay on the practice report. I got hung up a bit with some of my newspaper duties [yes, those!] so I'll have something on practice soon after I finish.

Meanwhile, Jason, quickly rising through the ranks as a top FOB (Friend of the Blog), has posted some of today's post-practice autograph session on YouTube. Jason, you'll recall, posted the most famous penalty lap in league history - featuring Brett Favre and Nick Mangold - a little while back on YouTube. In this clip, Kerry Rhodes, Laveranues Coles and D'Brickashaw Ferguson are signing for fans.

[the Mr. Coles reference in the header will become obvious if you watch the clip with the sound up].

Before I head outside for practice, this was Eric Mangini in his press conference’s opening statement a few minutes ago:

“It’s been an exciting training camp. We’ve had a lot of fans here for different times, different points. But over the time I’ve been here, it’s always been great to have the energy from the fans. It gets a little bit longer at times in training camp and there’s some times where the coffee’s just not getting it done but having them here, having the kids here, having the passion here, it’s always great. We’ll spend a lot of time after practice signing autographs for fans, just being able to spend time with them is pretty unique. It’s going to be our last day here [for a public practice] at Hofstra, so it’s a pretty special day.”

As for the horrible job by the Jets of letting fans know about this last open practice at Hofstra – ever – at the very last minute, someone from the PR office told me this earlier this morning: “We screwed up. It was a mistake.”

Honesty will always get a cap-tip here. Headed out for practice. Back with that report after player interviews and such.

Take a bow, Bob Glauber. While out at Jets camp Tuesday, our NFL columnist weighed in on Jets fans getting hammered by Peter King. Click the link for the full post but here's a snippet:

"I would never criticize a fan for not showing up to a preseason game, even if he/she has already paid for a ticket. The games are meaningless, people's time is valuable, and if there is something better to do on a warm summer night than drive four hours round trip, spend $60 in gas, another $100 in food and other expenses - especially in this economy - then it is that person's right."

Well said. As I said yesterday, I respect and admire King tremendously. But his initial take on this failed every conceivable test of logic and his response Tuesday to some of the letters sent by Jets fans might have been worse.

Ok, good night.

Oh, wait. I should tell you your last chance to see Favre in person - and the final open practice ever at Hofstra for that matter - is Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. Camp breaks after that. Too late to make plans? Well, that's too bad. The Jets sent out a release at 11:49 p.m. Tuesday night making the announcement.

I have a bit of sensory overload on this, but I will refrain from further comment until hearing what should be an interesting explanation for what on the surface looks like a collective slap in the face of a fan base that has been supporting training camp out here for 40 years. But, hey, at least you have the "opportunity" to buy PSLs at the end of the month, loyal and appreciated fans!