10/03 – The Jets might be playing on the road this weekend, but Jerricho Cotchery will have a ton of support inside the New Orleans Superdome. “I’m going to have a lot of family there. I’m setting my number [of tickets] around 30,” Cotchery said on this week’s Jets Radio installment of “Jets Two-Minute Drive.” “If I can keep it at 30, it will be great. That’s just brothers and sisters and nieces and nephews — not even friends. It will be fun playing in front of your family and trying to make some things happen in front of them.” Growing up in Birmingham, Ala., Cotchery was the second-youngest of 13 children. Now the 27-year-old, already a grizzled NFL veteran in his sixth pro season, has a family of his own with wife, Mercedes, and their beautiful 2-year-old daughter, Jaycee. “Every time I leave the house, she says, ‘Daddy play football.’ It’s a lot of fun when your daughter is recognizing those types of things,” J-Co said. “When you get home, she just wants to jump in your arms and jump on top of you and have fun with you. It’s fun when I leave the facility and go to the house.” While Dad might be a little reserved, Jaycee definitely has discovered the gift of gab. “She’s doing a lot of talking right now. It’s 24 hours,” said Cotchery. “I think she talks in her sleep as well.” Jets Nation should be able to rest well because Cotchery is not only in a comfort zone off the field but on the field as well. His 285 receiving yards are the third-best total in football and the Green & White’s No. 1 wideout is on pace for 96 receptions and 1,520 yards. “I think Coach [Henry] Ellard has been a blessing to me, helping me out with a lot of things and the way we’ve been communicating with each other,” said Cotchery. “He’s been helping me recognize a lot of things as far as my technique and everything being a receiver, and I’ve been trying to apply that every Sunday I step out there. A lot of things have come together for me.” Considered by many to be just a possession target, Cotchery is averaging 15.8 yards per catch (Randy Moss is picking up 10.8 yards a grab) as he’s “The Guy” for the first time in his career. He’s a good route runner and a tough wideout who never thinks twice about putting himself in harm’s way. “I’m not even thinking about a defender, I’m not thinking about anything else but catching the ball. That’s what separates a lot of guys when they’re going across the middle — their focus on the ball,” he said. “ That’s what I focus on, just making the catch for the quarterback. Every time the quarterback drops back, he knows that his guy is going to make that play for him.” The summer up in Cortland prepared Cotchery for the regular season. It was there in Central New York where J-Co would face the NFL’s best corner, Darrelle Revis, play after play. “He prepares for you like an opponent, so every day he’s trying something different. The thing that you beat him on the day before is not going to work twice on him,” Cotchery said of the battles. “Every day you have to be aware of what he’s going to do because he’s changing it up as well. I was preparing for him like he was an opponent as well. There were some fierce battles out there and you know you’re going to get better in the end.” One of the classiest guys in the sport, Cotchery has found a comfort zone. The Saints will have to account for him or else you’ll probably see a whole section of No. 89s whooping it up down by the French Quarter. Cotchery Invites You to a Tailgate Jerricho and his wife, Mercedes, will host The Cotchery Foundation's second annual “Tailgate with the Pros” at ESPNZone in Times Square on Monday, Oct. 19, from 7:30–10:30 p.m. There’ll be plenty of folks on hand to enjoy Monday Night Football, great food and entertainment provided by comedian Michael Jr. Cotchery will also bring some of your favorite Jets players along with local sportscasters Sam Ryan and Joe Benigno. All proceeds raised from this event will benefit underprivileged children by funding enrichment programs and enhancing educational opportunities through two outstanding organizations in the tristate area: Citizen Schools and Pride Academy Charter School. To confirm your appearance or to buy tickets for The Cotchery Foundation’s “Tailgate With The Pros,” you can click here now. Cotchery Foundation - Invitation Cotchery Foundation - Sponsorship

No. 89 Getting Support at Home, in the Superdome

10/03 – Larry Izzo has made his mark in the NFL on special teams with two AFC East teams that don't wear green and white — the Dolphins and Patriots. But with the recovery of the Titans' muffed punt last Sunday, he hopes he has proved that he is focused on making plays for his new team. “I’m sure there are a lot of Jets fans out there that are not quite Izzo fans but hopefully at some point they will be,” he told newyorkjets.com Friday. “It’s my job to go out there and earn their respect.” His accomplishments over the years demand your respect. Including the first three games this season, by the Jets' accounting, the 14th-year veteran has 258 special teams tackles in his career, plus 23 more in the playoffs. According to Stats Inc., Izzo has 200 tackles, still the most by any NFL player since the stat service began tracking ST tackles in 1994, two years before he began his career. Since then he’s gone to the Pro Bowl three times, played in three Super Bowls and been selected special teams captain by his teammates nine times. “That’s how I’ve made my living, that’s what I do," he said. "When you go down and make a big hit and the way it can really fire up your team, it can really change a game. There’s nothing better than that. “Now I’m sure taking a pick to the house or sacking the quarterback is probably equally as great, but for me that’s what we play for is to go down and smack someone in the mouth.” He’s enjoyed reuniting with ST coordinator Mike Westhoff, under whom he played for his first four pro seasons with Miami (not including '97, which he lost to an Achilles tear). One quality he likes in Westhoff is his “aggressive approach” that was so evident last week in the Titans game when the kick coverage recovered two fumbles, setting up touchdowns for the offense. “Momentum can change with a play," Izzo said. "It happens in the kicking game and most NFL teams realize that and that’s why they put such an emphasis on it. A lot of games are won or lost on who had the edge in the kicking game.” On the muff recovery, Izzo was initially blocked and pushed to the sideline by a blocker. He kept fighting and running, and while Brad Smith kept returner Ryan Mouton at bay, he dived on the ball, like a baseball player head-first into home plate. You can anticipate that type of effort from the ST ace. “That’s what special teams is — winning one-on-one,” he said. “When you beat your guy one-on-one, sometimes you beat him and the ball's going away then you’re not near the ball. But when it does happen it’s a nice feeling.” Expect him to fight those battles again this week on punt coverage against a Saints unit that features Reggie Bush as the returner. “He’s a guy that’s very explosive and can get to the edge and hurt you that way,” said Izzo. “But you’ve also seen success where teams overplay the outside type return and then he can take it up the middle. You have to have lane discipline and be aggressive.” Izzo talked about going against Bush and other topics on Tuesday morning at 8:30 during his weekly segment on Sirius NFL Radio with Bob Papa and Randy Cross. He may consider radio in his post-football career, but for now his attention is on getting an important road win in the Superdome vs. the Saints. If you watch Izzo run down the field, you’ll see him giving 100 percent every time, and you'll have no question that he's playing like a Jet. *Special Teams Saturday.

STS*: Izzo Tackling His New Fan Base

10/02 – The hits just keep on coming for “Hitman” Harris. On a Jets defense not lacking for star power and bravado, David Harris is quietly becoming one of the National Football League’s top linebackers and he’s only played three games in this system. “I’ve been putting in a lot of extra effort, studying and watching film, and watching a lot of old Ravens film trying to get used to the situation that I’ll be in,” Harris told newyorkjets.com. “I've been looking at guys like Ray Lewis and trying to put myself in his shoes. It’s good. I’m beginning to feel real comfortable. I’m not nervous out there and we’re allowed to play fast and fly around.” Week 4: Jets-Saints Release Harris leads the NFL's third-ranked defense with 24 tackles and he’s been dominant at times. He was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week after racking up 12 tackles, two QB hits (including a sack) and a pass defended in a season-opening win at Houston. Then earlier this week, head coach Rex Ryan awarded Harris a game ball after he collected a sack and an interception of Kerry Collins in the fourth quarter as the Jets held off a tough Titans team at home. “I just try and go out there and take it one play at a time and just do my best in the scheme,” he said. “Whatever they ask us to do, I try and do my best. If it’s taking on lead blocks, I’ll do that gladly if it means somebody else will make the tackle free in the backfield. I just try to go out there and play how we play.” The Jets have an embarrassment of riches on their defensive interior with NT Kris Jenkins creating room for both Harris and Bart Scott. After years of clearing space for future Hall of Famer Ray Lewis in Baltimore, Scott has stepped out of the shadows and leads the club in QB pressures with six and is also tied for the team high in tackles behind the line with four. The problem teams have in preparing for the Jets is that the Green & White’s inside ‘backer tandem is not just talented but versatile as both men can line up at either the Mike [middle] or Will [weakside]. “We have the capability of flip-flopping roles,” Harris said. “Maybe one week I’ll do a lot of blitzing and the next week he’ll be the one rushing. It all depends on the game plan. It’s good when two linebackers can do that inside — it gives the defense a lot of flexibility.” Harris, who racked up five sacks as a rookie in 2007, has a team-leading two entering Week 4. He’s got five QB hurries himself and the Jets' sack total of four is misleading because they’ve played a trio of veteran quarterbacks who can get the ball out in a hurry. “I’ll say everybody’s blitzing a lot more. This defense puts a lot of pressure on the offenses with disguising and overloading, size and four-man blitzing off the edge, which is hard for offenses to pick up,” said the Hitman. “When you see that, offenses play standard because they don’t know who to pick up in the blocking scheme, so it allows us to go out there and kick butt, I guess.” It was Harris’ phenomenal play as a rookie — he combined for 34 tackles in his first two pro starts — that enabled the Jets to deal Jonathan Vilma to the Saints in February 2008, getting back a pair of draft picks (CB Dwight Lowery, fourth round, ’08, and a third-round pick in April’s draft that they used to trade up and select RB Shonn Greene). The trade has worked out for both clubs as Vilma’s 151 stops last season was the most for a Saints defender since 1997. “We feel like J.V. is a treasure for us because he’s a perfect fit for the style of defense we want to run. He’s a guy that can get to the football, get up and down the line and is a great leader,” said veteran S Darren Sharper. “That’s probably the best thing that he does is just be a true professional, a true leader for this team and making sure everyone is on the same page. I know he’s going to have a little bit of extra motivation and extra incentive playing a team that drafted him. He’s definitely looking forward to playing this game.” Harris said this week that he hasn’t spoken to Vilma in over a year, but the two "left on good terms.” It’s really ancient history now and the softspoken Harris is carrying a mighty big stick into the Superdome as the 3-0 Jets and the 3-0 Saints get ready to tango by the bayou. Week 4: Jets-Saints Release

Harris Is Hitting His Stride in the Middle