When we last saw the New York Jets, their offense was putting up 56 points in a win against the Cardinals. That's good by any measure but for a unit still getting to know their leader it's even better. With two weeks to prepare for the Bengals, you'd figure the Jets would be working hard to install the remaining pieces of the offense so Brett Favre has every chance to succeed for the rest of the season. On top of that, the defense, also full of new faces, surrendered 76 points over the last two games needs some tweaking.
That made it curious to read today's New York Daily News which reported that Eric Mangini held light practices during the bye week. The Jets haven't been bad through four weeks but they haven't played a complete game either which begs for some productive work on the practice field. After the Bengals, the Jets face the Raiders and Chiefs. Three winnable games and three games they'll likely have to win to challenge for a playoff berth in a deep AFC.
Lighter practices don't necessarily mean the team won't be better when they take the field on Sunday but this was the team's best opportunity to fix things outside of the spotlight. From here on they will be limited by weekly games, aching bodies and limited time. We'll find out Sunday if laying off the whip was the right move for a team still figuring out who they are.
