Paul Hackett's offense leads league in scoring...

**jAZ** · 09-22-2004, 05:01 PM

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Sep 22, 6:09 PM EDT

Hackett steers productive Jets offense

By ANDREA ADELSON
AP Sports Writer

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. (AP) -- With a healthy Chad Pennington and reinvigorated Curtis Martin, the New York Jets are scoring plenty of points.

They have 65 in two games, good enough to lead the league so early in the season.

"If you can tell me that at the end of 16 games, I'll be one happy guy," offensive coordinator Paul Hackett said. "It's been a good start, no more than that."

A good start against Cincinnati and San Diego, two teams not exactly known for their defense. Their first big test comes after the bye week, when they play at Miami on Oct. 3. But there is something to be said for being able to find an offensive rhythm so quickly in the season.

Hackett is all too familiar with the other side. After Pennington went down last preseason with a broken left wrist, Vinny Testaverde took over. Hackett acknowledged that he should have tried to focus more on the running game while Pennington was out.

Martin had 15 carries in the opener last year and 10 in the following game. The Jets had to abandon the run so quickly in those games because they fell behind, and Martin struggled to gain any yards even when he got carries.

"Maybe the balance could have been improved upon," Hackett said. "That is being seen now. Now all of a sudden there is a shift in the Curtis Martin focus, perhaps where it should have been a year ago.

"Last year, I did not do a good coaching job. A guy got hurt and we weren't able to overcome it. If you don't learn from the years where you get your butt kicked, you have a problem."

After finishing 6-10, Hackett was the target for criticism. Coach Herman Edwards sat down with him in the offseason to talk about what the offense needed to do to be more productive. Hackett and his assistants went back to watch every game tape dating to 2001, his first season with the Jets.

He wanted to find what worked and what did not work. What he saw was a productive Martin in 2001, when he had 1,513 yards, and an offense in rhythm at the end of 2002, when Pennington had a few games under his belt after replacing Testaverde as the starter.

At the end of that regular season, the Jets posted 72 points in their final two games.

"I think the meetings on the offseason were good on both sides of the football," Edwards said. "We just knew how we wanted to go about doing things. We've kind of played it how we like to play. Done a good job."

So far this year, the Jets have scored over 30 points in both games. Last year, they did it just twice. Martin is in great shape, with 315 yards rushing. And Pennington once again has been accurate and efficient, going 42-of-56 for 482 yards with four touchdowns, no interceptions and a passer rating of 124.3.

Because of the balance, the Jets have noticed better, more creative play calling.

"Hackett is doing such a good job mixing up the formations," Martin said. "He is doing a great job keeping the defense off-balance. They are on their heels more this year."

It helps that Hackett and Pennington have a great relationship. When Hackett came under scrutiny at the end of last season, Pennington was his biggest supporter. Now that Pennington came in as the entrenched starter and stayed healthy in the preseason, there is more continuity.

"The flowing, the rhythm we established in 2002, you see moments of that now," Hackett said. "It's been a year to sort of recapture that."

09-22-2004, 05:01 PM	Topic Starter
jAZ Supporter Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Tucson, AZ Casino cash: $9817493	Paul Hackett's offense leads league in scoring... http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories...S&SECTION=HOME Sep 22, 6:09 PM EDT Hackett steers productive Jets offense By ANDREA ADELSON AP Sports Writer HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. (AP) -- With a healthy Chad Pennington and reinvigorated Curtis Martin, the New York Jets are scoring plenty of points. They have 65 in two games, good enough to lead the league so early in the season. "If you can tell me that at the end of 16 games, I'll be one happy guy," offensive coordinator Paul Hackett said. "It's been a good start, no more than that." A good start against Cincinnati and San Diego, two teams not exactly known for their defense. Their first big test comes after the bye week, when they play at Miami on Oct. 3. But there is something to be said for being able to find an offensive rhythm so quickly in the season. Hackett is all too familiar with the other side. After Pennington went down last preseason with a broken left wrist, Vinny Testaverde took over. Hackett acknowledged that he should have tried to focus more on the running game while Pennington was out. Martin had 15 carries in the opener last year and 10 in the following game. The Jets had to abandon the run so quickly in those games because they fell behind, and Martin struggled to gain any yards even when he got carries. "Maybe the balance could have been improved upon," Hackett said. "That is being seen now. Now all of a sudden there is a shift in the Curtis Martin focus, perhaps where it should have been a year ago. "Last year, I did not do a good coaching job. A guy got hurt and we weren't able to overcome it. If you don't learn from the years where you get your butt kicked, you have a problem." After finishing 6-10, Hackett was the target for criticism. Coach Herman Edwards sat down with him in the offseason to talk about what the offense needed to do to be more productive. Hackett and his assistants went back to watch every game tape dating to 2001, his first season with the Jets. He wanted to find what worked and what did not work. What he saw was a productive Martin in 2001, when he had 1,513 yards, and an offense in rhythm at the end of 2002, when Pennington had a few games under his belt after replacing Testaverde as the starter. At the end of that regular season, the Jets posted 72 points in their final two games. "I think the meetings on the offseason were good on both sides of the football," Edwards said. "We just knew how we wanted to go about doing things. We've kind of played it how we like to play. Done a good job." So far this year, the Jets have scored over 30 points in both games. Last year, they did it just twice. Martin is in great shape, with 315 yards rushing. And Pennington once again has been accurate and efficient, going 42-of-56 for 482 yards with four touchdowns, no interceptions and a passer rating of 124.3. Because of the balance, the Jets have noticed better, more creative play calling. "Hackett is doing such a good job mixing up the formations," Martin said. "He is doing a great job keeping the defense off-balance. They are on their heels more this year." It helps that Hackett and Pennington have a great relationship. When Hackett came under scrutiny at the end of last season, Pennington was his biggest supporter. Now that Pennington came in as the entrenched starter and stayed healthy in the preseason, there is more continuity. "The flowing, the rhythm we established in 2002, you see moments of that now," Hackett said. "It's been a year to sort of recapture that."
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