The Jets’ defense needs all the help it can get these days, so the return of cornerback Donnie Abraham should improve the secondary.
But Abraham doesn’t expect his presence will solve all of the team’s problems.
“I hope I can help a lot,” said Abraham, who will play in the Jets’ nickel defense when they face the Jaguars tomorrow at Giants Stadium.
“But I’ve been out for a while, so we’re not going to get five or six interceptions just because I’m back.”
At the rate they’re going, the Jets would be happy with just one pick. Through 10 games, they have mustered only five interceptions. That is at least partially due to Abraham’s absence.
He hasn’t played since the second week of the season, when he broke his shoulder trying to keep Miami QB Jay Fiedler out of the end zone and his shoulder collided with the crown of Fiedler’s helmet.
Abraham initially thought he wouldn’t be out for long.
“Whenever you get hurt, you think you can come right back,” Abraham said. “I thought I would be back in two or four weeks. But then you realize it’s going to be a lot longer.”
A total of eight weeks, as it turned out, although to Abraham, it seemed worse.
“It’s been so long since I’ve played, it feels like two years,” Abraham said.
Abraham said he isn’t sure how long it will take for him to get back to his typical, ball-hawking style.
“I don’t expect any problem,” Abraham said. “I feel 100 percent, until I take a hit.”
No one knows how Abraham will react to that, but he insisted the question won’t affect the way he approaches the game.
“I’m definitely worried about that first hit, but it won’t change my aggressiveness at all,” Abraham said. “That’s how I have to play.”
That’s how he was playing before the injury. Abraham played well a year ago, his first with the Jets after leaving Tampa Bay, and excited Herman Edwards, as well as himself, with how he had started this season.
“I felt really good about how I was playing, and that since it was my second year here I was coming into my own,” Abraham said.
“Then all of a sudden the injury happened.”
* DE John Abraham (groin) is expected to play tomorrow, in a limited capacity. Edwards said he plans to use Abraham on third downs and pass-rushing situations … WR Santana Moss (ribs) returned to practice yesterday and will play tomorrow … RB LaMont Jordan (hand) also is expected to play.
* Since Mike Westhoff’s arrival, the Jets have had one of the best special-team units in the league. But while their stats remain good this year, they have given up some big plays, including the game-winning TD on a fake field goal by the Colts last week. The assistant coach expects that to change.
“That’s uncharacteristic for us,” Westhoff said. “That’s why I’m not satisfied, even though are stats are pretty good. You can never be satisfied when you have a record like we do.”
Time heals all wounds
Donnie Abraham (29) will return to the Jets’ lineup tomorrow when they face the Jaguars. He was one of four defensive starters sidelined by injury this season.
Here’s a look at the Jets’ opening-day defense and games they’ve missed this season:
Pos. Player Games Missed
DE Shaun Ellis 0
DT DeWayne Robertson 0
DT Jason Ferguson 0
DE John Abraham 4 (groin)
LB Mo Lewis 1 (hip)
LB Marvin Jones 0
LB Sam Cowart 0
CB Donnie Abraham 8 (shoulder)
CB Aaron Beasley 0
SS Sam Garnes 0
FS Jon McGraw 4 (shoulder) *
* out this week