Jerricho Cotchery writes each week’s opponent on the top of his notebook as his coaches begin to go over the scouting report.
This week, the Steelers wide receiver wrote “Jets” and stopped for a minute.
“It’s a little weird,” Cotchery said of facing the team he played for from 2004-10.
There was a small chance Cotchery could have returned to the Jets this year. He spoke to the team in the spring when he was a free agent, but decided to re-sign with Pittsburgh.
“I wouldn’t necessarily say it was close,” Cotchery said Wednesday during a conference call with New York reporters. “Yes, I did talk to the Jets, but at the end of the day, Pittsburgh really wanted me back here, and it’s a place I wanted to come back to. I don’t think any team would’ve come between that at that time.”
Cotchery was a fan favorite with the Jets, but things deteriorated between him and the team last summer. The Jets cut him during training camp in 2011 with coach Rex Ryan saying then that Cotchery had requested to be released or traded. Cotchery’s departure remains a bit of a mystery.
“The reality of it, I don’t think anyone really knows everything that transpired between myself and the Jets, so everything there is between us,” Cotchery said. “There isn’t anything to look back on and really say, ‘I really regret it,’ or anything.”
Cotchery signed with the Steelers after the Jets cut him last year. He declined to compare the two franchises, but praised the Steelers’ “family atmosphere.”
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The Jets and Steelers are both known for having great defenses. Jets safety LaRon Landry said he thinks the Jets defense can be better than Pittsburgh’s.
“We can be as great as we want to be,” Landry said. “I’m not about to turn it into a controversy, but I think we can win over them. I think we have all the pieces they have, even better. To answer your question, I think we’ll pull it off.
“If you look at each position, I like the matchups. I choose my guys over any of those guys.”
Landry said the Jets defense is like a “piece of art” with all the positions fitting together.
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WR/PR Jeremy Kerley missed practice with a lower back injury. Kerley won AFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance against the Bills on Sunday when he returned a punt 68 yards for a touchdown. … In addition Kerley and CB Darrelle Revis (concussion), OLB Bryan Thomas (hamstring) and FB John Conner (knee) did not practice. S Eric Smith (hip/knee) and NT Sione Po’uha (back), who both missed last week’s game, were limited in practice. … Steelers safety Troy Polamalu (calf), LB James Harrison (knee) and RB Jonathan Dwyer (foot) did not practice.
brian.costello@nypost.com