The clock is still blinking eights. It isn’t ’Tone Time yet.
Jets receiver Santonio Holmes did not practice again on Friday and will not play on Sunday in Cincinnati. It will be the fourth straight game the receiver has missed since suffering a hamstring injury on Sept. 29 against the Titans.
Holmes said his hamstring felt good on Thursday and he ran one route during wide-receiver drills that day, but he said he is being cautious to avoid a setback.
Holmes could have an extra two weeks of rest with a bye week following next Sunday’s home game against the Saints, but coach Rex Ryan said Friday the team would not look at the potential additional week of recovery as a deciding factor in Holmes’ status next week.
“I can understand where you’re coming from with that, that logic probably makes sense, but in this league, if a guy like that is ready to go, you want him playing,” said Ryan. “He’s a difference maker and if he’s healthy to go, we want him playing.”
Ryan then joked, “And we’re playing my brother [Saints defensive coordinator Rob Ryan], so yeah, he’s playing.”
The No. 1 receiver in Holmes’ absence, Jeremy Kerley (hamstring), was limited on Thursday, but practiced fully on Friday and is listed as probable. Kerley is coming off his best game of the season, in which he caught eight passes for 97 yards and a touchdown against the Patriots.
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Tight end Jeff Cumberland (hamstring), center Nick Mangold (ribs) and wide receiver Greg Salas (knee) were limited participants in practice, with Mangold and Salas being listed as questionable for Sunday.
Ryan said Mangold will play.
“He’s good. We’re going to leave it questionable, put some doubt in their mind,” Ryan said with a smirk. “I don’t know, doesn’t look good (joking)…He’s fine.”
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After committing nine penalties in their last game, the Jets remain the most penalized team in the NFL, averaging 9.1 per game.
Last season, the team averaged 5.2 penalties per game, which was tied for the third-best mark in the league. This season, 22 of the team’s 64 penalties have come on false starts (tied for second) and offsides calls (most in the league).
“Clearly we have to do a better job of that. Those are the ones that get you,” said Ryan. “Sometimes there’s combat penalties that are aggressive, you can live with those. You can’t live with the self-inflicted ones. It’s still a work in progress and we have to do better still in that area.”
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Running back Chris Ivory was voted the FedEx Ground NFL Player of the Week after rushing a career-high 34 times for 104 yards in the win against the Patriots.
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Though the Jets may shadow Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green with Antonio Cromartie, Ryan said there may be times when the team may not have a choice but to help out their top cornerback against the 6-foot-4, two-time Pro Bowler.
“Obviously Cro is the best corner we have and A.J. Green’s clearly their best receiver, so I think that matchup, if you’re playing true man coverage, that’s probably your best matchup,” said Ryan. “If you’re not, then there’s probably other things that you can or you may have to double him. And we may double him if Cro’s on him. Who knows? He’s really talented guy. Like I said, [Green’s] probably the best receiver in the AFC.”
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Ryan said he was pleased with cornerback Dee Milliner’s return against the Patriots. The 22-year-old had missed the previous three games with a hamstring injury. After benching the first round selection in Week Two against New England, the coach said he has seen consistent improvement from Milliner.
“At no point did we ever think he wasn’t a player,” said Ryan. “It’s just, those things happen. The fact, you know he played well last week and he did a good job in what we asked him to do. So, we’ll see how it goes this week.
“This a tough group we’re up against, but I think you’re going to see steady progress with him…all that stuff should be behind him now.”