Jets running back Joe McKnight is not worried about the team bringing in competition at his position.
The Jets added Chris Ivory and Mike Goodson this offseason to compete with McKnight and Bilal Powell for carries. McKnight, however, said he is confident he’s sticking around.
“Whoever they bring in, I don’t care,” McKnight said. “You understand that? I don’t care who they bring in. They’ll have to kill me to take my spot.”
McKnight sounds angry, though he says he’s not angry at the Jets, but at doubters who believe he won’t make the team.
“I’m not angry at all,” he said. “I’m just tired of people writing or running their mouths talking about I’m not going to be here. I’m going to prove it to them that I’ll be here.”
* Quinton Coples got the message.
Coach Rex Ryan sent a shot in the second-year player’s direction last week when he criticized Coples’ work in the weight room.
“It was a wakeup call, but it was cool,’’ Coples said Thursday. “I got better. That was the most important part.’’
Coples, who is moving to outside linebacker, said it was the first time he had ever been called out by a coach like that. He said Ryan was referring to one drill in particular and Coples understood Ryan’s point.
“Do I agree with him? I agree with him,’’ Coples said.
* Another Jets rookie is switching agents. First-round pick Dee Milliner fired agents Mitch Frankel and Tony Fleming, according to a source. There is a five-day waiting period before the cornerback can hire a new agent. A source said Pat Dye Jr. is expected to be Milliner’s new agent. Second-round pick Geno Smith fired his agents just after the draft. The quarterback is expected to hire a new agent, possibly Jay-Z’s agency, next week.
* Guard Vlad Ducasse said he knows he’s running out of chances.
Now in his fourth year in the NFL, Ducasse is viewing this season as his last opportunity to break into the starting lineup.
“It’s now or never,” Ducasse said. “I’ve talked to Coach Rex about it. It’s pretty much the year for me to do what I was drafted to do.”
The Jets took Ducasse in the second round of the 2010 draft. He split time with Matt Slauson at left guard last year, but has never broken through as a starter. Slauson is now on the Bears and Brandon Moore, the team’s other starting guard last year, remains a free agent.
The Jets signed veterans Willie Colon and Stephen Peterman at guard and drafted Brian Winters and Will Campbell to compete at the position.
“This is the NFL,” Ducasse said. “There’s always going to be competition around. There was no reaction. Keep it the same. We go to work every year. That’s pretty much it.”
* Mark Sanchez took the high road in responding to Panthers receiver Steve Smith ripping him.
“I wish him and his team a healthy and successful season,” the Jets quarterback said.
Appearing on a radio station, Smith said Wednesday that Sanchez “sucks” and “I wouldn’t let Mark Sanchez throw me a paper bag sandwich.”
— Additional reporting by Mark Cannizzaro