The Jets this week will again see former defensive coordinator Mike Pettine, who is now with the Bills. Pettine plays a large role in a new book called “Collision Low Crossers” that will be released next Tuesday. The author, Nicholas Dawidoff, spent the 2011 season with the Jets and was given amazing behind-the-scenes access.
The book gives readers an inside look at what life is like in the NFL for the front-office members, players and especially coaches. Pettine is a big part of the book. Dawidoff even lived with him for some of the season.
There are not that many revelations about the season, but one involving Pettine and cornerback Antonio Cromartie is interesting. Pettine had told the media there is a “good Cro” and a “bad Cro” earlier in the season, commenting on Cromartie’s inconsistency.
That got under Cromartie’s skin, and he exploded at a meeting later that year after Pettine criticized Cromartie in a film-study session with the defense.
“When Pettine chided him, Cro said, ‘Shut up,’ ” according to the book. “Then he said, ‘[Bleep] you.’ Pettine told him quietly, ‘Don’t lose your cool. We’re all in this together.’
“As soon as Pettine left and the defense split into positional units, Cro said loudly that Pettine was ‘a high-school coach’ and declared he wasn’t ‘gonna take it’ from him.”
The two later met to smooth things over, according to the book. But people inside the Jets said there was always tension between Cromartie and Pettine. You wonder if the two will give each other a big hug on the field on Sunday. Probably not.