For Laveranues Coles, there appears to be no joy in Jetville.
The departure of Chad Pennington seems to still be weighing on Coles, who while speaking to reporters yesterday sounded joyless compared to the usual jovial, joking, give-and-take vibe he gives off to those who cover the team.
There’s a distinct lack of enthusiasm in the voice of Coles, who was extremely upset when the Jets released Pennington once Brett Favre was acquired.
This much should be made clear: Coles does not have a problem with Favre. He merely misses Pennington, his close friend, and appears still to be trying to come to terms with that departure.
With the Jets facing their archrivals, the Patriots, Sunday in their home opener, this week would be a good time for Coles to put Pennington behind him and jump aboard the Favre bandwagon.
Coles candidly conceded that he still is searching for a synergy with Favre that’s at least similar or close to what he had with Pennington on the field.
“I don’t have a feel for him; he doesn’t have a feel for me,” Coles said of Favre. “That’s one of the things I’m going to have to deal with.”
When it was pointed out that Coles and Pennington had some six years to develop their chemistry, Coles said quickly, “We had it the day we walked in the door.”
“I would never expect to have the same relationship with anybody that I have with (Pennington),” Coles said. “It was just one of those things we had. We had a special chemistry. We never sat and watched film together, we just knew.
“In the past (with Pennington), I always knew when the ball was coming. Now (with Favre) you don’t really know. It’s just really different. He’s getting adjusted and I’m just doing what I’m supposed to do and that’s it.
“Whenever you get introduced to a new quarterback you don’t have a feel for him. He’s being introduced to a new offense and new players.”
Though the rest of the players in the Jets’ locker room are positively euphoric about the addition of Favre and all the possibilities his presence presents, Coles seems to be the last to catch the fever.
Coles, who missed all four preseason games with a leg injury and played his first game with Favre at quarterback last Sunday in Miami, produced one catch for five yards in the Jets’ 20-14 win over the Dolphins.
He was seemingly open in the end zone on one play, but Favre led him by too much and the pass fell incomplete. Favre later said he was expecting Coles to make an “in cut” on the play, but Coles didn’t.
“Absolutely, that play was a touchdown,” Favre said. “I didn’t think (Coles) was going to do something totally different, but I thought he was going to cut in just a little. We’ve never run that play together.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen (this week), but you can see where there’s just a couple of plays where you thought that if they just get on the same page, look how good they can be. The potential is there. We’re close.”
But not as close as Coles and Pennington. That duo became so close (“Our relationship goes deeper than just football,” Coles said), Pennington had Coles at “Hello.”