Beli Tight With the Kudos

By most anyone's measure, Eric Mangini has done a terrific job with the Jets this season, taking a team with attitude and injury problems and surpassing expectations at 4-4.

But Bill Belichick, Mangini’s former boss and mentor, would rather hold forth on Britney and K-Fed than lob Mangini a verbal bouquet.

Today, as the two teams began preparations for their meeting in Foxboro on Sunday, Belichick parried specific questions about Mangini's work by speaking in generalities.

"What's Mangini's imprint on the Jets?" Belichick was asked by the New England media.

"I think it's a very talented team," said Belichick before going on to specifically mention nine players by name and four more by position.

He was asked the same question during a conference call with some New York writers.

"The Jets have been a strong, competitive football team ever since I've been here," said Belichick. "We've played great games with them, whether it was Al (Groh), Herm (Edwards), Eric (Mangini) or whoever, the two teams are very competitive and the games usually come down to the last possession, right down to the wire. That's the way it was the last game, that's historically the way it's been."

Belichick went on to mention that some of the schemes in place this year are different. And he credited the work of Jets special teams coach Mike Westhoff.

Mangini went to the Jets during the offseason one year after being elevated to defensive coordinator of the Patriots. He and Belichick worked together in Cleveland and New York in the mid and late 90s. After Mangini left the Patriots, the relationship between two of Wesleyan's most famous alumni has been chilly.

Speculation initially had Belichick peeved at Mangini for taking a job against Belichick's advice. But there have since been whispers that Mangini was courting Patriots employees to go with him to New York while he was still on the Pats payroll.

After the two teams met in the season's second game, their postgame handshake was limp and brief. There's not much evident affection between the men at this moment either.

Is that unusual? Yes. Before the Pats faced former protege Nick Saban - whose touted Dolphins team trails the Jets by two games in the AFC East - last month, the Patriots head coach was effusive.

"He can do whatever he needs to do and he's not afraid to do any of it. That's why he always has good teams. That's why he's a good football coach, because he has a good way of reading his team and knowing what it takes. Last year (Miami was) sitting here at 3-7 . Everybody was shoveling dirt on them, too. They come back and win the next six games, after they lost to Cleveland up there. That was it. That was the end of their season. They couldn't beat Cleveland. They come back and win the next six games, including us. You can never count (out) Nick Saban. You can never count the Miami Dolphins out of anything."

And last year, he was even more syrupy.

Finally, when someone asked Belichick why he wasn't mentioning Mangini, Belichick said, " think the Jets are a good football team. He's the coach, I think he's done a good job with them. I have a lot of respect for him."

Was that so hard....