The blueprint was on display last Sunday against Minnesota.
Each of the Jets’ top three receivers was a factor in the 20-7 win over the Vikings. Each, in fact, was a big factor – the way it’s been diagrammed since the Jets drafted Santana Moss in the first round last year with hopes of making their receiving corps dynamic.
Moss, looking energetic and surer of himself than he has since being drafted, caught five passes for 111 yards and was a catalyst to the offense.
Laveranues Coles, who continues to emerge as one of the better receivers in the league, caught a TD pass among his six catches for 86 yards.
And Wayne Chrebet, who possesses an uncanny God-given ability to catch anything thrown near him, caught four passes for 53 yards.
In all, the Jets’ three receivers combined for 15 catches for 250 yards against Minnesota.
“This is what we all had in mind,” Chrebet said. “That’s what we think we’re capable and we hope it continues. All three of us can run each other’s routes. We have that kind of variety and that’s really going to be hard to stop.”
The Jets’ passing offense, which has been in stride since Chad Pennington took over for Vinny Testaverde two-and-a-half games ago, should have ample chance to continue making plays against the injury-laden Browns Sunday at Giants Stadium.
The Cleveland secondary has been decimated by injuries and faces the possibility of playing the Jets with three backups manning the four defensive back spots.
Strong safety Robert Griffith is out with a broken bone in his shoulder. Cornerback Corey Fuller is out with a tendon injury in his right knee. And fellow corner Daylon McCutcheon, who despite practicing this week, is questionable with a sprained elbow. The one sure starter is free safety Devon Bush, though he’s even listed as probable with a pulled groin and says he’s only “70-percent healthy.”
This all should be good news to the Jets, who at 2-4 will take any break they can get.
Coles, who leads the team with 28 receptions, had only six catches in the first three games. In the last three games, Coles has averaged just fewer than 100 yards receiving each game with 299 yards.
Moss now has nine catches for 168 yards and a TD in the last two games. And Chrebet is hitting stride after a leg injury slowed him a couple of weeks ago.
“This is what everybody has pretty much been waiting to see,” Coles said. “If you focus on one guy, the other two guys are going to hurt you. If you focus on two guys, one guy is going to hurt you. It’s all working hand in hand. It’s all very positive for us.”
The leader of this offensive surge that has featured the wideouts has been Pennington and his penchant for throwing the ball down the field more often than Testaverde was early in the season.
“This is the plan of attack we have taken,” Herman Edwards said yesterday. “We’ve given Chad some good play-action and some deeper routes. We wanted to make bigger plays. Obviously, there are two of (the receivers, Coles and Moss) where if they get it in their hands and get a step on (the defense) they can take it to the house.”
In preseason, Chrebet boldly said he wouldn’t trade the trio of himself, Moss and Coles for any receiving group in the league. This week, Chrebet even lobbied for the Jets to re-sign Coles, who becomes a restricted free agent at the end of this season.
“If we can keep this corps of guys together, if we can build together and grow together, we’re going to be special for a long time to come,” Chrebet said.
“As long as we can keep this relationship and chemistry going, the sky’s the limit for us,” Coles echoed.