Jets holding pair of aces Friday, August 03, 2007 BY DAVE HUTCHINSON HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. -- Laveranues Coles and Jerricho Cotchery want nothing to do with the antics of Terrell Owens and Chad Johnson. You won't see them doing sit-ups in their driveways or river dancing in the end zone. It's a blessing and a curse for the Jets' starting wide receivers. Their unassuming demeanors and workmanlike styles have helped to make them one of the NFL's best pass-catching duos -- but it's the brash, trash-talking receivers who grab the headlines. "The type of people they are, they're similar to Curtis (Martin)," said quarterback Chad Pennington, referring to the Jets' recently retired running back. "They don't talk a lot, they don't put themselves out there a lot. They love the game of football. They love working. Sometimes those types of guys stay under the radar, and sometimes that's a good thing." Coles and Cotchery embrace their low-profile existence. They don't spend time choreographing touchdown celebrations that would get them national exposure on the 24-hour-a-day rotating sports highlight reels. If bravado and showmanship are the keys to fame, they'll do without. "I don't think that (attention) is what we go after when we're playing," Coles said. "When Jerricho and I come out of the tunnel, you know you're going to get some hard-nosed guys. Teams respect us. We're not flashy. You don't see us making a lot of noise and trying to cause controversy. "We're just two blue-collar guys who work hard, make the tough catches. At the end of the day, everything is said on the field." Last season, the pair set a single-season club record with a combined 173 catches. They finished fourth in the NFL behind the Colts' Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne (181), the Lions' Roy Williams and Mike Furrey (180) and the Bengals' Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh (177). "We had a lot of fun out there," Cotchery said of last season. "If one of us made a great play, we would come to the sidelines and joke about it. We just had fun. ... We're going to continue doing what we've been doing. But we'll never be the big-name guys. It's just our styles." While many starting wide receivers complement each other with differing styles, Coles and Cotchery are very similar. They're aggressive going after the ball ("Anytime the ball is in the air, it's theirs," said Pennington). They're fearless going across the middle. They can get deep. They can run with the ball. They can block. "We're complete wide receivers," Cotchery said. Coles, entering his eighth season, had a career-high 91 catches (third in the AFC) for 1,098 yards and six TDs. He played through a laundry list of injuries, including a head injury that left him in a semi-fog for two weeks. Still, he didn't miss a game and is the only receiver in the NFL that has started every game from 2001 to 2006. "I respect LC's game so much," Cotchery said. "It just gets me even more excited when I see a guy who has played this style of play so long and he's just content with the way he plays. That's the way I play and that's the way I'm going to continue to play." Cotchery, in his fourth season, finished with a career-best 82 receptions (he began last season with only 25 career catches) for 961 yards and six TDs, including what was one of the great catches in Jets history and perhaps the catch of the year in the NFL. Against the Patriots in Week 2, Cotchery jumped high to catch a Pennington pass. He was hit low by safety Eugene Wilson and high by cornerback Chad Scott. Incredibly, he managed to keep his knees and elbows off the turf before running 47 yards to complete a 71-yard touchdown reception. "Every time I meet someone, that's the play they bring up, even little kids," said a smiling Cotchery, who had a club postseason record 77-yard TD catch, also against the Patriots. Said Coles: "For Jerricho, I think it's just the tip of the iceberg. You're going to hear a lot more from him in the years to come." Dave Hutchinson may be reached at dhutchinson@starledger.com
Very Nice Article. With the way money is being thrown around lately I'm really happy we managed to sign J-Co to a deal. He really came up big for us last year and I agree with Coles saying we've just seen the tip of the iceburg...J-co is going to be a handful for years to come.
Coles got the shit kicked out of him last season and he still started every game. He's insane. Remember that Zach Thomas hit on the Christmas night game? That was freakin brutal.
Yeah, it's funny how you don't hear anyone pissing and moaning that Moss was replaced by Coles anymore. Totally opposite attitudes on the field. I still love how people find ways to complain about his supposed "attitude problem" though, when there actually isn't any real evidence to support that he's a problem in the locker room.
I love cotch's deceptive speed. It looks like he's running slow, but he's actaully bustin it. Like that catch against the pats in the playoffs... Looked like a nice gainer, but he turned the corner and put it into another gear. LC is tough man. That zack thomas hit was hard to watch. The media depicts him as having a bad attitude, but I don't think so. He's got a good relationship with his QB (he has had the best years of his career w/ chad throwing to him) and the HC (they seem loose enough to joke w/ eachother) I thought coles was hands down the MVP of our team last year, and I am pretty happy I never threw away his jersey.
You've gotta be tough when you're playing for a QB like Chad Pennington. I love the guy, but there's no denying that he throws meatballs out there. If the receivers are gonna make the play, they're gonna take big hits. That is why cotch and coles are the perfect fit for our offense. Nice article
I really like our receivers and even with no real #1 threat, the fact that we have multiple receivers who can make a big play is the key. I may be in the minority but JMac really made some big plays last year at the end of the season too and throw in Brad Smith and that's 4 guys who can beat you deep, who can go over the middle, and who can break one for a long gain. Hard to defend if we can get in a rhythm.
Although I have well-documented (albeit fairly recent) issues with Chad's arm strength, I never really saw him truly hang a player out to dry for a big hit until last season, and for the moment I'm willing to chalk it up to Chad adjusting to Shotty's aggressive play schemes and play-actions. It's hard for a team to go from conservative to aggressive without missing a beat, which is what they did over last offseason.
I'm thinking of that hit Leon took waiting for that little floater against Miami in the flat. Just got leveled. I think J.Taylor was the dump truck.
