A Jet Restores His Confidence With Each Catch By KAREN CROUSE Published: August 14, 2007 HEMPSTEAD, N.Y., Aug. 13 ? On Monday morning Chad Pennington lofted a pass toward Justin McCareins, who leapt into the air to snare it with the playful abandon of a puppy running down a Frisbee. It was another acrobatic catch by McCareins, the Jets? receiver who has spent training camp churning out visual masterpieces like Warhol paintings. ?He?s coming out each and every day and just making plays everywhere,? his fellow receiver Jerricho Cotchery said. The other day, Coach Eric Mangini said: ?It might have been two or three practices ago, in the corner of the end zone he reached around the defensive back?s back and caught the ball with one hand. Those are really good concentration plays, and they?re hard to make and he?s made a few.? The 28-year-old McCareins had to refocus after a humbling 2006 season in which he lost his starting job to Cotchery and finished with 23 receptions, his lowest total since 2002, his second season in the N.F.L. ?I?m not getting frustrated, not dwelling in the past,? McCareins said. ?I?m living in the moment. I?m not worrying about things that I can?t control. If my bosses don?t think I?m worth being out there or don?t think I?m good enough, that?s fine. I believe in myself. Those are the things you have to tell yourself and believe.? McCareins was drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the fourth round in 2001. In March 2004 he was traded to the Jets, where he was reunited with the offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger, with whom he had worked in Tennessee. Heimerdinger followed Coach Herm Edwards out the door after the 2005 season. In a telephone interview on Monday, McCareins?s father, John, said: ?I think it was really difficult on Justin last year because of the changeover in coaching and having to learn a new offense. He?s such a perfectionist and wants to do things correctly. I think it was difficult and stressful for him when he didn?t perform up to his expectations.? McCareins got off on the wrong foot with Mangini during the opening weekend of training camp last season when he failed a conditioning test and was banished from practices. It was a humiliating experience for McCareins, who prides himself on his preparedness. His shame was compounded by the punishment laps he was forced to run, in full view of the fans, while his teammates were practicing. ?That was hard to take,? McCareins said. ?It took me a while to get back to normal after that.? He added, ?I was kind of trying to get out of a funk for a couple of months.? There are athletes who can hide their insecurities behind a mask of bravado. McCareins is not one of them. ?Some kids are very adaptable,? John McCareins said. ?Nothing fazes them. Justin has always been...? He paused, searching for the right words. McCareins?s grandmother, Jeanne, who was in the car with John McCareins as he was doing the interview, piped up. ?Hard on himself,? she said, finishing his sentence. It was hard for McCareins to watch Cotchery bound over him, hard to ignore all the rumors that he was on the verge of being traded. ?I don?t want to get too specific,? he said, ?but I didn?t feel like there was a very high opinion of me when these new people came in.? He added: ?From when Coach first got here there were lukewarm feelings. That was a first for me. I had to just not worry about those things and focus on what I had to do.? It was not lost on McCareins that as soon as he stopped trying so hard to impress Mangini and Co., he began to earn their praise. ?I have a very active mind,? McCareins said. ?I remember anything negative someone says to me. I remember anything I do wrong and I?m always thinking what I could have done differently. You can?t live that way. You?ve got to focus on the moment and just make the most of your situation.? McCareins earned his teammates? respect with the way he conducted himself last year. He came to practice every day and worked as hard as anyone. Toward the end of the season he volunteered for special teams duty just so he could get more playing time. ?He handled the situation totally well last year,? Cotchery said. ?The way he was willing to go out and help the team anyway he could. This year you can see he?s just more relaxed about everything.? EXTRA POINTS Drew Rosenhaus, the agent for Thomas Jones, told The Associated Press that Jones has a strained right calf muscle and hopes to return for the season opener. ?He had an M.R.I. on the right calf and it was determined that he has what is essentially a strain of the calf muscle,? Rosenhaus said. ?He said the doctor was vague in terms of how much time he would miss, but it would probably be a week-to-week injury.? ... Pete Kendall, the offensive lineman whose contract standoff with the Jets has clouded training camp, practiced with the first team at his natural position, left guard, and with the second team at center. Kendall performed dismally at center in an emergency start during a Monday night game at Atlanta in 2005, the year before Eric Mangini took over as head coach, which begs the question: If he struggled at the position then, why play him there now? ?If someone does have a deficiency in a certain position,? Mangini said, ?what you do is you practice it. That?s what we?re doing.? Mangini likes to move his offensive linemen around during practice in case they are called upon in a crunch.
