09/24 — The news that perked up reporters ears from head coach Rex Ryan's news conference this afternoon came at the top of the session, at the end of his opening remarks about his fairly long injury report:

"And we put Sanchez on there," Ryan said. "He has a little tendinitis, full participation, but that was in his right knee today. So we just added him."

Hearing that rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez, who has helped lead the Jets to their strong 2-0 start, has anything physically wrong with him sets off journalistic alarms, not to mention fan flares. Reporters followed up just to be sure.

Rex insisted "it's not that big of a deal, but he has something ... I don't know how to describe it other than to say it's a little tendinitis. He fully participated, moved around great."

Most of the rest of the injury news on the now 14-player list for Sunday's game against Tennessee was positive, with 12 participating fully in practice.

But the same two corners did not practice for a second day — Lito Sheppard (quadriceps) and Donald Strickland (ankle).

"I don't think Strickland is going to be able to play this week," Ryan said. "I'm not declaring him out right now but I don't think there's any way he's playing this week."

The coach was more upbeat on Sheppard, who strained his quad making the end zone breakup of a possible touchdown pass from Tom Brady to Joey Galloway in the second quarter. "I'm thinking Lito plays," Rex said. "We'll see."

If Sheppard's in, Dwight Lowery, who got his hands on three Brady passes, including the fourth-and-10 ball that sealed the Pats' fate, would move into the slot for Strickland. If both Sheppard and Strickland are out, Lowery would start at corner and Drew Coleman would move into the nickel role.

Ryan had one more observation on the Jets' condition and that was on the whole team after today's sluggish practice.

"I told the guys I wasn’t happy," he said. "I was glad we didn't play today. I think we’ve got to ratchet some things up on defense in particular. I trust that the guys will. We had a few too many mistakes out there for my liking. So we’re going to get that fixed and the guys understand that. We’ve got to make sure that we’ve got it all tight because this is an outstanding opponent and we don’t need to be beating ourselves."

3-0 vs. 0-3

Ryan reemphasized today why he doesn't see the Titans as the trap opponent that some outside the team seem to think they are.

"At the end of the day that's a very good football team, and I think we are as well," he said of Tennessee, which suffered a pair of three-point losses, at Pittsburgh in overtime and home against Houston. "It very easily could've been a battle of 2-0 teams. Right know they're looking down the barrel at 0-3. It's not our job to feel sympathetic."

Talent plus desperation equals danger. And how desperate can the Titans be? The recent history of 0-3 starts in the NFL suggests you can book vacations in January with that kind of a start. Since 1990, when the league went to six playoff teams per conference, 96 teams have begun 0-3 and only three made the playoffs. And since 2002 and the current format of four division champions and two wild cards making the playoffs per conference, 37 teams have begun 0-3; not one has made the postseason grid.

Here are the three teams since 1990 to overcome 0-3 starts and reach the playoffs:

Conversely, the Jets have the opportunity to improve to 3-0 for only the fourth time in franchise history, matching the three-game starts of the 1966, 2000 and 2004 teams. Three-and-oh guarantees nothing, but it bodes well. Three-quarters of the teams that opened 3-0 since 1990 (74 of 98, 75.5 percent) reached the postseason and almost seven of 10 since 2002 (27 of 39, 69.2 percent) have done it.

Here's how those three Green & White's 3-0 squads fared:

A One-derful Punt

This is the 50th Anniversary Season of the AFL, but did Jets fans know that Monday was the 40th anniversary of one of the most amazing kicks in pro football history?

On Sept. 21, 1969, Steve O'Neal stood in his own end zone at Denver's Mile High Stadium and nailed the perfect punt. The ball went some 70 yards in the air then took some Jets bounces before it was downed at the Broncos 1-yard line. From the 1 to the 1 — a wonderful 98-yard punt that set the NFL record and has yet to be unseated as the NFL's longest punt.

Dan Leberfeld, the Sirius NFL Radio co-host of "Press Coverage" on Saturdays and the driving force behind Jets Confidential, had the talented writer Brian Heyman catch up with O'Neal, who today is a Texas dentist, for a story in JC. That issue of the newspaper is now available on newsstands and by subscription.

Here are the three longest punts in NFL history:

Dierdorf Checks In

Eric Allen and I dialed up Dan Dierdorf for this week's "Jets Two-Minute Drive" radio show on newyorkjets.com. The reason is obvious: Dierdorf and play-by-play man Greg Gumbel called the Patriots win for CBS and will also have the Jets-Titans game on Sunday and the Jets-Saints game in New Orleans on Oct. 4.

Also, it's always great to get a Pro Football Hall of Famer on our air, and Dierdorf has an interesting connection, which I asked him about, in that he was born in Canton, Ohio, blocks from the Hall.

Dierdorf also talked about the Jets' O-line — he was named the NFL's Best Blocker, an old award that used to be given out (and perhaps should be again), for three years of his legendary 13-year career as a St. Louis Cardinals tackle — Sanchez, and the Jets' aggressive, talkative defense.

I've always liked Dierdorf's plain-speaking Midwestern style of analysis. I also like what his doing the next two games portends for Ryan's first quarter as the Jets' head coach: Since 2006, the Jets have won their last six games that Dierdorf and Gumbel have called.

The show is up on our site now. Give it a listen if you have some time. And get ready for EA's and Bart Scott's next installment of "Barking with Bart," which will be available next Tuesday.