09/20 — "Quiet locker room," one reporter observed today. And at that moment it was a fairly tranquil area — except down on Laveranues Coles Boulevard

Media types hung out in Coles' wing for a while, because LC has become an MC of sorts, definitely one of those "go-to" guys that beatwriters feel the need to, well, go to.

Today Coles fielded questions on Wayne Chrebet, who has been, after all, his close friend since he first arrived on the Jets in 2000 and who will be honored at ceremonies during halftime of Sunday's game against the Dolphins.

"Me and Wayne, we sat down at his spot [Chrebet's restaurant] and ate some wings Monday," Coles said. "I told him when he gives his speech to the crowd, he'll be all right. It's an exciting day. It's about him. And he deserves it. He's a great guy, a great person who was very instrumental in bringing me along in this game."

The flock of 12 to 15 reporters scattered from around Coles and then regrouped in front of D'Brickashaw Ferguson about five lockers around the corner —like going from Tennessee Avenue to Indiana Avenue on a Monopoly board. And the visit to Brick's house was entirely expected, since he'll be going up against Miami DE Jason Taylor for the third time in his career.

"Always, always," Ferguson said of getting fired up to play the NFL's reigning Defensive Player of the Year. "A terrific athlete like him? It's a great opportunity to have a great game."

Somebody asked if he gave up a sack to Taylor in his first two Miami games as a rookie.

"I'm not sure. I'll have to look at the tape," he said, then gave a big wink to the questioner. Truth be told, he unofficially yielded two sacks to the Dolphins — one to Vonnie Holiday in the first game at the Meadowlands and one to Taylor on Christmas in Miami. But there's no sin to giving up a good rush to either player, as long as you show you're making progress the next time you run into those particular wearers of the Aqua & Coral.

All of a sudden, Brick started praising Coles: "LC? He's a great teammate and a great guy." That's because Coles' smiling countenance was visible just past the shoulders of the outer ring of reporters.

"I'm just looking out for my man," Coles said.

Continuing in a clockwise direction around the south wall of the locker room, one more stop was Kellen Clemens. The QB, fresh from a haircut and a beard trim, was also looking out for his man, in this case Chad Pennington.

"I just remember some nights around 6:30 saying, 'Man, I'm tired, it's time to go.' But then I know somewhere in the building, No. 10's watching film," Clemens said. "It's been an honor and privilege just to learn from him."

Pennington was not available to reporters today, but he looked good on his sore ankle in individual drills during the 30-minute media window (as did Justin McCareins as he sure-handedly secured a few Pennington passes). Head coach Eric Mangini, while not declaring Pennington his Sunday starter, did offer some detail about the QB's Wednesday practice.

"I thought he did well. I thought he looked good in the reps that he had. He moved pretty well," Mangini said. "It's something we're going to continue to montior and, as we talked about yesterday, make sure it's not so many reps that it becomes counterproductive."

Some other practice notes: Ben Graham nailed a couple of 5.0-second hanging punts, one of which rookie Darrelle Revis put on the ground, resulting in a lap for No. 24. And Teddy Atlas, the legendary boxing trainer and announcer who also carries the title of Jets Special Assistant/Boxing, visited practice.

1st and Goal

General manager Mike Tannenbaum will also be talking up Wayne Chrebet on today's "1st and Goal" show on SportsNet New York. The show airs on SNY at 4:30 p.m.