10/21 — I believe it was my good friend Frank Litsky of The New York Times who once remarked, back in the Eighties at a Giants-Bengals game that Cincinnati looked like a city designed during an architects' competition. And sitting in the pressbox for the first time at Paul Brown Stadium, I can second that observation.

The stadium itself has futuristic awnings perched over its green seats (perhaps suggesting a jungle). Through the end zone openings to the north sit the blocky, modern but unexciting Cincinnati Enquirer and Harland buildings and Westin Hotel intermixed with the old-style charm of the PNC Bank building and another edifice I can't identify. Through the southeastern opening is the beautiful Roebling Suspension Bridge, the interesting Omnicare towers and beyond them the Ohio River.

Very picturesque. If only the Jets' effort against the equally one-win Bengals can look as pretty, that would be welcome.

One Jets vet who perhaps unexpectedly won't be trying to right the Jets ship in today's game is Andre Dyson. The veteran corner, who was involved in the past two weeks in giving up touchdown passes of 53 yards (47 after the catch) to the Giants' Plaxico Burress and 75 yards (64 after the catch) to the Eagles' Kevin Curtis, has been deactivated for the game.

The Jets' other inactives are WR David Clowney, OL Will Montgomery, DE Mike DeVito, OL Jacob Bender, TE Jason Pociask and (as announced Saturday) TE Chris Baker. Marques Tuiasosopo is again the third QB.

Sean Ryan will start at TE for Baker. And Darrelle Revis will start for Dyson, but that has been the case all season.

The Cincinnati inactives: CB David Jones, RB Rudi Johnson, LBs Corey Mays, Ahmad Brooks and Caleb Miller, C Dan Santucci and WR Antonio Chatman. The third QB is Jeff Rowe.

The Bengals' announced flip-card changes: Kenny Watson for Rudi Johnson at tailback, former Jet Anthony Schlegel in his third straight start for Brooks at MLB, and Robert Geathers moving from LDE to SLB for the injured Rashad Jeanty, with Bryan Robinson moving in at LDE for Geathers.

Early on, Mike Nugent, back at the stadium he used to frequent as a kid while growing up in nearby Centerville, seems on target, hitting from as long as 52 yards under the sun in the mostly calm, fairly warm (78 degrees) southern Ohio air.

The Jets are in their white jerseys and green pants. That's the first game for that combination this season. The last time the Green & White wore it was the playoff game at New England. But they also wore it at Green Bay and New England, two huge regular -season wins, as well as the first Ohio game of the Eric Mangini regime at Cleveland, a loss. So the Mangini white-green record is 2-2 for those who care.

We'll be back with the first-quarter architecture within a half hour.