12/21 — Leon Washington may have missed out on his first Pro Bowl invitation earlier this week, but today he got an award that is very important in its own right. Washington has been named the Jets' Most Valuable Player.

More precisely, Washington, the second-year RB-KR, has been presented with the Curtis Martin MVP Award as voted on by his teammates, named after Martin just last month. Head coach Eric Mangini made the announcement at today's news conference.

"Leon's an excellent example of a young player who came in last year, had a rocky start, put the ball on the ground, ran a lot of laps, but kept working at it and continues to keep working at it," Mangini said. "I really like his approach. The way he plays is always bigger than his height and weight."

Chad Pennington also garnered an honor, the Dennis Byrd Award for being the most inspirational player. In fact, it's the second year in a row the quarterback has won the award, named after Dennis Byrd, who was paralyzed on the field late in the 1992 season, and also voted on by the players.

"When you look at Chad," the coach said, "you look at his professionalism, the way he carries himself, and also personally the things he does in the community and in the building, the things he does for the team."

Laveranues Coles, who already was announced as the Jets' Ed Block Courage Award winner, got another plaque today, this one from the team's beat reporters for being the most cooperative and insightful player.

John Beattie is planning to talk with Leon about his MVP award after today's practice and we should have a story for you later this afternoon.

Mangini discussed the award winners and the ongoing preparations for Tennessee. The last question of the news conference, posed by my good friend Dennis Waszak of The Associated Press, was along the lines of, "This is a tough question but I've got to ask it: Has anything changed with your quarterback situation?"

"It's exactly the same," Mangini said with a smile. "And I appreciate you asking."

Kellen Clemens has been listed the past two days as being limited at practice with a rib injury. Today's injury report will be available and on newyorkjets.com shortly after 4 p.m. Both Pennington and Kellen Clemens are preparing for the Titans.

Who'll start? Will both play? As new Dolphins executive vice president of football operations Bill Parcells would always say in response to similar questions, "Fellas, you're just going to have to come to the game."