12/29 — Jeremy Kapinos was none the worse for wear after his brush with greatness last weekend in Nashville.

"I was pretty excited, pretty pumped," said Kapinos, who at his locker, away from the field, doesn't give the impression that he's an excited, pumped kind of guy, more low-key like most punters I've met over the years. "I think it was the same way my freshman year of college. Once that first one was over, I was OK."

It may have been a shock to see Kapinos getting the punting and holding call over Ben Graham, a healthy scratch, against the Titans, but J-Kap (if I may be so bold as to give him a nickname) has been under the major spotlight before, as Penn State's punter for four seasons.

And so when it was over, Kapinos' line looked professional: five punts, 41.6-yard gross, 36.4 net, on touchback — on the first punt of his pro career — and two touchbacks, including a brilliant downing of his fourth punt at the Titans 2 by Justin McCareins.

"On my first one, Coach Westhoff said, 'It'd be nice to have that one to the 10,' " Kapinos said. "Once I got that one out of the way, I kind of settled down and my nerves went back to normal."

It was not a normal punting situation since the Jets brought Kapinos back to the practice squad Nov. 27, then up to the active roster the day before the Tennessee game. But Kapinos thanked Graham for pitching in.

"Ben's been great. I couldn't have asked for a better situation," the rookie instep said. "He told me a lot about how to be a professional in every aspect of the word, in terms of work, taking care of yourself. I'm definitely grateful that I've had him to help me along. The same with Mike [Nugent] and Coach Westhoff."

As for whether he "earned" a second game as the rookie punter for the Green & White, Kapinos said, "Whatever's decided is fine with me."

It's hard to say if Kapinos' pro career is over, or if he'll kick again Sunday in the season finale against Kansas City, if he'll be with the Jets next season or with some other team. Head coach Eric Mangini wasn't revealing as late as Friday who'll be handling James Dearth's short and long snaps vs. the Chiefs.

One thing the Jets and Chiefs shouldn't have to deal with is a mean and nasty late afternoon in late December in the Meadowlands. Temps are expected to be in the low 40s with a low probability of rain and light and variable winds. A veritable walk in the park for the Jets punter, whoever he is.

A Mangold Rarity

One last point from the Titans game: If you thought there was something odd about C Nick Mangold taking down Albert Haynesworth late in the third quarter, you were right. It took Mangold 32 NFL games (including last year's playoff) to draw his first pro holding penalty.

As a rookie last season, Mangold started all 16 games and was hit with a whopping three penalties: an ineligible-downfield and two false starts. This year he hadn't been flagged for any infractions until the Haynesworth hold.

Mangold missed the last two practices this week due to personal reasons and is listed as questionable for Sunday's game. As Mangini said Friday about his hirsute center starting as usual:

"We've been talking to Nick and sending him the information. He'll spend time with Tony [Wise] and Mike [Devlin] and review the practices. I'll see where he is after they catch him up, talk to him about that and make a decision close to the game."

The 7,000 Club

For those keeping score at home, the Radar surpassed 7,000 posted comments this week. It's not quite over, but thanks to all again for getting us off to a whop-"ping" first season.