01/23 — In cleaning up my notebook from the Jets' season just ended three weeks ago, I realized there was a piece that still had to be written about WR David Ball.

Well, here at newyorkjets.com, there's no time like the present to riff on players of the possible future. And Ball, on "baggie day" the day after the season-ending OT win over Kansas City, was upbeat about what the future may hold for him in green and white.

"It's been a pretty crazy year for me — two teams in one year, and I had an eight-week vacation there in the middle of the season," Ball said. "So for me it didn't go as planned, but it definitely ended on the right track, making the 53-man roster. For me, that means I finally found myself in a spot where my skills are respected."

Fans may recall following the bouncing Ball. He was a big man on campus, the campus in question being the University of New Hampshire, where he broke one of Jerry Rice's Division I-AA records with 58 career touchdown receptions and tied another with 23 100-yard receiving games. That earned him a few nicknames related to being "the white Rice."

With unspectacular size (6'0", 197) and speed, Ball's avenue to the pros was to sign with the Bears as an undrafted free agent. That's when he got to show his secret weapons: his hands. A couple of his preseason catches were of the eye-popping variety that landed him a couple of YouTube clips alongside his leaping downfield grab in the East-West Shrine Game.

"I like when people know who I am," Ball said, proudly but not cockily, adding of his video exposure, "It's nice. It definitely showed that people were impressed with some of the plays I was making in the preseason.

"That last preseason game against Cleveland is what sealed the deal for me to earn the last practice squad spot with Chicago. And for a team that just came off a Super Bowl, that wasn't looking to change much, to go there as an undrafted free agent when they don't throw the ball, and I didn't play special teams at that point — it was a feat for me to make that team."

The Bears eventually turned him loose, leading to his two-month hiatus before the Jets, in a frenzy of WR signings, brought him into the fold. And for anyone who wondered if the wonderful part of his game withered while he was out of work, Ball reassured them.

"My hands, they haven't gone anywhere," he said. "I may have changed some places, but they're still doing their job."

Ball hopes his marvelous mitts have a longer career than George Costanza did as a hand model in the classic Seinfeld episode, "The Puffy Shirt." But the wide receiver has shown that he has quickly adapted to the NFL mentality, especially regarding roster spots.

Indeed, the Jets still have Laveranues Coles, Jerricho Cotchery, Brad Smith, Justin McCareins, Wallace Wright and Chris Davis on the roster, not to mention Chansi Stuckey, who spent the season on IR. And last week they announced the re-signing of David Clowney, Shaine Smith and Marco Thomas to reserve/future deals. This is all before the arrivals off any unrestricted free agents, draft picks and newly undrafted FAs this off-season.

But Ball isn't deterred by the already crowded field.

"Yeah, I think it's a good fit for me," he said of the Jets. "I really like the offense, I really like the coaching staff. Obviously, I've got to stay healthy. It's a crazy game, it s a crazy business. There's going to be a lot of new faces probably next year, so who knows what's going to happen? But with how they do things here, it's definitely a situation that I like."