12/17 — The tone at times was lighthearted at Eric Mangini's news conference today, and in part that was due to the afterglow of getting seven of the head coach's players to Hawaii for the Feb. 8 Pro Bowl.

"I was really happy for them," Mangini said, beaming, in his first remarks since the NFL announced the Green & White bonanza Tuesday afternoon. "There's recognition outside our room that we have a good group of players. I'm pleased for them and it just reinforces what's been said over and over.

"What really made me happy was that I called each guy, they were obviously pleased with that, but they all talked about the other guys, it was all about their accomplishments in the context of the guys they work with. 'This is great, but we have to move on to Seattle.' I felt like a proud parent."

There were some other light moments in regard to the sweater choices of Newsday's Erik Boland and the Star-Ledger's Dave Hutchinson pressing Mangini because the coach wouldn't single out one or two of his Pro Bowlers above the others that he's particularly happy for, and to Newsday columnist Bob Glauber's question about the shots he's taken from reporters and by extension fans over the past few years.

"You can get a nickname one year and get a revised nickname the next year," Mangini said to laughter from reporters, some of whom helped create those nicknames. "Some are nice, some are not so nice. My mom is probably more affected by that than I am. ... I respect the fact that everybody has an opinion on the way things should go and what should be done."

But it wasn't all seashells and balloons today because there is an important game coming up at Seattle and most of the questions and answers were serious, specifically about the position the Jets find themselves in: winning out and winning the AFC East title, or losing and possibly losing their grip on a playoff berth.

"It's always about the ability to control your own destiny," Mangini said. "You can create whatever you want to create, write whatever story you want to write. It's so important that everybody understands that. I really believe that every single day we all get to make choices, and if we make the right choices collectively, good things will happen. But you can't come in and work hard one day, relax the next day. It doesn't work like that.

"I think the guys are excited. I think they enjoy where we are at this point of the season. It's just a great opportunity and now you've just got to seize the opportunity."

One thing many want the Jets to do is to seize the opposing quarterback in the pocket more. "Hutch" asked the coach about blitzing.

"I'm not afraid to blitz. I've always enjoyed blitzing," he said. "But to me it's got to be calculated, it's got be for a specific purpose, it's got to be sound. All of those things are really important. I think you ve seen some games where we've blitzed 60 times and some games where we haven't blitzed at all. And there's usually good reason for it — what theyre doing against the blitz, what the matchups are, what the risk/reward is."

Mangini also addressed the three-man-rush question, something he said he and his staff broke down recently.

"There were almost as many sacks in three-man rushes as there were in pressures — which you would think wouldn't be the case," he said. "But that's another function of the coverage being better down the field. When you drop eight, the holes are a lot smaller."

My own unofficial research supports the success of the three-man in terms of raw sack numbers. Here are the Jets' 40 sacks this season broken down by number of rushers:

Snow Big Deal

Needless to say, this doesn't show the percentages of sacks per total three-man rushes, say, and it doesn't say how the Jets' pass defense has fared when the QB doesn't get sacked and still finds his receivers against the eight in coverage. But as a changeup against the right team, it can produced pressure and sacks.

The snow fell last night, a couple of inches' worth, and the plows were out this morning clearing the turf field and one grass field outside of the Atlantic Health Training Center. It looked as if the Jets were going to take today's practice outdoors. But no, Mangini conducted the workout inside the fieldhouse.

He may want to consider taking the show outside Thursday and/or Friday: the weather forecast for Seattle and Qwest Field on Sunday is for 29 degrees and snow.

P-Squad Maneuverings

Mangini announced four practice squad transactions — two departures, two arrivals.

Newly signed are G Ryan Keenan (who was with the Giants and Colts last year before signing with the Packers' practice squad) and DL Brian Schaefering (released by the Browns in August).

To make room, DL Ropati Pitoitua was placed on Injured Reserve/Practice Squad and OL Kyle DeVan was released.

Also, QB Erik Ainge has returned to the Jets' locker room following his four-game NFL suspension.