09/18 — It's been easy being green — not just as a Jet but as Howard Green — the first two weeks of this season.

The night before the Jets' season opener against the Texans, Green found out he was going to be one of Rex Ryan's four game captains in Ryan's first game as an NFL head coach.

"That was maybe my second time being a captain," Green told me today in the locker room at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center. "I appreciate the honor and the opportunity from Coach Rex and everybody."

Ryan introduced Green along with Alan Faneca, Kris Jenkins and James Dearth as his game captains during the team meeting at the Jets' Houston hotel. The veteran nose tackle said he never saw it coming.

"I was like OK," he said, illustrating his reaction with a raised eyebrow. "I appreciate it, but it made me think about it, what was the reason."

The reason was a Rex Ryan special. The coach has a great grasp of his players' situations and backgrounds. Howard, who grew up not too far from Houston in Donaldsonville, La., was actually a sixth-round choice by the Texans in the first draft of their existence in 2002.

"It felt good to be back in town — that was my first time actually playing there since then," he recalled. "I really forgot all about being drafted by them. I wasn't thinking too deep into it.

But after he got his honor, Green said, "I wanted to go out and represent my team well. We came out of the game with a win, and that was enough for me."

Enough, that is, until this week, which isn't a surprise at all. Green gets to go up his cousin, Patriots D-lineman Jarvis Green, on the Meadowlands turf on Sunday.

"I played him before, last year when he came out to Seattle," said Howard, a Seahawk in 2007-08. "It's a good thing for the family to get a chance to visit, spend time together and see everybody."

And when he says family, he's not talking about a foursome. Howard (who's also got another second cousin, Skyler Green, who's played in the league) has some 17 family members and friends coming to the Meadowlands on Sunday from Louisiana and other parts of the country.

The two talked Tuesday, not so much trash as tickets. After those negotiations were concluded, "We said a few words, kind of kept it brief. I told him I'd see him Sunday."

And may the cousin with the better team win.

The Latest on Jenk's Back

Green factors into the Jets' defensive plan for the Patriots, as he did for the Texans. Ryan said at today's final news conference of the week that he expects his other noses, Kris Jenkins and Sione Pouha, should be ready to go Sunday, but both Jenkins (back) and Pouha (ankle) have been limited at practice all week and are listed as questionable to play.

All Jets fans, of course, are interested in Jenkins' situation, and Ryan said he, his coaches and the Jets' trainers and medical staff will monitor Big Jenks during the game.

"I like to keep fresh pass rushers in there. You like to roll your defensive linemen," Ryan said. "But Kris, he's such an usual guy. He's a guy who, if he's not in there, the other team will actually no-huddle you so you can't put him back on the field. He's that kind of difference maker.

"I feel good with the guys we have behind him, but obviously there's only one or two Kris Jenkinses in this league. But you've got to be smart with him. Generally if we're backed up or something like that, you can usually give him a break."

But DC Mike Pettine's gameplan doesn't call for the Jets' defense to be backed up a whole lot on Sunday.

Big Katt Lives Again

Staying with the D-line theme today, Ryan also was asked about the return of DE Shaun Ellis to the mix after sitting out the opener on NFL suspension.

"The guy's been around the game so long — he's a pro," Rex said. "I did ask him when he came back how bad was it watching TV on Sunday. He was like, 'Oh, it was horrible.' He's so used to playing. He's an ironman. I don't know how many games he's missed throughout his career, but it hasn't been many, that's for sure."

My Sunday morning advance on the Jets-Patriots game will focus on Ellis' return to action.