10/09 — If there was any question why he received the nickname “Madbacker,” Bart Scott gave a glimpse of just how much he despises opponents on the latest installment of "Barking with Bart".

“I don’t care who you are. I’ll get into it with the waterboy,” he said with a straight face. “If you are out there saying something about my team or you’re against my team, I’m against you.”

You might have caught No. 57 staring at the opposing sideline last weekend when the Jets battled the Saints in the Superdome. Saints head coach Sean Payton shouted “first down” on a play and let’s just say that Scott didn’t agree with the opposing coach’s assessment. Then words were exchanged between the two men and it carried on throughout the course of the game.

Payton, who played quarterback at Eastern Illinois, and Scott, who played both linebacker and safety at Southern Illinois, exchanged Midwestern pleasantries after the contest, though.

“After the game, he said he really enjoys watching me play and I’m his type of player,” Scott said. “He informed me that he’s from Eastern Illinois and of course I’m from Southern Illinois, so he said he roots for me. Like I tried to explain to him, that’s just me on the football field. Outside the football field, I respect him and I appreciate it. But on the football field, I’ll take you out. I don’t care who you are.”

Scott, who signed with the Jets in February after seven years in Baltimore, also was asked in a fan email about his rivalry with Bengals WR Chad Ochocinco.

“My job was to make sure he never talked to any of my players. He's one of those guys who want to come over to your huddle after a play, after a TV timeout, and say, ‘Hey guys, how you doing?' I would throw him and push him out of our huddle and tell him, ‘Get out of here or else I’m going to shake your golds [teeth] out.’ ”

Even though Scott has left the AFC North, he’ll still see Ochocinco on Jan. 1, 2010, as the Jets will host the Bengals in the final regular-season game ever to be played at the current Meadowlands site. That renewal of acquaintances should be worth the price of admission on its own.

“We played in the Pro Bowl together and he was like, ‘Why are you so mad?’ He was really upset, his feelings were really hurt,” Scott said of the artist formerly know as Chad Johnson. “I was like, 'Chad, it’s OK, man. I like you as a person — but on the football field I don’t like anybody.’ ”

Scott doesn’t like losing, either. Despite a solid defensive effort last week in New Orleans, the Jets dropped their first game of the season as QB Mark Sanchez struggled while committing four turnovers. Scott is comfortable playing with rookie quarterbacks as last year the Ravens opened up 2-2 with Joe Flacco at the controls.

When Scott compares the rookies’ starts, he says Sanchez is further along in his development at the quarter mark.

“I think Sanchez is a little bit ahead. I say that because he’s been given more plays, more responsibility,” he said. “We only allowed Joe to make certain throws and Baltimore led the league last year in rushing attempts. I think we’re putting more in his hands and more on his plate than we did with Joe Flacco. Joe Flacco pretty much just turned around and handed the ball off. We had three backs who ran the ball over and over again, and we led with the field position we got.”

After spending much of his early career in obscurity, Scott has become a fan favorite of Jets Nation. He not only brings a rugged personality on the field, but he is a consistent producer who has registered nine tackles each of the past two weeks and his six tackles behind the line and seven quarterback hits both lead the club. No. 57 is currently the Jets’ third-highest-selling jersey on jetsshop.com, trailing only Sanchez and RB Leon Washington.

“I appreciate it. It’s been a long road. I can remember my mom showing up in Baltimore,” he said. “You know mothers are so naive — they think they can get anything and she said, 'I’m going to get my baby’s jersey in the store.' I’m like, 'Mom, I’m a special teams player, undrafted.’ She was like, ‘I’m going to make a petition and we’ll get it in Foot Locker.' I think she’ll be happy now.”

The Jets can make a national statement Monday night in Miami. Some think the Dolphins will be down and out without former Jet Chad Pennington, but Scott delivered an interesting analysis of the Dolphins’ aerial attack.

“I think with [Chad] Henne in there, it gives them an added dimension. We knew Pennington couldn’t throw the long ball, he didn’t have a strong enough arm to throw across the field,” he said. “So I think now he opens their offense up and they may be better for it. It makes their offense less predictable and they can throw down the field now. It’s going to be an added challenge for us. It may have been a little easier for us if they had Chad Pennington.”

Scott Charity Update

Each week on the “Barking with Bart” show, Scott is announcing charities that he’s selected to donate to. Little Kids Rock, whose mission is to transform children’s lives by restoring and revitalizing music education in low-income schools, was the first selection.

And during our most recent episode, Scott chose to help out Camp Good Days and Special Times. The good people there will use their grant to help send campers to their Sharing & Caring Program, for children who have lost an immediate family member to homicide.

“That’s good that we can bring kids together to empathize and sympathize with each other and really try to stop that cycle,” he said. “Sometimes you really don’t know how to talk unless you’ve been through that. To get those kids counseling and let them know it’s OK to express yourself, to be upset and to understand that violence begets violence, to forgive and learn forgiveness.”

Scott, whose foundation is named A Son Never Forgets, will make small-impact grants courtesy of the program to worthy charities. The team has set up an email address — scottcharity@newyorkjets.com — for viewers to submit charities for consideration. All charitable requests must include the following information: a 501(c)3 Tax ID Number, a sampling of programs, and a statement of what one would do with a small grant from Bart Scott.

Encouraging fan barks as well, the Jets have an email address — bscott@newyorkjets.com — so viewers can write in. Selected comments and questions will be read and answered on-air.

Programming Note

“Barking with Bart” is available to fans on most Tuesdays throughout the regular season, but next week's show will run Wednesday due to the Jets' appearance on Monday Night Football. A Flight Crew member is scheduled to appear, and Bart might bring a player into the studio as well. Each program is always available in the Website archive. View the most recent installment here.