10/30 — Jonathan Vilma got a lot accomplished on a late-morning conference call with Jets reporters today.

The Jets inside linebacker and defensive captain confirmed he was injured in the Cincinnati game two weeks ago, said he is debating whether or not to have surgery on his knee, stated that being placed on injured reserve was "the best decision," and, when asked if he'd seek a trade from the Jets in the off-season, questioned back: "Why would I do that?"

That's a lot to sink one's teeth into. Here's a breakdown of the call's hot-button issues.

Vilma had been requested by reporters because his only public comments since the Bengals game came on his weekly segment on WFAN Radio two days after the game when he said he wasn't injured, one day after head coach Eric Mangini said Vilma "was dealing with some injury issues."

"When I was on the radio," Vilma said today, "I hadn't even received my MRI results yet. It was something I thought I could play with. I thought I would be all right. Just like any other injury when I go to John [Mellody, senior director, athletic training], he takes X-rays or MRIs, and I feel I can play. Of course, I feel like I can play. I'm not going to tell anybody I can't play. I've never missed a game in my career."

But Vilma did say that he suffered an injury sometime early in the game at Cincinnati.

"I honestly don't know how I got hurt," he said. "I just kept playing, trying to fight through it. It's one of those freak accidents. You step funny, step the wrong way. I can't even explain it."

He said during the game, "it was aggravating me, but it wasn't anything where I felt I couldn't play any more. It felt like any other nick or bruise. You might have to come out, sit out for a play or two, get yourself right, then go back in."

That day and into the early part of the new week, the Jets' training and medical staffs determined something was wrong with the knee. The coach declined to say what exactly was wrong or even which knee Vilma injured, and the linebacker followed that same route on his conference call.

But the injury was severe enough for the Jets to place one of their defensive stalwarts on injured reserve last Wednesday. And Vilma, countering reports that suggested he wasn't happy with having his season ended, fully supported the move today.

"Being put on IR is the best decision for myself and the best decision for the team," he said. "It's the best decision not only for this season but long-term."

Vilma indicated surgery is being considered but no surgery may also be an option. He spoke of the complications that can occur with surgery, but also characterized the non-surgical approach as a solution for "the short term."

"We're not even that far yet on what the pros and cons are," he said. "Fortunately, since I'm on IR, I have more time than I would if I tried to play out the rest of the season. There's no real time frame [but] I'm not going to be deciding at the end of the year, when January comes around."

That brought the questions around to Vilma's effectiveness and happiness in Coach Mangini's 3-4 defense compared to his first two seasons in the 4-3, when he won the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year award in 2004 and followed it with his only Pro Bowl berth the next season.

But again Vilma shot down reports that said he was unhappy enough in the scheme to request a trade in the off-season heading into the last year of his original contract.

"Why would I do that?" he said.

When it was suggested he might do that so he could go to a team whose system better suited his skill set, he replied, "I don't even know why I would do that.

"I think what you're seeing from the first two years to this past year and a half are the styles of defenses," he said. "You have one style where the defense calls for me to run around and make tackles. In the 3-4 you're obviously asking for a different style. I'm not running around as much sideline to sideline. Instead I'm taking on linemen, guards more.

"You're seeing the same player, just in a different defense. It's hard to relay that to the fans. The 187 NFL-leading tackles [that he had in 2005], that's not going to happen in a 3-4, no matter how well you play. But at the same time, you may see the team defense getting better and the player getting better within that defense."

So are you happy playing the 3-4? he was asked.

"I'm happy playing whatever," he replied. "I'd get out there and play a 5-2 if I could right now."

Needless to say, Vilma won't be playing anything except maybe tunes on his I-pod while he rehabs in Mellody's trainer's room for several months. Then presumably No. 51 will take the field for the Jets again sometime in the off-season.

He said that before the injury, "I thought I was playing pretty well, playing better than last year." If he can pick up where he left off and truly feels a growing comfort level within the defense, there should be room for his physical skills and his never-come-off-the-field mentality in green and white in 2008.