09/10 — Laveranues Coles, who spoke with reporters after the Jets-Dolphins games for the first time since Aug. 7, the day that close friend Chad Pennington was released, talked a little bit more with a few reporters before today's first practice of the week for Sunday's home opener against the Patriots.

Coles still seems to be reeling a little from the last month of physical, mental and emotional stress. He's progressing on the physical end after missing much of training camp with injuries and still being listed as limited in practice the first two weeks of the season.

"I'm working on it," LC said. "Day to day, I think we've been smart with the situation. It's so important that I actually line up. It's as important as me going out and having a 100-yard game."

Indeed, Coles did line up at WR for the start against the Dolphins. He rotated in and out of the lineup, as did everyone on the 100-degree Dolphin Stadium field. And had only one reception, for 5 yards, but it came on the first play of the game, the first play of the Green & White phase of Brett Favre's career. Coles downplayed any significance to that first ball, but from the pressbox it appeared somewhat symbolic: If the Jets are going to make long strides this season, Favre-to-Coles figures to be a big part of it.

Coles said Sunday that "there have been no quarrels" between him and his new QB "since day one," and the two have been seen sharing a laugh in their next-door lockers. Today he said the former Packers icon has "done nothing that nobody else has done different" in coming into the Jets locker room. But he added that all the new players, including No. 4, have added to this rapidly altered Jets atmosphere.

"It's been different. I can say that," he told me when I asked him about the mental part of his summer. "It's not like before. It's a good thing. I think the guys are more relaxed, they're having fun. That's the most important thing, that guys are enjoying playing ball together."

T-Rich Paves the Way for TJ

Week 2 of our pair of Jets Radio shows on newyorkjets.com will start Thursday morning with "Paving the Way with T-Rich." Fullback Tony Richardson again co-hosts the show with Eric Allen. And already T-Rich has made good on his promise of having guests on the show with him — he brought RB Thomas Jones with him to this afternoon's recording session.

We'd like to get EA and T-Rich's show settled into a regular day and time for all you Jets fans, but hang with us as we work our way through the twists and turns of the players' schedules in the early part of the season.

Eric's and my second preview show, "Jets Two-Minute Drill," is still set to go up Friday at 3 p.m. Our special guest this week is scheduled to be Gino Cappelletti, the one-time Patriots flanker and kicker and long-time analyst for the New England radio broadcasts alongside play-by-play man Gil Santos.

Gino obviously will be asked about Tom Brady, Matt Cassel and the Jets-Patriots rivalry. I'll also be asking him about his significant tie to Jets franchise history, something you'll have to "tune in for" to find out about.