11/03 — As Monday comes to a close here in Florham Park, N.J., we’ve got a lot of topics to cover following Coach Mangini’s news conference. Without further ado, let’s get rolling.

Jets Throw a Complete Game

Mangini called the Jets' impressive road win in Buffalo “probably the most complete game we’ve had this season” and there’s no need to argue with the third-year head coach. His defense sacked Trent Edwards five times and forced the second-year passer into three turnovers — one of which Abe Elam returned 92 yards for a game-changing interception.

He also credited the Jets with a fourth takeaway as their demolition of Fred Jackson on a fourth-and-1 play at their 8 prevented certain points.

The offense didn’t put up gaudy numbers, but they scored on their opening possession in both halves and also sustained long drives at the end of the second and fourth quarters. Brett Favre was not sacked and there were no problems with his cadence in the hostile environment.

First Place

The AFC East is a logjam with the Jets, the Patriots and the Bills sharing first place with identical 5-3 records. The 4-4 Dolphins are only a game off the pace, so we should be in for a fascinating second half.

“It’s a good place to be," Mangini said. "I’m happy with where we are in relationship to the rest of the division. But to me it’s more being pleased with the way we played on Sunday and the style we played with. We had a complete effort, finished the game and played complementary football. That’s what we need to do consistently to win and it’s a tough division and we face tough teams every week. That’s what I’m looking for each time we go out.”

Jenkins Named Midseason All-Pro

Pro Football Weekly announced its Midseason All-Pro team and Jets NT Kris Jenkins was voted to the team by PFW editors.

Jenkins, who was acquired by the Jets in the spring from the Carolina Panthers, has been a beast and he may have had his best game Sunday against the Bills. He sacked Edwards twice and helped the Jets hold the Bills to just 30 yards rushing.

“He’s been extremely impressive in terms of his commitment individually to do things within the framework of a defense and that’s not an easy transition — going from a 4-3 penetrating guy to a 3-4, two-gap, read-and-react guy — and he’s done that well,” Mangini said. “He’s embraced it.”

Seeing Red

In six trips to the red zone, the Jets came away with only one touchdown. They’d like to see that percentage improve in the weeks ahead.

Heady Leon

You can’t give Leon Washington enough credit for his brilliant decision on a third-quarter kickoff return. After Rian Lindell closed the Jets’ advantage to 16-10, Lindell bounced a tricky kickoff toward Washington. The Jets returner placed one of his feet out of bounds and simply touched the ball at his own 8, resulting in a Jets drive start at their own 40 because the ball was ruled out of bounds.

“We practice that quite a bit. That’s something Mike [Westhoff]'s emphasized since he’s been here,” Mangini said. “Leon actually got that same situation — it wasn’t this past week but it was the week before during practice. We had one there right on the sideline. He stepped out and fielded the ball. It’s just a really aware play on his part and it’s a substantial change of field possession.”

The Second Corner

When rookie Dwight Lowery struggled early Sunday, the Jets turned to veteran David Barrett. Mangini indicated today that the Jets could play any of a number of options opposite star corner Darrelle Revis.

“You’re going to continue to see that. It could be Dwight, it could be David, it could be Justin [Miller], it could be Hank [Poteat],” Mangini said. "I have confidence in all in those guys and it’s important we’re able to do the things we need to do. Whoever’s doing it, at that point, the best is going to get the most playing time.”

Growing Up Fast

Last week Mangini sent a message to his team that he’s seeing improvement from a bunch of players and nobody should get complacent.

“A lot of these young guys have really pushed and improved. As that’s happening, the people in those current roles need to maintain level of performance or improve their level of performance because it is a meritocracy and we’re going to play the best players,” he said. “I just wanted to remind everybody that that’s the case, and there has been a lot of improvement by players and they were pushing for playing time.”

Vote on Election Day

The National Football League polls continue to be open. Fans can cast their votes for the 2009 Pro Bowl through newyorkjets.com's link to NFL.com's "ballot box."

The fans' vote counts as one-third of the final vote and the Jets have a number of worthy candidates. It would be a travesty if Jenkins, Shaun Ellis and Darrelle Revis aren’t packing sunscreen in February. The Jets also have one of the most nationally underappreciated safeties in the NFL in Kerry Rhodes.

Leon Washington is a special teams dynamo, Brett Favre is, well, Brett Favre, Thomas Jones is having a fantastic season and there are worthy candidates up front. Please use this blog space to talk about it amongst yourselves, but I think the Green & White is going to be represented well come February in Hawaii. If that’s the case, you know newyorkjets.com is going to be there as well.

Abe Joins T-Rich

Elam joined Tony Richardson and yours truly for a segment on this week’s installment of “Paving the Way with T-Rich.” Elam has embodied perseverance — on and off the field — since he entered the league. His INT-return score against the Bills was a game-changer. You can listen here now to our entertaining chat.