Jacksonville at New York


Breaking down the Jags and Jets


Focal Point: Receiving tandems


Sunday Conversation with Bill Parcells


Jags rush off to New York


Dozen years make big difference for Jets


Jets tested in playoff skies


Scouting report

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. -- The New York Jets were not typical television viewers during last weekend's NFL playoff games. They were watching to learn.

	Bill Parcells wants to make sure his team is mentally prepared for the playoff challenge.

Along with the obvious benefits from having a bye in the first week of the playoffs -- added rest and preparation time, plus a respite from the attention and the pressure -- the Jets were afforded the opportunity to sit in front of their TVs. They took advantage of it.

So when coach Bill Parcells mentioned some specific plays that hurt losing teams on wild-card weekend, his players knew exactly what he was referring to.

"He was letting us know that this time of year, these are the things that can get you beat," receiver Wayne Chrebet said. "Penalties, personal fouls ... what happened with Andre Reed ... Big things and little things he wants us to think about.

"The mental part of the game is huge during the season and it's even more huge now. He says he wants to coach a smart team, and something you do -- it could be in the first quarter or the last minutes -- can determine the outcome of a game."

Parcells openly discussed with his players some of the plays that determined the outcomes at Miami, Jacksonville, Dallas and San Francisco on Saturday and Sunday. He specifically mentioned Reed's personal-foul penalty and ejection after being denied a touchdown in the final moments of Buffalo's game at Miami, and the coverage by Green Bay's safeties on the 49ers' game-winning pass to Terrell Owens with three seconds remaining at San Francisco.

"The obvious is what I am interested in, the things that obviously cause your team to go home," Parcells said. "I will mention it: I don't know what the Green Bay safeties were doing in the end zone. That's a very serious mistake in judgment that probably cost them the game. All you've got to do is keep the guy in front of you.

"It is not stepping up, as people say. The games are just higher-intensity games, everything is a little higher, so you've got to go with the flow. There were a couple teams this weekend that didn't know a playoff was going on; one team was playing at one level, the other team at another level."

In general, the Jets have played smartly this year, particularly in the second half of the season, when they went 7-1. They've avoided turnovers -- Parcells' pet peeve -- unsettling penalties and mental mistakes.

When the coaching staff is harping on every little error during practice, the message sinks in.

"It's more of a mental focus at this time," said tackle Jumbo Elliott, who played for the 1990 Super Bowl champion New York Giants that Parcells coached. "The NFL is intense all the time and very physical, but the mental focus is a little more critical now.

"Physically, you can give only 100 percent; there is no such thing as 110 percent. Mentally, the focus is on the task at hand, with the ultimate goal only in the back of your mind. That's something you have to do, focus on what is coming up now."

What's coming up now is Sunday's game with Jacksonville, which beat New England in the first round. The Jets believe they will be sharp physically, thanks to the bye. But will they have that mental edge?

"Anything else in mind but beating Jacksonville," Bryan Cox said, "is wasted energy."