Just a quick, pulse-taking exercise here.

There was a story in USA Today a couple of days ago detailing how the NFL was going to unveil its new NFL Shield logo at the next draft. However, images of the new shield (as compared to the old one) have been supplied and as you can see here.

So what do you think? Is this a big deal or not?

Personally, I have no problems with it. The new Shield does look a little bolder and i like the squarer letters. The important thing to notice is there’s now eight stars instead of 25. The eight stars makes sense, one for each division. The NFL could come up with no explanation for why there are currently 25 stars.

The new football design resembles the football atop the Vince Lombardi Trophy, which makes sense, too.

Anyway, I’ve placed a poll on the right side of the page (you have to scroll pretty far down to find it, it’s OK, keep going, keep going). Let’s hear what you think.

Marques Tuiasosopo is forcing Jets coach Eric Mangini to make a very tough decision.

The easy call for the Jets is to have Smith as the third quarterback because of the roster flexibility it would give them. But if the Jets ever needed to use a third quarterback in the event of injuries to Chad Pennington and Kellen Clemens, I have to think they’d be more comfortable with Tuiasosopo.

Tuiasosopo completed 9 of 18 passes for 78 yards and rushed 11 yards for the Jets’ lone touchdown.

He also looked in control on the Jets’ final two-minute drive, which will count heavily in his favor.

Actually, the play I liked most in the game was Andy Reid going for two points. We don’t need no stinkin’ overtime in the preseason.

Obviously, C.J. Mosley made a strong case for himself with three first-half sacks. And I liked the way Joe Kowalewski played, even if he needed to do a better job getting that left foot inbounds on the Jets’ final drive, a completion that was eventually overturned. Of course, fellow tight end Sean Ryan didn’t do himself any favors with a taunting penalty. And if you’re going to have a taunting penalty, at least have it on a positive play.

Smith displayed a better passing touch than he has in the past, also complicating Mangini’s decision.

Linebacker Anthony Schlegel, seeing more time than he has the rest of the preseason, was active, though I don’t know how much he would help the team in the regular season. It was good to see Andre Wadsworth get some extended playing time. No way I think he makes this team but his comeback effort was inspirational.

Fullback Stacy Tutt will be a nice contributor to this team this season and can be trusted with a few carries.

And rookie left guard Jacob Bender looked much better against the Eagles than he did against the Giants. Of course, he wasn’t playing against a first-team defense but like I posted earlier, the important thing is how he responded to last week’s game. He looked resilient, which I think is a very good sign.

However, I was not impressed with Adrian Jones at left tackle. And even if Wade Smith didn’t have any snapping issues tonight, I still think depth on the offensive line is a serious concern.

So the Jets finish the preseason 3-1. Just remember, that means nothing. Browning Nagle once looked good in the exhibition season as well.

And, finally, the biggest bonus about not being at the game. After posting this, I can go right upstairs, get into bed and read a chapter or two in Patrick O’Brian’s, “The Wine-Dark Sea,’’ rather than having to drive home from Philadelphia. (By the way, if you like sailing or brilliantly-written historical fiction and you haven’t read the Aubrey/Maturin series, what are you waiting for?)

More thoughts later as we get to the cutdown to 53.

Just a quick programming note here as the Jets prepare to face the Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field.

Like many of you, I, too, am not in Philadelphia right now and will, like most of you, catch this game on the small screen.

No, don’t worry about me, our paper just doesn’t travel to road preseason games. If it makes you feel better, I already have my flights booked for the regular season so once the gun sounds officially, I’ll be there for every snap.

Not that I like missing any games but, if I am going to miss one Jets game this year, this would have been the one I picked. I know this is a crucial game for all those on-the-bubble players but since I don’t have any say in personnel…well, let’s just say it’s worth missing the game to spend the day with my kids.

Anyway, a couple of things I’ll look for tonight:

Darrelle Revis will probably see a few more snaps at left cornerback. I’m guessing he’ll look as good as he did five days ago against the Giants.

As I wrote for today’s paper, I find the choice between Brad Smith and Marques Tuiasosopo for the team’s third quarterback position and interesting one. I believe the Jets are going to go with Smith, meaning they’ll keep just two full-time QBs on the roster. If that’s the case, I would think Brett Ratliff will be signed to the practice squad if he doesn’t wind up elsewhere after the cut to 53.

Here’s what to look for out of Jacob Bender: How much resiliency does the kid have? He got beat bad by the Giants’ Justin Tuck but took it in a positive way, meaning he recognized it as a learning experience. Had Chad Pennington been hurt on that play, it could have ruined Bender if he blamed himself. But I think he’s got the right mental makeup to be a good NFL player.

Also, on the offensive line, take a look at Robert Turner. He’s kind of flown under the radar but he’s got some skills, too.

Expect Danny Ware and Alvin Banks to get most, if not all of the carries. With Thomas Jones resting until Week 1, I don’t think it makes any sense to play Leon Washington, either.

This marks the seventh straight year the Jets have ended their preseason schedule playing the Eagles. They’ve won the last five games.

This also marks the second straight preseason I’m advocating a reduction in the preseason schedule. Two games is plenty but the owners don’t want to lose the guaranteed gate they get by making the fans purchase preseason tickets along with their regular-season packages.

Please feel free to post any comments or thoughts on the game and we can have a nice little discussion about what we watched on TV.

Enjoy.

The Jets tonight placed veteran linebacker on the reserve/physically-unable-to-perform list, essentially the same process the team went through with Curtis Martin last season.

Chatham had been on the active/PUP list but the Jets couldn’t have him count against the roster as they trimmed down to 75. Chatham can participate in meetings but not practice with the Jets for the first six weeks of the season. The Jets then have a three-week window, Weeks 7-9, in which they can restore Chatham to the active roster.

Chatham’s injury is undisclosed.

Strangely enough, I found myself by Chatham’s locker today. I jokingly asked him what I was legally allowed to ask him, since Jet players are forbidden from discussing their injuries.

Chatham said he thought I could ask him his name.

So we made small talk – when he’s on the active roster he’s one of the go-to quote guys – but nothing of a revealing nature. I then told him I was looking forward to chatting with him on the record.

Unfortunately for both of us, that might be a while.

Sometimes you can’t tell the players with a scorecard.

For an undisclosed reason – we’re guessing some kind of locker-room bet or competition – many of the defensive players wore another player’s jersey for practice. So, no, that No. 63 who was jogging around the field is not the Jets suddenly extra-undersized nose tackle, but Justin Miller wearing Dewayne Robertson’s jersey.

Also, Kerry Rhodes was in Victor Hobson’s No. 54, Darrelle Revis was in Jonathan Vilma’s No. 51, Shaun Ellis was in Andre Dyson’s No. 21 (man, did that jersey look like it shrunk), D-Rob was in Miller’s No. 22, Eric Smith wore Eric Barton’s No. 50 and Brad Kassell was in Drew Coleman’s No. 30. There were others but, frankly, you get the picture.

Also from practice, this blog and most of my fellow Jets’ bloggers have long since stopped reporting on the Jets’ musical selections – it was news for a week or so at the beginning of Eric Mangini’s first training camp – but today was kind of amusing.

Since the Jets are going to Philadelphia to play the Eagles Thursday night, practice had a Rocky theme. “Eye of the Tiger,’’ was followed by a Sly Stallone snippet of, “Hi, my name is Rocky Balboa,’’ which was followed by the iconic theme song.

I wondered aloud whether we’d get a “Yo, Adrianne,’’ which, for the Jets, could be “Yo, Adrien/Adrian,’’ Clarke or Jones.

Meanwhile, running back Thomas Jones repaired to the back field to do leg stretching exercises. Can’t wait to see him Week 1 vs. the Patriots.

Meanwhile, more good Xs and Os talk from Mangini today on how cornerbacks should play wide receivers. Honestly, not making fun of Coach at all, I really enjoy this stuff because it is informative. Mangini dissected how the vertical part of a receiver’s route once they release off the line of scrimmage and before they break into their cut is called the stem.

The discussion started when Mangini was asked for an example of what first-rounder Darrelle Revis is still catching up with after holding out for 20 days. Mangini used an example from practice.

“You want the DB to be able to close the relationship, the cushion between him and the receiver to be as tight as possible and it’s really key,’’ Mangini said. “Ty Law was one of the best I’ve ever seen at that, where if he made a mistake at the line of scrimmage, he made up for that mistake in the stem.

“Darrelle had so much separation in the stem. he had done a nice job at the line of scrimmage and the receiver was able to gain back the ground that Darrelle had won and run the route successfully. Even though the transition was difficult at the breaking point, if he had done a different job at the stem, he would have shut down the route.’’

Meanwhile, two Jets’ events tomorrow. The old Sack Exchange of Mark Gastineau, Joe Klecko, Marty Lyons and Abdul Salaam will ring the opening bell for the New York Stock Exchange tomorrow morning along with Jets owner Woody Johnson.

Also tomorrow, the Jets will hold their Kickoff Luncheon at Cipriani Downtown Restaurant in Manhattan. It helps raise funds for various charities, including a lupus charity.

And on Sept. 23, ex-Jet wide receiver Wayne Chrebet will be honored at halftime of the Jets game against the Dolphins.

Meanwhile,  Eric Mangini, trying to hold back a sly grin, wins the corny line of the day award after being asked why Curtis Martin still had a locker in Jets room.

“Because he’s Curtis,’’ Mangini said (wait, it gets better). “Curtis still has a presence in the building. And I love having Curtis around. He’ll always have a locker in the Jets’ fans’ hearts.’’

Finally, kudos and congratulations to Newsday’s Tom Rock, who became the latest member of the Mangini-said-his-name-at-the-press-conference club. Rock joins charter members Cimini, Cannizzaro, Crouse and Hutch, though, other than Hutch, everybody’s addressed by their first names. Me, Pelzman, and Waszak of the AP are still waiting for our buttons

Bad news for all you Juan Wong fans, the Jets released him along with seven others today.

No real surprises, except maybe Tim Dwight, though he’d been on the PUP list and with all the WR depth plus Brad Smith and Darrelle Revis’ emergences as returners there was no real need for his services.

Do feel bad for Dante Ridgeway, who keeps getting signed and cut from the Jets. Oh, well, I’m sure he’ll be back at some point this season, or next, or maybe 2009.

Anyway, for you Xs and Os fans, and we know there are more of you out there than we care to let on, coach Eric Mangini had some good ‘splaining on the differences between the 4-3 and the 3-4.

Read on:

“Most of the 4 3 defense is based on penetrating,’’ Mangini said. “You have the A gap, I have the B gap, I have the C gap and you’re going to penetrate into that gap and that’s your spacing.  And most 4 3s come with an eight man box, so they bring the safety down and all of the gaps are cancelled out so there’s someone on the A, the B, the back side of the A, the back side of the B and the safety is the player that cancels out the gap.  In a two gap defense, it gives you the ability to play more split safety defense whether it be cover four or cover two, because each player is responsible for two of those and you don’t have to bring the safety into the box to cancel out all of the gaps across the front line.’’

There’s more, because Mangini was then asked whether, in the 3-4, the defensive ends can cause problems by rushing too far upfield.

“It’s a totally different approach,’’ he said. “You can’t go one way or the other.  For example, if you rushed up the field in the C gap, then you’re no longer playing two gaps.  So you’re vacating your responsibility in the B.  You may have had the C handled but you have both of those gaps.  So you’ve got to go on, take the player on, control him and wait until the ball carrier declares, throw him off and make the play.  You’re trying to build a wall across the front, set the edge on the outside as opposed to penetrate and run.’’

Honestly, I enjoy it when Mangini starts breaking down football this way. I find it instructive and a cool look inside a football lifer’s mind.

Plus, it’s the one time Mangini lets his hair down, to use a phrase that really doesn’t fit him. Instead of being guarded about the information he’s giving out, Mangini gets animated, excited to be discussing something that he enjoys so much.

Short week this week, we get tomorrow out at Weeb Ewbank Hall, then a game Thursday. The players will probably get a little time down before getting into the regular week before the regular-season opener against the Patriots.

I can safely say that everybody is looking forward to that.

So we’re waiting for coach Eric Mangini to come into the interview room when one reporter (not me, honest), remarks they’d forgotten the Jets actually won the game.

That was understandable.

On the other hand, I don’t think it’s fair to extrapolate too much out of this game in terms of the Jets offense. For one, not having Thomas Jones out there radically changes the complexities of the offense. Secondly, Mangini admitted things have been pretty “vanilla’’ offensively throughout the offseason.

They’re hiding things from you, folks.

Actually, the Jets, and certainly, the Giants, were hiding things from each other. These teams play again Oct. 7 and neither Mangini nor Giants coach Tom Coughlin want to reveal too much on the game films.

“We’re…looking at more of the basic stuff with this opponent, facing them early in season and having familiarity with them through this game,’’ Mangini said. “It’s important to have some things we like during the week but not really show it in the game.’’

The other point I’d like to make before packing up and going home from a very humid stadium, is that what the Jets are doing to Jacob Bender is borderline unfair at this point. More importantly, it’s unfair to Chad Pennington, who could have easily been hurt when Justin Tuck blew past Bender for a 12-yard sack.

Look, I know somebody has to start at left guard and Adrien Clarke certainly doesn’t seem to be the answer, but Bender just isn’t ready for this. Yes it’s a learning opportunity but just as it was unfair to plop Kendall in as a center make him make some shotgun snaps, it’s unfair to put such a burden on Bender.

The cliche would be throwing a kid in the deep end and seeing if he can swim.

If GM Mike Tannenbaum wasn’t convinced before tonight that he needs to bring in a veteran left guard – and I’m of the belief that has been Tannenbaum’s intention all along – then tonight showed the Jets cannot go into Week 1 without strengthening their offensive line.

Another worry: Osi Umenyiora beat D’Brickashaw Ferguson cleanly. Now, left tackle is as difficult a position as there is and, from time to time, you get beat. It’s like being a goalie in hockey. You’ve got to get over it and stop the next shot. But Kendall’s role in helping Brick on the field last year can’t be overstated. Pete helped Brick look good many a time. Plus, tight end Chris Baker wasn’t playing on Brick’s end, leaving him further exposed.

Brick, however, does have the immediate talent to correct this. He’ll get stouter. But having an accomplished veteran to his right wouldn’t hurt.

A couple of quick observations off the first thrilling 30 minutes.

Cornerback Manny Collins shouldn’t get too comfortable. He got beat to the back of the end zone by Anthony Mix on the Giants’ end-of-half touchdown (though Collins did make a nice hustle play nearly blocking the extra-point).

Also, the left guard situation in the post-Pete Kendall era has so far proven to be the problem that was anticipated. Justin Tuck just blew by rookie Jacob Bender to blow up Chad Pennington for a 12-yard loss. To be fair, Osi Umenyiora’s nine-yard sack came at the expense of LT D’Brickashaw Ferguson.

Then, Adrien Clarke gets called for a false start and a holding call against Rashad Washington leads to a safety for the Giants.

In short, not really the cohesive effort coach Eric Mangini was looking for in this third preseason game.

Offensively, the Jets have done next to nothing since Pennington’s touchdown pass to Leon Washington.

If anything Darrelle Revis is one of the lone bright spots, with his tackling and coverage.

The Jets really do need Thomas Jones to make this offense really work.

Meanwhile, probably because Palladino is twice the professional that I am, he’s been able to post blogs with relative ease while I am struggling (yet again at the Meadowlands) with my wireless connection. I think it’s good now. I hope it’s good in the fourth quarter when I need to file a story.

More later…

The Jets had great and ugly on their first two snaps.

First, Chad Pennington lofted a pass down the right sideline that RB Leon Washington caught around midfield past a badly beaten Giants cornerback R.W. McQuarters and continued for a 79-yard touchdown on the first play.

But then Mike Nugent’s kick thumped squarely against a lineman’s rump.

Jets 6, Giants 0.

Oh, and Darrelle Revis is starting at left cornerback. A good game and Andre Dyson may have trouble regaining his job.

Nearly kickoff at what can officially be called Giants Stadium tonight (the Jets would prefer us to call it the Meadowlands for obvious reasons).

Sort of weird walking into the building I walk into eight times an NFL season (but good practice for later this season when the teams meet again with the Jets being the visitor) and not sitting in the seat I sit in all the time. The Jets writers have been put in the East press box, where the visiting team’s press always sits.

But I’ve upgraded and am now sitting next to Ernie Palladino, who is trying to teach me a thing or two about professionalism.

The Jets have just run on to the field to a great smattering of boos. The nice thing is they’re on the visiting sideline, which is closest to the press box so now I can actually watch what goes on with the team during the game. No sight of Justin Miller, Eric Smith or Thomas Jones, none of which is a surprise.

Darrelle Revis should get plenty of action tonight as the Jets unveil their first-round pick after his lengthy holdout.

And here are some players I believe are on the bubble and really need to step up tonight: DE Kimo von Oelhoffen, QB Marques Tuiasosopo, WR Frisman Jackson, RB Tony Hollings, CB Manny Collins, LB Jason Trusnik, LB Anthony Schlegel, LB Andre Wadsworth, OL Dominic Moran, OL Marko Cavka, C Joseph Vilani, DE Mike DeVito, OL Robert Turner, OL Na’Shan Goddard, TE Jason Pociask, DE Michael Haynes and NT C.J. Mosley.

The crowd looks to be about the size of the first two Jets preseason game combined, which means Giants Stadium is barely half full.

More thoughts at halftime, enjoy the show…