Standing in the Eric Mangini postgame presser, the ambivalent thoughts started creeping in.

Yes, the Jets had won their first game of the season, 31-28. Yes, as former Syracuse coach Dick MacPherson was so fond of saying, “A win is a win.’’ And, yes, the three-point final score was a little misleading.

Still, the question that nagged at me as Mangini spoke was this: Mangini consistently preaches consistency, four quarters of good football. He was talking about how complementary all three phases – offense, defense and special teams – were today. But I couldn’t help think this was not a consistent effort. At best, it was a three-quarter effort. And against good teams, that’s not going to get it done.

So there are some reasons to be uncomfortable heading into Week 4, even if the Bills are now 0-3 and without starting quarterback J.P. Losman, out for a couple of weeks (they say) with a sprained left knee. Of course, Trent Edwards may do just as well and the Jets never seem to have a good time up in Buffalo, last year’s victory included.

For one, the rush defense is still more break than bend, despite a nice effort by inside linebackers Jonathan Vilma and Eric Barton, both who were very active. Ronnie Brown ran for 112 yards and caught passes for 99 more.

“Obviously, we need to work on screens,’’ Mangini said.

Chad Pennington also needs to heal his ankle a little better. He was limping slightly as he left the stadium, which is to be expected, but he’s clearly not 100 percent.

“I don’t know, it’s a process,’’ Pennington said. “I just try and work on it every day.’’

Pennington obviously was good enough to go, since he scrambled OK, including a completion when the right-hander scrambled left, and ran in for a touchdown.

Like I said, I’m ambivalent. This team could well win its next two games, also, at Buffalo and against the mighty Giants. But this is not yet what I would call a smooth-sailing operation.

Finally, courtesy of the fine Jets’ PR staff, here are the notes they compiled for the game:

The Jets have now beat Miami in three straight contests and the last four times the two clubs have met at the Meadowlands.

The Jets are 12-4-1 all-time in games against the Dolphins decided by three points or less.

Shaun Ellis recorded the Jets first sack of the season at the 9:51 mark of the first quarter.  With the sack, Ellis passed Verlon Biggs and moved into sixth place on the Jets all-time sacks list with 49.5 sacks

Laveranues Coles caught a three-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter from Chad Pennington.  The touchdown reception was his third in as many games and his 10th touchdown reception in 12 career games against Miami.  His 27 career touchdown receptions as a Jet tie him with Art Powell for 10th all-time on the Jets career touchdown receptions list.  Coles has now caught at least one pass in 64 consecutive games.

Coles touchdown reception was the Jets first touchdown scored in the first quarter this season and gave them their first lead of the season (7-0).

Coles, who caught three passes for 30 yards, passed Bobby Mitchell for 82nd on the NFL’s all-time reception list with 522 receptions.

Leon Washington returned a second-quarter kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown to give the Jets a 14-7 lead.  It was the Jets first kickoff return for a touchdown since Justin Miller returned one 99 yards at Cleveland on October 2, 2006.  Washington’s previous career-long kickoff return was 32 yards on September 9, 2007 against New England.

Jerricho Cotchery returned a second-quarter kickoff for 14 yards.  It was Cotchery’s first kickoff return since January 1, 2006 when he returned one kickoff for 29 yards against Buffalo.  Cotchery has returned 18 kickoffs in his career for 481 yards (26.7 avg), including a career-best 94-yard touchdown return on January 2, 2004 at St. Louis.

Chad Pennington threw a four-yard touchdown pass to Chris Baker with two seconds remaining in the second quarter.  Pennington went 7-for-8 on the drive for 55 yards.  Chad Pennington has now thrown a touchdown pass in eight consecutive games, the longest active streak in the NFL.

The Jets ran the ball on 11 consecutive plays for 57 yards to start the second half.  Mike Nugent capped off the drive with a 21-yard field goal.

Kerry Rhodes recorded the Jets first interception of the season at the 5:27 mark of the third quarter.  Rhodes has six interceptions in 35 career games.

Chad Pennington rushed for a two yard touchdown at the 12:51 mark of the fourth quarter to give the Jets a 31-13 lead.  It was Pennington’s first rushing touchdown since October 24, 2004 at New England when he ran for a one-yard score.

Thomas Jones recorded his first 100-yard rushing game as a Jet, carrying the ball 25 times for 110 yards.  Jones has now registered 17 career 100-yard rushing games and has 5,603 rushing yards for his career.  Today, he passed Joe Morris and Delvin Williams to move into 78th on the NFL’s all-time rushing list.

The Jets defense held Miami to 3-for-9 (33%) on third downs.

The Jets were 8-for-13 (62%) on third down attempts.  This was their highest third down percentage since they went 8-for-12 (67%) against Detroit on October 22, 2006.

Mike Nugent kicked off six times with two of his kicks resulting in touchbacks.  He has now kicked off 12 times this season with five kickoffs landing in the end zone and three resulting in touchbacks.

Just a quick clarification here.

Leon Washington was signaling, “Bring it on,’’ as he neared the goal line on his 98-yard kickoff return. That’s what he said as he left the stadium today.

As a result, I completely retract any suggestion from earlier blog that he had repeated his previous year’s finger salute.

More later…

Just a little crowing here. Right after Miami’s idiotic decision to squib kick for a second straight time, I turned to my Journal News colleague Jake Thomases and said, “Jets are pretty good in the two-minute drill.’’

But what Chad Pennington just directed was textbook, complete with two outstanding circus catches to cap the drive.

It just shows why the Jets go with the no huddle so frequently – they’re just more comfortable running the offense at that speed. The Jets offense has been very ordinary otherwise.

They also can’t seem to strike a running back balance. Last week, Leon Washington didn’t touch the ball. This week, he’s the Jets featured back over Thomas Jones, at least in touches. Washington also showed why there’s no downgrade from Justin Miller to him on kickoff returns.

I didn’t get a good look but it seemed like Washington fiddled with his fingers at the end of his run. My one thought was he couldn’t have been doing that Florida salute that got him in hot water last year on his football card, could he? Doubt it, but there is some doubt.

Other thoughts:

What else does Chris Baker have to do to prove to the Jets’ coaching staff he can be a very productive receiver? His athleticism is underestimated.

I’ve been impressed with how active Jonathan Vilma and Eric Barton have been today. And David Barrett is having a strong game in the secondary going against Marty Booker. Darrelle Revis is holding his own against Chris Chambers and the penalty against him was a technique error more than anything else.

Dewayne Robertson was moved to right defensive end in the second quarter with Sione Pouha going in at nose tackle. Robertson got a decent push coming in at an angle.

And Brad Smith does as good a job in punt coverage as anybody on the team. The way he contained Ted Ginn Jr., forcing him left, then right, then finally out of bounds, was incredible.

Unlike my pregame prediction, this one looks like it’ll be an Alcoa Fantastic Finish. I’m still solid in saying the Jets will win. But they’ve got to do a better job of stopping Ronnie Brown.

That’s it for now, I’ll check in later.

Welcome to Week 3, or, the last impact week of the season if the Jets don’t win.

That’s what I love about the NFL, the urgency from the moment the first ball is kicked off. It’s different than any other league. In the Major Leagues, the NBA or NHL, panic doesn’t need to set in until well past the midway point of the season.

Here in the NFL, if a team goes 0-3, as the Jets or Dolphins will today, barring a miserable kiss-your-sister tie, the chances of making it to the postseason are absolutely remote. an 0-3 team is in rebuilding mode, a wait-till-next-season mentality, though you’d never hear anybody from the organization admit it. Further, anybody from the organization reading this blog would argue that point with me from now until the end of the season.

That all said, I will be one surprised sports writer four hours from now if the Jets don’t beat this bad Dolphins team. Honestly, if the Jets don’t sack Trent Green today against this woeful Miami line, they could go 0 for the season.

Here are the inactives:

Jets – QB Marques Tuiasosopo (emergency QB), S Abram Elam, LB Cody Spencer, OL Will Montgomery (best smirk of the week came on Wednesday when I asked Eric Mangini if Montgomery was competing for a starting role this week – silly question, had to ask it), DL Mike DeVito, OL Jacob Bender, TE Jason Pociask, TE Sean Ryan.

Little surprised they’ve got both Pociask and Ryan inactive. BothFBs, Darian Barnes and Stacy Tutt are active but that leaves just Joe Kowalewski to back up Chris Baker.

Dolphins – QB John Beck (emergency QB), RB Lorenzo Booker, S Donivin Darius, S Courtney Bryan, LB Abraham Wright, LB Zach Thomas, DT Steve Fifita, DT Rodrique Wright.

Obviously, not having Thomas, out after suffering a concussion against the Cowboys last week, is a killer for the Dolphins. Derrick Pope will start for him.

Jets will wear traditional home green over their white pants, the Dolphins also in their classic white over white arrangement. Love it when both teams look sharp.

The day is perfect to watch a football game, maybe a little warm to play in.

The announced temperature is 72 degrees with 37 percent humidity with winds from the north-northwest at 8 p.m. Not a could in the sky and both Jets K Mike Nugent and Dolphins counterpart Jay Feely are booming it easily from 50.

Please post any thoughts, comments or questions you might have during the game and I’ll try my best to sort it out.

Enjoy.

Just a quick post here in case anybody wants to take a stab at figuring out tomorrow’s final score.

Which, of course, will be Jets 20, Dolphins 10.

Normally, I try to do this on Friday’s but with Yom Kippur, I’ve been in and out with the family. Just wound up with a few minutes here to post so I thought I’d take advantage.

In a nutshell, here’s why the Jets will beat the Dolphins by 10, even though these games are typically very close.

First, the Jets offense, with Chad Pennington back in the saddle, will be able to exploit the Dolphins’ defense. We all know about Vonnie Holliday and Jason Taylor and how physical Miami can be. But with a depleted secondary and no Zach Thomas to worry about, the Jets should finally get their running game untracked because they’ll be able to loosen things up with the pass.

Second, Miami’s offensive line doesn’t impress me much. This should be the game Dewayne Robertson, Shaun Ellis and Kenyon Coleman start getting some real pressure on the quarterback. Trent Green will hold the ball at times so the Jets should be able to at least get a couple of quarterback hits in.

Third, I’ll take the Jets’ secondary over the Miami receivers, regardless of how well Chris Chambers has started the season. Asked if he felt like a rookie this week, CB Darrelle Revis said he didn’t know the meaning of the word. He plays like that, too, assured, like he’s been there before.

As long as the Jets special teams coverage is able to keep the Jets’ defense from defending a short field, I don’t think Miami’s offense will be too successful. And with reinforcements like Jonathan Vilma now on kickoff coverage, that issue has been addressed.

Also, thanks for the memories regarding Jets’ wide receivers, it’s been a lot of fun reading them. Looks like Wayne Chrebet will win as the fans’ favorite Jets’ WR. A well-deserved win, I might add. He truly represents the underdog in all of us.

Catch you tomorrow from the stadium, please post predictions below and vote in the poll at right if you haven’t yet.

Polls, that is.

Voting is now closed on how well you think the Jets will do this season. The majority of you said they’ll miss the playoffs. Which means there are plenty of good seats still left on the bandwagon.

The new poll, to be found on the right (scroll down a bit, then keep going, just a little bit further, there it is) is in honor of Wayne Chrebet day Sunday at the Meadowlands. Simply, please tell us your favorite Jets’ wide receiver. If you’d like to post a comment below explaining your vote, that would be much appreciated.

Any special memories, too, would be cool.

I have one from childhood.

This was back in 1980 when the Jets were still playing at Shea Stadium. Me and a buddy of mine, Max went out there for a Dec. 14 game against the Saints, who, if memory serves, came into the game winless. We didn’t have tickets and it was freezing so we were able to convince a scalper to sell us two on the field level for $7 each. (The Jets finished the year 4-12 so there wasn’t great ticket demand).

The Jets, of course, lost 21-20, in front of a small Shea crowd of 38,077 (OK, that number is not a memory, I’m checking the media guide to make sure I’m not getting anything wrong). I don’t remember much of the second half because I had drunk about nine cups of hot chocolate in the first half and had to keep running back to the bathroom.

I do remember after the game running onto the Shea field with many others, I think it was to protest how miserable the Jets were in losing to a winless team.

We exited through the center field entrance that they opened with people on the field and found ourselves near the players’ exit. Now, I’ve never been an autograph guy, in fact, that day represents the first and last autographs I ever got.

But Max and I stood there for about a half hour as Jets filed out. I probably got about 10 names scribbled on a napkin. For some reason, though, the only guy I can remember stopping and signing is Johnny “Lam’’ Jones. I don’t know which one of us was crazier, him for stopping in that freezing cold or us for standing there. At least we had the excuse of being 13.

For the record, though, Jones (who wore No. 80 years before Chrebet) is not my favorite Jets’ receiver. I was very partial to Jerome Barkum as a kid. I even remember thinking it was weird they turned him into a tight end.

No changes on the Jets’ participation list from practice today.

WR Jerricho Cotchery (shoulder), CB Andre Dyson (foot), RG Brandon Moore (shoulder), QB Chad Pennington (ankle), NT Dewayne Robertson (knee) and S Eric Smith (thigh) remain limited while CB David Barrett (thigh), LB David Bowens (hand), RB Thomas Jones (calf), TE Joe Kowalewski (shoulder) and FB Stacy Tutt (foot) had full participation.

For the Dolphins, S Donovin Darius (calf) did not participate after being limited Wednesday. LB Zach Thomas (migraine) missed his second straight practice. Having known people who get really bad migraines, if he’s suffered enough to miss two days of practice, I feel awful for him. C Rex Hadnot (shoulder) was limited.

Also today, the Jets signed offensive lineman Clint Oldenburg to their practice squad. Oldenburg was the Patriots’ fifth-round pick this year out of Colorado State. The Pats had waived him Sept. 1, then re-signed Sept. 3 and, finally, released him, Sept. 19. No doubt, if the Jets wind up releasing him, the Pats will take him right back.

He might be this year’s Hank Poteat. Except not.

Retired Jets receiver Wayne Chrebet was on a conference call with us earlier today to discuss the halftime ceremony for him Sunday.

And while Chrebet would rather not discuss his post-concussion symptoms, he obviously was asked and did oblige with some answers.

But, in fairness to Chrebet, let me first lay this quote on you.

“Look at my life, look at what I’ve accomplished, look at what I’m surrounded by,’’ Chrebet said. “How could I ever complain anything? It was worth it to me.’’

In his words, Chrebet doesn’t want any “sob story’’ on his life, though he admitted to motion sickness problems and said he had good days and bad days. He couldn’t stress enough that he wanted the stories about him in tomorrow’s paper to focus on his ceremony Sunday and not the concussions.

Unfortunately, the concussions led to Sunday, since Chrebet, if healthy, might still be playing. As much as Chrebet doesn’t want it this way, the concussions are part of the story.

Still, Chrebet is looking forward to Sunday. The bulldog in him has never gotten football out of his system so I asked him if Sunday might be cathartic for him.

“It’s a second chance to do it the way I would have wanted to do, a chance to walk off the field, and soak it all in and essentially wave goodbye to that chapter of my life,’’ Chrebet said.

Chrebet said he’s changed his speech about 20 times but the gist will just be a thank you to the fans, organization and teammates who helped him live his dream life.

Yet he’s more nervous about his day than he was about playing.

“I can’t ever say I was too nervous for a game,’’ Chrebet said. “It’s a lot more stressful talking in front of 70,000 people than playing in front of a million. I don’t know what’s going to happen but, for me, it’s a really special day. A big part of the game is a chance to say goodbye. I don’t know how I’ll feel. Just talking about it gets me choked up.’’

Like I said, Chrebet probably won’t be too pleased when he reads tomorrow’s clips because the concussion angle will be written about. I’ll tease you with that and let you check out the stories later.

Two names jump out on the just-handed out practice participation reports for today, though it doesn’t change anything for Sunday.

Jets WR Jerricho Cotchery, who got banged up against the Ravens and had to leave the game twice in the second half, was listed as limited participation because of a shoulder. No way he doesn’t play Sunday.

Plus, running back Thomas Jones was listed as fully participating in practice for the first time since he hurt his calf Aug. 12.

Also for the Jets: CB Andre Dyson (foot), RG Brandon Moore (shoulder), QB Chad Pennington (ankle), NT Dewayne Robertson (knee) and S Eric Smith (thigh) were limited while CB David Barnett (thigh), LB David Bowens (hand), TE Joe Kowalewski (shoulder) and FB Stacy Tutt (foot) participated fully.

For the Dolphins: LB Zach Thomas (migraine) did not participate and S Donovin Darius (calf) and G Rex Hadnot (shoulder) were limited.

A little bit of background info on the newest Jet, offensive lineman Will Montgomery.

The 6-foot-2, 312-pound center/guard was drafted in the seventh round of the 2006 draft by the Carolina Panthers. Waived by the Panthers, Sept. 2, Montgomery came in for a tryout with the Jets less than a week later.

Montgomery appeared in seven games as a rookie, starting three games at left guard and one at right guard. He could very well compete for playing time with the Jets at left guard, where neither Adrien Clarke, nor Wade Smith, nor rookie Jacob Bender (yet to dress for a game) has been able to take over for the traded Pete Kendall.

Montgomery, by the way, was given Kendall’s old No. 66. As I quipped a little earlier in the comments to my previous post, I hope he’s as good a quote as Kendall.

“I liked his motor, I really liked his motor, I thought he showed good finish on the second level,’’ Eric Mangini said. “Not it’s just a function of fitting him and letting him compete and seeing where it works out. He’s played both guard and center. He’s got some flexibility to go out to tackle. With all those guys, especially if you end up going to the game as a backup offensive lineman, you’ve got to work them across the board just in case.’‘