A few notes from Fort Florham this morning. Eric Mangini named his players of the week from the win over the Titans. Offensively it was RB Leon Washington, defensively S Abram Elam, Marques Murrell was named on special teams and Brett Ratliff was the practice player of the week.

I talked to S Eric Smith, who was finally back practicing after sustaining two concussions in back-to-back games earlier this season. He’s excited to get back out on the field and said working out on the treadmill was getting old, fast. LB David Harris (groin surgery) was out today also. He’s No. 52 and you can see him in the excellent photo my RAZR took at practice.

Shaun Ellis gave me a hard time for standing next to all the fancy cameras with my cell phone, but I do it for you, the reader.

Does this mean that every Jet not on the IR is practicing at some level now? TE Bubba Franks is back practicing as well even though he wasn’t active for the Titans game.

And as for my admittedly cheap shot against Erik Boland over at Newsday, sharing a laugh with Mangini at poor Erik’s expense. Let me just say that Erik relishes the attention, plus it’s free advertising!

Monday must be a popular day for Jets players to take care of those little errands. When I think Victory Monday, it conjures up images of smoking fat stogies, drinking expensive champagne and maybe a deep tissue massage. But apparently it’s more about auto repair.

Nick Mangold, Tony Richardson and Darrelle Revis were the three players the Jets made available today by conference call. After a win they have to come in and lift but there’s no practice and no media availability in the locker room. So we diligent reporters asked all three if they had noticed any more joy in the Jets nation.

And they had.

Mangold was getting his oil changed and there were two dudes at the water cooler talking about whether the Jets or the Giants were a bigger story. Richardson had car trouble on Sunday night on the way back from the game and when he took his truck in, the guy behind the counter was wearing a wrinkled Jets cap. He told Richardson he hadn’t wanted to wear his Jets cap in a long time, but dug it out after the 34-13 win over the Titans.

Interestingly, neither player told the fans who they were.

Revis, on the other hand didn’t have to. He was recognized at the Garden State Plaza mall in a shoe store, and fans gushed and took pictures with him.

Here’s an audio clip of Revis talking about the experience.

revismall

In other news…

Jets coach Eric Mangini, who said he hasn’t been approached because he never visits anyplace that isn’t the home or the office so he hasn’t been approached by fans, said there might be an Eric Smith sighting this week. The Jets safety suffered three head injuries in four weeks earlier in the season.

I asked if he thought Smith’s injury had been properly managed.

“Yeah, I think that we’ve gone through all the steps that we had in place, and we continue to work through those steps. I think Eric’s making progress. We’re hoping to kind of see more of him here this week, maybe into the weekend.”

Still, Smith sustained a concussion (called “grogginess” at the time) and played almost immediately, where he was again hit in the head.

Leon Washington, who had two touchdowns yesterday in a win over the previously undefeated Titans, will be getting buffed, washed and waxed tomorrow in Bristol, Conn.

He will be on Mike & Mike in the Morning, First Take, ESPNews and NFL Live at 4 p.m. I imagine they will also be taping a couple other things, and perhaps giving him lunch.

Meanwhile, WR Jerricho Cotchery and his foundation are hosting a “Luxury” tailgate on Dec. 15, which I think means people have to bring checkbooks instead of parkas. But it is for a good cause, and a lot of other Jets like Chris Baker, Eric Barton, D’Brickashaw Ferguson, Brandon Moore, Kerry Rhodes, Eric Smith, Leon Washington and GM Mike Tannenbaum there to show support.

Tickets for the gala, at $75, can be purchased through www.jc89.eventbrite.com. Proceeds to benefit children’s charities.

Never mind the cliches about each win being the same. The Jets’ last two wins have elevated the team into another strata this season. The playoffs are a reality. The Super Bowl isn’t a pipe dream. No one wants to go off ala Namath, but there’s no reason to pretend this Jets team isn’t accomplishing something.

Here’s what the players had to say in Tennessee after the win.

QB Brett Favre on what the 34-13 over the previously undefeated Titans means:

“It says we’re 8-3. That’s way better than probably a lot of people gave us a chance to be. What that means for the future remains to be seen but it definitely puts us in a good position at this point. I’m not going sit here and say that we’ve established ourselves as the best team in football. All it says is that I think we beat the best team in football today, definitely if you go by record and the way that they’ve played. As I said after the game last week, it’s one big win piggybacked with another big win away. It’s hard to win, period, in this league and hard to win on the road. It’s hard to win at a place that’s 10-0, it’s hard to win at Foxboro. We found a way to do it.”

G Alan Faneca:

“It is huge. That is a fun day for us to go out there and be able to accomplish that. That is an offensive lineman’s dream. That is a fun day for us to go out there and do that.”

S Kerry Rhodes:

“We have been confident already. We had to show the world to come here and beat a team that has been playing well in Tennessee. They are playing well. They were 10-0. Just to come here and be able to get a win against these guys is big for us confidence-wise. We are a very confident team anyway, but coming in here and doing this and getting it done, that can only help us.”

LB Bryan Thomas:

“It is making a statement. Now people are going to start looking at us and say they are a team you have to reckon with. Not saying that any other game was any different. But now people are looking at us okay, those guys are doing the things in practice that it is going to take to win the game and we are carrying it over to the field and now you see the results of it.”

Thomas Jones catches a short pass from Brett Favre in the first offensive series for the Jets and runs it into the end zone for the first score of the game. Jay Feely is kicking and Jets are up 7-0. Just based on the first few plays, the Jets look good and seemed to have game-planned well defensively.

Calvin Pace told me earlier this week that the Titans may be undefeated, but they aren’t the 1972 Dolphins. And I’d add that they aren’t even last year’s Patriots. If the Titans are to lose it’ll probably be the Jets, Steelers or Colts who do it.

A lot of the players think the Jets are the better team. And the AFC picture would look a lot rosier with a win. So far Favre has sent passes to Laveranues Coles, Jerricho Cotchery and Dustin Keller, and that’s good distribution if the Jets are to follow through.

Two fumbles are worrisome, and Cortland Finnegan just caught a pass intended for Coles. The Jets should be up by two touchdowns now, but one of the fumbles was recovered by the Titans, who just have not been able to capitalize.

Not a lot of scoring, but Feely just got another FG with about 4:00 left in the first half. Jets are up just 10-0 despite dominating on both sides of the ball. Jets lead 10-3 at the half.

Another long Jets drive ends in a field goal for a 13-3 lead with 8:06 left in the third quarter. Given Kerry Collins proven ability to get come-from-behind wins (ahem, Jacksonville), the Jets would be better off actually taking the ball all the way in.

Oh wait… Bryan Thomas just recovered a fumble (stripped by Abram Elam). Jets offense back out on the field.

By the way, Titan Albert Haynesworth is back in the game after going out earlier with what looked like a head injury.

Coles catches a dart in the end zone for the second passing touchdown with 3:02 left in the third and the Jets lead 20-3. Can you smell that, Jets fans? The bittersweet aroma of raised expectations?

Titans kicker Rob Bironas just closed the gap to 20-6 with 12:50 left in the game with a 49-yard field goal.

And Leon Washington just proved again he is the best value for the yardage with a 61-yard touchdown run with 11:07 left in the game. Jets are up 27-6. Time to start thinking about how a win in Nashville will impact the postseason. Patriots lead Miami right now, 31-28 with 13:11 left in the fourth.

NT Kris Jenkins is down, on his back. He has back issues so that’s not good for the Jets. If he leaves the game now, that could breathe some life into the Titans. And the Titans score on the very next play, when Ahmard Hall catches a Collins pass, 27-13.

Washington gets his second TD of the game with about three minutes left, 34-13. Hard to blow the lead at this point. How do you feel about the Jets? They looked very good today, going into the last quarter of the season 8-3, and have had the ball 40 minutes to the Titans’ 18.

Patriots beat Miami and are just a game back in the division.

For the Jets:

OUT
LB David Harris (groin), S Eric Smith (head).

QUESTIONABLE
TE Bubba Franks (hip), LB Jason Trusnik (knee).

PROBABLE
WR Laveranues Coles (thigh), WR Jerricho Cotchery (shoulder), DE Shaun Ellis (shoulder), K Mike Nugent (right thigh), WR Brad Smith (shoulder), LB Cody Spencer (shoulder).

For the Titans:

OUT
CB Reynaldo Hill (hip), DT Jason Jones (foot), CB Eric King (forearm).

DOUBTFUL
CB Nicholas Harper (ankle).

QUESTIONABLE
DE William Hayes (knee), DE Kyle Vanden Bosch (groin).

PROBABLE
LB Keith Bulluck (chest), RB Quinton Ganther (hamstring), DE Jevon Kearse (knee), RB LenDale White (calf), WR Paul Williams (ankle).

Jets fourth-string quarterback Erik Ainge was suspended for four games for violating the NFL’s steroid use policy. Ainge, who was drafted in the 5th round this April, is currently on the injured reserve with a foot injury.

“We respect the League’s decision and look forward to Erik’s return,” said team spokesperson Bruce Speight.

Since Ainge isn’t currently playing, his pay will be suspended for the next four games. He is the nephew of former NBA guard Danny Ainge.

Rob Demovsky of the Green Bay Press Gazette has this story out of Brett Favre’s old stomping grounds. He sold his not-so-palatial pad for $445,000.

Jets coach Eric Mangini said today he’d be “completely comfortable” having cornerback Ty Law start opposite Darrelle Revis on Sunday when the Jets take on the undefeated Titans.

Last week Law participated in 57 of the 75 or so of the defensive plays, mostly in the nickel and the dime. Mangini said he wasn’t sure if the percentages would be the same for Law, and that a lot would depend on the kind of offense they saw out of Tennessee.

But clearly, Law is the best option in the spot right now after rookie Dwight Lowery’s struggles. The former New England veteran also earned a ton of respect from Mangini and the defensive coaches with his performance against the Patriots after an 11-month hiatus.

Update: After practice on Fridays, the players are done and can head out. Shaun Ellis usually skips his shower and bolts right away as he’s jeered by his teammates. Today, Darrelle Revis grabbed onto his leg and was dragged along as players shouted that Ellis’ funk was going to cause a traffic jam…

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. – After Leon Washington was drafted by the Jets in the fourth round in 2006, the running back would pay attention to Curtis Martin, even though the veteran was injured.

He’d watch Martin during position meetings as he carefully took notes so neat and precise that Washington was amazed.

“When he takes his notes, he has the best handwriting I’ve ever seen,” Washington said. “It goes to show how much detail he puts into everything he does in life.”

Washington’s notes aren’t perfect yet, but he got the overall message. Now in his third season with the Jets, Washington (left, AP photo) is known for practicing just as hard as he plays. The running back has been improving field position and gaining key yards all season. Washington last week was named AFC special-teams player of the week after the Jets beat the Patriots for sole possession of first place in the AFC East.

That’s only one of the plaudits Washington has received this season. He leads the NFL in combined yards with 1,475 and broke the team record for career kickoff returns for touchdowns with his fourth. He has also had some heads-up plays for the Jets, such as making sure he was out of bounds to stop a rolling ball on a kickoff return. Due to a little-known rule, the Jets got the ball on the 40-yard line.

“He’s a great player,’’ running back Thomas Jones said. “He’s gifted, he’s got great speed, great vision; he can do it all, whether he’s running the ball, catching the ball or returning. He’s a great player, and we’re glad to have him on the team.”

Consider then, that Washington is doing this all at 5-foot-8 and 202 pounds. There is a huge variety in an NFL lineup when it comes to sizes and shapes – offensive linemen look very different than cornerbacks – but even taking that into account, Washington could be at a disadvantage.

“Yeah, if you look at Leon’s stature as far as his weight, size and height, you’d say by NFL standards, especially for the running-back position, he can’t survive,” fullback Tony Richardson said. “But the size of his heart is probably bigger than half the guys’ in this room.”

Washington, who came out of Florida State after growing up in Jacksonville, said he has always refused to see his size as a drawback.

“The best guys that played this game, some of the guys like Barry Sanders, Emmitt Smith, they were 5-10 and shorter, so I can use that to my advantage,” Washington said.

During the offseason after his second year in the league, Washington went up 25 pounds on all his lifts and took the Jets’ offseason training crown. And he isn’t afraid to block. In the first Patriots game this season, Washington got in between Brett Favre and Adalius Thomas before the linebacker ultimately sacked Favre with Washington hanging on.

“That’s Leon,” Richardson said. “I’ll put him in a fight with anybody, especially on the football field because he’s going to give you everything he has with his ability.”

Where other guys are loud and boisterous off the field, Washington treats the Florham Park facility as an office – he’s all business. He takes this seriously, and on game day, that’s the way it needs to be.

“When he gets out there you see that passion and that excitement he brings,” Jets center Nick Mangold said.
For Mangini, who used to get on Washington for fumbles and missed plays in Washington’s rookie year, it has been good to see him come into his own this season.

“It’s really satisfying to see,” Mangini said. “He’s one of the guys that came in with me and to see his growth and development is great.”