FLORHAM PARK, N.J. - The New York Jets issues at cornerback this season could be summed up with one look at the guys who finished the game last Sunday.Marcus Williams and Josh Thomas.Wait, who? Well, exactly.One — Williams — was signed off the practice squad five days before the Jets played at Kansas City. The other — Thomas — was signed a month ago as a free agent and made his Jets debut against the Chiefs. Its not exactly Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie patrolling the secondary, as coach Rex Ryan had back there for a few years.Its also one of the biggest criticisms of general manager John Idzik, that he didnt sufficiently bolster the cornerback spot through free agency and the draft.Last week, defensive co-ordinator Dennis Thurman half-jokingly — maybe — said: I know a couple of their numbers.And, just when the Jets didnt think things could get worse, Ben Roethlisberger, coming off two straight games with six touchdown passes, is coming to town with the Pittsburgh Steelers.Scary doesnt come to mind, Ryan said Thursday when asked of the task his secondary is facing. Yeah, youre concerned, but its more about what youre facing. The guys we have in the building, theres some good players over there that we have and its the collective effort of all 11. It doesnt just fall on whos playing right corner or left corner.We have some guys that can play. They all can play.And, they all have. Ryan and Thurman have used several combinations at cornerback throughout the season because of injuries, inconsistency or ineffectiveness. Ryan also acknowledged that he has played much more zone coverage than man-to-man, which is usually a constant with his defences.When Dee Milliner went down with a high ankle sprain during training camp and third-round draft pick Dexter McDougle was lost for the season with a knee injury, safety Antonio Allen was switched to cornerback in what was called an experiment by Thurman.It lasted more than halfway through the season.Milliner was lost for the year with a torn right Achilles tendon and free-agent addition Dimitri Patterson was cut after he was first suspended for an unexcused absence before a preseason game. So, Allen ended up starting opposite Darrin Walls on opening day. After weeks of struggles, though, Ryan hinted that Allen might be moving back to safety for the rest of the season.You can complain about it or you could just be quiet and go to work as usual, Allen said. Thats what I came and did. I did my best. I probably gave up a touchdown every game but, hey, that was the sacrifice that I was willing to give up.Its difficult to blame Allen, who showed promise last season at safety before being forced into the position switch.He has tried to do everything that we have asked him to do, Thurman said.Ryan acknowledged that the Jets held an in-season competition at cornerback last week, with the reward being playing time. Williams, despite being a newcomer, outperformed everyone and earned the start. The undrafted rookie out of North Dakota State spent the first month of the season on Houstons practice squad, was released at the end of September — and is now looking at potentially making his second straight start for the Jets.He has picked up the defence fairly well, Thurman said. He has had a couple of breakdowns, but for the most part he went out and competed and I thought he fared pretty well for his first start. Well give him more playing time.But it remains to be seen who might be on the opposite side of Williams. It appears Walls, dealing with a calf issue, wont play for the second consecutive game.So, it could be Philip Adams, who has started one other game at cornerback and has the Jets only interception this season. Or, Kyle Wilson, a first-round pick in 2010 who has been plugged in as the regular nickel back. Or, perhaps Thomas, who had two tackles and a pass defenced against the Chiefs.At times, Phillip has done a good job, Ryan said. You had last week with Josh Thomas and Williams. They havent been with us the whole time, but theyve been with us long enough. They know what we do. ... Were confident in our guys.NOTES: WR Jeremy Kerley missed practice because of an unspecified personal reason, and Ryan said Kerley also will likely miss Fridays session but is expected to play Sunday. ... DLs Muhammad Wilkerson and Sheldon Richardson and RT Breno Giacomini all returned to practice after missing Wednesday with illnesses. ... The embattled Ryan on the Jets being scheduled to play the Miami Dolphins in London next season: Ill say the obvious: As long as Im on that plane, itll be a great trip. Im looking forward to it.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL Terrell Edmunds Jersey . Mike Ribeiro had a goal and an assist as Phoenix held on to snap a two-game losing streak with a 4-3 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Friday. Antonio Brown Youth Jersey . -- Andrew Wiggins is from Canada, Wayne Selden from Massachusetts and Joel Embiid from the African nation of Cameroon. http://www.steelersrookiestore.com/ . Louis, MO (SportsNetwork. Merril Hoge Womens Jersey .com) - A chant of Zeke reverberated around AT&T Stadium before Ezekiel Elliott powered into the end zone for his fourth and final touchdown. Rocky Bleier Youth Jersey . Founding members of the Genie Army, a group of Eugenie Bouchard supporters who cheered for the rising tennis star during the Australian Open in January, will be in the city for the Rogers Cup, beginning this weekend.LAKE LOUISE, Alta. -- Germanys Maria Hoefl-Riesch returned to the top of the podium at Lake Louise with a victory in a World Cup womens downhill Friday. Hoefl-Riesch won a pair of downhills at the Alberta resort in 2010 before Lindsey Vonn of the U.S. went on a run of seven straight wins on the mountain. But the American ski star was tentative. She finished well back in 40th in her first race since crashing and injuring her right knee at the world championship in February. Hoefl-Riesch was fastest in the final training run for Fridays downhill and carried her pace into the race. "Since the very first time when I came here at the age of 18 or 19, I was always skiing good here and also had some wins and some podiums," Hoefl-Riesch said. "The last two years were a little bit difficult because the year before I was winning two races and one second. Last year and the year before was not perfect, but now it seems its really good for me again. Its great that I had such a good run and finally went back to the podium here. Hoefl-Riesch posted a winning time of one minute 56.03 seconds on a clear, but bitterly cold day. Marianne Kaufmann-Abderhalden of Switzerland was .70 seconds back in second and Elena Fanchini of Italy was third in 1:57.23. A second downhill is scheduled for Saturday followed by a super-G on Sunday. Larisa Yurkiw of Owen Sound, Ont., was Canadas lone racer and she delivered a career-best seventh. Yurkiw was 51st in the start order and was initially tied for eighth with Stefanie Moser of Austria when the Canadian crossed the finish line. The disqualification of Tina Weirather of Liechtenstein in fifth bumped them up the rankings. The result was a triumph for Yurkiw, who was dropped from the Canadian ski team after last season. The 25-year-old raised about $150,000 on her own to fund her summer ski camps in Europe and pay for her own coaching and training expenses. Yurkiw embarked on the ambitious plan to find deep-pocketed sponsors because she wasnt ready to give up on her dream of competing in the 2014 Winter Olympics. She wasnt able to race in the 2010 Winter Games because of a catastrophic knee injury suffered just a few weeks before the opening ceremonies. Yurkiw needs one more top-12 result to meet Alpine Canadas criteria for nomination to the Olympic team. "Today feels like a dream," Yurkiw said. "I had this number seven in my head for some reason all day. When I came down in eighth I forgot about it and then someone mentioned I moved up one. "I was thinking riding up the chair that the pressure is so high, but finally I can say Im doing a good job of staying focused on the things that matter and the things that will make me fast. TThat part Im really proud of.dddddddddddd. "I always admired people who were able to perform under pressure and Im really happy I feel like I joined the club." Lake Louise is nicknamed "Lake Lindsey" because Vonns 14 victories here are more than any other skier at one venue. The reigning Olympic champion has charged through trials and tribulations to some of those victories, but she lacked her characteristic aggression Friday. "I was definitely very nervous having my first race in 10 months," Vonn said. "I was really optimistic that I could come down and first race right out of the blocks win. It was wishful thinking, but might as well shoot for the best. "I was just too nervous. I was really tight and I skied that way. I wasnt in a really deep tuck and pushing the line where I could have. I just kind of skied it. Thats not my style and not how I attack a race. "I think tomorrow is going to be a whole other story. Im going to be much more relaxed and hopefully more confident and able to ski more aggressively and more like myself." Vonn tore ligaments in knee and broke a bone in her lower leg when she crashed in the super-G at the world championships in Schladming, Austria. She partially tore a ligament in her surgically repaired knee while training in November, which kept her out of the first downhill race in Beaver Creek, Colo. Hoefl-Riesch and Vonn are friends as well as rivals. The German thought Vonn felt confident because Vonn had skipped the last training run. "Of course, its not an easy situation for her," Hoefl-Riesch said. "She wants to keep the season going and take a chance for the Olympics. Of course, she needs to do races. "I hope that she can get more confident for her knee. I spoke to her and she said her knee was kind of bothering her. Difficult situation for her definitely." But when Vonn was asked after the race how her knee felt, she replied "fine." The temperature was minus 25 for the race, but windchill pushed it to minus 31. The race was an hour late starting because of a pair of 30-minute delays. The first was to allow the temperature to rise a degree or two. The second was because the resorts snow guns created ice fog over the upper sections of the course. The racers had to wait for it to dissipate. Hoefl-Riesch had just got on the chairlift to the start hut when she heard of the delay. Rather than freeze at the top of the mountain, she stopped in at one of the lift houses to stay warm and passed the time chatting to a lift worker. "I was talking to the lift guy, who was from New Zealand," she said. "It was an interesting conversation." ' ' '
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