Carolina Panthers how they feel about Steve Smith

The experiment confirmed to Jenkins his lack of career regrets, and he said he decided to listen to his position coach, Mark Carrier, who told him to look no further than the next season.

Jenkins also considered the new direction of his life, including his first wedding anniversary recently and his responsibility to his three young children. All of that played a role, but with training camp now two weeks away, with a season full of promise on the horizon, Jenkins said that one factor, Coach Rex Ryan, registered as most important.

"The biggest thing was Rex," Jenkins said. "If it had been any other coach, it probably would have been my last year."

That speaks volumes about Ryan's leadership style and magnetic personality. It also speaks to the talent at Ryan's disposal.

To the top-ranked defense in the N.F.L., the Jets added cornerback Antonio Cromartie, the pass-rush specialist Jason Taylor and safety Brodney Pool. They drafted cornerback Kyle Wilson in the first round. Jenkins is also scheduled to return after missing all but six games last season.

Ryan likes to say that "there aren't many" players like Jenkins in the league. And in this team, Jenkins said he saw a roster as or more talented than any he had played on. Only some of his early Carolina Panthers teams — in 2002 or 2003, Jenkins said — come close.

With HBO filming the Jets for its annual training camp series, with Ryan's pronouncements growing bolder in his second season, with expectations that have grown exponentially, Jenkins and the Jets feel a greater sense of urgency.

"When you have magnified expectations in New York, you better get it done," he said. "We've got to win. There's no if. We have to win. Trash has been talked. Things have been said. We need to make it happen, or we're going to be embarrassed."

As Jenkins spoke, he drank diet soda and ate only half of his meal at a Manhattan restaurant, then boxed the leftovers. His friend Tony Washington, a former Panthers teammate, said that was one of several changes he noticed in Jenkins the past few years.

Carolina looked like it might be on the verge of another Super Bowl run in 2008 after going 12-4 in the regular season and Carolina Panthers 2010 NFL Predictionsearning a home playoff game. That run never happened, though, as the Arizona Cardinals stunned the Panthers 33-13 at Bank of America Stadium in the Divisional Round. Still, despite that bitter loss, Carolina appeared to be in a position to contend for the division title again in 2009. That never happened either as the club battled its way through an 8-8, third place season.

The Panthers football jerseys lackluster record prompted big changes in the offseason with a number of veterans being cut or traded. Among those being shown the door by the club or by their own volition were Jake Delhomme, Julius Peppers, Mushin Muhammad, Damione Lewis, Dante Wesley, Quinton Teal, Ma'ake Kemoeatu, Landon Johnson, Chris Harris, and Na'll Diggs.

The offense, which ranked 19th in yards per game at 331.1 and 21st in points per game at 19.7, will now be directed by Matt Moore. Moore threw for 1053 yards and eight touchdowns after taking over for Delhomme last year, earning him a 98.5 passer rating. The Oregon State product will have two great running backs at his disposal in DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart as well as a respectable line in front of him. The problem for Fox, and Moore, is the lack of depth and experience at receiver. Steve Smith returns but outside of his veteran presence, the team has nothing in the way of a proven commodity.

The team took two wideouts in the third round in Brandon LaFell (LSU) and Armanti Edwards (Appalachian State) that figure to get see the field quite a bit this season. And, should Moore falter, the club might elect to make a change at quarterback by throwing rookie Jimmy Clausen into the fire.

He went and suffered and Achilles tendon injury in April while playing basketball. Now he's being punished (sort of).

Ask the Carolina Panthers how they feel about Steve Smith breaking his arm while partaking in extracurriculars.

But, enough with the tongue-in-cheek approach. Here are the facts.

The Bengals released Shirley in the "waived/non-football injury" category.