BY DAVE HUTCHINSON
Star-Ledger Staff
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. -- For two seasons, former Jets coach Herm Edwards raved about the prowess of wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery. He practically had Cotchery headed to the Hall of Fame before he caught a single NFL pass. He told everyone to just wait and they would see what he saw.
But Cotchery had just 25 catches and one start in his first two seasons, and people wondered, if he were that good, why wasn't Edwards playing him? The answer, Cotchery said, was a simple one.
Wayne Chrebet.
"I was behind Wayne Chrebet and there was no way I was going to get on the field," Cotchery said yesterday. "A lot of people were talking about how (Edwards) didn't play me but that wasn't the issue at all. He tried to get me on the field. I returned kickoffs and that wasn't even on my résumé coming out of college. I had never returned kicks in my life.
"(Edwards) found a way to get me on the field. He definitely made efforts to get me out there."
Cotchery, a third-round pick out of North Carolina State in 2004, will get to see Edwards for the first time since the coach left for Kansas City when the Jets (3-12) play the Chiefs (4-11) on Sunday at Giants Stadium. Edwards has said that one of his biggest regrets as Jets coach was that he didn't play Cotchery more.
"A lot of guys on the team will be excited to see him, and I know I'll be because he drafted me and I'm very appreciative to him for that," said Cotchery.
Cotchery, who signed a five-year, $19 million extension ($7 million signing bonus) during the off-season, is one of the few beacons of hope in this dark season. He has 74 catches for a career-high and team-leading 1,054 yards and two touchdowns in 14 games. He had surgery on a broken right index finger and missed just one game.
For the sure-handed and deceivingly quick Cotchery, the fun begins after the catch. His 414 yards after the catch rank sixth in the NFL among receivers. He has two games in which he has caught two passes for 40 yards or more. His 13 receptions of 25 yards or more ties him with Terrell Owens (Cowboys) for second in the league behind Reggie Wayne (Colts).
Last week, the 6-foot, 207-pound Cotchery had eight catches for 152 yards (79 yards after the catch) and a touchdown in a 10-6 loss at Tennessee.
"I really like his run after the catch," said coach Eric Mangini. "He's a strong runner. He's an elusive guy. He's more elusive than sometimes you may even gauge on tape, just the amount of people he makes miss."
Last season, Cotchery had a breakout year with 82 receptions for 961 yards and six touchdowns as he and Laveranues Coles finished as the most prolific receiving duo in Jets history (173 combined catches). His goal this season was to build on his 2006 performance.
"The mixed emotions are running wild," Cotchery said of his season. "You're excited because you had a plan to take your game to another level but you want to do that in the context of the team winning. You want to be proud of the 1,000 yards ... but the team hasn't won and you're wondering what the 1,000 yards have done."
Against the Titans, Cotchery notched his fourth 100-yard receiving game of the season -- and he did it without Coles (ankle). Earlier in the season, Cotchery said it was a huge adjustment for him trying to get open facing the type of double coverages that Coles endures as the team's top receiver.
"A lot of those decisions (on whether Coles would play or not) were being made on game day so I wasn't able to (practice) in some of the positions he was in," said Cotchery. "(Last week), I was able to move around a little more and learn some other things in the offense and that created some more opportunities for me. ... I know (without Coles) more attention will be placed on me but I have to make some things happens."
