Martin, Pennington Propel Jets to Fast Start

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – When Curtis Martin ran up the 200 steps from the Santa Monica beach during the spring, he had this in mind.When he asked for more work during training camp, he had this in mind. When he asked for more carries in the preseason, he had this in mind: a brilliant start to the season and a victory for the New York Jets.Martin had 29 carries for 196 yards and scored on a 24-yard run and 3-yard catch, helping the Jets ruin the debut of 2003 no. 1 draft pick Carson Palmer with a 31-24 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals yesterday.“I knew I was prepared,” Martin said. “I knew that I was ready. When you know you’re ready, your confidence is higher.”It soared during the game, taking away the hype from Palmer, who made his regular-season NFL debut. The Heisman Trophy winner commanded the offense well and made few mistakes, going 18-of-27 for 248 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.But trailing 31-24 with two minutes remaining, Palmer made his biggest miscue. From his 49, Palmer heaved a pass for Chad Johnson. But rookie safety Erik Coleman stormed in and intercepted it, sealing the victory.“I can’t make plays like that for us to win,” Palmer said.Instead, Martin made all the plays. The 31-year-old looked better than he has in years, mainly because of his renewed effort to turn around the way he started off the last two seasons. He decided to climb those stairs in California, and asked coach Herman Edwards for more work.It worked against the Bengals. Martin ripped off long runs and broke tackles, and that helped open up the offense. Chad Pennington threw for two touchdowns, going 20-of-27 for 224 yards in the first season-opening start of his career.Last year, it took Martin four games to reach 196 yards. It was his highest rushing total since 2000, when he had 203 yards against Indianapolis.“He looked about 19,” said Santana Moss, who had four catches for 55 yards. “Curtis looked fresh. He was rolling. His preseason was so phenomenal this year, the way he went through camp and did all he did.”With Martin making things look easy, Pennington also got into the action, picking on rookie cornerback Madieu Williams, who started in place of the injured Deltha O’Neal.Williams gave up a 46-yard touchdown pass from Pennington to Jonathan Carter in the first quarter, and he struggled for most of the game to keep up with the speedy Jets receivers.

Martin, Pennington Propel Jets to Fast Start

Martin, Pennington Propel Jets to Fast Start

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