Shoutbox. » well played game for the most part

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 Jesse James Jersey . Seager had another triple, a home run and a double in a rare feat not seen in more than 40 years, leading Felix Hernandez and the Seattle Mariners past the New York Yankees 10-2. 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Green-Ellis ran for 756 yards and a career-low 3.VANCOUVER - Eddie Lack helped the Vancouver Canucks overcome a case of the blues Wednesday night. Lack made 20 saves for his third shutout of the season as the Canucks blanked the St. Louis Blues 1-0 in the first post-Olympic game for both teams night. The win was like sweet music to the Canucks (28-24-9) as they ended their losing streak at seven games while moving into sole possession of eighth place in the Western Conference. The Blues (39-13-6) dropped their third straight decision to Vancouver this season as they were shut out for the first time in 2013-14. "It feels very good to be able to shut the door," said Lack. "It was very big for our team. "Its a big relief." The Canucks outshot the Blues 35-20, but Lack, Vancouvers backup who is in his first full NHL season, was forced to make many difficult saves. "I feel like I have been working on this start for a while and I was really excited to play, and Rollie (Melanson, Vancouvers goalie coach) has been bugging me for weeks saying we need to win these 1-0 games, so its huge," said Lack. Jannik Hansen scored the games only goal as he finally broke a scoreless deadlock at 11:13 of the third period. He took a backhand stretch pass from Tom Sestito from deep in the Vancouver zone just past centre ice, raced in on a breakaway and beat Halak with a high shot. It was Hansens first goal in just over a month, a span of eight games, after he last scored Jan. 26 against Phoenix. "Great play by Tommy, he could see I was taking off a little early and he fed me a nice pass, and I was able to get it through the goalie," said Hansen. "You dont have to look at the standings very long to see we need to win a lot of games here to make the playoffs, and its obviously a very strong opponent today, a playoff team. These are the teams you have to beat. We cant just beat the teams below us." Vancouver was blanked on four power plays while St. Louis failed to score on three. Lack drew the start after backstopping the Canucks to a pair of wins over St. Louis earlier this season. Three of his nine wins have come against the Blues, and he has allowed only three goals to them. The Canucks came out with the added aggression that coach John Tortorella has been seeking as they outshot the Blues 14-6 in the first period. But for most of the night, the hosts could not beat a steady Halak, who felt fresh after playing just two games for Slovakia in the Olympics and getting plenty of rest after arriving back in St. Louis last Thursday. "It was a pretty good pace for 60 minutes," said Halak. "It was just that we came up short. We couldnt score. "I tried to do my best. I tried to give the guys a chance to win. Id like to get (Hansens goal) back." St. Louis had nine players in Sochi and the Canucks hhad seven.dddddddddddd But Blues coach Ken Hitchcock, who served as an assistant with Canadas gold-medal-winning team, did not think post-Olympic fatigue was a factor. "It was a hard fought, well played game for the most part," said Hitchcock. "I didnt think we had the energy in the third period than we did in the end of the first and the second. We had a great second period. But weve had trouble beating (Lack.) We havent scored on him, and hes made some big saves and hes won a lot of the scrambles. We had all the penetration in the second period for all the scoring chances." Hitchcock lamented his teams inability to score on odd-man rushes in two losses in Vancouver this season. "When you get two-on-ones and three-on-ones on the road, youve got to capitalize," he said. "I think that was the difference in the hockey game." Lacks best moments came late in the second period as he denied Blues captain David Backes on a one-timer during a delayed penalty and Alex Steen on a deflection, and got his pad on a T.J. Oshie shot before defenceman Alex Edler blocked the puck as he attempted to put in the rebound. After the save, fans chanted "Eddie! Eddie!" But Oshie, who played for the U.S. in the Olympics, was not willing to give Lack too much credit. "He made some good saves, but I dont think we really tested him like we could have," said Oshie. "We let him see a lot of pucks." There was no denying Vancouvers desperation though. "Theyre a desperate team right now," said Halak. "For them, every game is a playoff game. They need to get every point that they can." Notes: Olympians from both teams were honoured in a pre-game ceremony. Blues defencemen Jay Bouwmeester and Alex Pietrangelo drew loud cheers from the crowd when they were saluted, along with Canucks defenceman Dan Hamhuis and goaltender Roberto Luongo, for helping Canada win the 2014 Olympic gold medal. … Tortorella worked his first home game since receiving a six-game suspension for storming the Calgary Flames dressing room area Jan. 18. … Canucks captain Henrik Sedin returned to action after suffering an undisclosed injury before the Olympics. He missed the past two practices while tending to a personal matter in Sweden, but returned Wednesday in time for the game. Defenceman Kevin Bieksa returned after missing five games before the Olympic break with a foot injury. … Vancouver centre Ryan Kesler sat out with a hand injury suffered while playing for the U.S. in the Olympics. Canucks defencemen Chris Tanev (thumb) and Andrew Alberts (concussion) remained out. … Blues defenceman Jordan Leopold missed the game due to an ankle injury. He was replaced by Carlo Colaiacovo.