It's a battle of the green at the Meadowlands.

Or so you would think.

Don't adjust your TV set if you plan on tuning to the Jets and Eagles on Sunday.  The Jets are going to kick it old school and don the old New York Titan uniforms -- and those unis are blue and gold.  If you didn't know, the Jets entered the AFL in 1960 as the Titans -- an obvious bastardization of the New York Giants name -- before transforming into the Jets in 1963.  The name was changed and the old colors were scrapped for green and white.

The Jets will be honoring some of the original Titans at halftime on Sunday, but don't let anyone fool you.  It's nice that Gang Green decided to do all this, but it's nothing more than a marketing ploy.  It's just another way to get you, the fan, to purchase more gear.  Hey, good for the Jets.  I saw the merchandise that the team is hawking for this "celebration" and it isn't bad.      

The Titans were before my time, but if you want to check out some history on the Jets and the other AFL teams check this site out.

Looks like Eagle running back Brian Westbrook is fully recovered from the abdominal strain that kept him out of Philadelphia's 16-3 loss to the G-Men two weeks ago. Great.  The Jets have had trouble stopping the run all season and now they'll get a shot at stopping one of the better backs in the league. 

Westbrook's return is big, but the Iggles will also be getting left tackle William (Tra) Thomas back.  Thomas also missed the Giant game and his replacement, Winston Justice, was abused by New York's defensive line.  He gave up four of the record-tying 12 sacks that night.

Looks like the Jets just can't catch a break.

As far as injuries go for the Titans/Jets, safety Erik Coleman's status remains uncertain for Sunday.  Coleman missed last week's game against the Giants with lingering effects from a concussion sustained in Buffalo two weeks ago and is listed as questionable on the injury report.  I'm guessing he'll miss this game too and second-year man Eric Smith will get his second straight start in the secondary.

Speaking of streaks, the Eagles had a week to lick their wounds after their embarrassing loss to the Giants two seeks ago and that reflection time doesn't bode well for the Jets.  Philadelphia is 8-0 following a bye under head coach Andy Reid.  Terrific.  Also, the Birds are a perfect 7-0 all-time against the Gotham Green.  I witnessed one of those losses first-hand in 1993.  In that game, the Jets raced out to a 21-0 advantage and knocked out Eagles quarterback Randall Cunningham only to have backup Bubby Brister step in and lead Philly back to a 35-30 win at the Meadowlands.  But the play of the game was made by Eagles corner Eric Allen.  Allen picked off a Boomer Esiason pass and raced 94 yards to the end zone.  His return has been shown many, many, many times.  It was a fantastic return (if you weren't rooting for the Jets that day), but Jets tight end Johnny Mitchell was clipped during that play.

A lot of talk in Jets Land has been about the future of QB Chad Pennington, but I feel the focus should be on the Jets defense.  To call it porous would be understating it.  Teams have been able to run with impunity and also pick up chunks of yardage through the air.  The Jets rank 25th in the NFL in passing and rushing yards allowed per game (at least they're consistent at something).  I was so frustrated at one point during last week's game against the Giants that I yelled at my brother (who's a Giants fan) that the Jets should either a) scrap the 3-4 defense or b) trade linebacker Jonathan Vilma and defensive tackle Dewayne Robertson.  Both ideas have been mentioned before, but I think the time has come to pull the trigger on one of them.  The Jets struggled to grasp the nuances of the "D" early last season, but turned it on in the second half and finished with the league's sixth stingiest scoring defense.

This season?

Only the Detroit Lions, Miami Dolphins and Cleveland Browns have given up more points than the Jets.

Unacceptable.

Both Vilma and Robertson are better suited for a 4-3 defense.  Vilma isn't big enough to shed offensive lineman that shoot out at him and D-Rob isn't the mountain you need at nose tackle.  If Mangini is committed to playing the 3-4 (which is ridiculous considering he doesn't have the personnel for it) then don't be surprised if the Jets field offers for both of those players.

And don't be surprised if both end up having terrific careers.

If you're looking for an Eagles perspective on this game, be sure to check out Brian's site.

I'm sure he'll have a lot to write about.