Rich Cimini, ESPN Staff Writer 9y

Jets' response to the Tom Brady news: We're on to Cleveland

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- At the end of a historic day in the NFL, Tom Brady beating Roger Goodell in court, the New York Jets declined to participate in the noise. Their No. 1 nemesis was freed on a few technicalities, so to speak, but the talkative Jets opted to invoke a Belichick-ism.

They're on to Cleveland.

"If it's not about Cleveland and the New York Jets, I'm not listening to questions," cornerback Antonio Cromartie told a couple of reporters Thursday night as he exited the locker room after the 24-18 win over the Philadelphia Eagles in the final preseason game. "I'm out. ... There's nothing to talk about."

This was the same Cromartie who, at the start of training camp, made national headlines by supporting Brady and criticizing Goodell for overstepping his authority. Cromartie is no legal scholar, but he turned out to be right -- at least in the eyes of U.S. District judge Richard M. Berman. The decision, of course, affects the landscape in the AFC East, but the Jets wanted no part of that conversation as they wrapped up a 3-1 preseason.

And that's just what you wanted to hear (or not hear) from the Jets. Their regular-season game faces went on at 9:58 p.m., when the (Tim) Tebowl came to an end. Clearly, they wanted to avoid the Brady distraction as they begin preparations for the season opener against the Cleveland Browns.

"He's not on my team, so I didn't have much of a reaction," said tackle Breno Giacomini, who grew up in the Boston area and had 20 unread texts on his phone -- from giddy Patriots' fans back home, he figures.

The always chatty Willie Colon responded to a Brady question as if he had been asked to supply his cell-phone passcode. He clammed up.

"From a player's perspective, I washed it away because we still had to see him, no matter what," he said, alluding to the Week 7 meeting in Foxborough -- three weeks after the suspension was to expire.

These aren't the Rex Ryan Jets, that's for sure. They're the Todd Bowles Jets, which means they don't yap as much as the old days. They feed off Bowles, a man of few words who insulates himself -- and the team -- from potential distractions.

Right now, the No. 1 objective is to cut the roster to 53. They have some tough decisions, especially at wide receiver. Jeremy Kerley's status is the top question. Aside from Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker, he's their most accomplished receiver, but he didn't receive a strong vote of confidence from Bowles.

"We'll make those decisions. We'll see," Bowles said. "We have a bunch of good receivers, so we're going to take a look at them."

Once the roster is finalized, they will direct their attention to the Browns. Mentally, the Jets are in a good place, as they played well enough in the preseason to build confidence. Health-wise, the starting lineup suffered only one injury in the preseason, albeit a significant one -- quarterback Geno Smith and his broken jaw.

Otherwise, they look and sound like they're ready to go. There was no Brady talk -- well, maybe just a little.

"This could work in our favor because when the appeal happens and gets (overturned) maybe, his suspension could be when we play them," linebacker Jason Babin said. "Who knows?"

He was laughing when he said it.

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