That is, he certainly was on the defensive.

The Jets ran on three consecutive plays after reaching a first-and-goal at the New England 3 in the second quarter.

Those plays produced no yards, but plenty of controversy. And it hadn't subsided by Monday afternoon, as the biggest missed opportunity in a loss full of them was once again the subject, as future Hall of Famer Brett Favre didn't get a chance to throw into the end zone for a potential go-ahead touchdown.

"I felt good about where we were in the running game," Mangini said, explaining his decision. "We were at about 6 yards per-carry average (actually 5) at that point. I liked the things that our offensive line had done. I liked the things that Thomas (Jones) had done in terms of the running game.

"We're not calling plays in a vacuum," he added. "We're calling plays based on what we think is going to be successful. If they're not successful, they're not successful. It wasn't a function of not realizing that Brett was here."

Perhaps not, but it certainly seemed like it.

On each of those three plays, the Jets used a three-tight end formation with Chris Baker and Bubba Franks, plus reserve tackle Wayne Hunter lining up as an extra tight end. Asking Favre to throw to Hunter certainly would have been a reach, but both Baker and Franks are experienced in the red zone, and Franks played with Favre in Green Bay for eight seasons.

Favre didn't complain about the conservative play-calling after the game Sunday, saying, "My job is to come here and run this offense. Believe me, regardless of the plays that were called, there were some opportunities. I looked at the pictures on the sidelines and there were some opportunities for some big plays. That falls back on me. It can go both ways. We didn't score enough points, obviously. Someone is blamed on it, and I think that goes to our whole offense."

Favre was at his most effective Sunday when he was improvising, trying to make a play after being flushed out of the pocket. Those types of situations led to a 28-yard pass to Chansi Stuckey and a 54-yard completion to Laveranues Coles, which led to the ill-fated first-and-goal at the 3, after which the Jets settled for a field goal. Favre's improvising also produced a penalty in the third quarter when he crossed the line of scrimmage before throwing to Coles.

"It's a work in progress," Stuckey said of the offense. "I think I have a good sense for when he's scrambling, what he's thinking, which way he's going and what he wants to look for. He always does a great job of keeping his head up and looking for a receiver. I just try to get in an area, a void where he can see me and there's no defenders."

Now the challenge is to be as efficient on the normal plays.

"It's just having a feel for him and how he plays the game," Cotchery said of Favre. "He likes to make things happen. ... We weren't precise at all (Sunday) but we have a lot of things we can correct. We're not losing confidence one bit."

None of the players criticized the play-calling on that second-quarter sequence, especially not the offensive linemen. They just wish they had executed better in that spot, and overall.

"Unfortunately, we weren't able to punch it in," center Nick Mangold said. "It kind of hurts a little bit."

Mangini said, "I believe in the offensive line. I believe in our running backs. I believe we can get tough yards. I don't question that or them or our ability to do that in the future."