A number of Jets' players were caught off guard when news broke that coach Eric Mangini had been fired. "Had this been two years ago I would say probably guys would have been relieved more than anything," tight end Chris Baker said. "I think this year he kind of won the guys over in the locker room by changing some of the things we had done in the past. When a lot of these guys came in we were like, 'Oh you don't know what you're in for.' But he changed enough where we enjoyed coming over to the building and working together and things like that." Some even blamed themselves for Mangini's departure. "I feel that we let him down, and we could have done a better job of making plays," wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery said. "It's tough. Eric is a great guy. ... It's just tough to see him go."