Kalil continued to practice, even though his tentative debut in green and white was at first going to be for several series Saturday night against New Orleans, then was postponed. Kalil spoke about that group decision among him, Gase and general manager Joe Douglas for the first time today.

"We were talking throughout the week whether we were going to play or not, and at the last minute we just decided to give me more time, more so mentally than physically," Kalil said. "I'm feeling like I'm getting my legs back and feeling like my old self. I didn't take that much time off from football. It's not like Jason Witten took off a year and came back.

"Just being able to play fast, feeling comfortable with the playbook, it's easier when it's in a more controlled environment and you can call timeout because you're not sure what the play is. But in a live game situation, that's not OK."

The Jets' OL is getting back to OK. Brandon Shell returned to start at RT for the Saints. LG Kelechi Osemele and RG Brian Winters, whose injuries sidelined them the past two games, both practiced today. Add LT Kelvin Beachum and Kalil to the mix and with the depth developed by playing C Jonotthan Harrison, of course, plus guards Tom Compton and Alex Lewis and rookie T Chuma Edoga and, well, maybe this line is up to the task ahead. Kalil is optimistic.