Although we’re 11 days from the Jets officially taking the field for the start of training camp up in lovely Cortland, the rookies are scheduled to report exactly a week from today. Can you feel the buildup?

That means summer vacation is almost over for the likes of Shonn Green and coverboy quarterback Mark Sanchez, who’s been hitting the workouts hard with trainer Todd Norman of The Cutting Edge to help prepare for his first season in the NFL. Sanchez is about to embark on his journey to prove the Jets did the right thing in moving up to select him in April’s draft and giving him the richest contract in the franchise’s history.

Apparently, Sean Payton’s thinks the Jets have a solid franchise QB in Sanchez. Payton, no stranger to how things work in this city since he’s a former Giants’ offensive coordinator, likes what he’s seeing from first-year coach Rex Ryan and the New Orleans Saints coach believes the Jets are playoff bound.

Wonder if Payton penned that column before Calvin Pace’s suspension was announced. If not, then there’s more reason for optimism Jets fans.

-* Speaking of Pace, I was channel surfing recently one day and stumbled upon Keyshawn Johnson filling in as a guest host on ESPN’s “Jim Rome is Burning.” Johnson, author of “Just Give Me the Damn” and never one to hold off on giving his opinion, took a small dig at the Jets’ outside linebacker and others who’ve claimed they took an over-the-counter supplement and weren’t aware it contained a banned substance.

Johnson did this, of course, while also pumping himself up.

“I don’t get it,” Johnson said July 3, the day after Pace’s suspension was announced. “After all these years and all the media scrutiny, guys are still not paying attention. I have no idea why players would use this to get an edge. It’s simple: lift weights, run, work out and eat right. Why would you put your body at risk. I was too afraid something would go wrong to take this type of a chance. Being the best at my position or even the best in the league isn’t worth the risk. It does nothing for you but make you look like a big strong fool. But I guess you would say you didn’t know what you were taking or you didn’t read the box. Oh well.”

-* The title of this post also refers to our new blog look. It was supposed to go down today, but has been pushed back until Wednesday so I’m told. There will be plenty of new bells and whistles to implement once we get more familiar with some of the new toys we’ll have at our disposal.

From E-Boland & Gang Green. Please read the complete article and let us know what you think below.