PLAYERS, COACHES SPEAK THEIR MINDS TALKING IS LATEST TALK OF THE NFL.

Byline: BILLY WITZ NFL

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me. ... And they'll make me play like a #&%*@! on the weekend.

That seems to be the new NFL corollary to the kindergarten proverb, and, come to think of it, yet another level where it's hard to separate the kids from the grownups.

In any event, a little trash talk is going a long way these days - especially for those being dumped on. Consider last Saturday and Sunday.

The Jets, who made the playoffs thanks to Pittsburgh's victory over Buffalo, lost their final two and three of the last four to end the regular season. ``Back In,'' shouted one New York tabloid headline after the Jets returned to the playoffs with a loss to St. Louis.

The masses cried that quarterback Chad Pennington couldn't win the big one, offensive coordinator Paul Hackett was making a mess of things (again), and, without injured pass rusher John Abraham, the secondary was shaky. Lo and behold, the Jets go to San Diego and win in overtime 20-17 even if they did it the hard way.

Afterward, a few Jets jousted with New York writers, wanting to know what the headlines were that had to be scrapped - and, please, keep on disrespecting us.

Elsewhere in the AFC, Denver players decided that, well, those Colts receivers sure run nice, pretty patterns. Nobody actually said they were soft, but the message was clear enough - at least the Colts took it that way and ran with it, up and down the RCA Dome field Sunday, scoring 49 points.

Meanwhile, in the NFC, where there never is a shortage of targets, the slings and arrows of ridicule landed all week on the Rams and Vikings.

Here they were, a pair of 8-8 teams in the playoffs, which happens infrequently enough. Something that happened even less frequently - like never - was a .500 team winning a playoff game.

Then there is the miserable record of dome teams playing outdoors - and these weren't just anywhere outdoors, but in chilly Seattle and frozen Green Bay.

And it didn't help that each team had a ready-made bull's-eye. For the Rams, it was coach Mike Martz, who never let the scoreboard get in the way of his play-calling.

For the Vikings, it was Randy Moss, who never met a team he couldn't walk out on - this time he did so in the final seconds of their loss to Washington in the regular-season finale, a defeat they later found out would not cost them a playoff berth.

Minnesota, which was supposedly playing for coach Mike Tice's job, did what it wasn't supposed to do. And so did the Rams.

And so, what did we learn from all this? That it's best to buckle your chin strap, button your lip, and just go out and play the game? Yeah, right. Besides, what would all the coaches' flunkies do if they couldn't clip motivational quotes from newspapers? (And there isn't a pro or college team that doesn't have somebody with cut-and-paste skills in charge of this.)

So, we have this week:

Jets defensive end Shaun Ellis, who opined after a 17-6 loss to Pittsburgh in early December that if they got another shot at the Steelers, it would be different, didn't back down this week.

``Yeah, I still believe that,'' Ellis told reporters.

Indianapolis kicker Mike Vanderjagt declared the Patriots - who beat the Colts in the season opener, beat the Colts in the AFC title game last year, won in Indianapolis in the 2003 regular season, and who have lost once in six tries to Peyton Manning - were ``ripe for the picking.''

Moss didn't engage in any trash talk, just trashy talk. Figuring his pantomime wasn't enough, Moss decided to open his mouth when a TV reporter asked his response to the NFL's $10,000 fine for mimicking mooning Green Bay fans last week. Moss said next time he might show the crowd a new trick.

This should get Moss in good with the fans in Philadelphia.

But we digress. Back to Ellis, who might be right. The Jets were tied 3-3 entering the fourth quarter and Pennington, who threw three interceptions that day, was dreadful. Then again, the Steelers were playing without receiver Plaxico Burress - and they'll have a healthy Duce Staley if the Jets again slow Jerome Bettis.

Vanderjagt may be on to something, too. The Patriots are missing both starting cornerbacks, including Ty Law, the perennial Pro Bowler who picked off three of Manning's passes in last year's AFC title game.

Then again, let's see how good the Colts defense is in handling Corey Dillon and an improved New England offense. And haven't these Patriots built a dynasty and a 14-2 record by being underestimated?

Many of the Patriots shrugged off Vanderjagt's comments, saying consider the source - that it was a kicker, let alone the one that even Manning once referred to as ``our idiot kicker.'' One who didn't shrug was safety Rodney Harrison, who called him ``Vanderjerk.''

While nobody admits that all this air amounts to anything on the field, if the results of last weekend mean anything the rest of this season, it might be best for everyone to act their age and show a little respect.

After all, as any kid on the playground knows, I'm rubber, you're glue. Whatever you say bounces off me and sticks to you.

CAPTION(S):

photo, 2 boxes

Photo:

Colts kicker Mike Vanderjagt, 13, feels the Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots are ``ripe for the picking.''

Michael Conroy/Associated Press

Box:

(1) IN THE HUDDLE

(2) TODAY'S GAMES

- Daily News Wire Services