01:00 AM EDT on Sunday, October 23, 2005

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. -- A great cornerback has to have the ability to move on. And there's never been an argument whether Ty Law is a great cornerback.

In 10 seasons with the Patriots, Law went to four Pro Bowls, four Super Bowls, intercepted 40 passes in 152 games and took seven of those picks back for touchdowns. More than any other player, Law was the fabric of the Patriots' rise to prominence. From 1996 to 2004, he was the franchise's most consistently outstanding performer.

He's a New York Jet now, having left town without any of the attendant hand-wringing or gnashing of teeth that accompanied the departures of players such as Drew Bledsoe and Lawyer Milloy. And that's worth noting because Law was better than either of them.

There are reasons for it, of course. Law's public tirade in early 2004 when he felt insulted by the Patriots' offer of a renegotiated contract won him little public support. And the season-ending broken foot he suffered last Halloween in Pittsburgh forced folks to get accustomed to his absence. Most everyone believed the Pats wouldn't pick up the final year of Law's deal (which included a $10-million salary) long before the decision was actually made.

Patriots loyalists have moved on from Law (even as the New England secondary goes through weekly torture). And he's moved on from New England. During a long chat this week at the Jets' practice facility on the campus of Hofstra University, Law frequently used the pronoun "we" when referring to the Pats, but too much shouldn't be read into that.

He says -- convincingly -- that he likes the atmosphere with the Jets, feels he has a fair contract for a guy who came to New York with a broken foot, loves Jets head coach Herman Edwards and felt it was time to move on from New England.

Statistically, he's been good for the Jets, with three picks in six games (and one other nullified by penalty, he points out). But he had a rough game against Buffalo last week, drawing his seventh penalty of the season, blowing a fumble recovery and missing tackles on two separate touchdowns in a 27-17 loss. His back hurts and so does his groin. But toughness has never been a problem for Law. Neither has speaking his mind. Here's what he had to say on numerous topics:

ON WHEN HE GOT THE MOST EMOTIONAL ABOUT HIS DEPARTURE:

"I didn't shed any tears. I knew it was coming. I already anticipated the phone call (telling him he was being let go), it was a matter of when it was going to come. It would have been different if I hadn't broken my foot. It made it a lot easier for them to make that decision (to release him). I thought about the players, the championships, the run we had, the so-called 'dynasty.' I guess the most upset was when I found out I couldn't come back and play last year (before the playoffs). That's when I almost broke down. I wanted to finish that season because I knew it was my last year with the team from the time I came to training camp."

ON HOW THINGS WERE LEFT WITH BILL BELICHICK:

"I left on great terms. It was rocky during the contract issue, but that was separate. When we got to the field it was fine. He coached, I played. I'm sure it was hard for him to release someone who played for him for a while, but he does it all the time and I knew it was coming. I'll always appreciate that he called me throughout my injury and checked to see how I was doing. He asked me if I was interested in coming back. I didn't say much but I knew the door was open to come back. Even though I did feel at that time it was time to move on, I appreciated him calling me to see how I was doing and then to offer me a job, but for me personally I felt it was time to move on even before last season."

ON HIS ROLE WITH THE JETS:

"When I got here, there was no snarling or guys not wanting me here. But we had more vets in New England. I'm the old-head here. I can no longer be just a player, I need to be a coach in basic football strategy with things I learned and demonstrating how to win. But it takes the players to play the game. You can't tell this corner to do the same thing Ty Law does. You can't tell someone to make the same plays as Tedy Bruschi. You can't duplicate John Abraham. There was a perception, because of our team in New England, that it's the schemes and someone can always step in. I've been arguing this for 11 years -- we have some damn good players on our team. No linebacker's outplayed Tedy Bruschi in the past three years. Not Ray Lewis, nobody. But we didn't get the recognition. For me to go to the Pro Bowl three years and not have Rodney Harrison go, that hurt me. No safety outplayed that man anytime, anywhere. You have Richard Seymour, Tom Brady, he goes and wins the Super Bowl and the next week he's watching the Pro Bowl. Bruschi, that guy's been making plays in big games week after week on national television and he doesn't go to the Pro Bowl. But at the end of the day, we took it as a team. Everybody could have all those Pro Bowls, we got the real bowl."

ON THE PATRIOTS NOW:

"They brought in Asante Samuel and Eugene Wilson for a reason. They are the successors to me. I played with those guys and I don't wish anything (ill) on those guys. Seeing Rodney go down with an injury (made me sick). I talk to Willie McGinest and I go to Richard (Seymour's) on Mondays to watch Monday Night Football. It's like a family, I just moved out. Nothing will take away from the fact that we were a part of that run."

ON JETS COACH HERMAN EDWARDS:

"He coaches from a player's point of view. Coach Belichick is going down as one of the greatest coaches of all time and he is. He gives so much information and if you go utilize that you'll have an advantage. But coach Herman Edwards knows what happens between those lines. Other than (Pats linebackers coach) Pepper Johnson, nobody (on the Patriots staff) played on this level. It's like, 'I see what you're saying but have you ever tried to do this when this boy is running this damn fast?' Hearing it come from someone that played the game at this level at my position it's a different perspective. I'm not saying it's better or worse but you can relate to it. But as far as game planning and X's and O's, Belichick's in a league of his own."

ON HIS CHATTINESS:

"I talk. I talk when we win, talk when we lose, and I talked when I thought something wasn't right with the contract. Most guys will tell you to shut up but that's not me. I thought (the media) would have looked at me as, 'What is he doing now?' if I hadn't spoken up about it. If there are consequences to what I might say, I can deal with them. I will admit that I'm wrong and I've done that."

ON WHAT YOU BROUGHT WITH YOU FROM NEW ENGLAND:

"The positive things stick out most. I knew I could hold my head up and I had a pretty good career in New England. There were plays I'd like to get back here and there, but when the big moments came I always played my best ball. When plays were needed to be made, I was there and capitalized. There were times I was on the short end of the stick, but I was on the big play more often than not. There were trials and tribulations. It was a roller-coaster ride. I remember when I was drafted, I didn't know where the hell New England was at. To go from Foxboro Stadium -- a damn slum -- and to close it out the way we did and to go on to win the Super Bowl? To have that interception, to win that game (Super Bowl XXXVI) when nobody gave us a chance. When you look at those three rings, they got a little bigger and a little better each year, but that first one -- for the guys who'd been there -- that was special."