Martin ready to carry the load again for Jets

NEW YORK -- Coming soon to a stadium near you: Curtis Martin.

Curtis Martin led the NFL with 1,697 yards and scored 14 TDs last season. (Getty Images)

At 32, the New York Jets running back should be cutting back in training camp and resting for most of the club's four preseason games. But try telling that to Martin. It didn't happen last year, and it's not going to happen this summer, either.

"I think I'll (play) even more," said Martin.

The Jets historically were reluctant to push Martin, sitting him in preseason games while then-backup LaMont Jordan took the bulk of the carries. But that changed last year after Martin sat down with coach Herman Edwards and asked for more time on the field.

Edwards responded by giving him the ball, with Martin carrying 22 times in the first three preseason games -- including 12 attempts in the first half of a late August win over the Giants.

"I never want to become too big to listen," said Martin. "They always wanted to rest me, so I just asked them: You saw what happened when I rested the previous year. Let me do what I'm used to doing, then let's see what turns out the best. After that I'll do whatever you say.

"They trusted me, and it worked out."

Martin not only produced 1,000 yards for the 10th straight year, he led the league with a career-best 1,697 yards, averaged a personal-high 4.6 yards a carry and scored 14 times -- including 12 rushing TDs. It marked the second time in the past eight years he scored 10 or more times rushing.

Compare that to 2003 when he finished with 1,308 yards but scored only twice, and you can see where he's headed this summer.

Uh-huh, back to the field.

"I feel as good as I've ever felt," he said. "I'm looking forward to this season."

But with Martin turning 32 in May, you have to ask: How much longer can the guy go on? He's in his 11th year, an eternity for a back who averages 330 carries a season, but he never was better than last season when he set a career high with 371 rushing attempts -- the most since his number was called 369 times in 1998.

Now, with Martin seeking more playing time in the preseason, the Jets losing Jordan to free agency and quarterback Chad Pennington returning from serious shoulder surgery, it sure looks as if the club has no choice but to lean on him again. And again. And again.

So when does it stop?

"I don't know," said Martin, "but it won't be six or seven years from now. I always said my goal was to play 12 years, and I'm entering my 11th. After the 12th season I'll see how I feel."