The New York Jets learned how costly it can be to overlook Cortland Finnegan when he is lined up at nickel back.

With just over six minutes to play in the opener and the Jets on top by eight, quarterback Chad Pennington did not see Finnegan come on a blitz. Neither did anyone else. As a result, Finnegan got to the pocket untouched, sacked Pennington and forced a fumble. Five seconds later the Tennessee Titans tied the score.

Chances are that future opponents won’t make the same mistake.

“People could end up turning to our nickel back, where he lines up and they adjust the alignments and things,” Fisher said. “We’ll watch it and we’ll adjust. That’s the fascinating part of our third down package, how we approach those with the different players.

“Our nickel back typically over the years has done a lot of blitzing. It’s part of our pressure package.”

Finnegan, a seventh-round draft pick out of Samford, won a training camp competition to be the third cornerback in the nickel package and in so doing gave the Titans something at that spot which they have not had in recent years — speed. In pre-draft workouts he was timed in 4.33 seconds for the 40-yard dash.

The last nickel back who could run like that was Samari Rolle, who was the regular there from 1998 into 2001 before a neck injury caused coaches to be more cautious with him. Rolle had more than one sack, including a career-high three in 1999, every season he filled that role.

He was replaced in 2002 by Donald Mitchell, but Mitchell was injured early that fall and ever since that the spot has had about as many changes as Madonna’s hair style. Cornerback Andre Woolfolk and safeties Lamont Thompson, Lance Schulters and Scott McGarrahan, among others, all have done it for a period of time.

Of that group, Schulters (two in 2002) is the only one who has managed more than one sack in a single season.

“Lance was a really good blitzer from the nickel, that was one of his best attributes,” defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz said. “The reasons he was down there were tackling and blitzing. Samari had really good quickness and he was very instinctive, so he could sort of snake his way through.

“Everybody has a different (approach).”

Finnegan’s approach already has yielded — in many cases — even more production.

His sack of Pennington was the first of his career. Wednesday, he got his second, albeit a couple days after the fact, following a review of the game film by Elias Sports Bureau, the NFL’s official statistician.

On a second-and-10 late in the first quarter last Sunday at Miami he came off the edge and stopped quarterback Daunte Culpepper for no gain just as Culpepper attempted to run. Initially it was scored as a rushing play, but Schwartz said film shows it clearly was a pass that was disrupted by Pacman Jones’ coverage on the outside and Finnegan’s speed in getting to the quarterback.

He is the only Titans’ defensive back with any sacks this season.

“Cortland’s very quick and he’s instinctive and he can dip and he can work his way to the quarterback,” Fisher said. “That’s helped him. I feel like he’s going to be a pretty good player. He’s still learning; he’s got a lot to learn, but he’s learning on the run and he’s learned from his mistakes and has been productive for us.”

He certainly has been quick to learn the art of the blitz, which he said he never did in college.

“Any time you have tremendous speed and you have a desire to make a play and they’re not ready for you when you’re coming, there’s a good chance you’re going to be productive,” linebacker David Thornton said. “His number has been called on a couple blitz situations where he’s been on the slot receiver … and he’s coming in and making big hits. Hopefully we can continue to keep him under the radar, keep him coming and sneaking up and getting some sacks for us.”

He was Samford’s leading tackler for three years and finished second all-time on the school list for a defensive back.

That is an important trait for anyone who plays the nickel back position.

“Most of the time you come in on third down and they go at you right away, or the run comes at you right away,” he said. “This is the first time I get to blitz and I enjoy it. … I’m more excited about the chance to play. If I can play and have a chance to get some games under my belt, it’s definitely a positive.”

With Finnegan credited for a sack against Miami, it raised the Titans’ total from that game to six, their most since Dec. 11, 2004 against Houston. The combination of quarterback Daunte Culpepper’s limited mobility and consistent long yardage situations on second and third downs contributed to success with blitzes — and not just those by Finnegan. Linebacker Keith Bulluck also got his first sack of the season in that game.

The possibility exists for a similarly aggressive approach this week against Dallas and its passer, Drew Bledsoe. He has been sacked three times in two games but has been dropped an average of slightly more than three times per game over his last six full seasons.

“If you look at what Dallas does, Dallas knows that (Bledsoe stands in the pocket) and they don’t leave him out in five-man protections very much,” Schwartz said. “They do a lot of play-actions, using the tight ends in protections and stuff like that. That’s where it turns into a test of who can get there. It’s really classic risk-reward when it comes to their scheme.”

If the Titans are wrong, their nickel package won’t be worth a dime this week