FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- Observations from Thursday:

1. Austin Howard, welcome to the spotlight. Rex Ryan finally pulled the trigger on Thursday, demoting starting right tackle Wayne Hunter and elevating Howard. As Rich Cimini wrote, it was the right move -- but is Howard, with four NFL regular-season starts under his belt, ready for the big show? All eyes will be on him Sunday night against the Carolina Panthers.

2. Things are looking up at wide receiver. Santonio Holmes participated in practice, albeit in a limited fashion, for the second straight day, and said he hopes and wants to play on Sunday. When Holmes first went down with a rib injury, there was speculation he would miss the entire preseason. If he can get out on the field against the Panthers in three days, that should provide a big boost to the Jets' struggling offense.

3. Tim Tebow isn't worried about the Wildcat. More specifically, he is not worried about the fact that the Jets aren't planning to unveil the Wildcat in either of the team's final two preseason games, according to Ryan on Thursday. "It's fine," Tebow said Thursday. "We had a few live reps in practice, but I've ran that stuff before so I've had reps in my life at it."