To save a season — and Rex Ryan — the Jets look to Percy Harvin

The desperate push to ignite the dying embers of a season that would be reduced to ashes with a loss Sunday to the Bills, and very possibly to save Rex Ryan, falls now on the shoulders of Percy Harvin.

Geno Smith and the Jets are looking for Harvin to provide a spark on the field rather than a five-alarm fire off it.

No one should expect Harvin to start carving out Jack-o'-lanterns in the meeting room with his new teammates, nor should the Jets view him as a savior, but when you are 1-6, you cross your fingers and hope for the best.

The comparisons to Santonio Holmes, a treat until he got the money and then a trick, are inescapable with Harvin.

Trick: Trouble follows Harvin to Florham Park, and his nine-game Jets career is remembered mostly for its turbulence and turmoil.

Treat: Harvin drives defensive coordinators and special teams coaches mad with his now-you-see-me, now-you-don't speed and quickness, makes Smith a better quarterback and Eric Decker a more productive receiver and helps get Ryan another stay of Rexecution.

Trick or treat?

Which one will it be as Harvin makes his Jets debut?

Only this much is certain about Percy Harvin: He is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Harvin.

Percy Harvin speaks to the media after practice on Oct. 20.Photo: Bill Kostroun

Treat: "There's no better situation for me to come into," Harvin said at his introductory Vikings press conference after being the 22nd pick of the 2009 draft, which saw the Jets pick Mark Sanchez. "I'm just looking to come in here and be another piece of the puzzle. This is where I truly want to be."

Trick: The Vikings couldn't wait to get rid of him.

Treat: "Becoming a Seahawk, it's a big relief. I'm very grateful for this opportunity I've been given," Harvin said. "This thing is just so awesome on so many levels."

Trick: The Seahawks couldn't wait to get rid of him.

Michael Vick, whose mentorship could prove invaluable, guarantees it will be a chastened Harvin who comes calling five days before Halloween wearing a No. 16 green-and-white costume.

But there are no guarantees.

There are well-documented skeletons in Harvin's closet, and if his notorious competitiveness couldn't be a blessing on a Super Bowl champion, it is fair to wonder whether it will be a curse on an underachieving team that has been champion only of Wait Til Next Year since Jan.12, 1969.

If Harvin can slay whatever demons have tarnished his reputation and his career, if his acquisition proves to be a coup for general manager John Idzik, it will be regarded in many circles around the league as a bigger upset than AFL Jets' 16-7 drubbing of the NFL Colts in Super Bowl III. It's a plus that Everyman Ryan is his newest head coach, at least over these last nine games, but isn't it supposed to be fun playing for Pete Carroll, too?

The Jets, like most teams, would welcome Hannibal Lecter with open arms if he could run a 4.3 40. And Harvin became the best athlete in the room the second he walked in. He brings an athletic arrogance and raging swag that has been sorely missing on Smith's side of the ball.

Trick: Harvin has been in the trainer's room more than he's been on the field.

Treat: Harvin with the ball in his hands.

"He's lightning in a bottle, man, it's crazy how fast and dynamic that guy is," Jets guard Willie Colon said.

Idzik is to be commended for a Hail Mary with such an enticing risk-reward, a fourth-round draft choice if the experiment doesn't unleash Frankenharvin. At the very least, perhaps it will signal a welcome shift from Idzik's monotonous mantra of competition to ammunition.

Treat: Harvin is a chess piece offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg will move all over the board. Harvin will add electricity to the return game. He has a high football IQ He wants to be great.

Trick: "It's definitely a place I want to be for a long time," Harvin said when he met the New York media, sounding as if he had just been thrown a lifeline from the Love Boat.

He has a clean slate. A third clean slate. A chance to be a star. His new teammates have welcomed him with open arms. He has a chance to change the narrative on Percy Harvin. To run with blazing speed from the past, towards a future with a team and coach and quarterback that needs him as much as he needs them.

Dr. Jekyll, or Mr. Harvin?

Trick, or treat?

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