Herman Edwards, the New York Jets' head coach, has been charged with breaking into the home of an octogenarian and, at gunpoint, subjecting her to a ranting diatribe in which he reportedly defended his use of "schemes" and justified his "preparation" as the leader of a team that has fallen well short of expectations this season.

In other words, sources with the club said, "[Edwards] snapped."

Widely regarded as one of the more dignified head coaches in the league, don't tell that to Mabel Smith, the victim of Edwards' home invasion.

Living alone in an attached duplex on Staten Island and seated in front of her television on which reruns of the "Family Feud," neighbors reported, were blasting throughthe walls at volumes higher than the roar of La Guardia jets overhead, Smith, a slight, arthritically stooped woman was surely not expecting Edwards to kick down her door and, waving a gun, order her to turn off the television and "stay calm" or "I'm gonna do something stupid" (as if he hadn't already).

Smith then leaned over and died, "from the shock, obviously," authorities now say, but Edwards, apparently missing her expiration, subjected her still to what neighbors later recalled overhearing was a rambling disquisition on the decline of the team and his untenable grasp as head coach.

Twice, it was reported, he fired the gun in efforts to compel Smith's attention, to no avail.

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"Herman lost it," said another source in the Jets' organization. "He's a good guy. This isn't him. He just broke down. It's tragic. I mean, this guy's got a Lexus and two BMW's. It's sad."

"Coach...that aint like coach," said Curtis Martin, the All-Pro running back. "I mean, bustin' in on an old lady like that and reaming her out...damn, that aint coach. Coach would've at least knocked. I'm tellin' you."

"It's been a frustrating year for Herman," said Vinnie Testiverde, the overrated and underachieving quarterback. "Coach expected big things from us, and we let him down. Every guy in this room has gotta take some responsibility for coach's breakdown."

Most of the talk in the Jets' "family" concerned Edwards and his sad, abrupt descent. Players and team officials notably avoided imagining the horror of the frail, old lady apparently too fragile to endure Edwards' terrifying assault.

"I'm trying to," said Tedd Cottrell, the teams' defensive coordinator. "I'm trying to picture that little old lady. But all I see is Herman. Desperate...lonely...no where to turn. Probably irrational. I'm trying to see the other side...to access that old lady's vulnerability...to empathize. But it's not coming."