HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. (AP) -The music was cranked up inside the New York Jets' practice bubble and the players needed to yell or use hand signals to communicate with one another.

Welcome to the Jetrodome - you can pick up your aspirin on the way out.

``It gets pretty loud in there,'' safety Kerry Rhodes said Thursday. ``Actually, I had a headache yesterday. Nah, I'm just kidding, but it's loud.''

With a crucial game Sunday at the Metrodome against the Minnesota Vikings, coach Eric Mangini is doing all he can to simulate the experience. Not that he particularly enjoys being indoors.

``I don't love practicing in the bubble, but I think playing in the dome, it's just another environment that you have to get used to,'' Mangini said.

Mangini has blasted music during practices since training camp, usually theme-based songs before road games, depending on the city of the opponent. He brought the noise indoors this week for the first time.

``The nice thing about the music is playing inside the bubble, it's louder,'' he said. ``I don't know what the scientific reason is, but it definitely felt a little louder.''

It's the only regular-season game the Jets will play in a dome, and is the first since they lost in Atlanta's Georgia Dome last year.

``I think psychologically, it plays on your mind that you're indoors, so your body has to react to it,'' rookie running back Leon Washington said. ``It's been good, but at the same time, we've been practicing outdoors all year long and that's helped with Green Bay and New England, so hopefully this will help us out a lot.''

Washington said he's played in domed stadiums a couple of times over the years, including the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans' Superdome in his freshman season at Florida State.

``I'm kind of familiar with how it is, the lighting and things like that,'' Washington said. ``It's kind of weird, so guys have to walk through and get used to it. You have a couple of blind spots and you kind of lose track of the ball, but a lot of our guys have played in domes before.''

Guard Pete Kendall, an 11-year veteran, spent his first four NFL seasons playing in Seattle's Kingdome while with the Seahawks.

``Before that, I had only played in a dome a few times - at Syracuse a few times and Tulane at the Superdome - but yeah, if you haven't done it before, it's a little bit different,'' he said. ``You can't blame the conditions other than the difficulty of dealing with the noise. Other than that, the footing should be fine.''

Those are important factors for the kicking units, especially for kicker Mike Nugent and punter Ben Graham - both in their second NFL seasons.

``It's the perfect conditions,'' said Graham, who played in mostly outdoor stadiums during his 12-year career in the Australian Football League. ``I envy the punters who are in a dome eight, 10 or 11 games a year. We can practice in the bubble where you take out the wind, you take out the field and you can put things more in your favor.''

Graham, Nugent's holder on field goals, said the pair knows what to expect in the Metrodome.

``We run a pretty smooth operation, so if there's anything that happens, we have our signals just in case we can't communicate verbally,'' he said. ``We're aware of all the things we have to deal with. That's why we like to get out there early and test the conditions.''

Nugent, who has made nine consecutive field goals, said his preparation for Sunday's game will be no different from any other. He kicked at the Metrodome against Minnesota as a freshman at Ohio State.

``I'll read on the day what it feels like distancewise, just like I would on a day where it's really cold or really hot or with the wind, things like that,'' he said. ``And I think we're used to (noise) with having the music and stuff. We did that a little bit in college, but we do it so consistently here, so I think that definitely helps.''

The offense will also have to rely on being able to communicate despite the loud conditions, and quarterback Chad Pennington has been successful in his limited appearances in domed stadiums. He's 53-of-76 for 629 yards and eight touchdowns and one interception at Detroit, Indianapolis and St. Louis - but is 1-2 in those games.

``I think everybody realizes that it's going to be loud and has the possibility to be the loudest place we've played all year,'' Kendall said. ``A lot of that all really depends on the flow of the game.''

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