Archives for September 2000

‘After spending the last couple of seasons chasing Bills diminutive quarterback Doug Flutie, you would think Jets linebacker Mo Lewis might be relieved to be staring down Rob Johnson instead when Buffalo comes to Giants Stadium tomorrow with both teams 2-0 atop the AFC East. Not so fast, considering Johnson is no slowpoke himself. "He’s a good quarterback and brings a lot to their team," Lewis said yesterday. "Flutie had to create his own throwing lanes, but Rob doesn’t have to do that. That’s one of the advantages for him." Indeed, Johnson stands tall in the pocket at 6-4 and 215 pounds, while the 5-9 Flutie had to be more creative to see through the mass of humanity in front of him in the trenches. Still, Lewis came to respect Flutie as "a tough competitor," although he prefers not to discuss the blind-side block the little guy cut him down with on a reverse last season during the Jets’ 17-3 loss at Ralph Wilson Stadium. "I know what you’re getting at," Lewis said when asked about his most vivid memory of Flutie. Then he smiled and walked away, refusing to bite.’

‘Consistency on offense was atop Al Groh’s agenda Friday. But Al, how about the second and third quarters against New England on Monday? In a seven-possession span, the Jets went three-and-out three times and managed merely four first downs. Oh, that’s not quite the type of consistency you’re looking for, is it? "We need to sharpen up that consistency today," the Jets coach said before Friday’s practice at Hofstra. "That’s got to be our emphasis point today. To be more consistent and put good plays back-to-back." The Jets did that Monday, but only in the first and fourth quarters.’

‘In this age of the salary cap and unfettered free agent movement, the Bills are refreshing throwbacks. The franchise, wedged into the far west corner of New York, across the falls from Ontario, Canada, still operates with this basic philosophy: Draft good football players, nurture them and keep them as long as you can. Before the Bills traded for Denver kick returner Chris Watson before the final cutdown, they didn’t have a single player on the roster who played for another NFL team in 1999. The result is a lot of victories.’

‘Quarterback Rob Johnson has developed tendinitis in the elbow of his right (throwing) arm. The Bills don’t think it’s serious enough to put him on the injury list, and they expect him to start Sunday. But his condition does bear watching. Johnson was in obvious pain as he threw during warm-up drills in practice Thursday. After one throw, he was bent over clutching his elbow. After practice, coach Wade Phillips downplayed Johnson’s tendinitis. "He’s always had that," Phillips said. "He had it last year. It hasn’t been a concern for us or him. It’s not like (Green Bay’s Brett) Favre, but it’s similar. It gets sore sometimes when he throws the football, so he ices it down. He obviously didn’t have a problem in the game." "I’ve taken a couple of hits on my elbow," Johnson said. "I’ve got some scabs there, so it’s been a little more tender than it has before. But I’ll be all right. It’s just something I’ll have to deal with."

Johnson added that his tendinitis usually flares up if his arm isn’t completely warm, but improves once the arm loosens up.’

‘Just check the current special-teams rankings: Kickoff returns: 29th…Punt returns: 29th…Kickoff coverage: 16th…Punt coverage: 30th.’

‘This week, there’s a little more juice involved for Jones. Not only are the Jets (2-0) playing the Bills (2-0) for first place in the AFC East, but Jones is going against one of his successors at Florida State. Sam Cowart, who leads the Bills with 28 tackles, modeled himself after Jones when he joined the Seminoles. "Everybody wanted to be like Marvin," Cowart said. "He was the best collegiate linebacker I’ve ever seen. He told me that we ran the same things at Florida State that they do in the pros. They just call them different things." Jones said facing Cowart’s team means, "You’ve got to try to outplay the young guy. We know in a game like this, if it turns out to be a defensive game, whatever team’s linebackers play the best, that’s who’s going to win."’

‘A scenario laid out in another newspaper had Ralph Wilson, the 82-year-old owner of the Buffalo Bills, selling the team for about $500 million (U.S.) to put his estate in order and deal with the inheritance tax issue now, instead of post mortem. It made it sound as though Godfrey was about a week away from loading up a satchel full of Rogers’ dough, shuffling off to Buffalo and returning with the Bills, who would soon be playing home games at SkyDome. Bills officials are shaking their heads over that one. Even Godfrey described the story as "highly speculative," adding, "I wouldn’t get too excited about the Bills packing their helmets and shoulder pads and moving down the QEW to Toronto. I wouldn’t bet the family fortune on moving Buffalo. The Bills are there until at least 2004. Nobody (from Toronto) is looking at the Bills with great lust." Scott Birchtold, who handles publicity for the Bills, said the scenario was so unlikely that nobody from the team wanted to comment on it. But he did say it’s just the latest story that had somebody taking the team out of Buffalo. "This isn’t the first time I’ve heard this. Those kind of stories upset Mr. Wilson a great deal, because I don’t think he has any intention of selling the team," said Birchtold. "He absolutely loves this football team. The last time there was a story like that in the Buffalo News it upset Mr. Wilson so much he wrote a letter to the editor about it."’

‘Buffalo Bills tailback Antowain Smith has a suggestion for his coaches to get the team’s stalled running game in gear: Quit making him run with a fullback…Smith suggests that a problem that plagued the Bills last season still exists: the telegraphing of running plays because of established personnel combinations that offensive coordinator Joe Pendry favors. Smith, who is never thrown to, is Buffalo’s designated tailback in all two-back alignments, which is akin to saying a run’s coming. Jonathan Linton and Shawn Bryson operate as pass-catching, single-set backs with the element of surprise. Smith, a powerful 6-2, 228 pounds, would like that role. He said he prefers to run without a lead blocker because he can hit the holes faster and read where those holes are more clearly. "Running the ball as a single back, you get to the hole a little faster because you just go," Smith said. "With a fullback in front of you, you have to be more patient and cut off (his block). There’s a difference. If you’re an athlete, of course you have to let your instincts take over when running the ball. But you also have reads to make, and sometimes your reads are more clear as a single back."’

‘"It’s just that as the season goes on, we’ve thrown a lot and you get tendinitis," said Johnson. "I’ve taken a couple of hits on my elbow and I’ve got some scabs there, so it’s been a little more tender than it was before. But I’ll be all right, it’s just something that I’ll have to deal with it."’

‘And now on Sunday, the Jets face what Coach Al Groh fears could be the finest defensive team in the league. The Bills were first in the league last season, and so far third this year.’

‘"This is the best linebacking corps we’re going to face all year," running back Jonathan Linton said. "They bring a lot of heat." So do the Bills’ linebackers, led by another former Florida State star, Sam Cowart, who already has 28 tackles and is being hyped as one of the best young linebackers in the NFL. Cowart and Jones never played together in college, but Jones served as a chaperone on Cowart’s recruiting visit. Asked how Jones sold him on the school, Cowart cracked yesterday: "He helped sell me by leaving (school), because he left a year early. "I’m from Florida, and all we get on TV are Florida State and Florida, so I couldn’t help but watch him," Cowart said. "He’s a great linebacker. He’s one of the best players ever to put on a Florida State uniform." Jones, who will be inducted tonight into the Florida State sports Hall of Fame, wants to teach Cowart a lesson Sunday. ("I have to outplay the young guy," he said.)’

‘Former Jets WR Keyshawn Johnson, who faces his old team in nine days, took another swipe yesterday at his longtime nemesis, Wayne Chrebet. Johnson, who watched the Jets’ 20-19 victory over the Patriots Monday night, said Dedric Ward has emerged as their No. 1 receiver. Ward had four receptions for 100 yards in the game. "I always said Dedric Ward was going to be their guy, and Dedric Ward is their guy right now," Johnson told reporters at the Buccaneers’ facility in Tampa. "But, in New York, they don’t want to hear that. That’s new to them. If you say that, it’s all over the AP wire. "The coaching staff and administrative people know the truth. The writers and fans don’t get the whole picture. I know the truth because I can watch and see how teams are playing them." By praising Ward, Johnson was knocking Chrebet, who had a fantastic game. He caught four passes for 71 yards, including two touchdowns in the final 6:25.’

‘Anderson, whom some are calling "Slash" because is he’s so multi-talented, did indeed ignite the Jets to that 20-19 win. Without his efforts on that drive, the Jets never even have a chance to win it in the final moments. "I think his time has come," Lucas said of Anderson, who’s been a Jet since 1993. "He’s been doing this for awhile, but nobody seemed to pick up on it. Maybe because it was spotty, maybe we weren’t using him as much as we are now. But he’s definitely dependable. You know what you’re going to get out of Richie every day. "He’s the total package," Lucas went on. "He’s a fullback who can block for you. Most fullbacks in the NFL are going out in the flat, catching the ball and picking up three yards for you. "Obviously, teams are going to have to start looking at No. 20 when they gameplan. You’ve got to pay special attention to him, because he can hurt you with the run, he can hurt you after he catches the ball and he can hurt you vertically downfield. "Not too many fullbacks in the league – not any, really – go out and line up split all the way outside and go run past people out there. Here you have Richie making catches and taking the ball all the way down the field almost by himself, almost scoring in a screen pass. "How many fullbacks get screens? I mean, we design plays for Richie a lot."’

‘They’re not printing playoff tickets yet over at Weeb Ewbank Hall, nor will they regardless of what the outcome is Sunday at Giants Stadium, where the 2-0 Jets play the 2-0 Bills. However, a Jets’ victory Sunday will go a significant way toward pushing the Jets back into the postseason for the first time since they nearly derailed Denver from the AFC title game at the end of the ’98 season.’

‘Last season, the Buffalo Bills finished first in the NFL in total defense under coordinator Ted Cottrell, allowing the fewest points by an AFC team in 21 years and setting several team defensive records. The unit not only played hard because it was their job, they played hard for Cottrell, a practitioner of the kind of tough love that endears a coach to his players. Yet, Cottrell’s phone didn’t ring once last off-season when a half dozen NFL head coaching jobs opened up. Ted Cottrell, a former Rutgers assistant coach, is black. "It was kind of discouraging," Cottrell said yesterday from his office, where he’s preparing his defense for a showdown with the Jets on Sunday at Giants Stadium. "It was only for a moment. I got over it. "But you can’t tell people who to hire. Hopefully, if I keep doing a good job, I’ll get a shot. I’m working towards that. This is my profession, and I want to reach the top of my profession. And I don’t just want to get there, I want to be successful."’