Archives for December 30, 2001

‘Here he is, 15 years after winning the Heisman, nine years after the abuse finally ended in Tampa, 60 minutes from becoming the fourth Jet quarterback – Joe Namath, Richard Todd, Ken O’Brien – to take the franchise to the playoffs twice, and the first with two head coaches.’

‘With starting free safety Damien Robinson out for at least the rest of the regular season with a knee injury, Ferguson will make his first NFL start at that spot today against the Bills, who happen to be his former team.’

‘The only scenario in which they cannot make the playoffs is if they lose their last two games and Seattle wins its final two games.’

‘The Jets tend to play down to the level of the competition (see Cincinnati and Carolina). Still, there’s no way a team that has allowed nearly three times as many sacks (43-16) and committed twice as many penalties (109-52) wins on the road in this matchup.’

‘Marvin Jones was one of the most sought-after high school recruits in the nation when he first met Mo Lewis during a recruiting visit to the University of Georgia, where Lewis was the star linebacker. Lewis hosted Jones for a weekend and the pair hit it off immediately.’

‘Prediction: Jets 24, Bills 13.’

‘We’ll get a strong idea this afternoon whether the Jets really want to get to the playoffs, whether they really have learned from last year.’

‘Jets 27, Bills 17…Jets 27, Bills 10.’

‘”We’ve been a resilient bunch and you have to give the players a great deal of credit for that,” Bills president and general manager Tom Donahoe said Friday. “Gregg Williams has done a great job of coaching under the circumstances. I’ve been impressed with how Gregg’s handled the adversity and the coaches and the whole situation. It’s been tough for him that we haven’t won more games. But he’s laid the groundwork for a lot of positive things to happen for this team in the future.”‘

‘After a slow start, Eric Moulds is coming on. Moulds has 59 receptions for 798 yards with five touchdowns and will test cornerbacks Marcus Coleman and Ray Mickens.’

‘"Everything went as if there wasn’t any snow," team spokesman Scott Berchtold said after the Bills landed in Newark, N.J.’

‘"It has been hard for a lot of the older guys, some who have been here for the Super Bowl runs, some who were here for the playoff seasons we had," said Van Pelt, who has performed moderately well filling in for the injured Rob Johnson. "We keep working hard, I haven’t seen this team lay down yet. "We are 2-12, but we’re playing some good football and some good effort football."’