Archives for October 30, 2008

‘”The best thing you can do is get in a receiver’s face and knock down a ball or just get in their face and disrupt the route,” McGee said. “That’s the only way you’re going to stop it. If you’re playing off you’re basically just saying throw it and I’m going to tackle you.”‘

‘Jets 24, Bills 20.’

‘”It’s going to be very critical this week with Josh (Reed) down,” said Trent Edwards. “We’re going to need those guys to step up. Steve Johnson and Justin Jenkins are both going to be a part of our offense, and those guys haven’t had a ton of reps. They’ve had reps on the practice field, but not really on Sundays.”‘

‘The Buffalo Bills announced Thursday they have implemented a new web based text messaging system called GuestAssist, to provide fans the ability to text message the team’s Guest Services department for game related issues during home games at Ralph Wilson Stadium (RWS). GuestAssist will be operational beginning with the Bills vs. Jets game on Sunday, November 2, 2008.’

‘One can rightfully claim that this team is stable enough that the word “rebuilding” can be shelved regardless of this season’s results, and a huge part of that is that the Bills are focused from the top down. It’s nice for this squad to finally have a leader it wants to keep, and it’s little surprise that the last coach who fell in that category, Marv Levy, hired the current one. This contract lengthening yells in a very quiet way the Bills are convinced that the improvement Jauron has initiated is meaningful and will be sustained, even if those on the outside are only beginning to hear it.’

‘”When you have Lee on the outside and you have deep threats like James [Hardy] and Roscoe [Parrish], you always have the underneath route to Josh,” quarterback Trent Edwards said. “Even if he’s not past the first down marker, you can always hit him underneath the first-down marker and he can make a guy miss or break a tackle like he did [twice] on Sunday. That’s going to be tough to not have him in there.”‘

‘”My first two years here we won the [AFL] championship and I thought it was unfair for me to be paid for the game I was just having so much fun [playing],” Byrd said. “The people were great. They loved the Bills. They supported the Bills. . . . We had been through the good times and the bad times with Buffalo and I was here for both. We won the championship and then in 1969 we won one game. We just happened to beat the Jets who won the Super Bowl that year. We saw the highs and lows of pro football but the people still supported us.”‘

‘The pass rush is not OK. It’s a problem. As Aaron Schobel likes to tell us, sacks aren’t everything. It’s often a matter of pressuring the quarterback, forcing him to make hasty decisions that lead to turnovers.’

‘”It’s been a long time coming,” Preston said. “This is my fourth year and my sixth game [this year] was my first start at center. I came here to be a center.”‘

‘There was a sense during training camp at St. John Fisher College that Preston’s spot on the roster was tenuous as Christian Gaddis was considered a threat in the battle for the backup center and guard positions. But Preston survived, Gaddis was cut, and now Preston has taken advantage of Fowler’s injury to continue his ascent up the depth chart.’

‘Of course, there’s always been more good than bad through the years with Favre, whose records of 457 touchdowns and 299 interceptions may never be matched. "On the flip side of (the bad), he’s made a lot of tremendous plays and thrown a lot of TDs," Mangini said. "So, there’s elements of both with Brett. We came into it with our eyes wide open."

‘Our young quarterback, Trent Edwards, has come along very quickly. He’s playing at a level that has given us a chance to win on every weekend that we’ve played. You clearly need that, too. You really need that guy. He doesn’t do it alone. It’s such a struggle in our league, without that consistency [at QB]. That’s been critical to us. We have to keep clawing our way and fight on every day and hopefully get a chance. Hopefully at the end of this Sunday, we have a chance to win a game. That’s how we’ve worked since we’ve been here.’

Jets Roll Dice With Favre and Hope to Get Sevens (New York Times)

Eric Mangini tells Brett Favre to cut down interceptions (New York Daily News)

Mangini: Favre must pick his spots (New York Post)

Mangini would like Favre to tone down gambling (New York Newsday)

Jets need to let Favre do his thing now (New York Newsday)

Keller should be able help blocking this week (New York Newsday)

Jets’ Favre insists he’s not a gambler in his most difficult season yet (White Plains Journal News)

New York Jets’ Revis gaining respect of peers (Newark Star Ledger)

M.A. Mehta with the New York Jets (Newark Star Ledger)

‘Man’ to Favre: Know when to hold ’em (Bergen Record)

Ainge placed on IR (Bergen Record)

Favre focused despite issues on and off field (AP)

Inside slant (The Sports Xchange)

Strategy and personnel (The Sports Xchange)

Notes, quotes (The Sports Xchange)

Favre Wednesday News Conference (NewYorkJets.com)

Coach’s Wednesday News Conference (NewYorkJets.com)

Buffalo Conference Calls (NewYorkJets.com)

Wednesday Player Interviews (NewYorkJets.com)

A QB’s Got to Know When to Hold ‘Em … (NewYorkJets.com)

‘One die-hard fan from Ottawa told me it was cheaper to drive to Buffalo with her husband, spend the night and see a football game, than it was to go to Scotiabank Place and watch the Senators.’

‘”We expect him to come out slinging it and we hope to get our hands on some of the balls as other teams in the league have,” said strong safety Donte Whitner, eluding to Favre’s 11 interceptions vs. 15 scoring tosses.’