Archives for November 3, 2011

‘After being picked in the second round of the 2004 draft by Baltimore, his first position coach was one Rex Ryan.’

‘”Any time you can get on the field and help your team out, especially on offense and help move the ball that’s always a plus,” said Spiller. “Being on the sidelines not helping, that’s really not an advantage. I feel like a professional here. I’ve got an opportunity to get on the field and gain some trust and confidence in my playing style with the players around me.”‘

‘"I don’t work any different than I did in Buffalo and I’m not any more talented today than I was yesterday," he said. "Nothing magical happened to me overnight and, all of a sudden, I can rush the passer again."’

‘ “You just look for Stevie [Johnson] and you’ll find him,” said Bills coach Chan Gailey. “That’s what they’ve shown in previous games. Whoever is deemed their No. 1 receiver, he lines up and takes him all over the field.”‘

‘”The only thing I can control is what I do on the football field,” he said. “That stuff [contract talks] comes after practice and that’s what we have agents for, to handle stuff like that so we can come out here and play football. You can drive yourself crazy if that’s all you focus on. This is our outlet when we get out here and play football, so I think that’s what everyone tries to focus on.”‘

‘”I don’t think anyone is going to say that averaging five snaps a game is getting a legitimate shot,” he said, referencing his paltry plays-per-game average in 2010. “But on my end, what I do have to say to that is for whatever reason that was, there’s fault on both ends.”‘

‘”Free agency began and the next thing I knew I was on a plane to Rochester and I’m sitting in the team meeting and I know no one,” Smith said. “It was unbelievable, it didn’t feel real. Guys like Fred Jackson and Stevie Johnson and Ryan Fitzpatrick took time to just hang out, show me around and that really helped me.”

‘”I think it’s just coming from nowhere,” Smith said. “No background with each other, learning the entire offense at quarterback and at receiver. … They were able to work me in a few times to get the Wildcat stuff in. It was never a big deal to me. It’s more about winning and both things don’t always show up.”‘

‘”I can be honest, at first it sounded crazy,” Smith said. “Everything happened so fast when the lockout ended, and next thing you know I was on a plane to Rochester and I’m sitting in a team meeting and I know no one. It was unbelievable. It didn’t feel real.”‘

‘”I mean, it’s something I was very comfortable with,” Smith said of the Jets, where he spent his first five seasons. “The organization, the people, I was very comfortable there and I liked it. Being here in Buffalo has definitely been a growing experience personally, as a football player just learning, a chance to be around these new guys that have an unbelievable drive to win.”‘

‘”We didn’t get an off-season to implement him,” Gailey said, “and to implement the things that I think he’ll be able to do long-term for us. If we would have had that time to get to know him better and see what he can do and can’t do, I think we would have had a better idea on how to use the tools he has. But he’s been a big asset. He’s done a lot of good things that don’t come out in statistics.”‘

‘”He’s making a lot of people miss, he’s breaking a lot of tackles,” Jets linebacker David Harris said. “They do a good job of making him effective in their offense; they do a lot of three, four receiver sets, spread the field out and he finds the holes.”‘

‘He worked extremely hard in the offseason. He got the guys together and they were throwing, working out and getting on the same page and I think that that has really paid dividends for us early in the season. They didn’t just go out and go through the motions. I think they went out and worked. I think that’s the difference.’

Jets Again Relying on Greene and Running Game (New York Times)

NY Jets’ Santonio Holmes downplays low number of catches (New York Daily News)

NY Jets Rex Ryan, Bart Scott need to return to trash-talking big boasting Gang Green (New York Daily News)

Former NY Jet Brad Smith not fitting in to Buffalo Bills plans (New York Daily News)

Jets WR concerned with wins, not stats (New York Post)

Gang must ‘Ground & Pound’ way to victory (New York Post)

‘Real’ practice for Jets (New York Post)

Smith set to face ex-mates (New York Post)

Holmes says winning is all that matters (New York Newsday)

Mark Sanchez feels better with Nick Mangold there (New York Newsday)

Brad Smith chomping at the bit to face Jets (New York Newsday)

Jets’ Santonio Holmes brushes off questions about his role on offense (Newark Star Ledger)

Bills’ Brad Smith getting used to life away from Jets (Newark Star Ledger)

Jets coach Rex Ryan says Joe McKnight will have ‘more opportunities’ vs. Bills (Newark Star Ledger)

Jets LB Bart Scott said Bills’ spread out offense could be defended differently than Patriots’ (Newark Star Ledger)

Smith could be the ex factor when Jets battle Bills (Bergen Record)

Holmes ‘never heard about’ report (Bergen Record)

Jets prepare to stop Fred Jackson (ESPN)

Jets set to run roughshod over Bills (ESPN)

Jets face a critical stretch after the bye (ESPN)

Jets’ Sanchez learning to brush criticisms aside (AP)

Injured Jets DLs DeVito, Ellis sit out practice (AP)

Holmes on his role: We’re winning (The Sports Xchange)

Strategy And Personnel (The Sports Xchange)

Ex-Jet Smith adjusting to Buffalo (The Sports Xchange)

Rex’s Wednesday News Conference (NewYorkJets.com)

Sanchez’s Wednesday News Conference (NewYorkJets.com)

Bills’ Wednesday Conference Calls (NewYorkJets.com)

‘Though not provided a timetable, Jackson expressed faith a new deal will be worked out. On Wednesday, he said he got the assurance three weeks ago in meeting with general manager Buddy Nix.’