Bills - Jets v.2

[Lori]

BUFFALO BILLS (5-10) at NEW YORK JETS (3-12)

SUNDAY, JANUARY 1, 2006 – 1:00 PM ET

GIANTS STADIUM, EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J.

 

CBS: Ian Eagle and Solomon Wilcots

 

REGULAR-SEASON SERIES RECORD: Buffalo leads, 49-40. The Bills are 11-10 all-time vs. the Jets at Giants Stadium, where the Jets began playing their home games in 1984 after calling Shea Stadium home for the previous twenty seasons.

 

PLAYOFF RECORD: Buffalo leads, 1-0.

 

LAST MEETING: October 16, 2005 – Bills 27, Jets 17

Preview

Two Kelly Holcomb touchdown passes – Jonathan Smith’s first career TD catch, and Eric Moulds’ 46th – gave the Bills a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter. The two teams then traded punts before a long Curtis Martin run set up the Jets’ first score, a 44-yard Mike Nugent FG. Holcomb was picked off by longtime Bills-killer Ty Law on Buffalo’s next series, and a one-yard Martin touchdown run made the score 14-10 with 0:30 remaining in the half. That still left more than enough time for the Bills’ top-ranked special teams to step up, and they didn’t disappoint - Terrence McGee’s 42-yard return set up a 50-yard Rian Lindell FG to send the Bills into the locker room up 17-10.

 

As the third quarter began, Martin’s second long run of the afternoon gave New York a first down at the Buffalo 20. Linebacker Angelo Crowell stepped in front of a Testaverde pass on the next play, though, and the Bills offense responded with a long drive of their own, capped off by Willis McGahee’s one-yard touchdown run to extend the lead to 24-10. A gift-wrapped Holcomb interception on Buffalo’s next possession led to a two-yard Jets touchdown drive, but the defense held the rest of the way, and Lindell’s second FG of the afternoon accounted for the final margin of victory.

 

Curtis Martin’s 49- and 41-yard runs accounted for most of his 148-yard total, the only time this season a Jet RB has topped the century mark. Martin’s stellar outing couldn’t make up for Vinny Testaverde’s horrid afternoon, though – five sacks, two interceptions, and a lost fumble probably had Vinny wishing he’d stayed on his couch instead of un-retiring.

For the Bills, McGahee’s 143 rushing yards and 167 total yards from scrimmage both set new career highs.

 

LAST TIME IN THE MEADOWSWAMP: October 10, 2004 – Jets 16, Bills 14

The Bills offense was nonexistent for the first forty-five minutes of gametime – seven possessions, seven punts - before a sideline tirade by Mike Mularkey led to a furious fourth-quarter comeback. Drew Bledsoe’s second touchdown pass of the quarter, a 46-yard strike to Lee Evans, gave the Bills a 14-13 lead but left almost six minutes on the clock. Chad Pennington methodically drove the Jets down the field to Doug Brien’s go-ahead 38-yard FG with 1:03 remaining, and Bledsoe’s last-ditch Hail Mary was intercepted by Terrell Buckley to seal Buffalo’s fate.

 

OVERVIEW

OFFENSE (#31 total yardage, #31 rushing, #27 passing, #32 scoring):

The New York offense bears almost no resemblance to the lineup that opened the season. No fewer than five starters – QB Chad Pennington, RB Curtis Martin, C Kevin Mawae, TE Chris Baker, and RT Jason Fabini – are on injured reserve, joined by #3 WR Wayne Chrebet and backup QB Jay Fiedler. The offensive-line shuffle has resulted in RT Adrian Jones playing on the left side, LG Pete Kendall shifting to C, and backups Jonathan Goodwin (LG) and Scott Gragg (RT) moving into the starting lineup next to holdover Brandon Moore (RG).

 

The chaos up front hasn’t done third-year QB Brooks Bollinger, Lee Evans’ Wisconsin Badger teammate, any favors. In ten games (eight starts), he’s taken 28 of the team’s 49 sacks allowed. (Good thing he’s got decent mobility, or that number would be even higher.) His first start was ugly enough to make Herm Edwards look up Vinny T’s home phone number, but he’s improved a little with more playing time.

 

Laveranues Coles and Justin McCareins are two of the few offensive starters who haven’t missed any time this season; Coles leads the team with 69 catches, 766 yards, and 5 touchdowns. The Bills did a good job on Coles in Buffalo, but had trouble covering McCareins – he ended up with 5 catches for a season-high 116 yards in that game. Wayne Chrebet’s most recent concussion forced him into retirement, so speedster Jerricho Cotchery inherits the #3 WR role. Doug Jolley is a decent pass-catching TE.

 

With top backup Derrick Blaylock still recovering from a broken foot, Curtis Martin’s season-ending knee injury forced the Jets to turn to rookie Cedric Houston at RB. Considering the circumstances, Houston’s 3.8 yards/carry average isn’t that bad. Blaylock returned to action last week, so he or fullback Jerald Sowell will get most of the playing time in the Jets’ third-down packages.

 

DEFENSE (#12 total yardage, #28 rushing, #2 passing, #22 scoring):

DE John Abraham leads the team in sacks with 9.5. DT Dewayne Robertson and last year’s sack leader, DE Shaun Ellis, have both missed the last couple of games with injuries and are listed as questionable this week. Lance Legree (DT) and Bryan Thomas (LE) would start if Robertson and/or Ellis are unavailable, which would be welcome news for the Bills offensive line.

 

According to NFL.com stats, MLB Jonathan Vilma leads the entire league in tackles. The Jets named him their 2005 MVP, but he still couldn’t garner enough Pro Bowl votes to bypass Zach Thomas for the trip to Hawaii. (Nice job stuffing the ballot box, Fins fans…) Victor Hobson and Mark Brown remain the starters at OLB.

 

Ty Law’s seventh interception of the year – returned for a 74-yard touchdown against old friend Tom Brady and the Pats on Monday night - tied the Jets single-season record, set by Johnny Sample in 1968. Law will be making his fifth trip to the Pro Bowl next February. David Barrett missed some time with an eye laceration, so 2005 second-round pick Justin Miller has started the last seven games at the other corner. Second-year player Erik Coleman (FS) and rookie Kerry Rhodes (SS) are the starting safeties. There’s not much depth behind them.

 

SPECIAL TEAMS:

Rookie Mike Nugent got off to a rocky start but is starting to live up to the high expectations placed on him. He’s 19-24 overall, 13-14 inside 40 yards. The Aussie punter, Ben Graham, is above-average – he currently ranks 8th in the league in gross yardage, 5th overall in net yardage. (By comparison, Brian Moorman’s 45.6-yard gross average leads the NFL, and his 39.0-yard net ranks 3rd.)

 

Jerricho Cotchery (punts) and Justin Miller (kickoffs) both rank in the middle of the pack in return average. The Jet kick-cover teams are mediocre – as previously noted, Terrence McGee burned them for a long return to set up a Lindell FG back in October.

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OUTLOOK:

Mike Mularkey might not be saying much about his starting QB right now, but does anyone really expect him to go back to J.P. Losman for this game? No matter who starts at quarterback, let’s hope that whoever’s calling the plays these days remembers that two of Willis McGahee’s best rushing performances have come against this Jets defense.

 

On the other side of the ball, New York’s second-string offense ranks near the bottom of the league in just about every stat imaginable. Before you mark this one in the W column, though, remember this: all three of their wins this season were against teams that beat Buffalo. The Bills are slight favorites in this game, but they’d better plan to show up with three hours’ worth of solid effort if they want to break their recent streak of futility in New Jersey.

 

Links:

NFL.com: injury report / Jets depth chart /Jets team stats

Ourlads.com: Jets depth chart

Official team website: NewYorkJets.com

Smizzy's board:Jetnation.com boards

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

The Bills offense was nonexistent for the first forty-five minutes of gametime – seven possessions, seven punts - before a sideline tirade by Mike Mularkey led to a furious fourth-quarter comeback. Drew Bledsoe’s second touchdown pass of the quarter, a 46-yard strike to Lee Evans, gave the Bills a 14-13 lead but left almost six minutes on the clock. Chad Pennington methodically drove the Jets down the field to Doug Brien’s go-ahead 38-yard FG with 1:03 remaining, and Bledsoe’s last-ditch Hail Mary was intercepted by Terrell Buckley to seal Buffalo’s fate

 

Gee, thanks, I'd almost forgotten that gem

[Lori]

Gee, thanks, I'd almost forgotten that gem

544572[/snapback]

Oh, there's lots more where that came from. Didja know AVP was the last Bills QB to beat the dog-a$$ Jets at the 'Swamp? Or that the last one before him was Todd Collins, all the way back in '97?

 

You were at that game last year, weren't you? (Or was that one of the drubbings in '02 or '03?)

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

Oh, there's lots more where that came from. Didja know AVP was the last Bills QB to beat the dog-a$$ Jets at the 'Swamp? Or that the last one before him was Todd Collins, all the way back in '97?

 

You were at that game last year, weren't you? (Or was that one of the drubbings in '02 or '03?)

544576[/snapback]

 

I was there for Drew's shining moment in 03.

 

Remember that winner?

 

Thankfully, neither do I.

[cåblelady]

Why isn't this pinned yet ?

[rockpile]

Why isn't this pinned yet ?

545293[/snapback]

I do not think anyone cares.

 

Thanks, Lori - glad to know a few of us are still watching the games and not just bitching about <fillintheblank>

 

Why aren't you pinned yet, Harriet?

[Fezmid]

Why isn't this pinned yet ?

545293[/snapback]

Sheesh, people complain when it's pinned too soon ("Nobody sees pinned topics!,") and now people are complaining that it's not pinned fast enough. Can't make everyone happy, can you?

 

CW

[KD in CA]

Oh, there's lots more where that came from. Didja know AVP was the last Bills QB to beat the dog-a$$ Jets at the 'Swamp?

 

 

That was a fun game to be at....even though it was bitterly cold. The Jets fans were so despressed.

[Fan in San Diego]

I love that line. The Bills better show up with 3 hours of work in mind if they want to win. Good job as usual Lori !

[rockpile]

All that matters is that you make ME happy. Didn't Scott create TBD just for ME?

 

Jeez, read the manual.

 

Sheesh, people complain when it's pinned too soon ("Nobody sees pinned topics!,") and now people are complaining that it's not pinned fast enough.  Can't make everyone happy, can you?

 

CW

545400[/snapback]

[Bill from NYC]

Thanks again Lori. The jests fans around here are not too confident. One sportswriter, when refering to their recent alcohol ban, said that dentists should be in the stands to administer nitrous oxide to jests fans because their play is so painful.

 

Happy New Year to you and your loved ones!

[Lori]

I was there for Drew's shining moment in 03.

 

Remember that winner?

 

Thankfully, neither do I.

544577[/snapback]

I was going to pull down the relevant media guide and refresh your memory... but then I thought, why ruin BOTH our weekends?

 

Happy 2006, everyone!

[MDH]

Oh, there's lots more where that came from. Didja know AVP was the last Bills QB to beat the dog-a$$ Jets at the 'Swamp? Or that the last one before him was Todd Collins, all the way back in '97?

 

544576[/snapback]

 

The only two games I've been to at the medowlands are the two mentioned above. Riemersma made a spectacular TD catch right in front of me in the '97 game. I thought about going to tomorrow's game (err, today's) figuring tickets would be easier to come by but changed my mind when I learned that Check Down would be getting the start.