Two Bills Drive

‘They call him Angry Man. And while Jets safety Nick Ferguson is only mildly irritated when his nickname is revealed, he embraces the sort of fearless tackling that has earned him the name from teammates and, earlier in the season, a rare public rebuke from Coach Herman Edwards.’

‘It has been a long time since the Jets were the best at anything, and the players are investing a lot of pride into the chase.’

‘The Jets are still winning. One more win and they’re a playoff team. It may not be the way Herman Edwards does things, but it’s very close to exciting.’

‘Actually, the Jets had been scaling back in recent weeks, practicing in full gear only once a week. Not anymore.’

‘The Jets line has not only allowed the second-fewest amount of quarterbacks sacks in the NFL (16 to the Chicago Bears’ 15), but Curtis Martin is a mere seven yards behind Kansas City’s Priest Holmes in the race for the NFL rushing title – something Mawae yesterday matter-of-factly guaranteed Martin would accomplish.’

‘In a move that has a lot of "smiles on players’ faces," according to Vinny Testaverde, Herman Edwards revealed yesterday that he plans to practice the players without full pads for the rest of the season.’

‘With a classic letdown game against the 2-12 Buffalo Bills in front of them, is this the time to lighten the workload?’

‘With a strong finish by Curtis Martin and no major breakdowns in the pass protection, the Jets could become only the fifth team in 32 seasons to have the NFL’s leading rusher and allow the fewest sacks.’

‘If there were any doubts that Jets coach Herman Edwards is the antithesis of hardliners Bill Parcells and Al Groh, his latest move should be the clincher. Yesterday, Edwards announced that the team will practice without pads for the remainder of the season in an effort to keep the players fresh for the stretch run.’

‘”You can go around and say we had the league’s leading rusher and we led the league in the least amount of sacks. It’s huge. (It would say) we’re the best.”‘

‘Don’t look now, but Becht is being counted on big-time again.’

‘Testaverde’s blockers have yielded no sacks in the past three games against Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and Indianapolis. If they pitch another shutout against Buffalo on Sunday, it will mark the first four-game stretch without allowing a sack since the team began its life as the Titans in 1960.’

‘Moore believes the offseason incidents were a major reason the Bills released him, but he said he harbors no grudge. "I don’t have to prove anything to them," Moore said. "They know what they let go."’

‘Until recently, Becht hasn’t had much impact in the pros. But against Cincinnati and Indianapolis, he caught game-winning touchdown passes. He is becoming a more integral part of New York’s offense.’

‘So, with all those similarities, how is there a seven-win difference between these two teams? Two glaring statistics…’