Two Bills Drive

‘Plagued by a terrible case of butterfingers during Buffalo’s 3-2 start, Reed’s confidence has been plummeting faster than a can of Bud from the third deck of the Ralph. He has 11 receptions and half as many drops so far, prompting media and fans to call for his benching.’

‘With the run defense in shambles, Edwards has been lukewarm in his assessment of how the linebackers have played, and the Jets could undertake a complete overhaul at the position after this season. This is the first opportunity to gauge who, other than Hobson, will remain with the team.’

‘Herman Edwards announced last week that Cowart, Jones and Lewis will rotate with their respective backups and, judging by the way practice is unfolding this week, the Jets’ coach intends to stick with the plan when they face the Bills (3-2) at Giants Stadium.’

‘”It was good to see him in the huddle and throwing the football,” said Herman Edwards, confirming that Pennington may participate in full-scale team drills next week.’

‘”It is very ironic,” Wright said. “I’m going to have to calm myself down. It’ll be like the little brother-big brother factor. I’m going to want to beat those guys.”‘

‘”Every day is exciting for me, because I get the chance to do what I love – play football,” Pennington said yesterday in a statement released by the team’s PR department. “Right now, it is in the best interest for our team and my teammates that the focus be on the Jets and our challenge versus Buffalo. We, as a team, need to do everything we can to get ready for a very good Bills team.”‘

‘”You’ve got to look at the big picture,” Cowart said. “We’re 0-4. We’re giving up a ton of yards. So if the idea is that we need to rotate the linebackers, whatever the coach feels is best for the team, I’m for it … I don’t take it as an insult. I take it as a challenge.”‘

‘Posing as Bills quarterback Drew Bledsoe for the scout-team offense, Pennington worked mostly out of the shotgun to mimic the Buffalo offense. His throws were crisp and sharp, but he appeared to have trouble getting a handle on the ball with a bulky brace and glove on his left hand.’

‘”Trying to figure it out myself,” Edwards said while on the topic of run defense yesterday. “I don’t know. Like I say, if it’s still happening there are a couple of things you’ve got to do. You can’t ask them to do a lot. And sometimes you’ve just got to, you know, you’ve got to look at what you’re asking a player to do. Maybe he can’t do it.”‘

‘”Maybe next week,” Jets coach Herman Edwards said when asked when Pennington might do regular drills. “He’ll definitely have a big red jersey on. I don’t know if we have one, but we’ll get one.”’

‘Defensively, the Jets rank last in the NFL in run defense, yielding an astounding 174 yards per game.’

‘LB Sam Cowart is second on the team in tackles with 39, but looks nothing like the sideline-to-sideline tackling machine he was during his four-year stint in Buffalo. And he’s healthy. Cowart is expected to rotate with Jason Glenn in the base defense as Edwards looks for someone to spark the struggling unit.’

‘”If you went to East Rutherford municipal court, you’d see the same names 200 times,” Aramini said. “I can tell you the names of the people out on Route 3. It’s the same people all the time.”‘

‘”I worry about it a little bit,” Edwards said of the danger such rotations will have on the continuity of the position. “But then again, I don’t worry about it. We’re trying to get better, we’ve got to find a way to get better. Just put them in there and they’ve got to go play, that’s how they’ve got to do it.”‘

‘But actually, things may be changing rapidly. Pennington’s return has unofficially been advanced from Game 10 at Indianapolis (at the time of his Aug. 23 surgery) to perhaps Game 7 at Philadelphia. Is it out of the question to ask whether Pennington, making progress by leaps and bounds, will be available if needed for the Jets’ next game after Buffalo, at Houston? That’s the question Edwards will have to tackle beginning Monday.’