Two Bills Drive

‘”Clarence had a tremendous camp, a tremendous pre season and because of that he has been able to be on the field for us,” said quarterback Drew Bledsoe. “We haven’t used him a ton but he’s been on the field for us on our four wide receiver sets.”‘

‘”We will work him out Sunday morning,” said Williams. “He’s a remarkable athlete on what he’s been able to do. Would I play him if he could go? Yes.”‘

‘”I just made my mind up I’m going to stop the run,” Williams said of his eight-tackle performance against Cincinnati. “I wanted to go out and dominate first down, second down, third down. I feel I’ve been playing all right this year. I’ve been playing average, but I’ve got to play above average.”‘

‘The Jets rank fourth in the National Football League on kickoff return average. Michael Bates, a five-time Pro Bowler signed as a free agent on Sept. 10, is averaging 29 yards on 10 returns this season. His longest is 42 yards.’

‘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.’