Two Bills Drive

‘”It hasn’t been easy not playing,” Sullivan said. “It has been a little frustrating because you feel like you can help the team in some capacity. Those are the cards that were dealt to me, so I had to take it. But I didn’t have to accept it, though. All I did all season was to prepare myself mentally every week as if I was starting. When my opportunity came today I just wanted to make the most of it.”‘

‘”Our season isn’t done yet. We might be on life support, but we haven’t flat-lined.”‘

‘”And when we play total defense, the offense puts points up and the special teams are solid, we’re a dominant team. That’s what makes the situation we’re in so disappointing. This team is so much better than what our record shows.”‘

‘The big man outdid himself against the Jets with two sacks, seven tackles, two behind the line of scrimmage, and a batted-down pass, personally thwarting half of the Jets’ 10 possessions. It was fitting that after gobbling up normally elusive quarterback Chad Pennington to force a field goal at the end of a 17-play drive to open the game, Adams celebrated by stretching out his arms like a B-52 bomber and gyrating to the delight of 72,000 frozen patrons.’

‘”Travis, you’ve had a lot of great games for us, but this one was the best of them all,” Wilson gushed while pumping the Pro Bowl running back’s hand. “It got to a point where the Jets wanted nothing more to do with you. They didn’t want to hit you anymore because you were delivering all those punishing blows. You really hurt them.”‘

‘This is how this team should play every game, and it makes you want to scream, “Why haven’t they?”‘

‘Travis Henry added to his credentials for team Most Valuable Player honors with a career-best 169 yards, his fifth 100-yard outing in his past seven games, hitting the 1,139-mark for the season. Ran with power and smarts, all on that busted fibula. Only error was a late lost fumble. So why did the Bills draft Willis McGahee again?’

‘Sam Adams, who had two of the five sacks on Jets quarterback Chad Pennington, said, “We don’t have a choice but to think we’re going to get in. Someone always gets in every year, 9-7. Always. We play New England. We play Tennessee. We play Miami. As far as we’re concerned, they have to go through us to get where they want to be.”‘

‘”Every area they outplayed us,” Martin said. “There’s no excuse.”‘

‘The Jets’ defensive coordinator, Ted Cotrell, has a different philosophy than Coach Herman Edwards. Cotrell made his reputation in Buffalo while using a a 3-4 defense; Edwards has installed a 4-3 defense with the Jets. But Cotrell said Sunday that the Jets’ troubles had less to do with strategy than with performance. “It’s not changing strategy,” Cotrell said. “What else are you going to do? The guys are there and they’re not making the play.”‘

‘The Great Pretenders couldn’t block, couldn’t tackle and couldn’t muster a hearty response after being bullied around the field. With a chance to move within two games of the final wild-card spot, the Jets (5-8) let their quarterback take the worst beating of his career and yielded a season-high 203 yards on the ground.’

‘The players who began the season with four straight losses have no right to whisper the word “playoffs,” even if they are smart enough to figure out the mathematical permutations that suggest such fantasies are still possible. The Jets don’t deserve the benefit of the doubt, not after that zombie-like performance against the Bills that killed every ounce of hope and goodwill.’

‘In a must-win situation, the Jets surrendered a season-high 203 yards on the ground, including a career-high 169 by Henry. The wretched performance, rife with missed tackles and a lack of pursuit, may have sealed the fate of embattled defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell. Privately, some players hinted there was a lack of effort, a damning indictment of the overall defense. That it came after their best game, the Monday night win over the Titans, made it more curious.’

‘The Bills lost a complicated replay challenge in the second quarter. On a Buffalo punt, Kevin Thomas, trying the pin the Jets deep in their own end, batted the ball at the Jets’ 1. It went back toward the field of play and deflected off the Jets’ Aaron Beasley, who tried to grab it at the 9. The Bills recovered. Coach Gregg Williams challenged play, but the rule is that the receiving team can’t lose possession if it’s first touched by the kicking team.’

‘Rushing Defense – F

In a word, lousy. What else is new? The Jets surrendered a season-high 203 yards to an offense that averaged only 101 yards on the ground. The Jets’ interior was eaten alive by RB Travis Henry & Co. Hard to believe, but rookie DT Dewayne Robertson was credited with zero tackles. This isn’t Kentucky anymore, kid.’