Two Bills Drive

‘”Everybody who plays the game plays with a little sense of denial, and you have to play that way,” quarterback Drew Bledsoe said. “You don’t think about the possibility of getting hurt, but when something like that does happen, everyone gets a feeling that this is a fraternity. We compete against each other but we ultimately care about each other, also.”‘

‘But Williams has not been a brilliant or innovative game-day coach and he too often attempts to deflect criticism of dubious strategic moves.’

‘In the last five seasons, the Jets have produced a 19-11 record over the final six games.’

‘The coaches felt Cowart would be better over the tackle instead of the tight end. It has given him more familiarity during games and it is not a secret he is playing better now.’

‘”I think it is a little bit of both,” Jets coach Herman Edwards said. “I think it is a little bit of conditioning and a little bit of luck, too. I just think you have to be very careful, especially now at the end of the year, of how you run practice, making sure you are getting enough rest.”‘

‘Chris Baker never thought about playing football in New York.’

‘”He knows he’ll get hit, but that doesn’t bother him,” Jets defensive tackle Josh Evans said admiringly Friday. “He’ll sit back and take it. He just wants to get the ball in the receiver’s hands.”‘

‘”He hangs in there (the pocket),” Jets coach Herman Edwards said of Bledsoe. “He gives them another step or so to make a play. He’s able to do that. He’s got a strong arm. He makes the throws that other quarterbacks can’t make, so that helps, too. But the receivers are gifted. They’re good players.”;

‘Gil Bellows, Jon Voight, Richard T. Jones and Teri Polo star in the upcoming Turner Network Television (TNT) Original film SECOND STRING, a comedy-drama about a group of benchwarmers who go all the way to the Super Bowl.’

‘"I’m looking forward to smacking them in the mouth a couple times on special teams and let them know that was a fluke and it’s not going to happen again," said linebacker DaShon Polk. "I’m picturing that kickoff on Sunday. I hope we get to kickoff to start the game so we can go put some wood to him and let him know, "Hey man, don’t think it’s going to happen again.’ "’

‘Favors, who began his career in Kansas City, started 27 of 32 games the last two years in Tennessee. He joined Indianapolis as an unrestricted free agent this year but was inactive for every game before getting released. He is expected to back up Keith Newman on the strong side, opposite the tight end.’

‘The Bills and Jets collide again Sunday in a critical AFC East showdown at Giants Stadium, and while Polk stopped short of making any Bengal-like guarantees, he was steadfast in his belief that Morton won’t be prancing through the kickoff coverage unit this time.’

‘The remarkably fast comeback of Jets guard Dave Szott from a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee will give the Jets’ offensive line a boost in the final month of the season.’

‘"The Buffalo Bills are going to feel like, ‘You know what, Drew? Let’s saddle it up, we’re on your shoulders, take us to a win,’ " Malone said. "They’ll come out and throw it every single down, so I think the Jets will have their hands full."’

‘Thanks to the emergence of quarterback Chad Pennington, the Jets no longer have the desperate look of a team that must win now or be rebuilt with a new quarterback, a new coach and a new system. Instead, the Jets are a team with a future and will benefit from the experiences of this season regardless of whether they make the playoffs or not.’