(R)ex is coming to town.. Thursday, November 12, 8:25 pm - Bills @ Jets ~ ~ ~

[kelly]

-- Some of Rex Ryan's pride is at stake when he returns to MetLife Stadium this Thursday night, and it has more to do with just him trying to prove he is a better coach than the one who led the New York Jets to three consecutive losing seasons before being fired last December.

This is also Ryan's defense against Todd Bowles' defense.

Not only can one make a strong case that Bowles has made the Jets' defense from last season better -- with some help from offseason reacquisitions Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie, of course -- but one could also argue that a fourth-ranked Buffalo Bills defense last season under Jim Schwartz has slipped under Ryan this year.

Combining those two factors and examining some key statistics leads to the conclusion that Bowles' Jets defense has performed better than Ryan's Bills defense through the first nine games this season.Several of the traditional indicators of defensive success fall in the Jets' favor at the moment. They have allowed fewer points per game (20.2 to the Bills' 24.4) and fewer yards per play (5.14 to the Bills' 5.37), they are more successful getting off the field on third downs (37.2 opponent conversion rate to the Bills' 38.6 percent) and they are significantly better in the red zone (40 percent opponent touchdown rate to 60.9 percent for the Bills).

"They’ve added from a personnel standpoint to already a talented team," Ryan said Tuesday. "But when you’ve added Darrelle Revis -- you get Revis back, you get Cromartie back, you get that secondary back and add some new pieces there -- that was a huge help. That’s really what was missing I think on defense."Ryan has a legitimate point that there was something missing talent-wise on the Jets' defense last season, but one of his former players, safety Calvin Pryor, made it clear Tuesday that Ryan was part of the problem, too.

"Has something to do with coaching as well. It goes hand-in-hand," Pryor said, via Newsday. "[Ryan] could have played guys in the right position."No matter who was at fault for the Jets' defensive struggles last season -- they ranked 25th in points allowed, 29th in opposing Total QBR and 30th in third-down conversion rate, as a sampling of some of the not-so-savory statistics -- Bowles has turned the unit around this season.

The Bills are another story.

Ryan arrived training camp with high hopes for one of the NFL's most talented defenses, which in addition to finishing fourth last season in points allowed also ranked first in opposing Total QBR, third in yards per play allowed and led the NFL in sacks."When I look back on them -- my first year with the Jets we led the league, but I think this is a more talented group than that," Ryan said in August, via Fox Sports. "No slight to them, but I believe that we’re more talented here."Few would dispute that claim. The Bills have three former first-round picks (Mario Williams, Jerry Hughes and Marcell Dareus), three Pro Bowlers (Mario Williams, Kyle Williams and Dareus) along a defensive line that they're paying more than $40 million this season. They also have two of the NFL's best cornerbacks this season -- Stephon Gilmore, a former top-10 pick, and Ronald Darby, a second-round pick this season.

Buffalo's defense hasn't received much help from an offense that was without several of its stars for parts of the first half of the season, and statistically they rank favorably in a few key categories, including opposing Total QBR (49.0, or seventh-best in the NFL), yards per play (5.37, or 12th-best) and rushing yards allowed per game (93.62, or sixth-best).But for a group that has suffered only one long-term injury to a starter this season (safety Aaron Williams is on injured reserve/designated to return because of a neck injury), the results elsewhere are disappointing. For example, only five teams allow more first downs per game than the Bills, who give up 21.8 per game, and of those five teams, only one -- the New York Giants -- has a winning record.

Yet the most notable -- and most discussed -- problem has been the pass rush. The Bills have just 13 sacks this season, tied for third-fewest in the league and a far cry from the 28 notched by Buffalo through their first eight games last season. Ryan has attributed the drop to quarterbacks getting rid of the ball quickly, but some of the Bills' highly-paid defensive linemen have grumbled about being called to drop into coverage too often.

Even with a bye week to figure out some of their defensive woes, the Bills still had trouble containing the Miami Dolphins for stretches of Sunday's 33-17 win, allowing Ryan Tannehill and Lamar Miller to march downfield on back-to-back drives to end the first half and begin the second half."Our D never looked great during the day, but we had our [good] moments," Ryan said after the game in a statement that could just as well apply to the entire season.Maybe that will change Thursday night, but for now, it's hard to argue that Ryan's group has been great -- and it almost certainly has not been on the level of Bowles' defense.

>    http://espn.go.com/blog/buffalo-bills/post/_/id/22077/todd-bowles-jets-defense-has-outplayed-rex-ryans-bills-defense

[jeaniec]

-- Some of Rex Ryan's pride is at stake when he returns to MetLife Stadium this Thursday night, and it has more to do with just him trying to prove he is a better coach than the one who led the New York Jets to three consecutive losing seasons before being fired last December.

This is also Ryan's defense against Todd Bowles' defense.

Not only can one make a strong case that Bowles has made the Jets' defense from last season better -- with some help from offseason reacquisitions Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie, of course -- but one could also argue that a fourth-ranked Buffalo Bills defense last season under Jim Schwartz has slipped under Ryan this year.

Combining those two factors and examining some key statistics leads to the conclusion that Bowles' Jets defense has performed better than Ryan's Bills defense through the first nine games this season.Several of the traditional indicators of defensive success fall in the Jets' favor at the moment. They have allowed fewer points per game (20.2 to the Bills' 24.4) and fewer yards per play (5.14 to the Bills' 5.37), they are more successful getting off the field on third downs (37.2 opponent conversion rate to the Bills' 38.6 percent) and they are significantly better in the red zone (40 percent opponent touchdown rate to 60.9 percent for the Bills).

"They’ve added from a personnel standpoint to already a talented team," Ryan said Tuesday. "But when you’ve added Darrelle Revis -- you get Revis back, you get Cromartie back, you get that secondary back and add some new pieces there -- that was a huge help. That’s really what was missing I think on defense."Ryan has a legitimate point that there was something missing talent-wise on the Jets' defense last season, but one of his former players, safety Calvin Pryor, made it clear Tuesday that Ryan was part of the problem, too.

"Has something to do with coaching as well. It goes hand-in-hand," Pryor said, via Newsday. "[Ryan] could have played guys in the right position."No matter who was at fault for the Jets' defensive struggles last season -- they ranked 25th in points allowed, 29th in opposing Total QBR and 30th in third-down conversion rate, as a sampling of some of the not-so-savory statistics -- Bowles has turned the unit around this season.

The Bills are another story.

Ryan arrived training camp with high hopes for one of the NFL's most talented defenses, which in addition to finishing fourth last season in points allowed also ranked first in opposing Total QBR, third in yards per play allowed and led the NFL in sacks."When I look back on them -- my first year with the Jets we led the league, but I think this is a more talented group than that," Ryan said in August, via Fox Sports. "No slight to them, but I believe that we’re more talented here."Few would dispute that claim. The Bills have three former first-round picks (Mario Williams, Jerry Hughes and Marcell Dareus), three Pro Bowlers (Mario Williams, Kyle Williams and Dareus) along a defensive line that they're paying more than $40 million this season. They also have two of the NFL's best cornerbacks this season -- Stephon Gilmore, a former top-10 pick, and Ronald Darby, a second-round pick this season.

Buffalo's defense hasn't received much help from an offense that was without several of its stars for parts of the first half of the season, and statistically they rank favorably in a few key categories, including opposing Total QBR (49.0, or seventh-best in the NFL), yards per play (5.37, or 12th-best) and rushing yards allowed per game (93.62, or sixth-best).But for a group that has suffered only one long-term injury to a starter this season (safety Aaron Williams is on injured reserve/designated to return because of a neck injury), the results elsewhere are disappointing. For example, only five teams allow more first downs per game than the Bills, who give up 21.8 per game, and of those five teams, only one -- the New York Giants -- has a winning record.

Yet the most notable -- and most discussed -- problem has been the pass rush. The Bills have just 13 sacks this season, tied for third-fewest in the league and a far cry from the 28 notched by Buffalo through their first eight games last season. Ryan has attributed the drop to quarterbacks getting rid of the ball quickly, but some of the Bills' highly-paid defensive linemen have grumbled about being called to drop into coverage too often.

Even with a bye week to figure out some of their defensive woes, the Bills still had trouble containing the Miami Dolphins for stretches of Sunday's 33-17 win, allowing Ryan Tannehill and Lamar Miller to march downfield on back-to-back drives to end the first half and begin the second half."Our D never looked great during the day, but we had our [good] moments," Ryan said after the game in a statement that could just as well apply to the entire season.Maybe that will change Thursday night, but for now, it's hard to argue that Ryan's group has been great -- and it almost certainly has not been on the level of Bowles' defense.

>    http://espn.go.com/blog/buffalo-bills/post/_/id/22077/todd-bowles-jets-defense-has-outplayed-rex-ryans-bills-defense

Never expect anything positive about the Bills coming from Rodak's (ESPN) mouth.  Absolutely despise the guy, who happens to be a Patriots' fan.

[kelly]

–- Rex Ryan rarely has little to say.

But when asked repeatedly about anything pertaining to John Idzik, the Buffalo Bills coach didn’t offer much about his former Jets general manager or their relationship.

Ryan also refused to criticize his former GM.“All that stuff is really behind me right now,” Ryan said when asked how frustrated he was with Idzik’s failed plan with the Jets. “I’ve been blessed to get another opportunity here with the Bills. I don’t really want to dwell on what happened in the past and all that stuff.”

Ryan, though, did say that Jets owner Woody Johnson will always be a special person in his life and that he should have went about things a bit differently now that he looks back on his last season with the Jets.“I take all of it,” Ryan said when asked how much blame he accepts for the Jets’ awful 4-12 season last year. “That’s my job, to get the most out of everybody. I should have handled things differently when I was there and make sure that Woody in particular knew what I was feeling. You learn from it, it is 100-percent my responsibility. I never duck that.”

When asked if talking to Johnson about Idzik was something he would have done differently, Ryan declined to go into specifics.“I don’t really want to get into it,” Ryan said. “It is more appropriate for me to learn from the experiences I had both positively and negatively.”Ryan did go out of his way to praise the Jets’ offseason spending -- under new GM Mike Maccagnan -- to add talent like Darrelle Revis, Antonio Cromartie and Brandon Marshall.

Those are all players he could have used in his final season with the Jets.

Ryan did praise Idzik’s first draft in 2013 when the former GM selected the likes of Sheldon Richardson, Geno Smith, Dee Milliner, Brian Winters and Tommy Bohanon among others.“When I went back and looked at it, he had a starting quarterback, a starting guard, a starting fullback,” Ryan said. “You had five starters. What are you supposed to base it on? Sheldon Richardson, not bad.”And what did Ryan think about Idzik’s second draft in 2014 which resulted in Calvin Pryor, Jace Amaro and Dexter McDougle as the top three picks?

“Not so much,” Ryan said.

>    http://espn.go.com/blog/newyork-jets/post/_/id/56024/rex-ryan-should-have-made-sure-woody-knew-what-i-was-feeling

[nyjunc]

Yeah, I read about it at the time and it's apparently merch for a charity he's involved with.  Advertising it at the combine to get people to buy them.

http://billbelichickfoundation.org/shop/

 

[jeaniec]

I bet they are secretly besties. 

Edit: is BB wearing a Belichick hoodie? 

What's the line on these 2?  Are they friendlies or really enemies?

[bitonti]

Rex is also 2-18 in his last 20 games following a win. We've turned over half the roster since he left. Anyone who's seen a minute of our last three games knows the safeties are bad and anyone who's watched a single Jets game from the past 2+ seasons knows Winters is a disaster. The only argument here that makes any sense is the special level of hell one, though I'll grant it's convincing enough that I also think it's pretty much a given that we're getting swept by the Bills.

I want to predict a Jets win. Really i'd like nothing more.  But Mangold not being healthy is huge and Nick Folk was quietly one of the team's best players.  the Jets have 17 players on the injury report, the Bills have 5. It's not good. If they do win it will be a miracle one point type of thing which would be great but unlikely to cover.

[Savage69]

Belichick! (NFL Network)

I'll make you a deal Bill put your rings on your toe's and I'll kiss them..

[dbatesman]

I want to predict a Jets win. Really i'd like nothing more.  But Mangold not being healthy is huge and Nick Folk was quietly one of the team's best players.  the Jets have 17 players on the injury report, the Bills have 5. It's not good. If they do win it will be a miracle one point type of thing which would be great but unlikely to cover.

I think we have some decent matchups in our favor, especially our DL vs. their OL and Decker vs. Robey, but the OL is a concern. The Bills suck against the run but that's kind of negated with Colon out and Mangold hurting. I'm already pre-angry about losing this game.

[Savage69]

I think we have some decent matchups in our favor, especially our DL vs. their OL and Decker vs. Robey, but the OL is a concern. The Bills suck against the run but that's kind of negated with Colon out and Mangold hurting. I'm already pre-angry about losing this game.

At the worst I see us winning tomorrow and maybe lose at Buffalo if even then.. It all depends on the players who are still healthy enough to play well..

[kelly]

-- The circumstances might be different, but halfway through their 2015 season, the Buffalo Bills face many of the same questions as they did at the midway point of their 2014 season.

The Bills were 5-3 as they began their second half of last season. The playoffs appeared to be in reach, but if Buffalo continued its postseason drought -- which it did -- changes looked to be coming.Such a shake-up began a few days after the season finale when then-coach Doug Marrone opted out of his contract with the team, paving the way for the NFL's biggest head-coaching personality to arrive in town: Rex Ryan.

In advance of Ryan's return trip Thursday night to MetLife Stadium, the pressing question is whether the Bills (4-4) are better off with their new coach. If not -- and assuming that Ryan being fired one year into his five-year contract has about as much of a chance of happening as Ryan kissing Bill Belichick's Super Bowl rings -- what can the Bills do this offseason to improve if they fail to reach the playoffs?

The next two games will have a big impact on the public opinion about the first question.

Should Ryan march into New Jersey and earn a victory over the New York Jets franchise that fired him, he'll be riding high heading into the Bills' next game on Monday Night Football against the New England Patriots.If the Bills emerge from Gillette Stadium with their second-ever win at that venue, then all bets are off -- especially if it hands the currently undefeated Patriots their first loss. The Bills would be 6-4 and likely playoff-bound if they don't trip over their own feet through the final month of the season. It would be "fandemonium" in Buffalo.

The second question -- what changes would come this offseason -- would be moot. Ryan and general manager Doug Whaley would be the toast of the NFL if they snapped the Bills' 15-year postseason drought, which is now the longest among the four major North American professional sports.

That, of course, is the best-case scenario for the Bills.

The alternative outcome is if the Bills split their upcoming games or, worse, lose both. Should the Bills fall to 4-6 by Thanksgiving, they'll be hard-pressed to recover in time to crack the AFC playoff field.

Then what would happen  ?

Ryan would almost certainly be safe. Bills owners Terry and Kim Pegula made more than a $27 million investment in Ryan when they hired him in January, and firing him would be a hasty, shocking decision after just one disappointing season.Even though it would be easy to argue that the Bills were worse off with Ryan this season than with Marrone, and that hiring Ryan wasn't necessarily Whaley's decision, it would be Whaley who could feel the heat.The possibility of hiring a "football czar" such as Bill Polian last offseason suggests that Whaley isn't considered a central, necessary piece in the Bills' rebuilding process.

Should Whaley remain in charge if the Bills don't make the playoffs?

Consider this: In two-and-a-half years as general manager, Whaley has built the Bills' roster into one of the NFL's most talented. Quarterback remains a problem, and Whaley should shoulder some blame for the team's selection of EJ Manuel in 2013, but the Bills might have struck bargain-shopping gold with Tyrod Taylor this offseason. If Taylor keeps improving, the Bills will no longer feel the sting of the Manuel pick.The jury is still out on whether essentially spending two first-round picks on Sammy Watkins was worth the investment, or if some of the Bills' spending this offseason -- doling out big contracts to LeSean McCoy, Charles Clay and, to a lesser extent, Percy Harvin -- were shrewd moves. Yet, since Ryan has taken over as coach, it's clear he has some influence on personnel moves. Blaming Whaley for signing Harvin, as an example, wouldn't seem to make sense given that Ryan likely vouched for Harvin after coaching him last season with the Jets.

Whaley has also been burdened by the $100 million contract that former general manager Buddy Nix gave defensive end Mario Williams, a deal that has weighed down the Bills' salary cap for the past four seasons.If the Bills lose Thursday night at MetLife Stadium, their playoff chances would drop to just 19 percent, according to ESPN's Football Power Index. Another loss to the Patriots in the Bills' ensuing game would dip those odds even lower.But if that happens and the Bills don't make the playoffs, is it really Whaley's fault? Or would it simply be a case of the Bills regressing under Ryan after making progress under Marrone?

Those questions, and others, loom for the Bills as their next two games go a long way to determining the outcome of their season.

>   http://espn.go.com/blog/buffalo-bills/post/_/id/22101/bills-next-two-games-could-shape-season-opinion-on-rex-ryan

[kelly]

Upon returning home from a season-ending win in Miami last December, Rex Ryan stopped by one of his favorite New Jersey haunts, a Mexican restaurant in Union called the Red Cadillac. He ordered his favorites, beef tacos and a Royal Chrome margarita. He stayed past closing, talking with friend and owner Joseph Montes.

It was his last supper as coach of the New York Jets. The team finished 4-12, missing the playoffs for the fourth straight year, and Ryan knew he'd be fired the next morning.

"He saw it coming," Montes said Wednesday. "He was ready to move on. He talked about putting his house up for sale and he already had his eye on some head-coaching jobs."

Two weeks after sipping tequila in New Jersey, Ryan was serving Kool-Aid in Western New York, brainwashing the success-starved fans of that region into thinking he'd change everything as the new coach of the Buffalo Bills. It hasn't been easy -- the team is 4-4 -- and the first defining moment of Ryan's tenure will occur Thursday night.

He's back in Jersey, facing his old team -- a matchup that has more sizzle than a skillet of steak fajitas (another Ryan fave).

"If he goes in there and beats the Jets -- if he shuts them down -- wow, he'd swell up bigger than one of those Macy's floats in the Thanksgiving parade," said retired special teams coach Mike Westhoff, who worked on Ryan's staff from 2009-12.

A former Ryan associate said: "This game means the world to him. It's the way he's wired."

Coaches return to face their former teams all the time in the transient world of sports, but this is different because Ryan was more than a coach. He was a larger-than-life presence for six years on the New York landscape, a polarizing figure who owned the back pages.

Ryan was fun. He energized the Jets and their fan base, both of which needed a whiff of smelling salts after three seasons of Eric Mangini's tedium.

Whether he was guaranteeing Super Bowls or dropping F-bombs on "Hard Knocks" or appearing in an Adam Sandler comedy, Ryan raised the profile of the franchise. Sometimes you wanted to curse at him, not with him, but it was Rex being Rex. He was like the party dude from your old fraternity house who turns up 30 years later as the CEO of a corporation -- and damn near gets it to the top.

Laughing and talking trash the entire time, of course.

The record book says Ryan was a losing coach for the Jets (46-50), but he won more playoff games (four) than any coach in their star-crossed history. His predecessors dreamed about the Super Bowl; he talked about it. Almost made it, too. Twice.The good times were washed away by four consecutive non-winning seasons, a toxic relationship with his last general manager (John Idzik) and, just this week, the controversial decision to name IK Enemkpali -- the Geno Smith jawbreaker -- a game captain. One of Ryan's former Jets, safety Calvin Pryor, called it "disrespectful."

That clinched it: The old coach returns a villain.

Ryan, who wore a Clemson helmet to his Tuesday news conference, joked that he might need that helmet to protect him from the fans at MetLife Stadium.

"The Rex haters will be out in force," said Jim Ryan, Rex's older brother.The Ryans grew up in football, and they saw how their father, Buddy, was treated by the fans when he returned to Chicago in 1986 as the coach of the Philadelphia Eagles. Buddy was the defensive coordinator of '85 Bears, Super Bowl champions. He was the architect of perhaps the greatest defense in history.

"He was a hero, but the media made it out to be, 'Buddy left us, Buddy abandoned us,'" Jim recalled. "They booed the living crap out of him."

Rex Ryan didn't abandon the Jets -- he was kicked out -- but the stain of 4-12 overshadowed the particulars of his ouster. It was one of the worst years in franchise history and the Jets have had some doozies.Ryan accepted his fate before he received the pink slip; what irked him was that he felt he was undercut by Idzik, who refused to spend big money on free agents. Ryan believes he'd still be the coach if Idzik had retained Antonio Cromartie and re-signed Darrelle Revis, athletic cornerbacks who fit perfectly into his system. Instead, Ryan's successor, Todd Bowles, is reaping the benefits.

"It's not like Rex wasn't crying for those guys the last two years," his brother said. "They were obvious football moves to everyone except that general manager."

Idzik was fired the same day as Ryan; he landed a job as a bean counter in the Jacksonville Jaguars' salary-cap department. Other Jets officials, many of whom Ryan felt had stabbed him in the back, are gone, too. The owner hasn't changed, but Ryan has a genuine affinity for Woody Johnson.

So, no, this isn't a revenge game for Ryan. There's no one left to hate.

This is a pride game.

"When a team doesn't want you anymore, pride kicks in," said retired offensive lineman Damien Woody, who played for Ryan in 2009 and 2010 -- the years they reached the AFC Championship Game. "Rex wears his emotions on his sleeve, and I'm sure he'll use that to get his team fired up. He might not say it, but he'll take this personally, you better believe it."One thing he takes personally is defense, his life's work. The Jets' defense has improved under Bowles, whose front office spent lavishly to improve the roster. Meanwhile, the Bills -- fourth in scoring defense in 2014 -- have slipped to 16th under Ryan, who inherited one of the most talented units in the league.

"It has to be in his craw, how unproductive his defense has been this year," Westhoff said. "It's the same group as last year. That has to be eating at him. Believe me, he lives and dies with that."In his early years with the Jets, Ryan had the Midas touch, winning 24 games in his first two seasons, including the postseason. He inherited a smart, talented and experienced team, and he brought it to life with his XXL personality. He instilled confidence in an organization that cowered in the shadow of the New York Giants.

He made the Jets cool again.

By 2011, the talent started to decline, team chemistry became an issue and, suddenly, Ryan's big talk turned to hot air. He was cartoonish at times, making headlines with misplaced bravado. He was the wolf who cried like a boy seeking attention.Despite the tough times, Ryan was beloved by his players. You could see and hear the raw emotion in the locker room that day at the end of the 2013 season, when Idzik announced Ryan would return as coach. They cheered him and mobbed him.Thirty-four players from last year's team remain on the Jets' current roster. They're his guys. Ryan has a way with players and people. At the Red Cadillac, which he frequented once or twice a week for four years, he mingled with the customers, signed autographs, posed for pictures and bought a drink for anyone who showed up wearing Jets gear.

Ryan often sat at the bar, in the middle of the hustle and bustle. Montes, the owner, suggested a table in a quiet area of the restaurant. The coach declined."He said, 'If it weren't for these people, I wouldn't have a job,'" said Montes, adding that he "lost the best customer in the world" and a great tipper.Ryan won't have time to visit the restaurant before the game, so he invited the restaurant to him. Montes will cater the Bills' postgame spread at MetLife Stadium, where he and his staff will arrive in the third quarter and begin setting up in the Buffalo locker room.The buffet will include steak fajitas, beef tacos, barbecued pork burritos and chips and salsa. No margaritas for the coach, though.

Then again ...

"There could be a parting gift, who knows?" said Montes, laughing.

For Ryan, there's one thing that would taste better than tequila.

Victory.

>    http://espn.go.com/blog/newyork-jets/post/_/id/56060/rex-ryan-returns-to-face-jets-for-a-prime-time-reunion-with-sizzle-to-spare

[kelly]

Here's a look at four things the Jets must do to beat their former coach, Rex Ryan, and his new team, the Bills, in Thursday night's game at MetLife Stadium  :

• Get the running game going. The Jets' rushing attack has done very little in the past three games, during which the Jets went 1-2. Part of that stems from center Nick Mangold missing all of the Oakland game and most of the Jacksonville game — and from right guard Willie Colon being sidelined against the Jaguars. The replacements for both of those guys — Wesley Johnson at center and Brian Winters at right guard — are inferior players. Mangold will play Thursday. But Colon (knee) is done for the season. The Jets placed him on injured reserve Wednesday. Can Winters fill his shoes the rest of the way? The Jets need more from running back Chris Ivory, who has gained 1.5 yards per carry in the past three games, compared to 6.4 in the previous two. 

• Handle the Bills' defensive front. This ties into the first point. The Bills have one of the NFL's most talented defensive lines, though tackle Kyle Williams (knee) won't play Thursday. Mario Williams, Marcell Dareus, and Jerry Hughes will be out there, though. In addition to trying to establish Ivory against the Bills' front, the Jets' altered offensive line — with Winters stepping in — must keep quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick clean. Though the Bills rank 10th in the NFL in yards allowed per rush, they allowed 106, 120, and 112 rushing yards in their past three games, compared to an average of 82.2 yards in their first five games. Plus, the Bills have the NFL's fourth-lowest sack percentage so far this year. Their pass rush has produced disappointing results to date. 

• Limit the Bills' big plays. The Jets beat the Jaguars, but Jacksonville had far too many long gains. The Jets probably won't have cornerback Antonio Cromartie (quad) on Thursday. He's listed as doubtful. The Jets can stick corner Darrelle Revis on Buffalo's best wide receiver, Sammy Watkins. But what about the Bills' other weapons, including shifty running back LeSean McCoy and tight end Charles Clay, who leads Buffalo with 35 catches? For whatever shortcomings Cromartie has at this point in his career, will Buster Skrine and/or Marcus Williams do any better in coverage? The Jets are about to find out. 

• Keep Tyrod Taylor in the pocket. The Bills' quarterback is dangerous when he's on the run. Buffalo has designed running plays for him. He has run 41 times this season for 231 yards and two touchdowns. That's 5.6 yards per rush. And he's played in just six games, so he's averaging about seven runs per game. Two weeks ago against the Titans, Taylor ran eight times for 76 yards and a touchdown. The Jets need to turn him into a pocket passer, and close off the edges, lest he break free. 

>       http://www.nj.com/jets/index.ssf/2015/11/4_things_jets_must_do_to_beat_rex_ryans_buffalo_bi.html#incart_river

[kelly]

— The Bills, whom the Jets host Thursday night at MetLife Stadium, just beat the Dolphins on Sunday.

That's actually good news for the Jets, based on a trend involving Rex Ryan-coached teams.Ryan, the Bills head coach who coached the Jets from 2009-14, has just two wins in his last 18 games after a victory, a mark that dates back to 2012.Ryan's Bills (4-4) have already followed all three of their victories this season with losses. In fact, the last time a Ryan-coached team won a game after a win was the 2013 season finale, when the Jets (5-3 this season) saved Ryan's job for another year by beating the Dolphins in Miami one week after they had beaten the Browns at home.

Ryan's only other back-to-back wins in the last four seasons came in December 2012, when the Jets beat the Cardinals before topping the Jaguars.Ryan has made no secret of his disdain for ex-Jets general manager John Idzik, with whom he was fired at the end of last season. But Ryan also has had a tendency to put too much emotion into certain games, and to follow that up with much less a week later.The 2010 AFC Championship Game loss at the Steelers, which came a week after the Jets' upset the Patriots in Foxborough, Mass., will always be a prime example. It was also nearly five years ago, and it's still the last time Ryan (50-54 in his career) coached in a playoff game.

Big number

71.8. That's the percentage of passes Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor has completed this season, which ranks first in the league. Taylor also has thrown 10 touchdown passes against four interceptions. And now he faces a Jets defense that, after a fast start, has given up 1,240 total yards in its last three games.

>      http://www.nj.com/jets/index.ssf/2015/11/with_both_buffalo_bills_and_jets_rex_ryan_not_a_go_1.html#incart_river

[kelly]

— The Jets (5-3) host the Bills (4-4) on Thursday at 8:25 p.m. at MetLife Stadium. Here's a look at three matchups that could affect the outcome    :

Jets CB Darrelle Revis vs. Bills WR Sammy Watkins

Watkins, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2014 draft, smoked the Jets for 157 receiving yards on just three catches in last year's game at MetLife Stadium. And he's coming off his best game of this season—eight catches on eight targets for 168 yards and a touchdown against the Dolphins. But now he gets Revis, who is not in decline, and even though the Jets' defense got tagged for 338 passing yards Sunday against the Jaguars, Revis only gave up two catches on seven targets for 50 yards, per Pro Football Focus.

Jets C Nick Mangold/LG James Carpenter vs. Bills DT Marcell Dareus

Teams are stacking the box to stop the Jets' rushing attack, and now the Jets get to face Dareus, one of the league's best interior defensive linemen. Mangold will play despite a neck injury. But the Jets frequently went heavy against the Jaguars, using tackle Brent Qvale as an eligible tight end 17 times. Their best bet to neutralize Dareus seems to be to spread the Bills out with extra receivers and quick passes. And the Bills rank just 26th in run defense DVOA, per Football Outsiders. Using the spread to set up the run can work.

Jets WR Eric Decker vs. Bills CB Nickell Robey

This has the potential to be a mismatch. Decker, working mostly out of the slot this season, has using his precision route running to pile up 36 catches, 472 yards, and six touchdowns. If the Bills choose to cover him with Robey, their usual slot corner, it could be a mismatch: Quarterbacks have a rating of 91.7 when targeting Robey, and nearly 70 percent of all passes thrown at him have been caught, according to Pro Football Focus.

>      http://www.nj.com/jets/index.ssf/2015/11/sammy_watkins_vs_darrelle_revis_buffalo_bills-jets.html#incart_river

[kelly]

Rex Ryan's teams always seem to share the same attributes: Strong defenses, lousy quarterbacks, head-scratching losses, clock management issues and Ryan's brand of humor.

When you add it together, Ryan's combination of decisions and press conference persona seem to overshadow his team on the field. This week, that's been more evident than ever. Instead of talking about the game vs. the Jets, fans have been discussing trolling, a war of words with a former player, beard bashing and bizarre press conference attire.

Politi: Jets are better off with Rex Ryan show in Buffalo

That's just the tip of the iceberg since Ryan landed in Buffalo. Scroll through the gallery above for Ryan's dumbest moments of his brief Bills tenure.

>      http://www.nj.com/jets/index.ssf/2015/11/dumbest_moments_of_rex_ryans_bills_tenure.html#incart_river

[jeaniec]

Rex Ryan's teams always seem to share the same attributes: Strong defenses, lousy quarterbacks, head-scratching losses, clock management issues and Ryan's brand of humor.

When you add it together, Ryan's combination of decisions and press conference persona seem to overshadow his team on the field. This week, that's been more evident than ever. Instead of talking about the game vs. the Jets, fans have been discussing trolling, a war of words with a former player, beard bashing and bizarre press conference attire.

Politi: Jets are better off with Rex Ryan show in Buffalo

That's just the tip of the iceberg since Ryan landed in Buffalo. Scroll through the gallery above for Ryan's dumbest moments of his brief Bills tenure.

>      http://www.nj.com/jets/index.ssf/2015/11/dumbest_moments_of_rex_ryans_bills_tenure.html#incart_river

I don't believe Tyrod Taylor is a lousy QB -  He has an overallcompletion rating of 71.8%.    In all fairness,  the media has been badgering Rex this week about playing the Jets.  They have been relentless with their questioning here in Buffalo.   The only comment I didn't like (from Rex) was the one made about Ryan Fitzpatrick.  Otherwise,  he's been pretty cool.  

[kelly]

After 11 months of anticipation, it's finally here: Rex Bowl I.

The drama will start with the coin toss, when jawbreaker-turned-captain IK Enemkpali will appear on TV screens across America. It won't end until the postgame handshakes and hugs -- actually, not until Rex Ryan's postgame news conference. You never know what might happen there.

The New York Jets (5-3) and Buffalo Bills (4-4) will have at it, as Ryan likes to say. We'll find out if the bully he's building in Buffalo is good enough to beat the team he helped create in New York.In a weak attempt to downplay a game that means everything to him, Ryan insisted this isn't a date he circled on his calendar. Yeah, right.

The Jets haven't played an impressive game in a month, but they'll be up to face their former coach. No matter what happens, it'll be a blast Thursday night at MetLife Stadium. Kickoff is 8:25 p.m. A few thoughts  :

1. Rex's intel: Ryan has an advantage because of his intimate knowledge of the Jets' roster, which includes 34 holdovers from last season. Yes, the schemes are different, but he and his assistants are familiar with the strengths and weaknesses of so many. Ryan never coached quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, but his defenses have dominated him over the years. As a starter, Fitzpatrick is 1-6 against Ryan-coached defenses, including five games in which he completed less than 50 percent of his attempts.

2. Lineup juggling: The Jets will be down three starters -- cornerback Antonio Cromartie, safety Calvin Pryor and right guard Willie Colon (injured reserve). These are key positions because some of the Bills' top players will be matched against the replacements: Defensive tackle Marcell Dareus versus right guard Brian Winters and tight end Charles Clay versus ... who knows? Todd Bowles hasn't named a starter at strong safety. It could be Rontez Miles or Marcus Williams; pick your poison. Look for Williams or Buster Skrine to replace Cromartie, with Dee Milliner (he's back) seeing time in sub packages.

3. Chan the man: It's on Chan Gailey to figure out a way to re-discover the once-formidable rushing attack. Clearly, opponents have adjusted, holding Chris Ivory to a 1.1-yard average over the last two years. Now it's time to make a counter move. How 'bout throwing on first down to loosen up the defense? How 'bout trying the left side? The Jets are a right-handed running team, but the opposite side of the Bills' defense is allowing 5.27 yards per carry. And how 'bout some play-action passes? The Jets have attempted only 34 passes, 28th in the league.

4. Speed kills: The Bills' speed on offense should be a big concern for the Jets. They have LeSean McCoy in the backfield, Sammy Watkins at wide receiver and Tyrod Taylor at quarterback. Taylor (231 rushing yards) is dangerous outside the pocket. This has been a problem for the Jets, who lack speed on the edges of their defense.

5. Missing the Folk hero: It was overshadowed by the Rex-related hype, but the loss of kicker Nick Folk is big for the Jets. He has been a consistent performer since 2010, easily the best part of their special teams. His replacement, Randy Bullock, is an unknown. He was a mess with the Houston Texans, who cut him after Week 3. One AFC scout said, "He ran into consistency and dependability issues. These kickers sometimes rebound mentally and physically. Maybe the new beginning with lead to better things, but he couldn't continue in Houston."

6. Brick wall: Left tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson, coming off a shaky game, is the man on the spot because he'll block Enemkpali on passing downs. He should handle Enemkpali, a marginal player who wouldn't be in the league if it weren't for Ryan, but Ferguson can't afford a single letdown. Could you imagine if Enemkpali takes out another Jets quarterback? You don't want to be the guy to allow that to happen.

>     http://espn.go.com/blog/newyork-jets/post/_/id/56054/facing-former-coach-rex-ryan-will-be-rx-for-jets-recent-ills

[kelly]

When the Buffalo Bills face the New York Jets on Thursday (8:25 p.m. ET), the game will feature a rushing offense that amassed a one-game NFL season high in rushing yards last week against a team whose leading rusher has recently bogged down.

Looking at each team’s running game

Chris Ivory This Season

	Through Week 6*	Weeks 7-9
Rush YPG	115.0	28.0
Yds per rush	5.5	1.5
Yds before contact/rush	2.7	0.4
Yds after contact/rush	2.8	1.1
* Ivory played 5 of Jets' first 6 games

 

 

After leading the NFL in rushing yards per game through Week 6, the Jets’ Chris Ivory has a total of 84 rushing yards in his last three games.Through Week 6, 49 percent of Ivory’s rushing yards (227 of 460) came before contact. In the three weeks since, 26 percent of his rushing yards (22 yards) have come before contact.

Nick Mangold (neck) is expected to start after missing Week 8 and playing 25 snaps last week. The Jets average 1.8 yards before contact per rush with him on the field and 0.7 yard before contact per rush with him off the field.The Bills ran for 266 yards last week against the Dolphins, the most by one team in the league this season and their most in a game since 1996. Of those yards, 171 came before contact (64 percent).

Buffalo averages 3.1 yards before contact per rush this season, second in the NFL. The Jets allow 2.2 yards before contact per rush, seventh-best in the NFL.

Jets’ defense showing improvement from last season

Todd Bowles and Rex Ryan, both in their first season with their respective teams, have reputations of being defensive-minded coaches. The Jets have improved defensively this season – their defensive efficiency ranks seventh after being 25th last season – but the Bills have declined (16th in defensive efficiency this season after ranking second last season).

Last season, the Bills led the NFL in sacks with standard pressure with 40. This season, the Bills have eight sacks with standard pressure (tied for 23rd in the league).The Jets’ Ryan Fitzpatrick is sacked on 2.2 percent of his dropbacks, lowest in the NFL. This season, the Bills get a sack on 3.8 percent of opponent dropbacks, 29th in the NFL.

The key number for both teams might be 24. Both teams are winless when allowing 24 or more points and undefeated when allowing fewer points. In fact, the Bills have allowed 17 or fewer points in all four of their wins.

The metrics

According to ESPN’s Football Power Index, the Jets have a 58 percent chance to win Thursday’s game.

The Jets now have a 66 percent likelihood of making the playoffs. That would improve to 80 percent with a win and fall to 51 percent with a loss.

The Bills, currently with a 30 percent playoff likelihood, would have a 49 percent chance with a win and a 19 percent chance with a loss.

Quick hitters

Sammy Watkins had a career-high 168 receiving yards last week. Two receivers in Bills history have had back-to-back games of 150 receiving yards: Eric Moulds (1998) and Frank Lewis (1979).The Jets score touchdowns on 75.0 percent of their red-zone drives, the best percentage in the league. Fitzpatrick has 11 touchdowns without an interception in the red zone.

>      http://espn.go.com/blog/statsinfo/post/_/id/111474/running-games-defenses-in-spotlight-for-bills-jets

[kelly]

NFL Network has the perfect recipe for a ratings soufflé: Start with two division rivals with playoff aspirations, stir in equal parts Kelly green and red coloring (more on that below), add one whole Rex, and bake under the Thursday night spotlight.

Buffalo coach Rex Ryan returns to his home office of the previous six seasons to take on Todd Bowles' Jets. We all suspect Ryan wants badly to win this one against the team that let him go, but he kept to the high road with his comments to Jets media this week: "You know, the Jets have a super-talented team, and I'm fortunate because I have a very talented team right here, and everybody will see that when we bring them to town on Thursday."

As for many of the Jets playing against the coach they once enjoyed playing for, LB David Harris said, "It'll be a strange feeling at first, but once the ball gets kicked off, it'll be back to business as usual."

Business as usual will be the 5-3 Jets (Brandon Marshall: "We just want to get to six") trying to go two games up on the 4-4 Bills and not fall into a 5-4 tie and a tiebreaker down in the AFC East.

Here are seven more points about the Jets-Bills TNF showdown at MetLife Stadium:

1. May the Fitz Be With You

It's another outing for Ryan Fitzpatrick and his wrapped/braced/gloved left thumb that didn't seem to limit him against the Jaguars. He'd love to get Chris Ivory back in power mode, because that would only accentuate an offense that, despite injuries at wideout, has been productive. With Fitz mostly at the helm and Chan Gailey calling the offense (both former Bills, don't you know), the Jets' 23 offensive touchdowns are their most through eight games since the 1986 offense scored 25, and Fitz's TD drive rate is purring along at a career-high 23.1%.

2. Strength vs. Strength

The Jets run defense remains No. 1 in the NFL in yards allowed/game, a ranking they've held for three straight weeks and a strength they've displayed since 2013 — in the last 43 weeks, they've been first for 13 weeks and in the league's top 10 for 39 weeks. But they'll be tested by Buffalo's second-ranked rush offense: LeSean McCoy (Harris: "One of the elite backs in the league"), rookie Karlos Williams (110 yards to McCoy's 112 last week) and the designed runs of QB Tyrod Taylor (5.6 yards/carry).

3. Slammin' Sammy

The Jets' nicked-up DBs are very aware of Bills WR Sammy Watkins. He erupted for 168 yards on eight catches against Miami last week and had three for 157 and a TD vs. the Jets at MetLife last year. Darrelle Revis says he presents "every challenge in the book." But one thing: If Watkins goes off for 168 and all other Bills receivers combine for 13 yards (as they did vs. the 'Fins), the Jets would sign up for that. And another: Watkins has sat three of the last five with an ankle injury and was limited in practice this week.

4. Red Zone Rising

There's been concern about the Jets yielding over 1,000 net passing yards in the last three games combined, only the fourth time that's happened in franchise history. But some superpowers remained or returned against Jacksonville. The Green & White are No. 1 in the NFL in red zone offense (75.0% TD rate; Bills defense tied for 19th) and No. 2 in RZ defense (40.0%; BUF offense 16th). And with four takeaways vs. the Jaguars, they're third in TAs (19) and tied for second in turnover margin. All will be important against the Bills.

5. The Rivalry Turns

The usual numbers: Buffalo leads overall, 58-51, winning four of the last five. The Jets lead at home, 28-26, winning four of the last five. More important: In the last three meetings, the Bills are 3-0 and have outscored the Jets by 78 points (118-40) — the largest margin in three straight games by any Jets division foe since the '90 Bills (minus-91) and the fourth-largest since 1970. And in none of the last three games did the Jets hold a lead, the first time that's ever happened against the Bills. These are trends in need of reversing.

6. The Bullock File

Randy Bullock, the former Texans kicker (drafted in part by Mike Maccagnan in 2012), has been working out hard since being cut and got a call from the Jets soon after Nick Folk came up lame last Sunday. Bullock is Jay Feely-sized (5'9", 205) and Folk-accurate (4-of-5 from 50-plus last year). In fact, he hit from 55 and 50 at NRG Stadium last September. The opponent: the Bills. A lifelong Texan, he shouldn't face too-harsh North Jersey weather for his Jets debut (temps in the 50s, no rain, some wind).

7. TNF's Wonderful World of Color

The Jets and Bills are in the forefront of the NFL Nike Color Rush campaign as the first teams to unveil their new Thursday Night Football uniforms. For the Jets, the helmet is white with green chrome and all else is Kelly green — the first time the team has worn Kelly since morphing to Jets green in 1998. The Bills will be in all red. There could be times when the MetLife floor will look like a Christmas tree after the cat climbed up it, but it will be a colorful evening, hopefully with a Kelly green-wrapped W at the end.

New York Jets

 

✔ @nyjets

All Kelly Green... TOMORROW! #ColorRush #BUFvsNYJ pic.twitter.com/p8hYgwD19U

10:30 AM - 11 Nov 2015

 

> http://www.newyorkjets.com/news/article-7points/7-Points-Jets-Bills-on-Thursday-Night-Football/ef1349a4-092f-4d5e-bf95-88d3e93c150e

[kelly]

Rich Cimini ESPN Staff Writer 

Desperate for safety help, the Jets have signed S Ronald Martin from the practice squad. Don't be surprised if he starts tonight against the Bills. They have only three healthy safeties; the others are Marcus Gilchrist and Rontez Miles. To make room, they waived NT T.J.

>    http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/nyj/newyork-jets