RB dept. : Chris Ivory ~ ~ ~

[kelly]

'Ferocious' Ivory Wins Another FedEx Award

Trying to slow down Chris Ivory these days is like, well, trying to tackle a runaway FedEx truck. The Jets running back this afternoon was named the FedEx Ground Player of the Week for the second time in three weeks for his running exploits in the Jets' 34-20 win over the Washington Redskins on Sunday.

Offensive coordinator Chan Gailey was asked if Ivory is an example of "toughness being a talent" after his 146-yard, one-touchdown rushing performance that also included 50 more yards on four receptions for a career-high 196-yard day. Gailey went an adjective further."Toughness means you can get up every time you get hit. I stick to my term: ferocious," Gailey said. "Chris is attacking the line of scrimmage. He’s not just sitting there getting hit and getting up and proving that he’s a tough guy. He is attacking and trying to make something happen with every snap. To me that is the mark of a really great back."

As a result of Ivory's win, New York’s chapter of the American Red Cross will be awarded a $2,000 donation in his name.Ivory also won the FedEx prize, awarded in an online poll of fans, for his Week 4 ground contributions in the win over the Dolphins in London. He was first nominated for the award after his opening-day showing against the Browns. And he won the award once and was nominated another time in his first season in green and white in 2013.

>     http://www.newyorkjets.com/news/article-9/Ferocious-Ivory-Wins-Another-FedEx-Award/668a7eea-5c9f-4a0b-bb67-e7863e958099

[kelly]

— Jets running back Chris Ivory is off to a hot start this season. He has played in four of the 4-1 Jets' five games. In the past two, he has 166 and 146 yards, the most and third-most of his career, which began in 2010. 

Ivory this season already has 83 carries for 460 yards and four touchdowns. Last season, he gained 821 yards. The year before, his first season with the Jets, he accumulated 833 yards. Ivory is gaining a whopping 5.5 yards per carry so far this season, and he leads the NFL with 115 yards per game.It's still early, but the 6-foot, 226-pound Ivory is making the NFL notice his punishing, bruising rushing style. He is third in the NFL with 3.2 yards after contact per carry, according to Pro Football Focus.

Why has Ivory played so well this year? Here are four big reasons : 

1. He's getting opportunities. The past two seasons, offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg foolishly tried to incorporate Ivory into a two-back system. In 2013, Bilal Powell, who isn't nearly as good as Ivory, had 176 carries, compared to Ivory's 182. Powell ran for 4 yards per carry, Ivory 4.6. Last season, Chris Johnson got 155 carries, Ivory 198. Johnson actually didn't do that badly, gaining 4.3 yards per carry, compared to Ivory's 4.1. But the Jets, 4-12 last year, trailed so often that they had to pass to catch up, and couldn't consistently establish Ivory or Johnson. Now, Ivory is clearly The Guy in the Jets' backfield, as he should be. He is averaging 20.8 carries per game, after averaging 12.1 and 12.4 in the past two seasons. Ivory has two 20-carry games this year and one 29-carry outing (his career-best yardage game).Is Ivory surprised by his production so far? "No, I started pretty good last year," he said. "The carries, I just wasn't getting as many, not as many opportunities. Not really surprised [by the hot start in 2015]. It's something I expect. I think every player should expect that every year. I feel like I've been doing this [well] for the past two years here, but I guess since we're winning now, more things are being noticed." He's right about last year's start. In the first seven games, he ran for 4.9 yards per carry, but carried just 88 times (12.6 times per game). Were there times last year when Ivory was baffled that Mornhinweg wasn't giving him more carries? "Yeah, there was," Ivory said. "But it wasn't something that really weighed on my mind, because it was more about winning, but we were having problems with that. It's a new year now."

2. He's fresh. This would help any running back, of course. But Ivory's body takes a beating, because of his running style. Since he runs with such physicality, he needs to stay fresh, even though that's hard to do sometimes. "It kind of depends on the game, but I'm sore for about three days [afterward]," he said. He added that he wore down a bit later last season. The numbers show that. In the final nine games, he gained just 3.5 yards per carry, on 110 attempts (12.2 per game). It was a noticeable drop-off from his first seven games. "I'm just a lot healthier [now]," he said. "It came to a time [later last season], yeah, where I didn't feel as comfortable, as healthy." 

3. He's quicker to and around the edge. We've seen quite a bit more burst from Ivory this season. He said he didn't necessarily go into his offseason workout routine hoping to add speed. He just wanted to get better. But he worked with a new trainer this offseason, Houston-based James Cooper, and Cooper had Ivory do more sprinting and endurance workouts on the track. Ivory believes those sessions helped him become a quicker rusher to the edge, and around it, in addition to still being a bullish runner between the tackles. "I didn't do as much track work in the past," Ivory said. "Before, I was working with a guy in Florida, and I did more treadmill workouts and [running in the] sand workouts. But this was the first year I did a lot of track work. I just heard good things about [Cooper]. I have a friend who works with him that's been working with him for a while. It wasn't the first time I went there. I went before, but it was always like maybe two weeks. But this time, I stayed most of the offseason. So for like two months, a month and a half." 

4. He's determined. This didn't come up in Ivory's Friday media session — and he probably would've punted on the question anyway — but Ivory is scheduled to become a free agent after this season. Ivory's upcoming free agency surely isn't the primary thing on his mind during games. But it has to be at least something of a big-picture motivator. Overall, independent of any contract-related stuff, Ivory is a determined runner. Since he runs so hard, since he wore down later last season, and since he figures to get a bigger workload this year, does he wonder how he'll feel in November and December? Does he wonder if he can keep up this torrid early production when he doesn't feel as fresh? "Right now, it doesn't really cross my mind," he said of perhaps wearing down. "If it's going to happen, it's going to happen. But even if my body feels like it's wearing down, I'm just going to keep going hard. In my head, not too much is going to really slow me down, unless it's something that I really can't push through." 

>      http://www.nj.com/jets/index.ssf/2015/10/xx_reasons_jets_chris_ivory_is_off_to_a_fast_start.html#incart_river

[joewilly12]

Chris Ivory is the best RB in the NFL

[kelly]

Chris Ivory is the best RB in the NFL

..i hope he confirms it tomorrow  

[kelly]

While perennial All Pro center Nick Mangold’s status remains uncertain for Sunday’s game, the Jets have given first team reps to both Wesley Johnson and Dakota Dozier at practice this week.“They all have to communicate and be on the same page. If you just say, ‘Those two now are controlling the whole thing, that’s not going to fly. That won’t fly,” said offensive coordinator Chan Gailey today. “Everybody has to commit to that and being part of the communication process. If they do, we’ll be just fine.”

While Mangold continues to rehab his neck, veteran RB Stevan Ridley is practicing full and appears closer to a return to the active roster.“He’s looked better this week than he did last week. I think he’s more comfortable running now, he was a little ginger the first few times,” Gailey said. “It’s been better lately and he seems to be running with more confidence and doing things with more confidence. He looked pretty good today.”

Raiders QB Derek Carr is off to a terrific start while completing 65.8% of his passes with 11 TD and 3 INT.  Jets defensive coordinator Kacy Rodgers, who was the Dolphins DL coach last September when Miami crushed the Raiders 38-14, says Carr is a completely different player.“With the offense he’s in right now, they’re letting him cut loose… They like to throw the ball down the field,” Rodgers said. “This guy has outstanding arm talent and he’s really a threat to run because he’s athletic, he has arm talent and he’s really making good decisions.”

While AC/DC continue to grab most of the headlines, Rodgers has also been impressed with RB Latavius Murray.“This guy is really going to be an up-and-coming back,” said the Jets defensive coordinator. “He has all the physical tools and the thing is he’s a three-down back. When he comes downhill, he’s a load.”Specials teams coordinator Bobby April said P Ryan Quigley , who had an infection last week, has a clean bill of health. April will know this week’s opponent well after having serving the previous two seasons in a similar capacity with the Raiders.

>    http://www.newyorkjets.com/news/article-6/Gailey-Ridley-Running-with-More-Confidence/0fd434f9-6a97-4fd6-be63-04f8aac87477

[kelly]

-- With running back Bilal Powell ruled out for Sunday's game, the New York Jets activated Stevan Ridley off the physically unable to perform list. To make room for Ridley on the 53-man roster, wide receiver Chris Owusu -- who had been out with a concussion -- was waived/injured.

The Jets announced the moves Friday, after the team had left for Oakland to face the Raiders.

In his news conference before the team departed, Jets coach Todd Bowles had refused to say for certain that Ridley would be activated to take Powell's spot on the game-day roster as the third running back. Bowles had suggested that the Jets might try to make do with two running backs, using fullback Tommy Bohanon as an emergency third.

Bowles did say that Ridley, who has missed more than a year since tearing ligaments in his right knee last October, is physically ready to play."He's full speed," Bowles said of Ridley, who returned to practice last week. "This is the second week of practice. He's made a lot of progress, so if we decide to do something with him, I'll be real comfortable."

Ridley, 26, spent the first four seasons of his career with the New England Patriots. He signed with the Jets in April.

With Owusu gone, the wide-receiver group is in flux as well. Devin Smith, a second-round pick out of Ohio State, is out for the game with an ankle injury, and Eric Decker is questionable with a knee injury that has been bothering him since he hurt it in the victory over Indianapolis in Week 2. Decker said he has been trying to deal with the swelling and soreness.

"For me, it's really day by day at this point," he said. "I'll do everything I can to prepare myself to play on Sunday."

>     http://espn.go.com/blog/newyork-jets/post/_/id/55579/stevan-ridley-activated-ready-to-make-jets-debut-in-oakland

[Jetman55]

We need another bye week...

[kelly]

-- Mired in a two-game slump, New York Jets' running back Chris Ivory said Thursday the offensive line needs to step up its game.

Ivory offered a few theories for his sudden downturn in production -- only 58 rushing yards in the last two games. He mentioned loaded boxes and schemes designed to take away his outside runs, funneling him back to the inside. He was asked how the Jets can counter those defensive tactics."It starts up front," said Ivory, who has slipped to 11th in rushing yards (518). "We have to do a better job up front and just know our assignments. We prepared well this week. Maybe it will show out on the field."

Ivory said there were "a lot of missed assignments" in last week's loss to the Oakland Raiders, perhaps his worst game in two-plus seasons with the Jets -- 17 yards on 15 carries.Ivory has been complimentary of the line throughout the season, so this comes as a bit of a surprise. Obviously, the line was missing a key ingredient in Oakland -- injured center Nick Mangold, who directs the traffic in the trenches. He was replaced by a guy making his NFL debut, Wesley Johnson. You can't blame Johnson, who was forced into a difficult situation, but his inexperience certainly had a domino effect on the run blocking.Ivory was one of the hottest backs in the league after rushing for a combined 312 yards in back-to-back games last month. Obviously, teams watch film and they make adjustments. That's the way it works in the NFL.

"I think my play is being noticed," he said.

Asked if he feels like a marked man, Ivory smiled.

"Yeah, but I don't like to say that," he said.

Ivory will have to face a stout run defense on Sunday, as the Jacksonville Jaguars have allowed a league-low 3.5 yards per rush.

"I expect to see a lot of guys in the box," he said.

>     http://espn.go.com/blog/newyork-jets/post/_/id/55781/slumping-chris-ivory-we-have-to-do-a-better-job-up-front

[kelly]

The Jets have been experiencing engine trouble the past two games.

You don’t need to travel far back on the Jets’ schedule to trace the root of the biggest reason they take a two-game losing streak into Sunday’s home game against the Jaguars: Chris Ivory is on the blink.

First the Patriots, then the Raiders last week in Oakland made the Jets running back — who is the engine that makes their offense go — disappear.It’s as if the Patriots and Raiders poured sugar into the Jets’ gas tank and their entire operation on offense has stalled.And suddenly, a 4-1 start, which had placed the Jets front-and-center as one of the league’s revelations this season after going 4-12 in 2014, currently rests in a crossroads state of murky uncertainty at 4-3.

Which way will they go  ?

Will the Jets shake off the two-game malaise, beat a 2-5 Jacksonville team they’re supposed to beat on Sunday and carry on with their surprising bounce-back season, staying in the thick of contention for a playoff berth?

Or will they lose a third in a row and tumble into the familiar abyss of sub-mediocrity  ?

The key to that question is the key that starts the Jets’ engine: Ivory.It is no coincidence that, since Ivory gashed the Dolphins and Redskins for a combined 312 rushing yards to get the Jets to 4-1, they’ve lost their last two while he has been held to 58 yards on 32 carries.Ivory, a man of few words, is a marked man. He knows it. He just doesn’t want to succumb to it.“Yeah,” he said, acknowledging the added attention opposing defensive coordinators are committing to stopping him. “But I don’t like to say that.”

This is a time, though, when good running backs show they can be great — when they can overcome being keyed on. It is a time when good offenses find ways to counter what the opposition is giving to them. The opposition has spoken the past two weeks. Now it’s the Jets’ move, Ivory’s move.The Jaguars defense ranks 14th against the run, so don’t expect matador defense from them Sunday.“He can make something out of nothing, and his will, I think, is what shows up,” Jaguars coach Gus Bradley said of Ivory. “So, definitely [we] have a tackling plan for him — a lot of guys to the ball taking good angles.”One of the common themes to what New England and Oakland did against Ivory was preventing him from bouncing to the outside and eating up chunks of yards outside the tackles. In those two monster games against Miami and Washington, some of Ivory’s biggest runs came when he bounded outside and broke containment.

The Patriots and Raiders played the Jets’ run more aggressively from the edges, having linebackers and defensive ends contain Ivory moves to the outside by pinching him in between the tackles.“A lot of teams are bringing their linebackers closer to the line of scrimmage, because obviously once he get across the line of scrimmage he does damage,’’ Jets left guard Willie Colon said. “It’s about us being physical up front and out-executing them. We just have to do a better job on the line of being more physical.

“Chris is one of those guys that, when he builds momentum, he gets better as the game goes. That’s why we need to start off a lot faster, get him going a lot faster.’’

Ivory said he has noticed getting a lot more attention from opposing defenses.“These past two weeks, the focus has been on stopping the Jets’ run game,” he said. “Defensive coordinators from other teams are watching and seeing how the offensive line gets off their blocks, how aggressive they are, and seeing what I’m able to do after I get into the secondary.“It makes it tough for them where they say, ‘OK, we’re going to focus on stopping the run.’ They feel like when they stop the run, we’re one-dimensional.’’

That’s because that’s exactly what the Jets are if Ivory is stopped.“We’re going to try a lot of things to try to get him back into the game and hopefully that’ll jump-start our offense,’’ Jets fullback Tommy Bohanon said. “He is definitely the jump-start to our offense. When he’s having a good game, we’re all having a good game. He’s kind of the cog that keeps us running.”

Of late, he’s a cog that’s clogged. We will know by late Sunday afternoon whether the Jets properly addressed their engine trouble.

>     http://nypost.com/2015/11/07/secret-to-shutting-down-chris-ivory-is-out-can-jets-combat-it/

[kelly]

— Over the past three games, the Jets' rushing offense has declined in stunning fashion.

After running back Chris Ivory put on a show against Miami and Washington, he did essentially nothing in the next three games — losses to New England and Oakland, and a win over Jacksonville.Now, the Jets have to prepare for Thursday's matchup with coach Rex Ryan's Bills, and their formidable defensive front. The Bills emerged from Sunday's win over Miami ranked sixth in the NFL in rushing yards allowed per game, and 10th in yards per carry allowed.

Plus, it's not a lock that the Jets will have center Nick Mangold or right guard Willie Colon for this game.Mangold missed the Oakland game because of a neck muscle injury. He aggravated the injury Sunday against Jacksonville, and Wesley Johnson had to replace him. Colon sat out the Jacksonville game because of lingering knee issues. Johnson and Brian Winters (Colon's replacement) starting alongside each other on the Jets' interior line isn't exactly their preferred option for fixing the run game. 

How sharply has the Jets' rushing attack declined ? 

Consider these game-by-game Jets rushing numbers: 

• Miami: 43 rushes, 207 yards, 4.8 per carry, 2 touchdowns

• Washington: 41 rushes, 221 yards, 5.4 per carry, 2 touchdowns

• Ivory vs. Miami: 29 rushes, 166 yards, 5.7 per carry, 1 touchdown

• Ivory vs. Washington: 20 rushes, 146 yards, 7.3 per carry, 1 touchdown

And compare those numbers to these: 

• New England: 29 rushes, 89 yards, 3.1 per carry, 0 touchdowns 

• Oakland: 21 rushes, 74 yards, 3.5 per carry, 0 touchdowns 

• Jacksonville: 28 rushes, 29 yards, 1 per carry, 2 touchdowns 

• Ivory vs. New England: 17 rushes, 41 yards, 2.4 per carry, 0 touchdowns

• Ivory vs. Oakland: 15 rushes, 17 yards, 1.1 per carry, 0 touchdowns 

• Ivory vs. Jacksonville: 23 rushes, 26 yards, 1.1 per carry, 2 touchdowns

As a team, the Jets' per-carry average dropped from 5.1 in that impressive two-game stretch to 2.5 in the past three games. Ivory's per-carry average is down from 6.4 to 1.5. His game against the Jaguars marked the worst per-carry output for a player with at least 20 carries, dating back to 1960. 

How troubled should the Jets feel about this? 

Well, remember that hamstring tightness limited Ivory in New England. The Jets had to abandon the running game in Oakland, in order to catch up. They also didn't have Mangold in Oakland. And they didn't have him for 62 percent of the Jacksonville game, while they lacked Colon for all of that game. Plus, Ivory said last week that the Jets' offensive line missed some blocking assignments against the Patriots and Raiders. Colon agreed. 

What does Jets coach Todd Bowles see as the issue here? And how can the Jets get their rushing attack back on track? "I don't think it's stunning," Bowles said of the recent struggles. "I think we have to do a better job, obviously, blocking. We have to do a better job maybe opening it up a little bit early. We have to do a better job of moving people and seeing holes. It's all inclusive. We just have to keep working at it." 

Said quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick: "We're still searching for answers a little bit. It's going to get back on track, though. We're going to have some runs that are going to break eventually." After the Jacksonville game, Ivory said, "I did a lot right, but it was just tough out there today. Eventually, we'll have some of those big runs." Ivory said the recent decline in production has been "not frustrating." He understands opponents' commitment to stopping him has something to do with it.

"Teams make adjustments, man," he said. "And I think that's what we're seeing."

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

[kelly]

-- A look at the New York Jets players who were “up” and those who were “down” in Thursday's 22-17 loss to the Buffalo Bills at MetLife Stadium     :

UP

~ ~ Chris Ivory: Ivory's rushing performance was the most encouraging development for the Jets, but it's tainted by a third-quarter fumble that set up a Buffalo field goal. He snapped out of his three-game slump, rushing for 99 yards on 18 carries. He ran for more yardage in this game than he had in the three previous games combined. Despite the short week, Ivory ran with his old giddy-up, making yards after contact. He did it with a new starter on the offensive line -- Brian Winters, who replaced Willie Colon at right guard. Ivory also had a 36-yard reception on a screen.

rest of above article :

>     http://espn.go.com/blog/newyork-jets/post/_/id/56103/mo-wilkerson-up-ryan-fitzpatrick-down-in-jets-loss

[kelly]

EA: Lost in Thursday’s gut-wrenching defeat to the Bills was Chris Ivory ’s second half surge. Against a very good defense, Ivory carried 11 times for 76 yards over the final 30 minutes. That is 6.9 yards per clip and Ivory was back to punishing defenders on the second level. The Jets pride themselves on their balance and they’ll need it against a Texans defense that is hitting its stride. The Texans, who leads the NFL while allowing just a 27% conversion rate on third down, have not allowed a touchdown in 10 quarters. While the Texans held Giovani Bernard (8-36) largely in check in their upset win over the Bengals, the Texans own the league’s 25^th ranked rush defense (117.9 ypg) and they are ranked 24^th in terms of yards per attempt (4.3 ypc). And don’t forget about the reinstatement of WR Quincy Enunwa , a big-bodied blocker who at 6’2”, 225 pounds can help the Jets on the ground.

EA: The Jets certainly have to improve in terms of complementary football. And the offense has started slow in two of the past three contests as Ryan Fitzpatrick went down early in Oakland and the Jets mustered only a field goal in 30 minutes of action against the Bills. But the Green & White have failed to produce a takeaway in three of their past four contests. If you think about early in the season, this team got momentum with first quarter turnovers against the Browns ( Calvin Pryor hit on Josh McCown), the Colts (Pryor INT of Andrew Luck) and the Jaguars ( Marcus Williams INT after the Revis deflection). The most important offensive stat is scoring and the Jets rank 12^thin the league at 24.1 points per contest and they currently are T6 in net turnover points (+24). The Jets’ patience might be tested against a Texans team that is playing excellent defensive ball at the moment. If both teams secure the football, this could become a field position game. And while the defense played well against the Bills, they still lamented a few missed tackles against the elusive LeSean McCoy. If they continue to get heat on the QB (10 sacks the past two weeks), eventually somebody is going to make a mistake.

EA: One game does not make a season and I don’t buy into the theory that Ryan Fitzpatrick typically sees a late-season slide in production. In his final four games of action last season with the Texans, Fitzpatrick led Houston to a 3-1 record while completing 60.5% of his passes with 9 TD and 1 INT. Sure six of those scoring passes were in one game, but it’s a winning business and the Texans won before he broke his leg vs. the Colts in December. Why even go back beyond that sampling? Fitz acknowledged that he did not play well early against the Bills as he completed just 5 of 17 in the first half. But he played a gutsy second half (10 of 17, 2TD-1NT) and let’s see how the veteran responds after his surgical procedure to repair a torn ligament in his left thumb. Fitz did played mistake-free ball in Week 9, leading the Jets to a much-needed victory over the Jaguars.

EA: There is perception and there is reality. The Jets have been outscored by their opponents in one quarter this season and it’s the 2nd stanza (87-47). The Green & White have outscored the opposition in the 1st (47-23), 3rd (62-26) and 4^th (61-48) stanzas. While it would be outstanding to repeat the starts this team had against the Dolphins and the Jaguars, sometimes that is just not going to happen. So the defense has yielded the lowest output during the first quarter of games, but has struggled the most in the second quarter. To me, it’s all about momentum changing plays. They can happen on offense, defense and/or special teams and the Jets need more of them. When they are most successful, the defense is turning the football over and the offense is a balanced unit that converts in the Red Zone. Unfortunately their Red Zone played against the Bills failed the Green & White.

EA: No the scheme does not need to be changed. Todd Bowles and Kacy Rodgers like their multiplicity and they’ll go back-and-forth with the game plan depending on the opponent. Calvin Pryor (ankle) is hopeful that the can return to the lineup this week and that could provide a significant boost for the secondary.  Antonio Cromartie was also moving around better Monday and he could be ready to face the Texans. Muhammad Wilkerson has been outstanding with a team-leading seven sacks and the Jets rush defense ranks No. 1 overall (88.1 ypg). One area where Coach Bowles would like to see improvement is the big plays in the air as the Green & White are T26 in surrendering pass plays of 20+yards (35).

EA: Coach Bowles said Milliner has to get some practice reps and some legs underneath him first. While he could see some action Sunday, Bowles did bring up both RB Stevan Ridley and WR Devin Smith when talking about the return from injury. Milliner hasn’t appeared in a game in more than a calendar year, so he’ll have to take baby steps before you see him get significant playing time. While Sunday is not a must-win, Bowles acknowledged there is a greater sense of urgency after each loss.

EA: Here are FB Tommy Bohanon ’s offensive play counts this season: vs. CLV (12), @IND (29) vs. PHI (2), @ MIA (39), vs. WASH (18), @ NE (23), @ OAK (7), vs. JAX (24) and vs. BUF (19). Ivory is not a system back – he is a quality runner who can make it happen in different offenses. He does need room though to get going and I saw that once again in the second half against the Bills.

EA: Ridley made his debut on offense vs. the Bills, totaling three carries in eight offensive plays. While Zac Stacy fractured his ankle against the Bills, Bilal Powell could be back in the lineup soon as well.

>      http://www.newyorkjets.com/news/article-1/EA-QA-It-All-Starts-with-Ivory/ecc8242e-cc1a-4d5c-b465-2c176358a517

[kelly]

–- Chris Ivory is on pace to shatter his career high in carries, and the running back’s physical running style can take its toll.

That is one reason why the New York Jets' workhorse has taken to acupuncture as part of his weekly rehab regimen. Twice a week, the bruising 6-foot 222-pound back has needles stuck into him in an effort to help him feel fresh, pain free and recover.“If you know a little bit about it, it does (seem like something that works),” Ivory said when asked about if the treatment works. “It is something that gets deeper in the muscle than your normal deep-tissue massage. So far that has worked for me.”

The Mayo Clinic describes acupuncture as a treatment that “involves the insertion of extremely thin needles through your skin at strategic points on your body. A key component of traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture is most commonly used to treat pain... many Western practitioners view the acupuncture points as places to stimulate nerves, muscles and connective tissue. Some believe that this stimulation boosts your body's natural painkillers and increases blood flow.”

Ivory first started using acupuncture when he joined the Jets in 2013. He says he usually undergoes the treatment on Monday and Friday each week.The Jets want to do all they can to keep their bruiser fresh. Ivory has already carried the ball 156 times for 643 yards and six touchdowns through eight games. Last season, Ivory had a career-high 198 carries for 821 yards and six touchdowns in 16 games.Ivory exploded for 166 and 146 yards against the Dolphins and Redskins, respectively, in Weeks 4 and 6 (the Jets had a bye in Week 5). But in the Jets’ following three games, Ivory gained a total of 84 yards and two touchdowns. He rebounded with 99 yards against Buffalo last Thursday, but the Jets are cautious about wearing their bell cow out.

“You go into a game with a specific number,” head coach Todd Bowles said of Ivory’s carries. “But if he’s rolling and he’s having a good day and you like what he's doing, you keep feeding him. Obviously, if we got to throw the ball more, his carries will drop a little bit.”Ivory is averaging 19.5 carries per game. While he averages 4.1 yards per carry this season, he averaged just 1.1 yards per carry in the Jets’ two games against Oakland and Jacksonville prior to his 99-yard game against Buffalo.

“I feel good,” Ivory said. “Just have to continue to stay doing the things that have been helping me and just continue my rehab program and see how far it takes me.”That program has consisted of cold tub, hot tub, maintenance exercises and treatments, acupuncture, massage and daily hydration. Ivory said he tried dry needling treatment before giving acupuncture a try.

“I tried dry needling before and that didn’t work so well with me,” Ivory said. “It just depends on the person and technique. (Dry needling) is more like targeting one area, and the needs in that muscle versus acupuncture.

“It is very similar but acupuncture I guess they hit a few different main muscle trigger points in the body. Let’s say one main muscle, they follow all the muscles that follow that main muscle and everything around it, which brings in new blood within the area.”

Even the muscular Ivory admits to feeling the pain of the needles being poked into him.“It is painful,” Ivory said. “But after a while, well for me, I’ve gotten a little, I don’t want to say used to the pain but I am able to deal with the pain better than I was before.”

Cornerback Darrelle Revis says he also uses acupuncture as a treatment.“It is fine,” Revis said of acupuncture. “It has its upside and downside to it. But that's something I use in the offseason.”

Ivory admits he was initially skeptical of acupuncture when he first tried it, but not anymore.“Like I said, it has helped me so far,” he said.

>     http://espn.go.com/blog/newyork-jets/post/_/id/56294/chris-ivory-uses-acupuncture-to-help-him-carry-workload

[kelly]

Chris Ivory, Jets

Jets RB Chris Ivory comments on his performance in his team's win over the Dolphins, the importance of the victory and New York's approach to the rest of the season.

>  http://espn.go.com/espnradio/playPopup?id=14253184

[kelly]

-- A look at the New York Jets players who were “up” and those who were “down” in Sunday's dominating 30-8 victory over the Tennessee Titans at MetLife Stadium

UP

~ ~ Chris Ivory, running back: This was exactly the kind of game the Jets needed from Ivory. He rushed for 101 yards on 22 carries, snapping his streak of seven straight games under 100 yards. To be fair, he had 99 in one game over that span, but he hasn't been close to the Ivory we saw early in the season. This was a step in the right direction. Titans cornerback Coty Sensabaugh, who was trucked by Ivory on one play, will be seeing "33" flashes in his dreams.

rest of above article :

> http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york-jets/post/_/id/57047/mo-wilkerson-up-calvin-pryor-down-in-jets-win

[kelly]

After Chan Gailey’s offense struggled to find rhythm in losses to the Bills and the Texans, the Jets offensive coordinator simplified the attack. And the Green & White have responded, averaging 30 points a game during their three-game win streak.

“I think that we felt like we had maybe gone a little bit too far in some areas and we needed to scale back and get back to what we kind of where we started, sort of back to basics with things,” Gailey told the media today. “I was trying to create too many things, rather than let’s do what we do best and try to out-execute people.”But Gailey didn’t make the call on Ryan Fitzpatrick’s 69-yard scoring pass to Brandon Marshall in the 30-8 victory over the Titans. While Gailey was looking down at his call sheet late in the 2^nd quarter, Fitzpatrick hurried to the line and took a snap from center Nick Mangold. He quickly threw to Marshall and it was a dash to pay dirt.

“You can’t practice that stuff. You talk about it from time to time, but it just doesn’t happen,” Gailey said. “And all of the sudden it did and they knew what to do. I think it took three veteran guys: the center, the quarterback and the receiver to make it happen.”Against the Titans, Chris Ivory produced his third 100-yard rushing effort of the season. Ivory, who has 25 receptions, is 86 yards shy of his first 1,000-yard campaign on the ground.“He plays extremely hard every week. He’s become a pass threat for us, which is great,” Gailey said. “And he’s run the ball extremely, extremely hard. So he’s given us what we need in our offense right now. He is somebody they can’t say, ‘OK, we just have to defend the pass. That’s the best thing right now is they know he’ll go out and run 100 on them in a heartbeat and that’s good.”

The Jets’ No. 1 ranked rush defense is preparing for a Cowboys’ rush attack that is T9 in terms of yards per carry (4.4).

“They’re making a great emphasis to get their running game started,” said defensive coordinator Kacy Rodgers. “When we look at them and we start breaking them down, they use a lot of big groupings – 13 personnel, 22 personnel. They are pretty hard-headed about running the ball. They have the explosive players in Dez and then they have Witten. What we see is they are making a wholehearted effort to establish the running game.”Safety Calvin Pryor could be a factor Saturday against the run and also helping cover a future Hall of Fame TE in Jason Witten.

“We ask him to do a lot,” Rodgers said. “We get him involved in the run game, we blitz him, we match him on certain tight ends. We ask him to do a lot and he’s met every expectation.”Kicker Randy Bullock, who has made 9 of 10 field goal attempts and added 15 touchbacks since taking over for Nick Folk, missed a 53-yarder vs. the Titans.“Kind of for everybody, that 35-yard-line is the line of demarcation where you get to there and the accuracy falls off a little bit,” said special teams coordinator Bobby April. “And then certainly the further back you go, it falls back. But he’s more than capable of hitting that.”Top punt return man Jeremy Kerley, who has been slowed by a calf contusion, did not practice Wednesday. April remains hopeful that Kerley, a TCU product, will play in his home state.

“Well if he can’t go, we’ll put Decker back there and Eric will take that spot. We worked him in there yesterday a little bit,” Gailey said. “It’s kind of iffy if Jeremy will go or not, but I’m pretty optimistic he will. He seemed pretty good today, so we’ll see what happens.”

>      http://www.newyorkjets.com/news/article-6/Gailey-Ivory-Has-Become-a-Pass-Threat/51d9c471-159e-4c39-bc43-1950d350a29d

[kelly]

Chris Ivory

Running Back, New York Jets

Born: March 22, 1988
Experience: 6 NFL seasons

Undrafted out of Tiffin University, Chris Ivory is on pace for his first 1,000-yard, 10-touchdown season as a pro. The Texas native, who's been instrumental in the Jets' playoff run, explains where he'd rank himself among running backs, why it was good to be traded and why he likes playing for Todd Bowles.

Interview by Brooke Cersosimo • Dec. 11, 2015

 

NFL Media's Oklahoma Drill series presents exclusive, quick-hitting one-on-one interviews with players and coaches from around the league. No nonsense -- just football experiences directly from the source.
 

I'm more of a talk-with-my-play type of guy, with my performance.
There's no chip on my shoulder. I've been in six years now, so it's not about playing with a chip on your shoulder. It's about being productive and staying in this league and doing everything you need to do to stay on top.I would definitely put myself in the top five. That's how I feel. I feel like I see and do a lot of stuff that goes unnoticed, but people that actually watch the games or watch film, I think they are able to see why I feel this way.I try to be myself and take things from other people. I don't try to be like anybody else, just do things that improve my game.

Experience. I think just having patience within the game, seeing the defensive schemes are the same, and I've got a better eye for that now.It's really staying out of trouble and being a guy that kids can look up to. It's always about positive things. People are always watching.I found out from my agent. I thought it was a good move and I was happy with it. It allowed me to move on and continue my career elsewhere. I think that worked out great. I'm happy with the move, and going forward, I'm just trying to be productive.It wasn't a big adjustment for me. It's a bigger city than most I've been in, but it wasn't too different -- just the traffic.

[Coach Todd Bowles has] put us in a good position, for starters, to be in the playoff hunt. He's a very laidback guy and doesn't talk too much. When he does, he gets his point out and that's it. Nothing extra.He played for a long time, and he's been in our shoes, so it's easy playing for him.I really didn't know what had happened or what had gone on. To get hurt and fall back out of the quarterback competition for a few weeks, but he's healthy now.  We've got a quarterback who's done a tremendous job so far this year, and I think he's going to continue that. Going forward, just looking to finish the season on a right note.

He is a very smart guy. He's been in [Chan] Gailey's system before, so it's nothing new to him. It's an offense that he's already ran. He's definitely as smart as people say he is.They both play hand in hand. The pass opens up the run and the run opens up the pass. Anytime they're productive on the outside like they've been, it always does the running game justice, and vice versa.I didn't really get to experience London much. I stayed in with the little free time we had. Some guys went out and got to experience London, but I didn't do that.

There are a lot of people out there in all types of jerseys, all 32 teams. I didn't think football was their gig over there, but coming from here and going there, you could see that football is pretty big there as well.It'll be an experience to play in front of family and friends, but we're going there to get a win. Hopefully, that's what we'll do.They reached out to me. I was able to look back and see some of the guys who've done the "Courtyard Camera" interviews in the past. DeMarco Murray being one of those guys. His interviews seemed like they went pretty well, and he had a great time.

To be a Pro-Bowler, top back in the league and finally get my 1,000-yard season.

 

>     http://www.nfl.com/ivory