~ ~ jets @ bills : jan. 3, 1:00 pm ~ ~

[kelly]

One last hurdle for Jets, and his name is Rex Ryan -- the 'monster'

-- The New York Jets' season has taken a Rex-traordinary turn.

After beating the Hoodie, who outsmarted himself Sunday with the wrong choice on the overtime coin toss, the Jets need only one win to secure their first playoff berth in five years. Standing in their way is the Sweater Vest.

Their old coach.

Rex Ryan, the formerly large coach with the XXL mouth, is the last remaining obstacle for the Jets. His Buffalo Bills are a mess, a moribund team that has resisted the motivational magic that captivated the Jets in 2009 and 2010, but Ryan will approach this game as a playoff contest. He'd give up Mexican food for a year to ruin the Jets' storybook season.

And they know it.

"I'm not going to say we made the playoffs until we're in the playoffs," defensive end Sheldon Richardson said after the Jets' 26-20 overtime win over the New England Patriots. "We've got a monster in front of us right now coming up next week."The Jets (10-5) can't possibly lose to the Bills (7-8), can they? That would be a devastating end to what has been a remarkable playoff run -- a five-game winning streak. There's a chance they could back into a wild-card spot with a loss and help from other teams, but that would be the ultimate downer. They have to beat the Bills, who captured the first meeting in November. This will be the defining moment of the Jets' season.

"Can't wait!" said safety Calvin Pryor, using his "Bart Scott voice" -- a reference to Scott's epic rant after the Jets defeated the Patriots in the 2010 playoffs.

Linebacker Calvin Pace, who played six years under Ryan, said next Sunday in Orchard Park, New York, will be "a bloodbath." He suspects his old coach will throw everything at them -- gadget plays, caution-to-the-wind decisions, you name it. Ryan, who has become all-too-familiar with the spoiler role, has nothing to lose. The Jets have everything to lose.Hard to believe, isn't it? Todd Bowles inherited a 4-12 disaster from Ryan, but he added a couple of playmakers on both sides of the ball and found a quarterback, Ryan Fitzpatrick, who has gone from journeyman to franchise savior. He did it again, throwing three touchdowns (including the game winner to Eric Decker in overtime) to lift the Jets to another thrilling win. Now they control their own playoff fate.You know you're on a charmed run when Bill Belichick starts making bad decisions. The Patriots won the overtime coin toss, yet they chose to kick off -- a classic case of over-thinking the situation. He opted to keep Tom Brady on the sideline to start overtime, never imagining the Jets could score a touchdown on the first possession. On the sideline, the Jets -- stunned -- almost started a conga line to celebrate.

"It backfired," Richardson said. "That's the difference between our offense this year and previous years."

That offense, which turned stale in the fourth quarter and contributed to blown leads of 17-3 and 20-13, came to life in overtime, making Belichick rue his decision. Fitzpatrick did his Brady impersonation, making all the big throws. He hit Decker, and the big stadium went crazy. The Jets had lost eight of their previous nine games against the Patriots, finding ways to lose in crunch time. This time, the Patriots played the role of the Jets.

"It's about damn time," said Bowles, repeating his initial thought after Decker's touchdown.

Brandon Marshall laughed as he recalled the ending."I told the team before the game, 'When we win, don't celebrate like we won the Super Bowl,'" he said. "When we won, everyone stormed the field and the freaking fireworks were going off. I guess they enjoyed the moment."Victories over the Hoodie are few and far between, so it was a moment to relish. The Jets earned it -- they outplayed the banged-up Patriots -- but the win will fade quickly if they can't beat the Bills. They can't let ol' Rex have the last laugh, because he'll laugh from the rooftops. You don't want to go 0-2 against your old coach.

"I just knew it was going to come down to this last game versus Rex," Pace said. "It's just fate."

>    http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york-jets/post/_/id/57462/one-last-hurdle-for-jets-and-his-name-is-rex-ryan-the-monster

[southparkcpa]

What are the chances the game gets flexed???   Any chance?

[CrazyCarl40]

What are the chances the game gets flexed???   Any chance?

It's already been decided that Packers-Vikings got flexed. It was decided last night. That game is for the division.

[southparkcpa]

It's already been decided that Packers-Vikings got flexed. It was decided last night. That game is for the division.

That sucks.......... but Thank you!!!!

[faba]

Both us and steelers are playing at 1 PM so we will know in game what our fate is looking like

[kelly]

— Here's a prediction: Rex Ryan is going to win the lead up to this Jets-Bills game in a rout. He is going to give a terrific press conference or three, filled with thinly (or not so thinly) veiled barbs directed at his former employers that will create plenty of headlines and social media noise. 

Here's another prediction: Todd Bowles is going to win the actual game itself. And in a rout, too. 

Sorry, Rex. You were the ultimate entertainer during your six years as Jets head coach, and you've taken that show to Buffalo. It's been fun to watch at times, to be sure, and your players clearly have decided that this one is more important that the average regular-season contest. "We're not going to the playoffs, so the Super Bowl is next week for us," Bills running back Boobie Dixon said. "I know we're gonna have a lot of guys jacked. We already know what's on the line."

Yes, that should sound familiar for Jets fans: Promise the playoffs, then invent a "Super Bowl" out of a meaningless game. The Bills are in Year 1 of the Ryan Era, but there are signs that he's already wearing thin on the fan base and maybe people within the organization.None of that matters now to the Jets, who will arrive in Orchard Park knowing that: A) with a victory assuring a spot in the playoffs they have far more to play for than their opponents and with the steady Bowles on the sidelines they have a coach hardwired for a game like this.Bowles showed his poise in the 26-20 victory over the Patriots that set the Jets up for this moment. He had his Jets ready for their biggest game of the season, and the result was a near mistake-free performance that gave the Jets their fifth straight victory. 

Oh, how Ryan would have hogged the spotlight had he been the one celebrating a victory, especially given the epic coaching blunder by rival Bill Belichick that helped deliver that win. Not Bowles. "It was a good win," the first-year head coach said as the opening statement to his postgame press conference. "Three of the last four weeks, we've been fighting and winning these types of games, so it helps out to win one against a quality team at our place."That was it. The Jets weren't perfect in this victory, with their sturdy defense allowing Tom Brady to tie the score with less than two minutes left on a drive that including two fourth-down conversions. But they are a team that is gaining confidence, with a quarterback in Ryan Fitzpatrick capable of making a few huge throws a game (and avoiding the bad ones), a receiver in Brandon Marshall who is on a mission to confirm his place in the game as an elite player, and a pass rush with the likes of Mo Wilkerson and Sheldon Richardson that is relentless at times. 

Ryan, meanwhile, has a 7-8 team with a defense that isn't nearly as feared as it was a year ago, and after just one season, some people in Buffalo have already turned on him. When a Buffalo News columnist asked him if he had been given any guarantees that he'd be back next season, Ryan answered, "I know if it was up to you I wouldn't."And that columnist, Bucky Gleason, responded, "You're right."Ryan went on the defensive, even after a victory over Dallas, again assuring everyone that "there's some great times ahead of this football team." But it was hardly the same brash coach whose Bills beat the Jets in East Rutherford on November 13. 

The Bills are 2-4 since then and 7-8 overall, but if you're still a believer in the Cult of Rex, you'll buy into the idea that he'll have this dead team ready to exact some revenge for their leader.I don't buy that for a second. Ryan will win the press conference in a rout, but Jets fans are well aware of how little that means. And they'll be celebrating when Todd Bowles leads their team into a playoffs with a victory against an old friend.  

>  http://www.nj.com/jets/index.ssf/2015/12/sorry_rex_ryan_todd_bowles_and_the_jets_will_beat.html#incart_river_index

[kelly]

-- If Rex Ryan had his way, as he said after Sunday's mostly irrelevant win over the Dallas Cowboys, his Buffalo Bills would be playing for a playoff spot next Sunday against the New York Jets and not trying to play spoiler to their division rivals.But come on. It's obvious Ryan wants revenge against the Jets, whether he makes that opinion known this week or not.

We've been down this road before. Ryan played it cool back in November in the days leading up to his return to MetLife Stadium, where he coached the Jets for six seasons. He insisted the game wasn't about him and, aside from being the star of social media by stepping to the podium on live television wearing a Clemson helmet, he stuck to his word and kept the focus on what was an important AFC East clash.Expect more of the same this week. Ryan already broke out the same script Sunday by referring reporters to his comments before his return to New Jersey last month, when he took the unusual step of remaining inside the locker room for pregame warmups to avoid the spotlight. Whether he repeats that tactic or not -- it probably drew more attention than if he had kept his normal routine -- Ryan's overall strategy with reporters this week will almost certainly mirror what he employed in November.

Of course, everyone will read through it. Ryan's jubilant celebration after handing his former team a 22-17 loss in November was fueled by his frustration from the end of his tenure in the Big Apple as much as it was by his team improving to 5-4 on the season -- which was perhaps the Bills' high-water mark before a massive slide over the past six weeks.

The Bills (7-8) aren't playing for anything now, but those who know Ryan best know he will savor the opportunity to potentially knock the Jets out of the playoffs, should a Jets loss be coupled with a Pittsburgh Steelers victory over the Cleveland Browns."They are not going to be playing for a playoff spot, but Rex will have those guys ready to go and fired up," Jets linebacker Calvin Pace said Sunday. "They might have some fake punts, field goals, all kinds of stuff. We know the type of guy, the competitor Rex is, the motivational guy he is. At the end of the day, none of that matters; it is about us handling our business and finding a way to get a win."

Although he came to the podium Sunday afternoon moments after the Jets defeated the New England Patriots in overtime, Ryan said he wasn't watching his former team. Players in the locker room said he didn't mention next Sunday's finale when speaking to the Bills after their victory.But really, does anyone believe that Ryan is emotionless about the possibility of ruining the ending of the Jets' first season without him?

Of course not. This is Rex Ryan, and everyone knows what next Sunday means to him.

>     http://espn.go.com/blog/buffalo-bills/post/_/id/23054/stage-is-set-for-rex-ryan-to-possibly-spoil-jets-playoff-hopes

[kelly]

Mike Rodak ESPN Staff Writer 

Rex Ryan says the Jets are "red hot" and "as talented as anyone out there." Calls them a "complete football team" and it's "no surprise" their record is what it is.

>    http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/buf/buffalo-bills

[kelly]

The New York Jets' fair-haired quarterback used to be the Buffalo Bills' fair-haired quarterback. It was 2011, and Ryan Fitzpatrick -- in his first season as a Day 1 starter -- led the Bills to a 3-0 start. The organization was so smitten that it rewarded him with a six-year, $59 million contract extension. At long last, they had found a successor to Jim Kelly.

And then they hadn't.

Fitzpatrick was so mediocre over the next two seasons that he never made it to 2013. He was sent packing by the Bills, who cleaned house and decided to start over with EJ Manuel -- another bad decision.On Sunday, Fitzpatrick returns to Ralph Wilson Stadium for the first time since being released. Under ordinary circumstances, it would be an emotional day, but this won't be a routine Sunday in the NFL season. It's the biggest game of his career, a virtual playoff game for the Jets.

Win, and they're in the postseason for the first time since 2010.

Win, and Fitzpatrick changes his legacy. Now in his 11th season, he has the second-most starts by a quarterback without a playoff appearance since the 1970 merger. He has 104; Archie Manning had 139.

So what we'll have on Sunday is a 10-year drought leading a four-year drought.

"It has some extra meaning to me because I was there for four years and the fans were so great to me and my family," Fitzpatrick said Monday. "There's a little bit of extra meaning there, but I don't think there needs to be, with the significance and the importance of the game and what's at stake for us."Fitzpatrick said his four-year run with the Bills was "a big step for me" because it was his first shot at being a Day 1 starter. He called it "a great learning experience," saying he enjoyed the city, the fans and the organization. He certainly learned a lot about losing, as the Bills never finished better than 6-10.After the Bills, Fitzpatrick went to the Tennessee Titans and Houston Texans. He considers himself a smarter, more patient quarterback than before, but he added, "It hasn't been all peaches and roses." Until now, that is.

The Jets have a five-game winning streak, and Fitzpatrick has 13 touchdown passes and only one interception over that span. Prior to that, the Bills made him look bad in a Thursday night game at MetLife Stadium in Week 10. He completed only 15 of 34 passes for 194 yards and two interceptions, acknowledging afterward he made several poor decisions. He all but admitted that Ryan's defensive schemes got into his head.

"I've got to play a much better game this time around," he said Monday, adding it was "tough" to re-watch the game tape.

>   http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york-jets/post/_/id/57533/jets-qb-ryan-fitzpatrick-admits-return-to-buffalo-has-extra-meaning

[kelly]

Jets can throw off Rex Ryan shackles with recipe he craved

 

The rookie head coach of the Jets and his team have grown together along this improbable journey, and now they stand 60 minutes from Rextasy.

Sixty minutes from the playoffs.

Todd Bowles has changed the culture following four consecutive seasons of mediocrity and Big Top turmoil, and the team that he leads into Ralph Wilson Stadium on Sunday will be a reflection of him: poised, tough, both physically and mentally, tough-minded, disciplined and smart.

The bully that will be waiting for them up in Buffalo, the bully that will try to spoil their season, will not scare them.

This is a referendum on who they are and what they have become.

The final Rexam.

Once upon a time, when Rex Ryan was all the rage around here during the 2010 playoffs, he mocked naysayers of the tortured history of the franchise when he roared: “Same Old Jets — back in the AFC Championship game!”

He never returned to the playoffs.

But now, as the Bowles Jets roll a green-and-white snowball of momentum into the franchise’s biggest moment since that 2010 AFC title game defeat in Pittsburgh, their five-game winning streak during this sweet, innocent climb gives long-suffering Jets fans hope that these are Different New Jets who will seize the moment instead of having the moment seize them.“There really is no pressure, they just play together and we have fun, and we try to get better as a team,” Bowles said. “We know we have to win, we’ve been having to win the past four weeks, five weeks, so it’s no different going into Sunday.”

They are The Unflappables, silent assassins who believe their time is now, driven by the journeyman quarterback and his go-to receiver who hunger for the first playoff appearance of their stormy careers, and a merciless defense loaded with No. 1 draft picks.

They will ignore all the noise that will be coming down from Huffalo and Puffalo this week and keep their eyes on the prize.“You gotta have a pulse of your team and make sure they’re always grounded, and understand what’s going on around them and not let the game get too big for ’em,” Bowles said.No game has been too big for them since Bowles snarled and challenged them following the loss in Houston that left them 5-5.

“You can hear a lot of complaining if you’re losing, you can hear a lot of bravado if you’re winning, and when you do those things, sometimes you let the little fundamentals and things slip by,” Bowles said. “And we just need to make sure we don’t let anything slip by and we continue to do the things that got us to this point.”

Bill Parcells believed in the psychology of results when a team teaches itself what it is, and the defining moment for these Jets came in their comeback victory over the Giants.“I think that win right there springboarded our season and helped build some momentum for us,” Calvin Pace said.The last thing Ryan wants is for his successor to break the Jets’ four-year playoff drought, especially when he was unable to break the Bills’ 15-year playoff drought.

This, then, is the bully’s Super Bowl.

“Rex is a prideful guy, so I know he’s gonna have his team ready to play,” Pace said.

Ryan needs this game for his own credibility after failing to walk his blustery talk and fielding an underachieving defense. The bully he vowed to build is an undisciplined 7-8. Same Old Bills.The irony is Ryan might still be the Jets coach had John Idzik gotten him Ryan Fitzpatrick and Brandon Marshall and Darrelle Revis. Fitzpatrick has given Bowles the mature, experienced, efficient, mistake-free quarterback play Ryan never enjoyed, and Marshall has given Bowles the dominant receiver Ryan needed alongside Eric Decker, and Revis could have played blindfolded in last year’s Arena League Jets secondary.

“I don’t care if we play East Carolina, you want to get a win period,” Ryan said.

Ryan might not recognize the team he beat 22-17 last month in his triumphant return to MetLife Stadium.

“I think we were just trying to reinvent the wheel,” Fitzpatrick said.Over the last five games, Fitzpatrick has thrown 13 touchdowns against one interception. During the win streak, Marshall has caught 39 passes, has recorded four 100-yard games, has caught six touchdown passes.

The Jets bent. But they did not break.

“The belief has been there from Day 1,” Fitzpatrick said, “and it hasn’t wavered.”

It won’t waver Sunday.

>      http://nypost.com/2015/12/28/jets-can-throw-off-rex-ryan-shackles-with-recipe-he-craved/

[kelly]

Mike RodakESPN Staff Writer 

Rex Ryan expressed regret Monday about talking up the Bills as a playoff team this offseason. "I think we got a great thing going here. We just didn't produce the wins I thought we would," Ryan told WGR 550 radio in Buffalo. "The thing that kind of gives this team a black eye when we're looking at it, is that I let my mouth get ahead of everything. And I think if I would have come in there and just said, ‘Hey, we're gonna compete' and do all that stuff, maybe we wouldn't have such a bad feeling about this team."

>    http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/buf/buffalo-bills

[UnitedWhofans]

According to reports, we are getting Eagle, Fouts, and Washburn again for this game. 

Very happy with that. They called both Pats games and the Giants game. 

Eagle is a Jets guy

[kelly]

Ten things to know about the Buffalo Bills (7-8), the New York Jets' opponent on Sunday at Ralph Wilson Stadium :

1. Rex Ryan has been talking about talking too much. The former Jets coach, on his radio show this week, said he gave the Bills "a black eye" because he "let my mouth get ahead of everything." No, really? Ryan predicted on multiple occasions that the Bills would make the playoffs. Not only aren't they going to the playoffs, but they will fall short of last season's record (9-7). Maybe Doug Marrone wasn't so bad, after all.

2. Ryan will try to motivate his team to spoil the Jets' playoff hopes, but will he have the horses to pull it off? Running back LeSean McCoy(knee), tight end Charles Clay (back), defensive tackle Marcell Dareus(neck) and cornerback Ronald Darby (groin) are injury questions. Ryan is hoping Dareus can play, but the others are iffy.

3. Statistics are misleading sometimes. Take Tyrod Taylor, for instance. He's ranked sixth in Total QBR (67.8), ahead of Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady and Cam Newton, but would anybody rate Taylor as a top-10 quarterback? Didn't think so. Taylor is at his best when he's notthrowing. As Bills reporter Mike Rodak notes, Taylor has yet to win a game when he has thrown 30 or more passes in a game. In fact, he's 0-5 in such contests.

4. Taylor is most dangerous when he's running with the ball. He has rushed for a team-record 517 yards, including 67 in last week's ugly win over the Dallas Cowboys. In fact, he has outrushed Chris Ivory, the Jets' leading rusher, over the past three games, 199-176.

5. The Bills likely will be without two of their top three receivers, Clay and Robert Woods (injured reserve) -- but they still have Sammy Watkins. He was held in check by Darrelle Revis in the first meeting (three catches for 14 yards), but he made a critical third-down conversion on Revis to ice the game. Watkins has only 49 receptions, but he's a big-play threat. He has nine touchdowns and 17 pass plays of at least 20 yards.

6. If McCoy misses another game, the Bills will lean on Mike Gillislee. Mike, who? The former practice-squad player has done a nice job with the varsity, having scored a touchdown in three straight games. He scored from 50 yards last week against the Cowboys, contributing to a 236-yard rushing day. Dallas held the Jets to only 73 yards on the ground. Food for thought.

7. Without a doubt, the most disappointing aspect to Buffalo's season is the defense. Ryan inherited a defense that finished fourth in points allowed and fourth in yards allowed. On his watch, their rankings have dropped to 16th and 20th, respectively. Players have complained publicly about Ryan's scheme, something that never happened during his six years with the Jets. Mario Williams, the biggest whiner, has only four sacks. With a $19.9 million cap charge in 2016, he will be complaining elsewhere next year.

8. IK Enemkpali, the man who changed the Jets' season, still is on the Bills' roster, in case you're wondering. Enemkpali, he of the Geno Smithpunch, plays only a handful of defensive snaps per game. He has just eight solo tackles and no sacks. Yep, he'll probably be named a game captain on Sunday. This time, it'll cause less fuss.

9. Ryan can't even rely on his kicker these days. Veteran Dan Carpenterhas missed five extra points, second most in the league. Ryan was spoiled with the Jets; he had the reliable Nick Folk.

10. This used to be a one-sided rivalry, but the Bills have won the past four meetings.

>     http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york-jets/post/_/id/57566/mediocre-bills-would-love-to-rex-the-jets-playoff-dream

[kelly]

-- There's every reason to believe the New York Jets will embarrass the Buffalo Bully on Sunday, culminating a remarkable playoff run and handing the Old Gall Coach another bitter defeat in a season filled with them.

The Jets have more motivation and fewer injuries than Rex Ryan's team. They're just better than the Buffalo Bills, plain and simple.

And yet ...

This is a dangerous spot for the Jets, because even when there's every reason to believe something will happen, sometimes it doesn't, and it can't be explained. Did anybody think the moribund Baltimore Ravens would upset the surging Pittsburgh Steelers last week? That shocker certainly resonated with Todd Bowles.

"We're going to try and learn from Pittsburgh and Baltimore last week," the Jets' coach said Wednesday. "They're all going to be tough and it doesn't matter. The records are out the window and it's going to be a tough game."

Listen to Bowles; he's right.

>    http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york-jets/post/_/id/57600/warning-to-jets-slippery-road-ahead-danger-lurks-in-buffalo

[kelly]

Let's not turn to "trap game" to describe the Jets' game at Buffalo on Sunday. The term is overused in the sporting lexicon, and besides, it doesn't describe the Green & White position.Let's say instead the Jets can find themselves in a dangerous situation. There is no way they are overlooking the Bills this week. But there also is no way the Bills are overlooking them.As Bills RB Boobie Dixon said a few days ago, "We've got something to play for now ... to send them home packing, that would be great. We're not going to the playoffs, so the Super Bowl is next week for us. I know we're going to have a lot of guys jacked."

That's what the Jets need to be prepared for. Many of the Bills and many of the Jets were around for last year's two wins by the Bills by the combined score of 81-26. Many more were around for this year's 22-17 Jets loss in primetime seven weeks ago. Buffalo is banged up physically and pridefully with its 7-8 record and 16th straight season of no playoffs, yet still skilled enough to damage the Jets' dreams.As far as the X's and O's, Jets fans know they need to be ready for the wrinkles coach Rex Ryan, DC Dennis Thurman and OC Greg Roman will throw at them.

Chris Simms, former NFL quarterback, son of an NFL quarterback, and now a CBS football analyst, described it this way:  "The Buffalo Bills are in total upset mode right now and this is when the offensive and defensive coordinators become brave. They’re going to call some plays they likely wouldn’t call in the middle of the season when they’re trying to get into the playoffs. The Jets need to stay alert. Surprise onside kicks, fleaflickers, reverses — all those could happen."

Jets coach Todd Bowles, as unfazed as he's been while guiding the Jets from 5-5 to 10-5 and to the doorstep of the postseason, was asked if he and his team have to be aware of all the gadgets tumbling out of the Bills' bag of tricks."We try to be ready for them every week and we know we can get them from Game 1 to Game 16," Bowles said. "We just prepare as we normally do and read our cues."

If you're a team like the Bills out of the playoff hunt, Bowles added, "I think you show up to play. You play for pride in the first place and the name on the back of your jersey if nothing else. I know those guys are going to show up to play because they have a good team."

New England, needless to say, is not in the same boat as Buffalo. But if it's any indication of the Jets' readiness for what's ahead, consider the blizzard of ploys the Patriots used to try to unsettle the Jets on the first drive of the second quarter three days ago:

First play: End-around time with Keshawn Martin motioning from the left slot, taking the Tom Brady handoff, and gaining 6 yards.

Second play: Steven Jackson, the veteran RB who hadn't been in a football uniform since March, makes his Patriots debut and gains 5 yards.

Fourth play: Brady goes downfield for the first time. His target: TE Rob Gronkowski lined up as a split end going against CB Antonio Cromartie. Gronk gets past Cro, juggles the throw, and holds on for a 30-yard gain.

Fifth play: Fleaflicker time as Brady takes the tossback from Brandon Bolden and leads Gronkowski too far for an incompletion.

Sixth play: Reverse time as WR Brandon LaFell moving left takes the flip from James White moving right and picks up 9 yards.

Seventh play: Wildcat with Brady flanked wide right and Bolden taking the direct snap. The Jets run defense slams the door shut for no gain.

The result of all of that razzle-dazzle was a New England field goal, and Ryan Fitzpatrick and the offense responded with a long touchdown drive. The Jets handled all that from the AFC champs, and Cromartie said after today's practice that their approach this Sunday is to take care of business in B-town:

"That's the plan," Cro said. "I'm not guaranteeing anything. That's our plan, to go in and win. We're not looking at it any other way."

>      http://www.newyorkjets.com/news/article-randylangefb/Jets-Prepare-for-What-the-Bills-May-Throw-at-Them/46a18740-1eb4-45b0-aa2f-328dda921ede

[kelly]

-- New York Jets running back Bilal Powell and tight end Kellen Davis did not practice Friday and their status for Sunday's regular-season finale in Buffalo against the Bills is questionable. Offensive lineman Breno Giacomini, who practiced Friday on a limited basis, is also questionable.

Powell, who did not practice all week because of a sore ankle, has been a key player for the Jets over their five-game winning streak, with 27 catches and 394 yards from scrimmage over the span."If he's healthy, it's great to have him out there," head coach Todd Bowles said of Powell. "But if he's not healthy, it just hinders us [by] putting him out there, so we have other guys step up. But he's an important part of what we do."

Stevan Ridley likely will fill Powell's role if Powell can't go.

Giacomini, who starts at right tackle, injured his right ankle in the win over New England last Sunday. On Thursday he had said he intends to play against Buffalo. On Friday, after taking "a couple reps in every team period," he seemed a bit more cautious -- though still optimistic."We'll see how it goes, how it reacts to today," he said. "But right now, I feel good. It'd be tough to not go out there and battle with those guys."

Bowles refused to say who would start in Giacomini's place if the eight-year veteran is unable to go, saying he is still hoping Giacomini will play.Davis was injured in Wednesday's practice, when his foot was stepped on. He did not practice Thursday or Friday. Bowles said he'll need to see how all three players look on Sunday morning before determining whether any of them will be able to play.

Running back Chris Ivory (knee), outside linebacker Calvin Pace (abdomen) and defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson (toe) all were limited in practice and are listed as probable to play. Ivory has 989 rushing yards on the season. He spoke to reporters Thursday and said he was moving around a little bit and should be "fine" for Sunday.

The Jets (10-5) will clinch a playoff victory if they defeat the Bills.

>    http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york-jets/post/_/id/57660/bilal-powell-breno-giacomini-questionable-for-jets-game-in-buffalo

[kelly]

KEYS TO VICTORY : Jets-Bills

Eric Allen and Jamir Howerton Deliver the Final Game Preview of the Regular Season

 

video..

> http://www.newyorkjets.com/videos/videos/KEYS-TO-VICTORY-Jets-Bills/94235e76-fa1b-4806-bdbd-f4274c2f13d2

[kelly]

-- The Buffalo Bills declared running back LeSean McCoy (knee) as out for Sunday's regular-season finale against the New York Jets.The decision is not a surprise; McCoy has not practiced since injuring his knee in a Dec. 20 loss to the Washington Redskins. ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter reported that McCoy tore his MCL in the game.

Without McCoy, the Bills will turn to a mix of Mike Gillislee, who started last Sunday's win over the Dallas Cowboys, and Karlos Williams, who received the most carries in Sunday's win, at running back against the Jets.McCoy ends his first season in Buffalo with 895 yards on 203 carries in 12 games played.

>     http://espn.go.com/blog/buffalo-bills/post/_/id/23154/lesean-mccoy-declared-out-for-sundays-finale-against-jets