BB: I think everyone has a copy of
the roster moves that we've made in the last day or two. Rodney [Harrison]
is going to be out for this game, unfortunately. He was injured last week
and we all hope he'll be back out there soon. Nobody worked harder to get
back out on the field this year than he did after what happened last year.
It's unfortunate, but I know he'll work hard and we'll just have to do the
best we can without him here. That being said, it's on to the Jets, a big
division game. We have a lot of respect for the Jets and all the things that
they do. I think that just in watching them play through the first half of
the season, they've established a pattern of being a very explosive team, a
team that can kind of go along and all of a sudden they hit a long pass for
a touchdown or [Leon] Washington breaks off a long run, or
they block a kick, or they return one for a touchdown, or they strip sack
the quarterback and run it in for a touchdown, or they intercept a pass, or
they onside kick. They make big plays and they're not afraid to try them
throughout the course of the game in all three phases. It's a team that can
kind of score at any time, at any point of the game. I think our game was
very indicative and a good example of really the way that their games have
gone all season – big plays here and there scattered in the game that swing the game in
their balance, or make it a very competitive game, depending on what the
case might be. They pretty much happen every week, so it's something that
we're really going to have to guard against. I think Washington has really
given them a big lift in the running game. He's a very quick player, and
strong for his size. Different, but similar to a guy who that has been down
there for a while who I know was placed on reserve last week or whatever it
was. I'll just say in all my experience with Curtis [Martin], he was one of
the most professional players I've ever been around. Nobody worked harder,
nobody was more committed to his team than Curtis was. It's just kind of
unusual to not see him out there in uniform. Anyway, the guys they have are
very good. They have a very good skill position group on offense, an
offensive line that's developing well, and [Chad] Pennington is playing
extremely well. So it's a very talented team and one we're very respectful
of.
Q: Was it tough to see Rodney injured
after everything he's gone through with getting back?
BB: Yes, it's disappointing. It's always disappointing to see any player
that's not able to play. All of our players work hard. It's unfortunate.
Q: The injury is said to not be season ending.
BB: I've said all I know about it right there. He'll be out this week.
Q: If you thought IR, you would do that?
BB: If I knew anymore I would tell you. We've had injuries and we've seen
plenty of cases in this league where players have similar injuries and
they're out different lengths of time. There's no way to predict it. I know
we have a lot of experts out there that think everything can be very clearly
stated, but the fact of the matter is that's just not the case. You see many
examples of it throughout the league and throughout sports.
Q: Is it fair to say that the [Rashad] Baker move had something to do
with that?
BB: We talked about that when he was placed on the wire prior to the
game. So he was a guy that we had some feeling for, coming out at Tennessee.
We played against him in Buffalo. He played against us a couple of years
ago. He played a significant part of the game. We thought about that when he
was released at the beginning of the season, when Buffalo released him prior
to the opener because we had seen him play in preseason and so we kind of
followed him there. He's a smart kid. He has some experience and he's been
in this division. So we'll see. We had actually talked about that prior to
the game.
Q: Do you feel like you're pretty prepared for missing Rodney just
because you have Chad [Scott] who has played quite a bit of safety now?
BB: We've been out there practicing and playing and meeting all year.
Everybody has been a part of those meetings and walkthroughs. I don't think
there's anything that...everything we do we go over with the entire team,
not just one person.
Q: Turnovers were a big part of the game last week. Is that something
that a coach can address to get it through a player's mind or is it
something that happens during a game?
BB: I think that when you look through the course of a game, or the
course of a season even, you look back at all of your turnovers, the ones
that you got or the ones that you committed, there are some that are
probably really good plays by the other team, plays that they made that were
special plays that had the ball turned over. Then there are others turnovers
offensively that come from carelessness, or bad decisions, or poor
execution, or whatever. It's much more of the offense committing the
turnover than the defense causing it. So, I think it's both. You want to
give the defense as few opportunities as possible, but there are some good
defensive players in this league and they're going to make some plays, but
when you are just careless with the ball and don't take care of it, then
turnovers are going to be a lot more frequent and you try to prevent every
single one of those that you can. That's all part of the same conversation,
I just think it's different degrees.
Q: Was it your thinking that, what you just talked about, the turnovers
were careless?
BB: I think that in the first half of the year, looking back on our
turnovers on both sides of the ball, I would say that they fell into both
categories and that's the way it usually happens.
Q: How would you say James Sanders has progressed?
BB: I think James is a young, improving player. He works hard. He's a
tough kid. I think he has a pretty good understanding of our system and I
have confidence in him as a player.
Q: Has he played on defense since the Denver game?
BB: Well, he's basically has been Rodney's backup. The Colts game was a
little bit different because they really played like a wide receiver set, in
essence, with [Dallas] Clark in the game. It depends on our game plan from
week to week, but yes, he's played a little bit.
Q: How much different is the Jets' running game since the first time you
saw them?
BB: The scheme is not a lot different, but the production has been a lot
different. I'm sure part of that has been solidifying the offensive line and
keeping that unit pretty much intact here for the last few games, four or
five games, whatever it's been. Washington, [Kevan] Barlow,
they've kind of
been splitting the carries. Washington is giving them a lot of productive
plays, both in the running game and the passing game. He's helped them in
the passing game, too. He is a good back.
Q: You've had a lot of success playing against a team the second time
around in the season. What plays into that?
BB: I don't know. We try to prepare for each game as its own entity and
that's the way we do it on every single game.
Q: How much more do you learn playing a team on the field than earlier in
the season?
BB: I think you learn something every time you play a team, unless it's
just so far back and so many things have changed. But it's rare that it
would be that far in the distance, especially if it's a division game. You
always have personnel matchups and those types of things. So I think you can
learn something from every game.
Q: What do you think Eric [Mangini's] stamp has been on that team since
we've gone through half a season now?
BB: I think it's a very talented team. Offensively they have outstanding
skill players. We played Indianapolis and Cincinnati and I'd put the Jets right up there with them – the quarterback, the receiver, the tight end,
their combination of players, running back. They're an outstanding skill
group and that's what they've been. Defensively, they're a team that
pressures and they cause some plays with turnovers on blitzes and
interceptions and things like that. The secondary, [Kerry] Rhodes and [Erik] Coleman are two very active safeties back there. [Jonathan] Vilma is a guy
that's in on a lot of plays. Their scheme is different, but it's a lot of
the same players. They're hard to block on defense. [Shaun] Ellis. [Dewayne] Robertson. [Bryan] Thomas. [Victor] Hobson. Vilma. It's the same guys we've
pretty much played against. [Eric] Barton. It's the same front that we
played against last year and they pressure and they have a ball-hawking
secondary. I think in a lot of ways, the schemes are little bit different,
but it's a lot of the same players making the same plays. They're pretty
good. [Justin] Miller on kickoff returns. We've seen him before. Kickers.
There's a lot of carryover personnel wise and it's a lot of the same guys
having production that have had it before against us and against everybody
else.
Q: Obviously you guys have had your problems with Rhodes. Are some of the
challenges that you face Rhodes with and blocking him and accounting for him
in the passing game somewhat similar to what you dealt with with [Bob] Sanders?
BB: I mean the schemes are so different.
Q: What kind of problems does Rhodes present?
BB: Well, the Jets do a lot of different things with their secondary.
They blitz and they play them in the deep part of the field. They play them
in man coverage, so they move them around by game plan from week to week. Rhodes and Coleman are both very productive safeties. They're guys that are
good in coverage. Rhodes has had a number of plays this year as a blitzer. A
lot of those have been safety overload type of blitzes where they have more
than you can block. It's not always him beating a guy, but it's them
outnumbering or hitting a blitz or protection that either the quarterback or
the protection misses it somehow or other.
Q: That's what happened when he came free and hit [Tom] Brady on that
play?
BB: Yes. We didn't execute the play very well. It was poorly coached and
poorly run.
Q: In speaking to Rodney, what sense do you have to the similarities
between this injury and the one he had in '99?
BB: I don't know. I wasn't with him in '99.
Q: In speaking to him now?
BB: I didn't ask him about it.
Q: Do you feel that he's any better equipped to deal with this one
because he's had that one?
BB: I don't know. You'd have to ask him that. I think he's a pretty tough
player, mentally and physically a tough player, I would say that, regardless
of what the situation was.
Q: You have a chance to go 5-0 in the division. How much do you look at
that?
BB: All division games are important and this is a big one. We look at
every single one of them as one of the most important games on our schedule.
The Jets, this is it. It's a huge game for us.
Q: What do you think the inconsistencies have been with [Stephen] Gostkowski and some of his kicks pushing wide right?
BB: I think any time that a player is a skill player, there's a fine line
between a very good play and a play that's not so good. Several little
things and little adjustments that, if you don't do it right, whether it's
hitting a golf ball, kicking a football or trying to make a jump shot,
everything needs to be right. As a unit, anytime you're operating with a
unit play like you are on a field goal, which is different than a golf swing
or a jump shot I would say, that there is the whole timing involved with the
unit as well. Things we have to keep working on. |
