BB: We're ready to go; it's an
exciting time of the year. After all the months of preparation and the
16-game regular season, it's exciting to be here and be one of the final 12
teams. It's an honor to be part of it. Obviously, we're going up against a
real good football team. The Jets are playing as well as anyone right
now, they won six of there last eight and all of their division games on the
road. They came up here and handled us. They have a lot of good players, Eric (Mangini) and his staff has done a great job with their
team. We know we're going to have to play our best game of the year on
Sunday to be competitive. That's what we are going to work toward and I'm
sure it will be a dogfight like it always is in this position between these
two teams. That's what our expectations are and that's what we're working
on.
Q: On the two teams being so familiar
with each other...
BB: Especially in the particular
situation, when we played the Jets the second game of the year and
again in the middle of the season and now in the playoffs, it's so spread
out that you've seen every game. We've seen all the preseason games; we've
seen all the regular season games, just because of the timing and the
schedule of the games. You can learn something from everything, but you do
have to be careful about overanalyzing and having too much information. You
have to boil it down to something and figure out what you want to do and how
you want to approach it. You can't worry about every single thing that's
happened all year, because there are too many things to worry about. You can
be prepared for them and aware and hopefully ready to deny them when they
happen, but we can't run every play they've run or every blitz they've
called any more then they can do that with us. We have to put our chips on
something and hope we are somewhere on what they'll be doing against us.
Q: On seeing similarities in the Jets under Coach Mangini...
BB: There are definitely similarities
defensively. The bottom line is, the Jets are a good football team, Eric has done a good job with them, their staff has done a good job
with them. They have a lot of great players. This was a team that two years
ago was a field goal away from an AFC Championship game in Pittsburgh. They're playing as well as anyone in the league right now in
the second half of the season. They lead the league in a lot of defensive
categories, special teams categories. They're completing a lot of passes on
offense, high percentages, big time of possession, red zone efficiency. They
are doing a lot of things well. It's a total effort and a lot of them
deserve a lot of credit for the success that they're having.
Q: On being surprised with the Jets' success this season...
BB: No, not at all. Two years ago
they were a field goal away from the AFC Championship Game. Last year
they went through three quarterbacks and a bunch of other guys. This year,
you look at the front seven, you look at the receivers, you look at the
quarterback, you look at a lot of the key components of that team and
they're the players that are some of the strongest players on the team that
were carrying them a couple of years ago. They have a lot of good players
that continue to be a strong part of that franchise. Obviously, they've
supplemented it with some younger players, guys like (Mike) Nugent and (Leon) Washington and so forth. There are a lot of guys
that you can add to that list, but there's still a core group. Eric has done a great job and he's seen the team improve through the course of
the year. I'm not surprised at all, it's a good football team, it's been a
good football team and I'm sure they'll continue to be a good football team.
Q: On his relationship with Coach
Mangini...
BB: I made comments about Eric when he was hired. I still feel that way, nothing has changed there. This
game is about these two teams this week playing to keep their season alive.
That's really what my focus is and that's what our team's focus is, to try
and play well on Sunday and keep our team's season going. It's a very
competitive situation and it's a one game season right now and that's the
approach this week and that's the focus right now.
Q: On the loss of Rodney Harrison...
BB: We'd love to have all of our
players healthy and we'd love to have all of them out there, but
unfortunately, he won't be able to play in this game. We'll just have to go
on without him. That's unfortunate, but that's the way it is.
Q: On the impact of missing Ty
Warren for the game in New England...
BB: I couldn't put a percentage on
it. We'd like to have all of our players available for every game, but
realistically, in the NFL, that's hard to do. The players that are
there and the players that are playing and the coaches that are coaching
need to do the best they can to help the team win. In that game, the Jets'
players and coaches did a better job than we did, all the way around. They
deserved to win, they were the better team on that day and that's why they
were victorious.
Q: On playing better since the loss
to the Jets...
BB: You can take a lot from that
game. Those are the same two teams that will be playing on Sunday. You're
going to see mostly the same players out there. It will be determined by
which team plays better. Not who won the last game, not who won last week,
but who plays better on Sunday. That's the way it always is. I'm sure like
every game, it will have its own elements and his own personality and its
own twists and turns, which makes every game unique, but a lot of the
matchups and I'm sure there will be a lot of things that will be similar to
a couple of months ago. Whether the results will be the same remains to be
seen.
Q: On Coach Mangini being
involved in their adjustments last year...
BB: Of course.
Q: On this game being his worst
nightmare...
BB: It's an honor to be in the
playoffs, to be one of the 12 teams. We are trying to extend our season by a
week, just as our opponents are. That's how I feel about the game. It's a
one-game season, we're going to do the best we can as a football team to
play our best football and move on in the competition. That's what it will
take, our best game of the year. Whoever you play at this time of the year
is a good football team or they wouldn't still be playing. We have a lot of
respect for the Jets; they came up here and beat us. I don't think
anyone has more respect for the Jets for our opponent then we do.
Q: On not shaking hands with Coach
Mangini after the last game...
BB: I never said anything negative.
Q: On Chad Pennington's
season...
BB: He's had a great year. He's done
a great job. He does a lot of things well. He's smart, he has a quick
release, and he sees the field well. He hits receivers on shorter patterns,
in stride, so they can run after the catch and gain yards on those plays. He
uses a variety of receivers, getting the ball to the open guy, all the
receivers, the tight ends and the backs. He's a very productive player; he's
very good in the red area, which goes back to his quick release and
accuracy. He's an outstanding quarterback and has been for a number of
years. He's always played well against us and always played well against
everybody really, he's had a good, solid career.
Q: On enjoying coaching against
another cerebral head coach...
BB: It's a game between two teams
that know each other well, that have played two games against each other
earlier in the season. They're going to try and put their best football out
on the field Sunday afternoon, both of them. I'm sure it will be a highly
competitive game and everybody will be out there trying to do everything
they can to extend the season for their team. The team that plays the best,
that's the team that's going to win.
Q: On preparing for the Jets'
offense...
BB: It's definitely more challenging.
They have a lot of different personal groups; they change them on a regular
basis. It's harder to see the play until the ball is actually snapped and a
lot of times you can't recognize it until after the plays has started. It
definitely limits the anticipation because they give you so many different
looks until the ball is snapped and then they run the plays that they are
used to running and they execute them well. Up until that time, it's hard to
zero-in on anything. They disguise things well. Most importantly, they have
a lot of good players and those guys are productive and they make plays.
That's the heart of the matter right there.
Q: On Tom Brady and the
passing game...
BB: Tom is a good quarterback.
There's no quarterback I'd rather have. He's done a good job and had a good
year. But I think like every player and every coach, that there are things
that could be better and things that we can all improve on. I'm sure Tom
feels that way. That's they way I feel, I'm sure every player feels this
way. Football is a team sport and it's working together with your teammates
and getting things done on a collective basis against high competition
throughout the league and a lot of different schemes and players and
personnel matchups that you face from week-to-week and that's what the game
is. We've had a productive year offensively and a lot of that comes from
him. But we're always looking to do better and nobody is harder on himself
than Tom is, in terms of working to improve and trying to find a better way.
That's how I characterize it.
Q: On what trait has allowed Coach
Mangini to be successful this season...
BB: The team has been very
consistent; they don't make very many mistakes. They do not have many
penalties, they don't turn the ball over that much. You earn everything you
get against them and they take advantage of their opportunities. I think
that comes from good preparation and good coaching and good execution.
Q: On taking pride when his former
assistants have success of their own...
BB: Right now, down the road for me
is Sunday. My focus is on this game and that's plenty. With what happens at
some other point in time, is not a high priority. I'm concerned with how our
team is going to play against the Jets on Sunday and that's where my
focus is. |
