Alright folks, with that post, that marks the end of my week as I’ll be leaving for Buffalo in roughly 6 hours. It should be a hell of a time and I hope to have a report from the tailgate party for you guys on Monday along with the usual recap. Hopefully some pictures too.

Enjoy your weekend and Let’s Go Jets!

This week’s blogger is former Spectrum Sports Editor Dave Jarka. Dave put a lot of time and work into this column, easily the most of any opposing blogger thus far this season. Enjoy people.

Bills/Jets Preview – Week Four

Pre-season expectations varied widely amongst the Buffalo Bills’ fan base from sleeper playoff contender to cellar dwellers. From the results of the first three weeks of the National Football League season, it’s safe to say that the pessimists have had the more accurate predictions so far. Read the rest of this entry »

1. Offense - It’s defense that wins championships, but when you’re playing a meager opponent like the Buffalo Bills, it’s the offense that wins this game. The Jets should have a potent attack against a Bills defensive unit that ranks at or near the bottom of the league in nearly every category. I expect RB Thomas Jones to garner his second-straight 100-yard game on the ground and for Leon Washington to finally be involved in the offense. Also, look for a big game out of WRs Jerricho Cotchery and Laveranues Coles as the Bills DBs have trouble covering anyone with two working legs. This should be a game where the offense can continue to gain steam after being off track in the season’s first two games.
2. LT D’Brickashaw Ferguson - As improved as Ferguson was last week, history shows that he could be abysmal this week, which would go a long way to derailing the Jets’ offensive endeavors. Bills pro bowl DE Aaron Schobel lit Ferguson up for 3.5 sacks last year and Ferguson will likely draw Schobel on most pass-rushing downs. Ferguson has been maddeningly-inconsistent in his year+ in the league, giving many Jets reason to doubt his long term potential. If Ferguson is able to handle Schobel it would go a long way to proving that he can be a consistent blind side protector for the next 10 years.
3. Pass Rush - This is a beefy Bills line, featuring future All-Pro LT Jason Peters, but that has not stopped Denver, Pittsburgh and New England from getting after the quarterback. Granted, the Jets are in no where near the class of those three defensively (well, maybe Denver), but with a struggling offense and a rookie quarterback making his first career start, this is the ideal opportunity to cause chaos in the backfield. OLB Bryan Thomas needs to show he’s actually playing, not just standing around, and DE Shaun Ellis must build off his one-sack performance last week against the Dolphins. This may be the week we finally see a lot of David Bowens on obvious passing downs.
4. SS Kerry Rhodes - It’s safe to say that the first game against Buffalo last year was Rhodes’ coming out party. He finished with 10 tackles, 7 solo and 2 sacks for 18 total yards, both which resulted in fumbles. Expect similar results this year, as Rhodes is again coming off a one-interception game and looking for a breakout game to re-assert himself on the N.F.L. radar. Bills QB Trent Edwards does not scare anyone with his arm and the Bills are expected to play a game of short passes and lots of handoffs so expect head coach Eric Mangini and defensive coordinator Bob Sutton are sure to play Rhodes close to the line of scrimmage. Rhodes figures to be Edwards’ best friend by the end of the day.
5. Coaching - It’s safe to say the Jets have the advantage on the mental side of things. Dick Jauron is again proving why he failed in Chicago and has been out-coached three weeks in a row. Mangini and company have had their merits questioned thus far this season and this is a clear chance for them to return to their 2006 form that led many to say they were one of the best-coached teams in the league. Mangini and Sutton are going to throw a lot of blitzes and pressures at Edwards and the Bills until the rookie proves that he can handle it and make the smart decision. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, correctly conservative last week against Miami, should have no problem unveiling the big guns this week against a suspect D.

So, here’s the first in a series of previews done by myself and a fellow Sports Cartel blogger. Alex Rubin contributes from the Dolphins side and you can see his work at www.billsdominate.com. Hope you all enjoy. Since I’m a good sport, Alex will kick things off.

Alex:
It’s pretty simple how the Bills can win; it involves contacting the New England Patriots and offering to pay a king’s ransom to get the tapes of the Jets defensive signals. Read the rest of this entry »

(Note: Belichickian protocol be damned! We will have our injury report! Earlier this offseason, N.F.L. Commissioner Roger Goodell, in an attempt to cuff the duplicitous actions of some of his head coaches (mostly of the Belichick coaching tree), re-worked and re-worded the weekly injury report teams are mandated to release. Instead of seeing probable, questionable, and doubtful on a report, these days teams and fans are privy to four categories: Full participation in practice, limited participation in practice, did not participate in practice and the always-standard out.)

The Week 3 Injury Reports is as follows:

JETS

• Full Participation in Practice
  • FB Darian Barnes (shoulder), CB David Barrett (thigh), LB David Bowens (hand), RB Thomas Jones (calf), TE Joe Kowalewski (shoulder) and NT Sione Pouha (foot)

• Limited Participation in Practice
  • WR Jerricho Cotchery (shoulder), CB Andre Dyson (foot), RG Brandon Moore (shoulder), QB Chad Pennington (ankle), NT Dewayne Robertson (knee) and S Eric Smith (thigh)
• Did Not Participate in Practice
  • LB Cody Spencer (Illness)

BILLS

• Full Participation in Practice
  • WR Sam Aiken (groin) and CB Terrence McGee (ribs)

• Did Not Participate In Practice
  • QB J.P. Losman (knee)

• Out
  • DE Ryan Denney (foot), LB Keith Ellison (ankle), LB Paul Posluszny (forearm), G Jason Whittle (hamstring) and LB Coy Wire (knee)

• Bassett takes a look at the trends developing in the N.F.L. so far and has video of the Thomas Jones stiffarm.
• Gary Grund of Jets Central passes on word that WR Justin McCareins could be on the trae block.
• Yesterday, Tom Rock pleaded for the Jets to drop the 3-4 defense and he follows up on his thoughts on his blog.
• The Bills love has carried over to the blogs… Run for your lives! It’s a runaway promotional tool!
• Gross weighs in on the 3-4/4-3 debate.

For those of you venturing up to Buffalo or those of you who just want to know what it’s like in cold, snowy Western New York, here’s a couple of clues.

The media’s perception

The reality? (Parental Discretion Advised)

Man, sometimes I miss Buffalo.

• In the absence of veteran guard Pete Kendall, Brandon Moore has taken on a leadership post.
• Check out Buffalo’s conference call and Wednesday’s player interviews and Mangini’s press conference.
• The defense is firmly focused on two inexperienced Bills.
• Even Randy Lange is talking up the Bills.

Before we begin, I feel it important to pass on this story.

Following last week’s victory over the Buffalo Bills, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, in his postgame press conference, tried talking up the Bills and said they have some really good fast strong players on defense. He was quick at first naming safety Donte Whitner and defensive end Aaron Schobel. Following that, you could see a blank stare emanate from Brady as his brain tried to process other names. He stalled for a few seconds before re-stating his point about the Bills having a fast, strong defense. Basically, Brady was trying hard not to laugh out loud and exclaim, “Do you know how easy that was?!”

I tell you this because yesterday at Hofstra, head coach Eric Mangini instilled into his players the same logic and what we got was roughly 17 beat reports stating the same thing: “We’re not overlooking the 0-3 Bills.” Thus, I can’t bring it upon myself to post them all. So instead, we have a short Machine today. Sorry. Blame Brady.

• Call them the Buffa-woe Bills.
• Retired RB Curtis Martin is a busy man these days.
• The news on injured Bills TE Kevin Everett is improving each day as he does, an encouraging sign for the mournful masses.
• Oh yeah, and in case you haven’t figured it out yet, Brady and Randy Moss have clicked–and they’re both loving it.

Here are (most of) the weekly power rankings from around the media.

(The number in parentheses is the Jets previous ranking from a week earlier.)

ESPN: 21 (24)
CBS: 23 (25)
SportingNews: 25 (24)
FoxSports: 15 (20)
Yahoo (Jason Cole): 22 (22)
Yahoo (Charles Robinson: 21 (20)
Bob Glauber: 21 (21)