Buffalo Bills @ New York Jets Game Thread

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Scouting the Opponent: Buffalo Bills


Former Jets RBs Coach Anthony Lynn Takes Over for Rex Ryan in Buffalo


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Last Meeting
The Jets prevailed in a Week 2 shootout over the Bills on Thursday Night Football. The 37-31 game was the first ever NFL contest streamed on Twitter. Ryan Fitzpatrick, who will make the start in Week 17, threw for 374 yards for the Green & White as they amassed 496 yards in primetime action.

New Look
The Bills announced Tuesday that they fired both head coach Rex Ryan and defensive coordinator Rob Ryan. Anthony Lynn will be the team’s interim head coach after serving as offensive coordinator for the majority of the season. Additionally, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the Bills will sit QB Tyrod Taylor and backup E.J. Manuel will start in his place.

Hot and Cold
After starting the year 0-2, the Bills went on four-game win streak and sat in second place in the AFC East entering Week 7. Since, the team has lost six of their final nine and holds a record of 7-8.

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Busy B’s
Inside linebackers Zach Brown and Preston Brown continue to be active as both rank in the top 10 in tackles throughout the league. In his first year with the Bills, Zach Brown is the NFL’s third-leading tackler (138) while Preston Brown ranks No. 10 (125).

Fountain of Youth
OLB Lorenzo Alexander, a 33-year-old on his fifth NFL team, is T4 in the NFL with 11.5 sacks. Known for his special teams play most of this career, Alexander had registered 9.0 sacks over his first nine seasons.

No Fly Zone
CB Stephon Gilmore is leading a unit that ranks No. 7 in the NFL in pass defense and he is T2 in the league with five interceptions. Buffalo is holding its opponents to an average of 225 passing yards per game and is allowing QBs to complete 59.5% of their passes.

Stampede
Led by RB LeSean McCoy, the Bills rank No. 1 in rushing throughout the NFL and are averaging 170.8 yards per game. McCoy is the league’s fourth-leading rusher with 1,257 yards on the ground and is averaging 5.5 yards per clip. The Pitt product has found pay dirt 14 times this season. Taylor was the team’s number two rushing threat, carrying the rock 95 times for 580 yards and six TDs.

Amped Up: Jets-Bills

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Coordinator's Corner: Rodgers Not Expecting Changes with QB Manuel

Coordinator's Corner: Rodgers Not Expecting Changes with QB Manuel

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The Bills enter Sunday’s matchup against the Jets with a different look on offense than the last time these teams played. Former RBs coach Anthony Lynn took over the offensive play calling after Greg Roman was fired in September and will serve as the interim head coach for Buffalo on Sunday in place of Rex Ryan. Additionally, EJ Manuel has been given the keys to the offense as Tyrod Taylor was benched in a business decision. Manuel got some game action against the Green & White in Week 2 when Taylor was being evaluated for a concussion, completing one pass for 10 yards.

“We went back and looked at some stuff with EJ last year and the few snaps he had this year,” defensive coordinator Kacy Rodgers said. “We really don’t anticipate them changing anything. They kind of do what they do. Tyrod is a little more elusive in certain situations, but EJ is different in some ways. His arm and throwing the ball is a little different. But overall, we see it staying the same.”

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One year removed from setting a franchise record for total yards in a single season, the Jets offense has struggled. Offensive coordinator Chan Gailey said this year has been his most challenging as a coach because of the injuries sustained over the course of the season. Four-fifths of the Jets’ starting offensive line has been placed on IR along with three additional starters.

“I wish I could put my finger on it,” said Gailey regarding the difference in production. “That would be a simple and easy discussion for the offseason to decide what to do. I think it’s a myriad of things that’s happened at different times and created problems for us. I don’t think there’s one simple and easy 'OK, let's do this and everything's back to the way it was last year.' "

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In a year with a lot of moving pieces and new faces, especially on special teams, K Nick Folk has been close to automatic. Returning from a quad injury that put him on the shelf Nov. 10, 2015, Folk has made 24 of his 25 field goals this season, excluding the three that were blocked.

“I think he’s consistent. He knows what it takes to get ready,” special teams coordinator Brant Boyer said. “He knows how to take care of his body. He sticks with the same program just like Adam Vinatieri did. All those veteran guys that have played a long time, they figure it out. You know how to take care of yourself and how many balls you need to kick during the week. You stay on the same program and you know what it takes to get your body ready and he’s done that. He’s done a nice job.”

 

[Fudbutter]

I'm really looking forward to Sunday's game and am sad that it will be a long time until we get to see any Jets games again. It's like the last chocolate in the box. You tend to savor it longer.

 

[TebowCan'tThrow]

I'm really looking forward to Sunday's game and am sad that it will be a long time until we get to see any Jets games again. It's like the last chocolate in the box. You tend to savor it longer.

I haven't seen a real Jets game since we beat the Pats last year. Geez this organization sucks!!!!

 

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Final Injury Report Week 17

Final Injury Report Week 17

It will be interesting to see the Jets RB rotation vs. the Bills. With Forté on IR, Powell (knee) and rookie RB Brandon Wilds (hamstring) were limited today at practice and were listed as questionable. Troy product Brandon Burks was the team’s only healthy RB at Thursday’s practice.

Second-year OLB Lorenzo Mauldin, who is battling an ankle injury, won’t suit up for a fifth consecutive game and finished the year with 2.5 sacks and 18 QB hits. And a nagging hamstring injury will keep DL Steve McLendon out of the lineup for a fifth consecutive contest as well.

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One Last Chance for Green & White to Gain Experience

One Last Chance for Green & White to Gain Experience

The NFL schedule makers didn't do the Jets any favors this year, but the league in general made another good call a few years back in scheduling division opponents against each other the last two weeks of the season.

Neither the Jets at 4-11 nor the Bills at 7-8 is fighting for a postseason berth in their New Year's Day season finale at MetLife Stadium. But both are fighting for AFC East props, not to mention fighting for jobs in 2017.

What's at stake this week, head coach Todd Bowles was asked. "Trying to win a game against a divisional opponent," Bowles said. "A lot of pride to go out on a winning note."

"They’re out of the playoffs, we’re out of the playoffs," said QB Ryan Fitzpatrick. "We'll have some young guys I think maybe get some experience. ... Some of these young receivers are talented guys. I think they'll have an opportunity to make some plays Sunday.

"I think it’s just another opportunity to go out there for all of us to focus on playing the game we love and trying to have fun with it."

Here's one reason to have fun the morning after the ball drops in Times Square: The Jets and Bills have met on New Year's Day once before this millennium, on Jan. 1, 2006, in the Meadowlands. The Green & White prevailed, 30-26. And the next season was a playoff campaign. No, no Namathian guarantees that a win in this game will do the same. Just a thought that, win or lose but preferably win, better times are ahead.

 

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7 Points: Jets vs. Bills on New Year's Day

7 Points: Jets vs. Bills on New Year's Day

1. Releveling the Playing Field

The two 22-17 losses last year extended the Green & White's losing streak against their old AFL brethren to five in a row. But one of the Jets' four victories this year came by 37-31 at Buffalo in Week 2, and a win Sunday will give them their first sweep of the Bills since 2011. At home, the Jets are one game up in the regular-season series, 28-27. And at home previously this season, the Jets are 1-6. Besides a winter headband, the Jets could provide the best fans in the NFL home win No. 2, which would be a small springboard into '17 but a springboard nevertheless.

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2. Lynn Takes the Reins

The NFL makes for strange bedfellows every week, and this game is one more example. It was going to be Bowles' Jets against Rex Ryan's Bills for the fourth time since Bowles took over the Jets after Ryan's departure. Instead, the Bills fired Ryan this past week and elevated Anthony Lynn to interim HC. Lynn was the Jets' RBs coach for six seasons and also assistant head coach for two. Now he's getting a shot to position himself as Buffalo's field general of the future. The first test of his extended job interview is to beat his former team.

3. Fitz Once More

The ball is back one more time in Fitzpatrick's hands and he'll be making his 27th start as the Jets' QB (after 53 starts with the Bills from 2009-12). Fitz of course was 10-6 last year but 2-8 this year. "The way it's gone and for me, especially my playing and things I could've done better, that's what makes this so hard," he said. It probably didn't seem like it would be that hard back in Week 2, when Fitzpatrick threw for 374 yards at Buffalo. Rookie Christian Hackenberg is not a lock to play but it would be appropriate Sunday if Jets fans got a look at a QB who will figure in the new year ahead.

4. EJ for Tyrod

The Bills' QB picture is also muddled since Lynn said a "business decision" has led Buffalo to sit Tyrod Taylor, their starter for 29 games the last two years, in favor of EJ Manuel, their first-round pick in 2013. The Jets split against Manuel as a rookie that year and he's thrown only one pass against them since. The Green & White defense would love to score some takeaways against a rusty Manuel but that doesn't seem likely as the Jets are tied for 30th in the NFL with 11 TAs while the Bills lead the league with a mere nine giveaways.

5. Backs in the Forefront ...

QBs aside, this game should be decided on the ground. The three RBs with the NFL's best yards/carry averages this season (85 attempts) will be trying to gash each other's defenses. The feature bout could be the Jets' Bilal Powell, at 5.50 on 109 carries, vs. the Bills' LeSean McCoy, a hundredth of a yard off the pace at 5.49 on 229 totes. Then augmenting "@CutonDime25" is Mike Gillislee, who's averaging 6.24 yards on 86 carries. Jets starter Matt Forté, who sat last week and whose 3.7 rush average isn't as impressive but who starred in Week 2 with 100 yards and three rushing TDs, went on IR this afternoon.

6. ... Back of the Pack

Then there is the opposite end of the rushing spectrum, a.k.a. Reggie Bush. The well-traveled 11th-year man and one-time Heisman winner came to the Bills this year with the idea of contributing his versatility to the Bills' cause. Instead, Bush has 12 carries for minus-3 yards. He could become the first non-QB since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger with 10 carries and minus yardage. We could see Lynn, the old backup back from way back, getting Bush the carries to get back into positive territory, but this is probably fairly far down on the Bills' to-do list.

7. Last Call for Sacks

It's the last train to Sacksville in '16. For Buffalo, LB Lorenzo Alexander has 11.5 sacks (including one of Fitzpatrick early this year), tied for fourth in the NFL. The Jets, meanwhile, have been in a sack drought since the opening seven-sack glut vs. Cincinnati, but Leonard Williams (team-leading 7 sacks), Muhammad Wilkerson (40 career sacks) and Sheldon Richardson would all love to display some Manuel dexterity. The Bills may not turn the ball over, but their QBs have been sacked 43 times this season, second-most in the league.

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[Jetsfanatic]

As much as I love Jets football, I'm looking forward to the end of this season and the begining of the 2017 reclamation project. As for Sunday's game, I'm just looking forward to the final tailgate of the season.

 

[hatnlvr]

This is a rough season ending and to make matters worse Petty is IR so just call it Fitz last dance. Here's looking forward to the draft and offseason rebuild LOL.

 

[BlindsideD'Brick]

This is akin to week 3 of the preseason. Some young players get a chance to show if they're worth sticking around. We have more players on IR than I can ever remember.

 

[TebowCan'tThrow]

I hope Hack gets a chance to play. I don't care how it happens.

 

[gmf1369]

I hope Hack gets a chance to play. I don't care how it happens.

I hope he doesn't...

Contingencies should be in place if Fitz gets hurt like Powell being limited letting both rookies Burks and Wilds get most of the snaps...

Hack has improved and is still far from ready, putting him behind this OLine then he gets hurt, then what?

 

[Jetsfanatic]

I agree. Let Fitz mop up this disaster of a season, then when the final gun goes off, on to 2017!

 

[NYJETSDAN16]

Set a precedence if Bowles is to come back:

deactivate:

Revis,
Harris,
Richardson,
Marshall
Wilkerson

Four out of these players wont be back next season. Have Wilkerson begin his "Rehab" the right way on his broken leg he atrributes the Jets medical staff for not healing right.

Fitzpatrick is going to get knocked out and i believe like it or not, Hack will play and we will see one of the most conservative play calling to an "Herm Edwards degree" from that point.




After the game is where the fun begins. If some reports are true that Bowles is in charge of making the changes (God help us) on his coaching staff, they should all be relieved effective immediately. Though it will be interesting if Bowles has the nads to do so or if he wants out as well if his BOYS go.

The other issue with having Bowles back on the 3rd year is the fact that he will want to win immediatley to merit a contract extension. Saying this, he will vouch again for another veteran QB, hindering Hacks time to step on the field with a young team to grow.

 

[NewMFS62]

There's a Law and Order Special Victims Unit marathon running on one of the cable stations.
They haven't shown the episode about Jets fans, yet.
But I'll keep checking on on it to see if they will.

Later

 

[SackExchange]

How novel, playing Sheldon on the DL as opposed to LB.

 

[SackExchange]

What got into Darron Lee? He looked all over the place that first series.

 

[TebowCan'tThrow]

Worst OL in football. Hasn't been able to make a 4th and 1 in many years. Doesn't matter who the coach is.

 

[gastineau]

4th down goingh for it & Bill TO switch to big guys & Gailey/Bowles still go for running up the middle without Mangold at Center? Does Bowles know Gailey running up the middle against Bills BIG front? Should have ran outside or short pass or field goal. WTF? Coaching is awful

 

[hatnlvr]

man even the cameramen suck today!