Sports

Football

New York Jets

ny-jetssteelers2011-sg

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. 
The disagreements between <a href="/topics/New_York_Jets">Jets</a> coach <a href="/topics/Rex_Ryan">Rex Ryan</a> and his defensive coordinator, <a href="/topics/Mike_Pettine">Mike Pettine</a>, often get so heated that some of their fellow coaches think the two might be close to coming to blows. 
Ryan and Pettine have an unorthodox arrangement in which both men will call different plays within the same game, and their arguments over the headsets are laced with anger and profanity. 
"If anybody ever recorded us on the headsets, we'd have our own reality show," Pettine said Thursday as the <a href="/topics/New_York_Jets">Jets</a> continued preparations for Sunday's <a href="/topics/AFC">AFC</a> Championship Game against the Steelers. "People say we're like brothers on the headset, and we've been approached after the game and they're like, 'Hey, are you and Rex OK?' '' 
After a recent win, Pettine recalled that conversation as he and the rest of the staff smoked cigars near the team bus, one of Ryan's traditions. "I'm like, 'We're smoking cigars in the parking lot. Of course we're OK,' '' Pettine told the coach. "Half of it you don't even remember, but it's just two competitive guys and we both have our opinions." 
The relationship may be the only one of its kind in the <a href="/topics/National_Football_League">NFL</a>. After all, you rarely, if ever, see two coaches call defensive plays in the same game. It's either the head coach doubling as defensive signal-caller or the defensive coordinator deciding on the plays, perhaps with some input from his head coach. 
But through their argumentative repartee on the sideline, Ryan and Pettine have combined forces to build one of the league's top defenses. Their collective efforts have been positively brilliant in the Jets' back-to-back playoff wins over <a href="/topics/Peyton_Manning">Peyton Manning</a> and <a href="/topics/Tom_Brady">Tom Brady</a>, who are generally considered the top two quarterbacks in the game. 
The Jets limited Manning to 225 passing yards and a touchdown in a 17-16 win in <a href="/topics/Indianapolis">Indianapolis</a> in the first round of the playoffs. Brady passed for 299 yards and two touchdowns in the Jets' 28-21 upset in Foxboro, but he was intercepted once and sacked five times. 
Ryan gradually has ceded more play-calling control to Pettine this season, but the head coach has taken on a more active role in the playoffs. It's not to the point, however, that Ryan has taken over the calls completely. 
"I guess when you finally crunch the numbers, probably , but it would be close," Pettine said. 
Is the defensive coordinator OK with the arrangement? "We're 2-0 in the playoffs," he said. "I'm real OK with that." 
It has been a brilliant sequence of play calls from the often combative coaches, and their approach often has been counterintuitive. Though Ryan and Pettine usually take an aggressive stance when game-planning, they have been decidedly conservative against the Colts and Patriots. They usually like to play a lot of man-to-man coverage and send extra blitzers to augment the pass rush; against the dangerous Manning and Brady, the coaches decided to drop more defenders into pass coverage in an attempt to limit the downfield options. 
The approach has worked wonders. With the Jets still throwing an occasional blitz at Manning and Brady, they more often than not kept two safeties "high," meaning <a href="/topics/Brodney_Pool">Brodney Pool</a> and <a href="/topics/Eric_Smith">Eric Smith</a> were deeper in coverage so neither quarterback could hit on the long pass play. The plan has proved to be exceptional; Manning's 57-yard touchdown pass to Pierre Garçon in the second quarter was the only big play the Jets have given up. When you consider how lethal Manning and Brady can be, that net result is outstanding. 
The challenge against <a href="/topics/Pittsburgh">Pittsburgh</a>'s <a href="/topics/Ben_Roethlisberger">Ben Roethlisberger</a> is equally daunting, albeit somewhat different. Manning and Brady like to simply drop back and throw, but despite being 6-5 and 241 pounds, Roethlisberger likes to scramble and allow big plays to develop while he's on the run. 
"It's organized street ball," Pettine said. "When the original play isn't there, it turns into a second play when he's scrambling. It's a playground-type mentality; he can take a play that looks dead and make something out of it." 
Neither Pettine nor Ryan would give away any of their game plan to contain Roethlisberger, but rest assured that plan will give the Jets the best possible chance at success. How it shakes out during the game, who makes the calls and how much cursing there is in the headset - all that remains to be seen. 
"We've gone into games where [Ryan] felt great about first and second downs, and I'd call third downs," Pettine said. "It's changed game to game. And if we start out and things don't go well, we've switched, and even switched back. There's no set script for it." 
Unusual? Yes. Successful? Absolutely. 
"It's weird," Pettine said, "but it works." 
And if it works again Sunday, it's on to the <a href="/topics/Super_Bowl">Super Bowl</a>.

Columnists

Bob Glauber

SPJBOB21

Ryan, Pettine agree to disagree - loudly

Rex Ryan talks with Jets defensive coordinator Mike Pettine

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. - <a href="/topics/Bart_Scott">Bart Scott</a> has always been Bart Scott. That is to say he's always been confident and outspoken, the kind of person you'd love to have on your side but hate to go against. 
It was instilled in him by his mother, he said. As far back as he can remember, she always called him "Great Scott." It didn't take long for him to think of himself in that way.
"I've always believed in me," he said, "even when other people didn't."
In other words, he's always been a Jet.
If there's one thing that separates this Jets team from the 31 others in the <a href="/topics/National_Football_League">NFL</a>, it's not their confidence. It's their willingness to discuss their confidence. They said they would knock off the Colts in the divisional round of the playoffs, and they did. They made no pretenses about wanting to beat up the Patriots last week, and they did that, too. 
They may not be throwing verbal water balloons that splatter all over the Steelers' locker room this week, but the Jets believe they are going to win Sunday's <a href="/topics/AFC">AFC</a> Championship Game, too. 
Obviously, winning breeds confidence, and the Jets have done plenty of that in the last two years. They've won 24 of their 37 games under Rex <a href="/topics/Rex_Ryan">Ryan</a>. 
But while many think that it's Ryan who fosters the air of confidence on this Jets team, the players and coaches believe that confidence is not something that can be coached or learned. It has to be inside of you. It has to always be there. It can't be faked; there's no con in confidence.
You have to have always been a Jet to fit in with these Jets.
"A lot of people just have it, I think," tight end <a href="/topics/Dustin_Keller">Dustin Keller</a> said of the roots of the Jets' confidence. "I was always confident in my abilities, and no matter what was going on, I felt like I had the ability to do whatever it was."
Just to prove the point, several Jets noted that they were a confident bunch even before Ryan arrived here and opened his first news conference with the Jets by talking about winning a <a href="/topics/Super_Bowl">Super Bowl</a>.
"I don't think it changed any with Eric [Mangini] being here or Rex being here," center <a href="/topics/Nick_Mangold">Nick Mangold</a> said. "I just think that as you go along, the more times you do stuff and see stuff, the more confidence you're going to have."
"We've been confident since Day 1," veteran defensive end <a href="/topics/Shaun_Ellis">Shaun Ellis</a> said. "Even the previous teams, we were always confident under Mangini and Herm [Edwards] and all that. We just didn't put it in the media."
They sure do now.
"Rex, he's like 'Put it out there,' " Ellis said. "He's going to tell the world. That's why a lot of people, I guess they look at us like we're cocky and bold and all that. But us, we just don't worry about it. We know our coach puts it out there and he has a lot of belief in us, and we go out there and back him up and prove it."
Are the Jets a cocky team?
"I'm not going to say cocky," Ellis answered. "I think we believe in what we do, and that's what makes us so bold."
That belief was implanted long ago, on faraway fields and sandlots. Ryan may allow the players to give a voice to their confidence, but it already has been molded inside of them.
Ryan pointed to <a href="/topics/Mark_Sanchez">Mark Sanchez</a> as an example. The second-year quarterback has become one of the NFL's best crunch-time QBs, having led five fourth-quarter comebacks and won four road playoff games.
"I think whether it's clutch or whether it's confidence and everything else, he has it," Ryan said. "I think that's a hard skill to develop. I think you either have it or you don't. As a little kid, he probably had it."
Now, on the brink of a Super Bowl, the entire team has it. That feeling that things are going to go well for them, that they are in control. Ryan might have had to bring it out of some players during the season, but at this point, the confidence is on cruise control.
"Right now with this group, that's not an issue for us," Ryan said. "We are a confident team; we've been confident the whole year. There's no reason not to be confident."

SPJMAIN21

Jets' No. 1 pro? Their confidence

Jets linebacker Bart Scott

Former Jets coach and current <a href="/topics/ESPN">ESPN</a> <a href="/topics/National_Football_League">NFL</a> analyst <a href="/topics/Herm_Edwards">Herm</a>&nbsp;<a href="/topics/Herm_Edwards">Edwards</a> thinks his ex-team has a pretty good shot at knocking off the Steelers Sunday and earning its first trip to the <a href="/topics/Super_Bowl">Super Bowl</a> berth in four decades. 
"They've got a great chance," <a href="/topics/Herm_Edwards">Edwards</a> told Newsday. "They're a team that can play good enough defense. The quarterback has shown some maturity in the playoffs. They've won on the road. They've beat <a href="/topics/Pittsburgh">Pittsburgh</a> there this year, which they hadn't done [before]. So they're a very confident group. 
"Now will it be easy? No, it's not going to be easy and it shouldn't be." 
<a href="/topics/Herm_Edwards">Edwards</a> said these are the keys to the game: 
1) <a href="/topics/Mark_Sanchez"></a><a href="/topics/Mark_Sanchez">Mark Sanchez</a> must take care of the ball 
"I think in the playoffs, period, it's the quarterback that makes the least bit of errors who generally wins. Those are the teams that move on because you are playing against good defenses for the most part in the playoffs, and that's what happened last week. The quarterbacks that made errors, those teams did not move on. Why? Because [when you are] playing against good defenses, the offense that gets the ball back on a turnover or an error generally scores points. If you look up the games, that's how they play out." 
2) Eliminate negative plays 
"Offensively for the Jets, it's going to be about staying out of negative plays because <a href="/topics/Pittsburgh">Pittsburgh</a> can force you into negative plays, especially if you try to run the ball early. Their receivers are a matchup problem for the corners of <a href="/topics/Pittsburgh">Pittsburgh</a>, especially if they play eight in the box and they play middle close with a safety. Their corners are not bump-and-run guys. They like to play off and they are fire-zone guys. They are good corners. They are solid corners. But the receivers the Jets have in [Braylon] <a href="/topics/Herm_Edwards">Edwards</a> and [Santonio] Holmes present a little bit of a problem." 
3)&nbsp;Don't be predictable on offense. 
"You've got to try to run the ball. I'm not saying you've got to throw it all the time. I don't think you can do that, but I just think every once in a while on first down, you've got to throw the ball. You've got to go get some yards, you've got to make it second-and-5, help your offense. You don't want to get behind on the chains with this defense, and you've got to know where 43 [<a href="/topics/Troy_Polamalu">Troy Polamalu</a>] is at. He's the difference maker. He's going to make a play. He's the guy that is unaccounted for and the fact that you can run something and you think you've got him accounted for, but you don't, and he goes and makes a play because he is so instinctive. He's kind of like the wild card." 
4) Jets RT <a href="/topics/Wayne_Hunter">Wayne Hunter</a> (starting for the injured <a href="/topics/Damien_Woody"></a><a href="/topics/Damien_Woody">Damien Woody</a>) can't slip up 
"That's going to be the key because <a href="/topics/Lamarr_Woodley">LaMarr Woodley</a> and <a href="/topics/James_Harrison">James Harrison</a> are good linebackers. The Steelers make their hay with their linebackers and their defensive coordinator, <a href="/topics/Dick_LeBeau">Dick LeBeau</a>, is one of the best coordinators in the <a href="/topics/National_Football_League">NFL</a>. You've got to get a hat on those linebackers because they are physical. They're tough.'' 
5) Stick with the formula that got them here 
"The Jets are built to play in the playoffs. They've got a good defense that doesn't allow a lot of points and they can run the ball. That's what gets you into the playoffs. They've been there before. They were there last year and they went on the road and won. So this is a confident team. They've had to slay some dragons. They had to beat Indy in Indy, they had to beat New England in New England, and all that does is give them more confidence."

SPJKEYS21

Herm Edwards' five keys to a Jets win

spJETS

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. - He has been the No. 1 question mark throughout the playoffs. In each of the <a href="/topics/New_York_Jets">Jets</a>' postseason games, <a href="/topics/Mark_Sanchez">Mark Sanchez</a> has been tabbed the inferior quarterback. He's been second to <a href="/topics/Peyton_Manning">Peyton Manning</a>, second to <a href="/topics/Tom_Brady">Tom Brady</a> and now second to <a href="/topics/Ben_Roethlisberger">Ben Roethlisberger</a>.
Yet just because Sanchez doesn't have the hallowed reputation of those <a href="/topics/Super_Bowl">Super Bowl</a> winners doesn't mean he can't steal the spotlight from them. Several observers say the biggest difference between the Jets team that lost last year's <a href="/topics/AFC">AFC</a> Championship Game in <a href="/topics/Indianapolis">Indianapolis</a> and the one looking to get over that hump Sunday in <a href="/topics/Pittsburgh">Pittsburgh</a> is the elevated play of Sanchez.
This season, Sanchez has grown up.
"Most of their big wins this year have come with late-game heroics by Mark Sanchez,'' said <a href="/topics/ESPN">ESPN</a> studio analyst <a href="/topics/Trent_Dilfer">Trent Dilfer</a>, a former quarterback. "The Jets are much more quarterback-dependent as a team right now. Mark has done a remarkable job growing as a player this season."
Sanchez's role in last season's playoff run was that of a game manager, which is a nice way of saying that the rookie's job was not to mess things up. This year, however, he has been a major factor in both postseason wins. In the 17-16 wild-card victory over the Colts, he nailed an 18-yard pass to <a href="/topics/Braylon_Edwards">Braylon Edwards</a> that set up <a href="/topics/Nick_Folk">Nick Folk</a>'s field goal as time expired. Last week in Foxboro, where he had never played well, Sanchez threw three touchdown passes.
"The great thing I see in Mark this year is he's doing it late in games," former quarterback and WFAN talk show host <a href="/topics/Boomer_Esiason">Boomer Esiason</a> said. "When you're making plays late in games like that, it means your anxieties are low. You're not overwhelmed by the moment. He's stepping up when he has to."
Though Sanchez's reputation is that of a laid-back Californian, he has always been an incredibly serious, detail-oriented student. Sanchez, 24, believes in controlling what he can control, which is why he has every minute leading up to Sunday's game scripted and scheduled.
"I know exactly what I'm going to eat on Friday, I know who I'm going eat with and I know what server is going to be serving me," he said. "I know exactly what it's going to be and what time we're leaving . . . I just know what's coming."
Until kickoff, of course.
A big part of the Jets' philosophy has been letting Sanchez make mistakes, then teaching him to move on and grow from them. He may give the Jets heartburn when he kills an early drive with off-target throws, but the Jets say this has all been a part of his maturation process. 
"He wants to be perfect every time. It's our duty as receivers to let him know that mistakes are going to happen during a game," <a href="/topics/Santonio_Holmes">Santonio Holmes</a> said. "If you throw four interceptions, we still have to play until the end of the fourth quarter."
This season, backup quarterback <a href="/topics/Mark_Brunell">Mark Brunell</a> said, Sanchez has learned to erase failures and play big when he has to. When Sanchez makes a mistake, Brunell said, the first thing he does is ask questions. On the sideline, he picks the brains of Brunell and offensive coordinator <a href="/topics/Brian_Schottenheimer">Brian Schottenheimer</a>.
"He may be frustrated but he's very level-headed," Brunell said. "He's determined whatever mistake he made, not to make it again. I think what he did in the Indy game shows a lot. He struggled in the first half, and yet he comes out and is money in the second half. He has just found a way to move on from his mistakes and play his best football as he goes. That's a sign of maturity."
Sanchez threw for only 189 yards and no touchdowns against the Colts. But he completed 3 of 3 passes for 38 yards on the winning drive, when Rex <a href="/topics/Rex_Ryan">Ryan</a> said he saw him "grow up."
"A lot of times, a guy can think he's a good competitor, but when you get on the biggest stage, not so much,'' Ryan said. "He's such a huge competitor, but the bigger the stage, the more he wants to play.''
Dilfer believes Sanchez made his biggest strides as a quarterback Nov. 7 when he rallied the Jets past the Lions, 23-20, in overtime. He threw for 336 yards and erased a 20-10 deficit on the road in the final 2:46 of regulation. His 1-yard run made it 20-17 before he led a last-minute drive that produced Folk's tying field goal. Then Sanchez set up the winning kick when he hit Holmes for 52 yards.
"If he had a signature moment, it would be that one," said Dilfer, who earned a ring with the 2000 Ravens. "I thought that moment was pretty darn spectacular."
Now Sanchez will try to become only the second second-year quarterback to start a Super Bowl. And to get there, he will have to beat Roethlisberger, the first to do it. Five years ago, Big Ben earned a trip to Super Bowl XL by winning three road games in the playoffs.
Roethlisberger said being surrounded by talented veterans helps Sanchez, just as it aided him during his second season. The Steelers quarterback said he's seen how it's helped Sanchez mature.
"He makes the plays," Roethlisberger said. "People get on him a lot and say, 'Run the ball and manage the game, Mark.' Well, no. To be the quarterback at this level and do what he's done, you don't just manage the game. You play the game and do it at a high level, and that's what he's done. Every week you see him take strides and get that much better."
Yes, Sanchez is a lot better than he was as a rookie. But is he good enough to get the Jets to the Super Bowl for the first time since 1969? Is he good enough to become the first <a href="/topics/National_Football_League">NFL</a> quarterback to log five postseason road wins? His teammates certainly think he is.
Said Brunell: "Is he Tom Brady? Is he Peyton Manning? No. But those guys aren't playing football right now and he is. It shows what kind of player he is. I think you're seeing a young Mark Sanchez who's going to be very good, and one of the premier quarterbacks in this league for a very long time."

SPJFEAT21

Maturing Sanchez has learned from mistakes

Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez

&nbsp; 
Roderick Boone <a href="/topics/New_York_Jets">JETS</a> 23, STEELERS 17 The Jets won't be able to run much on <a href="/topics/Pittsburgh">Pittsburgh</a>'s top-ranked rushing defense, but "The Flight Boys" will get it done through the air. 
Bob Glauber JETS 24, STEELERS 21 This one comes right down to the end, with <a href="/topics/Mark_Sanchez">Mark Sanchez</a> leading the game-winning drive in the final minute to set up <a href="/topics/Nick_Folk">Nick Folk</a>'s clinching kick. 
Greg Logan JETS 20, STEELERS 16 Jets fan from Polo Ground days was upset with my pick of Pats last week. He says Jets win, 27-20, but if I'm ever going to see Jets in <a href="/topics/Super_Bowl">Super Bowl</a> again, defense must out-tough Roethlisberger. 
<a href="/topics/Tom_Rock">Tom Rock</a> JETS 27, STEELERS 24 (OT) After it's knotted at 21 after regulation, Jets become the first team in <a href="/topics/National_Football_League">NFL</a> history to fall behind in overtime but still win. 
Kimberley A. Martin JETS 24, STEELERS 20 <a href="/topics/Calvin_Pace">Calvin Pace</a> breaks Big Ben's nose — and this time Roethlisberger won't be able to return and save the day. 
Neil Best STEELERS 22, JETS 17 It’s been a heck of a run, but Big Ben and <a href="/topics/Mike_Tomlin">Mike Tomlin</a> are not sentimental types. The Steel Curtain will come down on what has been a great show. 
Arthur Staple JETS 23, STEELERS 21 A tight, tense game all the way through comes down to a closing Mark Sanchez drive and a winning Nick Folk field goal. 
Barbara Barker JETS 23, STEELERS 17 Jets head to Super Bowl after winning their third playoff game on the road against a <a href="/topics/Pro_Bowl">Pro Bowl</a> quarterback. 
Jim Baumbach JETS 17, STEELERS 3 First Manning, then Brady, now Roethlisberger. Look for the Jets defense to make the opposing quarterback uncomfortable for the third straight week.

SPJPICKS21

Staff picks for AFC Championship game

Jets head coach Rex Ryan

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. - <a href="/topics/Ben_Roethlisberger">Ben Roethlisberger</a> walked off the field, his nose twisted, broken and gushing blood.
The Steelers quarterback, already hampered by a sprained ankle, withstood a hellacious hit to the face from Baltimore's <a href="/topics/Haloti_Ngata">Haloti Ngata</a>, yet picked himself off the turf, returned without missing a play and threw a game-winning touchdown pass in the fourth quarter to seal a Week 13 win over the Ravens.
That's why he's the Jets' kind of guy.
The acrimony that once filled their locker room in the days leading up to their rematch against New England gave way to smiles and flattery once the topic of conversation shifted to Roethlisberger. The respect they have for him supersedes their desire to talk smack.
 In Roethlisberger, the Jets see their toughest challenge to date - a guy, in his own way, as crafty as <a href="/topics/Peyton_Manning">Peyton Manning</a> and as dangerous as <a href="/topics/Tom_Brady">Tom Brady</a>. And now the team that said it was prepared to play the best en route to the ultimate prize - the <a href="/topics/Super_Bowl">Super Bowl</a> - will have the chance to complete the trifecta.
One by one, Jets players took turns assessing Roethlisberger this week. They raved about his size and physical strength, his elusiveness in the pocket and his ability to extend plays. "A lot of people don't realize how fast he is," defensive end <a href="/topics/Shaun_Ellis">Shaun Ellis</a> said. "He's fast in the pocket. I know he looks slow moving around on the field, but he's nifty at what he does."
According to Ellis, he's the toughest quarterback to bring down "other than <a href="/topics/Michael_Vick">Michael Vick</a>."
Fellow defensive end <a href="/topics/Trevor_Pryce">Trevor Pryce</a> said he is most impressed with Roethlisberger's mental toughness. "The biggest compliment I can give him is, he's tougher than everybody is," Pryce said. "Look how many times he's been slammed to the ground. Look how many times he's been slammed in the media. Look at the things that he's been through. 
"Anybody that can bounce back from that type of thing, in that city and that kind of atmosphere, and get your nose broken and keep playing, you're a tough guy. It's one thing if you're a tough offensive lineman, but if you're a tough quarterback, I think you're something special."
At 6-5, 241 pounds, Roethlisberger more looks the part of defensive end. "He's as big as one," said Pryce, who is 6-5, 290.
But Roethlisberger is only part of the problem facing the Jets in Sunday's <a href="/topics/AFC">AFC</a> Championship Game. Mike Wallace (1,257 yards, 10 TDs) and <a href="/topics/Hines_Ward">Hines Ward</a> (755 yards, five TDs) are deep-field threats at receiver, and the Steelers also have an "exceptional" running game, Ellis said.
But with Roethlisberger at the helm, the play's never over. 
"He can extend the play and make it hard for a pass-rusher to get him on the ground," Ellis said. "For us, we definitely have to crowd him and make it tough for him getting out of the pocket. We have to force him to make mistakes."
The Jets beat the Patriots last week by disrupting Brady's timing and pounding him into the turf, but that tactic won't necessarily work against Roethlisberger. That leaves the Jets with just one option, said cornerback <a href="/topics/Darrelle_Revis">Darrelle Revis</a>: Plaster those receivers.
"When we played him the first time, the coaching staff said: 'Make sure we plaster those guys,' '' Revis said. " 'Make sure when the plays are extended, just find your guy and plaster him and get on him as tight as you can."
The Jets agree their toughest challenge awaits. Nevertheless, they're anxious to continue down that gantlet of facing the <a href="/topics/National_Football_League">NFL</a>'s best quarterbacks. 
Said Jets coach <a href="/topics/Rex_Ryan">Rex Ryan</a>: "Roethlisberger will beat you up. I've never seen a guy take the hits he can take and also make people miss the way he does and be as accurate on the run."

SPJBEN21

Big Ben Jets' biggest challenge yet?

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. - Brian Schottenheimer hasn't been in demand the way he was this time a year ago, when the Bills had him on their radar for their head- coaching vacancy but he turned them down.
Rex <a href="/topics/Rex_Ryan">Ryan</a> thinks it's a shame no one has come calling for his offensive coordinator's potential services, and he believes Schottenheimer's days with the Jets won't extend beyond next season. 
"To be honest, I was sad he never got the opportunity to be a head coach this year and I'm actually shocked," Ryan said Thursday, "because this guy is going to be a star in this league without question. Five percent of me was sad, but 95 percent of me was happy as heck because we get to have him another year."
Schottenheimer said he's not looking at the 2011 campaign as possibly being his last with the Jets, but he acknowledged he does have head-coaching aspirations. 
"I think everything happens for a reason," he said. "This year, I never got caught in it because we were so busy. I know three weeks before, everybody was talking about firing me after the Dolphins game. So that puts you into an even keel, if you will. But I hope it happens at some point . . . But like I said last year and earlier this year, I'm really happy here and I think we've got something pretty amazing going on."
 
 Classy, not trashy
The trash talk between the Jets and Patriots prompted the <a href="/topics/National_Football_League">NFL</a> to send out a memo last week to the eight remaining teams, telling them to tone down the rhetoric. So is that why the Jets have clammed up this week?
"Rex never said anything about it," wideout Braylon Edwards said of the league memo. "I'm pretty sure if it came down from the league, he would have told us something so we wouldn't make him look bad."
 
 Rex: No excuses
The early forecast for Sunday's game at <a href="/topics/Heinz_Field">Heinz Field</a> is calling for a temperature of about 8 degrees by kickoff, but that doesn't concern Ryan in the least. 
"Both teams are built as all-weather- type teams, so there's no excuses whatsoever," he said. "We are excited. If it was zero or minus-10, we'll still be there with a smile on our face and ready to go."

SPJNOTES21

Schottenheimer still happy to be with Jets

Brian Schottenheimer - cropped

PITTSBURGH - Life on Revis Island was no vacation for <a href="/topics/Pittsburgh">Pittsburgh</a>'s <a href="/topics/Hines_Ward">Hines Ward</a> when the Steelers lost at home to the <a href="/topics/New_York_Jets">Jets</a> in Week 15. The 13-year veteran is the Steelers' all-time leading receiver, so it almost came as a slap in the face when quarterback <a href="/topics/Ben_Roethlisberger">Ben Roethlisberger</a> ignored him most of the game because he was being shadowed by Jets cornerback <a href="/topics/Darrelle_Revis">Darrelle Revis</a>.
Ward finished with two catches for 34 yards in the 22-17 loss and groused afterward that he was open, if only someone on his team had noticed. Describing his frustration, Ward said, "The problem is you have your battle. You may beat them once, but the quarterback is not even looking to that side. When a quarterback does look your way, you have to be there and make sure you make a play."
If nothing else, Ward has succeeded in reminding Roethlisberger and coach <a href="/topics/Mike_Tomlin">Mike Tomlin</a> that he will be available when called upon in Sunday's <a href="/topics/AFC">AFC</a> Championship Game at <a href="/topics/Heinz_Field">Heinz Field</a>.
 Some have speculated that the Jets might shift Revis to cover second-year wide receiver Mike Wallace, who caught seven balls for 102 yards against coverage by the Jets' <a href="/topics/Antonio_Cromartie">Antonio Cromartie</a>.
However those matchups go, Ward suggested it might be up to slot receiver Emmanuel Sanders to make big plays against the Jets' third cornerback because Revis and Cromartie are big-time athletes who can catch as well as any wide receiver. And he noted tight end <a href="/topics/Heath_Miller">Heath Miller</a>, who missed the Week 15 game with an injury, will be back in the lineup as another threat.
If the Steelers can run the ball as well as they did last time (147 yards), Ward figures it will slow down the Jets' pass rush, make them respect play-action fakes and open things up a little bit for the wide receivers. The Steelers had a season-best 65 percent (11-for-17) third-down conversion rate in that game, so Ward is confident they can move the ball.
When the Jets inevitably bring an all-out blitz, which is coach <a href="/topics/Rex_Ryan">Rex Ryan</a>'s calling card, Ward says the Steelers must take advantage. The difference between Roethlisberger and the last two quarterbacks the Jets beat, <a href="/topics/Peyton_Manning">Peyton Manning</a> and <a href="/topics/Tom_Brady">Tom Brady</a>, Ward said, "is Ben can escape some of those blitzes, and it puts their corners and secondary in a bind because they have to cover longer. 
"Ben tends to make a play when he is outside the pocket. If they do go all-out blitz and he gets outside, hopefully we can exploit that."
If Ward is locked up again with Revis, his patience will be tested. But he understands why teams tend to avoid the Jets' All-Pro corner. 
"He's a great cornerback, no question," Ward said. "Can he be beat? Yeah, he can be beat. I just think he swindles guys. You really don't want to mess around with him because if you make a mistake, he's a game-changer. As a wide receiver, you get frustrated, but . . . if the quarterback's not looking at you, ain't nothing you can do about it.''
Ward saw Revis play in college at Pittsburgh and became a fan. But it's different when they're competing against each other.
Ward said he has to remind himself, "It's not about Revis against me; it's the Steelers versus the Jets. I have to work my tail off to get open. We have fun. We were talking throughout the [last] game. 
"I've got some old tricks up my sleeve. Hopefully, I can get open against him and make some plays . . . If he shuts me down with no catches, you won't hear me say anything if we win the ballgame."

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