Jets expecting Pryce to make solid contribution

Bart Scott noticed something different about Trevor Pryce last week, something that led him to believe his good buddy was in better position to leave his mark on last night's game against the Vikings.

"Yeah, he's getting his sea legs back, man," the Jets linebacker said. "He looked like a little baby giraffe just coming out, you know? He's getting his lungs back, getting comfortable with the terminology."

Pryce didn't make much of an impression against Buffalo last week, recording just one hit on Ryan Fitzpatrick in the 15 to 20 snaps he played. But the tackle wasn't truly ready, not even after receiving the "Cliff Notes" version of the Jets' defense in the 72 hours from his Sept. 30 signing until game time at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

The Jets wanted to break in the 14-year veteran slowly, tossing him out there on passing downs. But Pryce was thrust into action when Shaun Ellis went down in the third quarter with a knee injury.

"He never really even knew our defense," Rex Ryan said. "We were kind of throwing him out there. Shaun gets hurt, he's got to go in there and fly by the seat of his pants a little bit. So yeah, he'll be dialed in. He'll be ready to roll. I know he had two hits on the quarterback, but we'll see his impact much more this week."

Pryce, 35, is in the twilight of his career, but Ryan thinks he can still wreak some havoc, beginning with last night's game at New Meadowlands Stadium. In 174 games, he had 90 sacks, third among active players. He's amassed 555 tackles (412 solo), two interceptions, 15 passes defensed, 14 forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries.

Pryce had a team-leading 61/2 sacks for the Ravens' third-ranked defense a season ago, but he's not expecting that kind of production with the Jets.

"My job, in a nutshell, is to make sure everybody else plays well," said Pryce, whom the Ravens released Sept. 29 because they needed a roster spot to sign safety Ken Hamlin.

"That's how I look at my job. I'm not here to be Julius Peppers or nothing like that. I'm here to take some pressure off some other guys pass-rushing. If I can draw some double-teams or make an offense count me in a protection, I've done my job just by lining up."

Last week, Pryce wasn't always sure where to line up and needed teammates such as Scott to put him in position. Even though the Jets' defense is similar to Baltimore's, there still were things Pryce wasn't able to pick up quickly.

"It's one thing to know terminology, it's another thing to know which one of those guys you are," Pryce said. "They don't have numbers on the play sheet, they have a letter. And it's like, 'OK, which one of those guys were me?'

"Usually in Baltimore, I learned all of them. But now that there's guys like Shaun and Calvin [Pace], I don't have to know all of them. I've got the one - they haven't told me which one yet. So that's the adjustment."

Besides having former Ravens Ryan, Scott and safety Jim Leonhard around, Pryce couldn't be more pleased to see defensive line coach Mark Carrier and defensive coordinator Mike Pettine. He's been leaning on both, especially Carrier, to get himself up to speed, and they're helping make the transition smooth.

"It would be different if I came to the Jets and didn't know anybody," Pryce said. "If you stay in the league long enough, you'll know a lot of players. I can go in any locker room and I'll know five players really well because I've been playing long enough. But when you know half the coaching staff, it just makes life so much easier. There's five guys on the staff that I know very well, and that makes all the difference in the world, even more so than the players.

Now Ryan is hoping that Pryce makes a difference with the Jets' late-game pass rush.

"It's going to be huge for us, and that's why we were so excited to bring Trev in, mix him in with what we already have,'' Ryan said. "That's going to be tough. But he is a classic finisher. He finishes games, finishes to the quarterback, blocks passes and kicks to win games. I've been around him. He's done that.

"He really is a closer."