Jets get advantage with change of venue
In this image taken with a fisheye lens, snow covers the seats and field at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y. Friday, Nov. 21, 2014. Snowed out in Buffalo, the Bills are heading to Detroit to play their "home" NFL football game against the Jets on Monday night, Nov. 24, 2014. Credit: AP / The Buffalo News, Harry Scull Jr.
With the Jets-Bills game rescheduled for Monday night at Detroit's Ford Field because of the snow in Buffalo, the teams were busy Friday morning adjusting their weekend plans.
It went something like this:
With the snowstorm finally over in Buffalo, the Bills gathered their players, getting some out of snowed-in homes via snowmobile, and flew to Detroit in the afternoon. It was the first time they've been together since Monday.
The Jets? Well, instead of practicing outdoors, they did so indoors. You know, to replicate what it will be like to play in a dome instead of in the cold. They plan to get together here again Sunday for some light conditioning drills.
Yes, you could say the Jets got the better end of this deal. They know it, too.
"Is there an advantage to us?" coach Rex Ryan said. "I'm sure it's going to be an easier venue for us to play in than Buffalo. Buffalo's a tough place to play."
Ryan insisted that the football fan inside him would have preferred to play in Buffalo, because who doesn't like watching football being played in the snow?
But the NFL, under pressure from elected officials, determined that wasn't possible, given the challenges produced by 7 feet of snow (the Mid-American Conference canceled the University at Buffalo's home game against Kent State altogether).
"Obviously," Ryan said, "we've seen the unbelievable pictures."
So with the NFL deciding on Thursday to move the game to a neutral site, Ryan and the Jets got the best possible scenario -- a road game indoors without any home-field advantage.
As far as Ryan is concerned, there's no use denying the obvious. Yes, this is better for the Jets. "Instead of having 70,000 screaming fans, I would say it'd be easier," he said.
Although no one expects a sea of green Jets jerseys in the crowd -- "We don't have a strong fan base in Detroit, I don't think," Sheldon Richardson said -- it's also hard to envision many Bills fans showing up. It's anybody's guess how many fans of any team will show up on such short notice.
The Lions announced Friday that tickets for the game will be free to the public.
"I don't know who's going to be at the game," Ryan said.
The playing surface also is more conducive to the Jets' offensive strategy and a quarterback who likes to scramble as much as throw.
But Ryan said for every offensive player who prefers the dome setting, there are defensive guys who feel otherwise.
No doubt the conditions in Buffalo would have slowed down a Bills offense that put on a show in a 43-23 win over the Jets on Oct. 26. Kyle Orton threw for 238 yards and four touchdowns on only 10 completed passes.
Players downplayed the switch, saying their mind-set is just to do what they're told.
"I have no control over that," Nick Mangold said, "so me worrying about it is not going to get anything accomplished."
Added Richardson: "I really don't care. I have been playing in snow for a while back home, so I'm kind of used to it. I was looking forward to it."
Jim Baumbach is an award-winning investigative reporter at Newsday, where he has worked since 1998. He spent two decades in the sports department, where he covered every professional team and league, including events such as the Super Bowl and World Series.
