In a locker room full of players unafraid to speak their minds, D’Brickashaw Ferguson is the quiet man.
The big left tackle says very little to reporters and doesn’t even say much around his teammates.
“He’s our resident Barack Obama,” guard Brandon Moore said. “He’s a politician. He plays both sides really well. He’s pretty even keeled.”
So trying to get Ferguson to say something about his matchup with Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney is about as easy as squeezing Rex Ryan into a wetsuit.
Ferguson deflected questions about Freeney yesterday, turning every answer into praise for his team.
“It’s more about us and what we’re going to do,” Ferguson said. “We have a great challenge ahead of us, but we see it as a great opportunity. Our goal has always been to be in a Super Bowl. As an O-line, I think we’re going to do the things necessary to put us in that position.”
Ferguson’s tack is a smart one because Freeney is listening in Indianapolis. When asked on “The Dan Patrick Show” yesterday if he’d like to talk trash to Ferguson, Freeney said, “I’m not going to say anything unless D’Brickashaw says something first.”
Ali-Frazier it ain’t, but this matchup is compelling and may be one of the keys to Sunday’s AFC Championship game.
If the Jets do need Mark Sanchez to make some throws, he needs to be upright. When the Jets and Colts met in Week 16, Freeney only played a dozen plays and still had two sacks and two pressures on Sanchez.
Ferguson entered the league in 2006 as the ballyhooed No. 4 pick in the draft. He went through some struggles in his first two seasons but has emerged over the last two years as an elite player.
“I think he’s the best left tackle in the league,” NFL Network analyst Brian Baldinger said. “I don’t even know who’s second.”
Teammates point to improved strength, footwork and his ability to mix up pass blocking techniques as the keys to his improvement.
“He’s playing with a lot of confidence,” said Moore, who has been with the Jets since Ferguson arrived. “It’s night and day between his rookie year and now. He’s in the film room. He’s a technician.”