PITTSBURGH — The Jets defense let up last week against the Bills after the team built a big lead, and wound up giving up 28 points.
That led to the defensive coaches this week reminding the players you can’t take your foot off the gas.
“It was a good lesson for our guys to learn that no matter what the score is, you have to play every play, and that’s the one thing that we always felt was our trademark,” defensive coordinator Mike Pettine said. “That you could look at us play, and wouldn’t be able to guess the score. We don’t want to look like we’re relaxed if we’re up a lot, or if we’re just mailing it in if we’re down a lot. That was a thing that was certainly addressed Monday.”
Jets linebacker Calvin Pace said it was a bit shocking to be up by 34 points in the third quarter.
“That’s not a luxury we’ve had ever, playing with a lead like that,” Pace said. “You’ve just got to learn how to finish a game. We’ve got to play every series like it’s 0-0.”
* There were plenty of critics of the Jets’ Tebow-cat last week, but it actually paid dividends by setting up the pass. Tim Tebow gained just 11 yards on his five rushes, but Mark Sanchez went 5-of-6 for 66 yards and two touchdowns on the first six plays immediately following a Tebow play.
Coincidence? Maybe.
Jets offensive coordinator Tony Sparano said though many people worry about Tebow affecting Sanchez’s flow in the game, he thinks the time is valuable when Sanchez comes to the sideline.
“For me, it’s an additional timeout,” Sparano said. “It’s another way for me to get more information to him. ‘Hey, this is what happened. This is what we’ve seen. This is what I’m thinking.’ I think those are really positive things during the course of a game. Mark handled it really well. Tim handled it really well. We were able to go back in there and [Sanchez] was able to execute well. I just thought he executed well throughout the game.”
* Rookie wide receiver Stephen Hill caught two touchdowns last week against the Bills in his debut, but was vomiting on the sidelines during the game.
Hill wants everyone to know it was not because he was nervous. He took medication before the game to prevent infection of a cut on his calf. One of the side effects was nausea.
“It messed up my stomach,” Hill said.