That ear-splitting sound you heard yesterday coming from the huge speakers lined up along the Jets practice field was not music, but rather the buzz saw the Jets are about to run into in Cleveland.
If the Jets don’t put up early points and get their offense going tomorrow, this promises to be a difficult day for coach Rex Ryan’s team against ex-Jets boss Eric Mangini’s Browns.
Ryan said jokingly yesterday that Mangini “took a shot at me and it wobbled me, it staggered me,” concerning Mangini’s comment that with Rex losing weight, the Macy’s parade has lost a float.
Ryan’s smiling comeback to Mangini was a line taken directly from the movie “Stripes.” “I got one message to Eric Mangini,” Ryan countered. “You just made the list, buddy.”
The Browns can stagger the Jets tomorrow in a big way. The Jets know they are in dangerous territory, and they know they must start fast, so much so, they’ve turned it into their rallying cry.
Noted guard Damien Woody: “Our motto this week is start fast, finish strong.”
The Jets have not scored a single first-quarter point in each of the last three games and have scored a first quarter touchdown in two of their eight games. This offense is in desperate need of an early pick-me-up.
The Browns have not given up a first-quarter point in the last five games, have not given up a touchdown in the opening drive all season and have surrendered just 13 first quarter points this season.
It’s easy to be blinded by the Jets’ 6-2 record, but they’re in danger of being swamped by a focused team like the Browns, who beat both the Super Saints and Patriots the last two weeks while scoring 64 points over that span.
“It’s going to be tough,” Ryan said. “I’d like to score anytime, but to start a game would be great.”
This week it’s all about getting off to a fast start. This promises to be a running-game war, but wide receiver Santonio Holmes, who has had his battles with the Browns during his Steelers days, said he feels he is ready to break out in a big way, connecting with quarterback Mark Sanchez.
“I’m feeling a lot more comfortable,” said Holmes, who starred at Ohio State. “Opportunities have allowed me to play faster and be more on key with everything, be in the right place where I need to be. It’s almost to the point where you’ve got to think selfishly. Anytime I go back to the state of Ohio, I’m looking to do great things.”
Woody said the Jets’ first drive will be key.
“If you get a touchdown on that first drive then it just energizes your whole team,” he said. “Your defense comes out there energized and you just get on a roll.”
The Browns are 3-5, but the Saints walked into the buzz saw in New Orleans. The same thing happened to the Patriots last week in Cleveland.
Rookie quarterback Colt McCoy has given the Browns a new look and new energy. The Jets will try to keep him in the pocket, something Ryan emphasized this week. The Browns’ thundering running back, Peyton Hillis, has become a folk hero in Cleveland.
“That team beat New Orleans in New Orleans,” Woody said, praising the Browns. “That team throttled New England. These guys have gotten better and better and better. But the thing is, the thing about this locker room is we understand that. We know exactly what we are going up against. They’re going to be psyched up and ready to go.”
The Jets insist they are ready to buzz the buzz saw.