KIDWCKED
01-08-2010, 08:42 PM
c\p from espn
CINCINNATI, Ohio - Linebacker Brandon Johnson was trimming some of his Cincinnati Bengals teammates' hair after a frigid practice, getting them ready to look good for their next big moment. They couldn't look any worse than they did in their last one.
Jets 37, Bengals 0.
The Jets dominated them in every way at the Meadowlands last Sunday, earning a playoff berth while drubbing the AFC North champs, who had little on the line and played like it. Even in their worst times, the Bengals (10-6) have never been beaten more soundly.
Days later, they didn't sound like a beaten-down team. A group of them gathered for a little grooming, joking and laughing, turning the locker-room into a raucous barber shop. They were confident the return of a few key players -- and the much higher stakes -- will close that 37-point gap in their wild-card rematch on Saturday at Paul Brown Stadium.
"Come Saturday, you'll see an energetic, enthusiastic, rambunctious Bengals team," offensive lineman Bobbie Williams said. "I like our odds this time."
Given what's happened, the Jets (9-7) like theirs even more.
New York won five of its last six games to reach the playoffs for the sixth time in the last 12 years. The Jets finished the regular season with the league's top-ranked running game and its best defence, but were installed as the biggest long shot among the playoff teams. One reason: Mark Sanchez is a rookie quarterback.
The oddsmakers' assessment doesn't sit well with coach Rex Ryan.
"I wasn't aware of that," he said, "but to me, we should be favourites, so that's fine."
Favourites to win it all, he meant. First, the Jets have to pull off a rare back-to-back sweep of the same team.
Since 1991, when the current playoff format was adopted, teams have ended the regular season and then faced each other in the wild-card round nine times. The Jets were involved in one of those, beating Oakland to end the 2001 regular season, then losing to the Raiders six days later. Four of those nine teams managed to sweep.
It's a little unusual for everyone involved.
"I think this is good for us," said Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis, who shut out receiver Chad Ochocinco last weekend. "We just played these guys. We're so familiar with them. It's a good thing to go back and play them again for a doubleheader. It's almost like an NBA playoff series. We'll be ready."
Bengals coach Marvin Lewis held running back Cedric Benson out last Sunday and told his co-ordinators not to give too much away because they could face the Jets again. Defensive tackle Domata Peko, defensive end Robert Geathers and safety Chris Crocker were given another week to heal from injuries.
The Jets ran for 257 yards against the depleted and uninspired defence, which had been one of the league's best at stopping the run. Peko, one of Cincinnati's best run stoppers, hasn't played since surgery on Dec. 7 to clean out his right knee. The Bengals gave up more than 100 yards rushing in three of their last four games without him.
CINCINNATI, Ohio - Linebacker Brandon Johnson was trimming some of his Cincinnati Bengals teammates' hair after a frigid practice, getting them ready to look good for their next big moment. They couldn't look any worse than they did in their last one.
Jets 37, Bengals 0.
The Jets dominated them in every way at the Meadowlands last Sunday, earning a playoff berth while drubbing the AFC North champs, who had little on the line and played like it. Even in their worst times, the Bengals (10-6) have never been beaten more soundly.
Days later, they didn't sound like a beaten-down team. A group of them gathered for a little grooming, joking and laughing, turning the locker-room into a raucous barber shop. They were confident the return of a few key players -- and the much higher stakes -- will close that 37-point gap in their wild-card rematch on Saturday at Paul Brown Stadium.
"Come Saturday, you'll see an energetic, enthusiastic, rambunctious Bengals team," offensive lineman Bobbie Williams said. "I like our odds this time."
Given what's happened, the Jets (9-7) like theirs even more.
New York won five of its last six games to reach the playoffs for the sixth time in the last 12 years. The Jets finished the regular season with the league's top-ranked running game and its best defence, but were installed as the biggest long shot among the playoff teams. One reason: Mark Sanchez is a rookie quarterback.
The oddsmakers' assessment doesn't sit well with coach Rex Ryan.
"I wasn't aware of that," he said, "but to me, we should be favourites, so that's fine."
Favourites to win it all, he meant. First, the Jets have to pull off a rare back-to-back sweep of the same team.
Since 1991, when the current playoff format was adopted, teams have ended the regular season and then faced each other in the wild-card round nine times. The Jets were involved in one of those, beating Oakland to end the 2001 regular season, then losing to the Raiders six days later. Four of those nine teams managed to sweep.
It's a little unusual for everyone involved.
"I think this is good for us," said Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis, who shut out receiver Chad Ochocinco last weekend. "We just played these guys. We're so familiar with them. It's a good thing to go back and play them again for a doubleheader. It's almost like an NBA playoff series. We'll be ready."
Bengals coach Marvin Lewis held running back Cedric Benson out last Sunday and told his co-ordinators not to give too much away because they could face the Jets again. Defensive tackle Domata Peko, defensive end Robert Geathers and safety Chris Crocker were given another week to heal from injuries.
The Jets ran for 257 yards against the depleted and uninspired defence, which had been one of the league's best at stopping the run. Peko, one of Cincinnati's best run stoppers, hasn't played since surgery on Dec. 7 to clean out his right knee. The Bengals gave up more than 100 yards rushing in three of their last four games without him.