The average margin of victory in the Jets’ five wins prior to Monday night’s blowout of the Dolphins was a mere six
points, leaving the door wide open for critics to whisper that they were a paper tiger team, having beaten only one team with a current winning record.
“I think people that hadn’t watched us a whole lot probably think, ‘These guys are pretty good,’ ” Herman Edwards said yesterday. “We won some games, but we never really kind of played all together. You just feel in your gut you’re kind of due for one of those. That came out [Monday] night.
“Now,” Edwards went on, “the key is to continue to do that.”
The Jets, who have a road game in Buffalo against the 2-5 Bills Sunday followed by a home game against the Ravens (4-3), then games in Cleveland (3-4) and Arizona (2-5) to close out November, look poised to make a move on what Edwards yesterday called “moving month.”
Edwards is 10-2 as the Jets’ head coach in November, giving him the distinction of being the winningest coach in that month since 1966. His mentor in Tampa, Tony Dungy, was 18-8 in November during his tenure as the Buccaneers’ head coach.
Winning in November has been one of the mini-goals Edwards has always set for his teams.
“You move in November,” Edwards said. “You start slotting yourself where you’re trying to go, where you’re trying to get to in November. That’s why the mindset has to continue to be, in November, win as many games as you possibly can in November because December takes care of itself. You know exactly [after] November where you’re sitting, know how many numbers are left, how many games you’ve got to win.
“It was emphasized when I first got here that we needed to win in November, because you kind of start seeing things shape up a little bit. You know if you’re leading, if you win in November, it’s hard to catch you in December. So our mindset has been that way.”
Edwards said he’s geared his practice schedule around being fresh in November and December.
As an example – even though the Jets had an extra day to prepare for Miami last week because of the Monday night game – instead of working his players harder, Edwards gave his players an extra day off and didn’t work them in pads when they did practice.
The first thing out of John Abraham’s mouth after the rout against Miami was praise for Edwards taking it easy on the players in the days leading up to the game. Abraham and the Jets’ defense, of course, looked as if they were running on a trampoline while chasing the Dolphins.
The defense is humming like it never has in Edwards’ three-plus years here, so much so that, without naming names, he conceded that this group is “close” to playing the way his teams in Tampa did.
The Jets’ defense is ranked an impressive ninth in the NFL in total defense.
“We knew we could do this,” Abraham said. “But we just hadn’t put it up like this yet.”
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THE REMAINING ROAD
DATE // OPPONENT // ETC.
Nov. 7 at Bills Won 2 of 3.
Nov. 14 vs. Ravens 2 of their 3 losses on road.
Nov. 21 at Browns Jeff Garcia is 3-1 at home.
Nov. 28 at Cardinals Arizona 2-2 after 0-3 start.
Dec. 5 vs. Texans Houston has won 4 of 5.
Dec. 12 at Steelers 5-0 with Big Ben at QB.
Dec. 19 vs. Seahawks Seattle has lost 3 of 4.
Dec. 26 vs. Patriots A new streak on the horizon?
Jan. 2 at Rams Averaging 23.3 at home.
