News&Rumors concerning NFL championships

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Indianapolis Colts LB Clint Session fires first salvo at New York Jets


Colts linebacker Clint Session has a message for the tough-talking Jets:
If Rex Ryan and Co. think they can ground and pound their way to another playoff upset, they are in a for a big surprise.
"We're licking our chops right now," Session said Thursday. "We can play the run pretty aggressive this week. It gives us a main focus on what we've got to do to win the game. We love games like this and we're looking forward to rising to the occasion and stopping them."
Session also picked on the Jets' defense, particularly his former teammate at Pitt, Darrelle Revis. He picked Colts receiver Reggie Wayne to win the battle for the ball.
"I'm real comfortable in our guy over there, no disrespect to Darrelle," Session said. "Reggie Wayne, he's a guy who's proven. Revis is still a young guy learning. It's going to take Reggie to put some of his veteran moves on him and school him a little bit."
Unlike last week, the Jets haven't used the word "finesse" so far but there is little doubt that they think they can do to the Colts what they did to the Chargers. Tackle Damien Woody, in fact, said they plan to go right at Indy's pass rush monsters, Dwight Freeny and Robert Mathis, to "take the sting out of them."
In Sunday's AFC championship showdown, however - unlike in Week 16, when Session and three other defensive starters were held out - the Colts will be at full force. The Jets gained 202 yards rushing that day and have gained 340 yards on 80 carries in the playoffs - twice as many carries as their opponents.
That doesn't seem to faze Session.
"(Our) guys . . . they don't only just rush the passer. Believe me, they can play the run as well. So they're ready for that.
"Our defense . . . we've been silent killers the entire season," he added. "When it's time to play we rise to the occasion every time."
The Colts ranked 24th against the run during the regular season and last week, the Ravens felt they could win behind Ray Rice. But Rice was held to 67 yards and the Ravens to 87 on the ground overall. Later, Rice marveled at how fast the Colts flowed to the ball.
"He should have known that because we already played him the week before," Session said. "Believe me, all that speed, it's got to intimidate backs. I'm sure the Jets are looking at film saying we've got to bring it because these guys are coming. That's the attitude we always want to have."
The Colts defense feels it's the fastest in the NFL.
"Hands down," said cornerback Calvin Hayden.
The players also feel that speed will negate a Jets running game coach Caldwell said is "very similar" to the Ravens.
For one thing, they've got to be a little timid about running off-tackle sideline to sideline because we've got speed on defense," Session said. "People may not pay attention to it but we're also stout up front. We've got two guys playing good for us now. Dan Muir and Antonio Johson are giving us a chance to run sideline to sideline and stay free. So we'll be able to handle that pretty well." Muir, in fact, had to drop 20 pounds to get down to 310 so he could play in this defense, which has also changed under Caldwell.
In the past under Tony Dungi, it was on the soft side. They needed strong safety Bob Sanders to stop the run and they played a lot of Cover 2 zone on the back end. Freeney calls this year's version "more of an attacking style.
"In times past, we would sit back. We wouldn't really dictate to anybody, they would dictate to us," he said. "Now they have to adjust."
"We take pride in ourselves," Brackett said. "Anytime someone thinks they can come in and run the football, we feel as though it's our job to get them stopped."
They would be the first in the postseason to stop the Jets and force Sanchez out of his shell.
"We want to cause confusion and rattle him a little bit," Hayden said. "Our offense gets up on him and we force him to throw the ball and then it comes to our pass rush. But that's our goal every week. Stop the run and then get into an attack mode."
Can they drag Sanchez out of that cocoon, Session was asked?
He laughed.
"We'll have to see on Sunday," he said. "But we're definitely bringing our ‘A' game."

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Colts up front about stopping Jets’ ground game

INDIANAPOLIS — “Been there. Done That.” That’s the collective response the Colts have to repeated questions about how they plan to deal with the Jets’ ground-and-pound running game in Sunday’s AFC Championship.
The Jets won’t be the first team to venture to Lucas Oil Stadium thinking they’re going to run the ball down the Colts’ throat. As a matter of fact, the Ravens had similar ideas before leaving a 20-3 loser in their AFC divisional playoff game. So it should be no surprise the Colts don’t sound nervous about facing the Jets’ No.1-ranked rushing offense.
They’ve been challenged week-in and week-out,” Colts head coach Caldwell said yesterday of his defense. “I don’t think there is anybody that has come in here, particularly teams that run the ball, that don’t present a great challenge for you. Obviously, the Jets, who can run the ball as well as anybody, will certainly test you to see what kind of endurance you have, what kind of staying power that you have, can you control the line of scrimmage and that is a real challenge for us.”
It’s a challenge they embrace. The Colts defense always is overshadowed by its offense, led by quarterback Peyton Manning. But after holding the Ravens to 87 rushing yards last week, the Colts defense is sure to gain more respect and recognition if it can shut down the Jets.
“I think the biggest thing is we understand it’s going to be a physical game,” said defensive end Dwight Freeny. “They do what they do. They run the ball very well. Everybody who plays against them knows they are going to run the ball and they still run. It’s going to be important that we stop that, and hopefully we can get into a one-dimensional game.”
The Colts allowed 126.5 rushing yards per game during the regular season. The Jets gained 202 yards on the ground in their 29-15 win here in Week 16, when Indianapolis pulled many of its starters with a 15-10 lead in the third quarter. In fact, if you take away the final two games of the season, when the Colts didn’t play their starters throughout, they allowed just 112.4 rushing per game.
The Colts’ key to containing the Jets running game will be the play of the defensive tackles, a rotation that consists of Antonio Johnson, Dan Muir and Eric Foster. Johnson (6-foot-3, 310 pounds) and Muir (6-2, 312) bring the size, while Foster, a former Rutgers star, brings quickness at 6-2, 265.
“Dan really kind of came out of nowhere,” Caldwell said. “I think he had some of the best games of the defensive interior linemen that we’ve had around here in a long time. He worked at it. He committed himself to getting better. He changed his body and improved his endurance and I think Antonio went about it the exact same way.”
The Colts are aware the Jets try to wear down a defense by constantly rushing the ball, then looking to break a long gain late in the game as they did against the Chargers last week when Shonn Greene scored on a 53-yard run in the fourth quarter of their 17-14 win. The Jets ran the ball 39 times for 169 yards in that game, numbers Caldwell would like to limit.
“I’m not certain there is a particular number, but the better you play, the less time you spend on the field,” he said. “That’s our goal. Our goal is to play well and make certain we get off the field on third down.”
The Ravens said they were surprised by the team speed of the Colts, who play a more aggressive defense under Caldwell. How that speed matches up against the strength of the Jets offensive line could determine how successful the Jets are at controlling the tempo of the game.
“We understand we have to get our big pads on because we understand they are going to be running the ball pretty heavy,” Freeney said. “It’s definitely going to be a challenge for our front four to really go out there and establish the line of scrimmage.”
Key play: Slant 24 Cutback:
Each day this week, The Post will give you a glimpse inside the Jets’ playbook, as NFL Network analyst Brian Baldinger diagrams key plays for this weekend’s AFC Championship game vs. the Colts.
The Jets offense began to click when the coaches simplified things for Mark. They have reduced the number of reads to take the pressure off him. The Four Wide Double Slant is a play they used against Cincinnati that could be effective again this week against the Colts.
Sanchez (6) has a very safe throw off a three-step drop. David Clowny (87) runs an inside slant to draw both inside linebackers. The safety drops to protect against the deep throw, leaving Jerricho Cotchery (89) with one-on-one coverage by a cornerback.
For Sanchez it’s just point and shoot, like operating a camera. No pressure. He hits Cotchery about 6 yards from the line of scrimmage and lets the receiver do the rest.

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Coordinator Pettine making own mark on Jets' defense

Coach Rex Ryan casts a rather large shadow -- literally and figuratively.
That shadow could be a potential detriment to the career advancement of Jets defensive coordinator Mike Pettine.
Because the Jets' identity is so heavily centered around Ryan and his defensive genius, Pettine could be perceived as a figurehead with a title.
Ryan, however, is the first person to scoff at that notion.

"I've got to keep him down for a couple years, because I don't want to lose Mike," Ryan said jokingly. "Truthfully, he's a guy who was a must-hire for me. He was my right-hand man in Baltimore."
Ryan also said defensive backs coach Dennis Thurman as another "must-hire" when he took the Jets head-coaching job. He called Thurman Pettine's "sidekick."
"Wherever we went, if I was going to get an opportunity to be a head coach or if Dennis was or Mike was we were going to take each other," Ryan said. "We have a pretty good team. We knew we would have success wherever we went.
"It's kind of like clockwork, the communication with Mike up top [in the press box coaches booth] and Dennis down [on the field] on game day."
Pettine is Ryan's eye-in-the-sky on game days, seeing the game from a vantage point Ryan cannot see from the sideline and communicating the things he sees to him over the headsets.
That communication will be critical in Sunday's AFC Championship game against the Colts, who own the league's most precision and explosive offense led by Peyton Manning, the NFL's smartest quarterback.
Pettine said he knows how important the "cat and mouse" game between the Jets defense and Manning is to the outcome.
"It's a huge part of the game," he said. "If [Manning] knows what you're in you're in a lot of trouble. It's critical for us to be able to disguise what we're doing and to mix up what we're going.
"It's like poker," Pettine added. "Is there a tell? What's the tell? On every play, there's nobody better in league at finding them [than Manning]. The pre-snap movement for us is critical to make sure he doesn't know what [defense] we're in.
"You can't be static against a quarterback like Peyton, you can't be an iron deer on the lawn. The more fluid we can be pre-snap the more that's going to be to our favor."
These intricate disguised looks are things that Ryan, Pettine and Thurman collaborate on. Though Ryan makes the defensive calls, he leans on his assistants.
"During the game he gets a lot of input from me whether he wants it or not," Pettine said. "It's worked pretty well for us to this point. The three of us have always been tight. 'D.T.' and I got hired almost the same day. I think we sat in the same human resources orientation meeting in Baltimore.
"Both of us were drawn to Rex. We share a lot of the same philosophies and are very much on the same page. It's gotten to a point of mind reading."
Pettine, who's more about what he's doing now, said he would love to be an NFL head coach at some point.
"I've always been of mindset of: Don't look for a better job, do a better job," he said. "I've seen it enough in this business where guys go out of their way and start to think about the next [job] and that's never been my mindset. I'm focused now on winning a ring. That's been our goal since day one. There's plenty of time in the offseason to look beyond that.
"Down the road, is [head coaching an aspiration]? Absolutely, but those opportunities will find you."
The question is, will anyone find Pettine behind that large shadow Ryan casts?
"My dad, who I coached for, gave me some great advice -- especially when I was playing quarterback for him (in high school): 'Don't worry about things you have no control over.' That certainly falls into that category," Pettine said.

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Jets’ defensive blueprint spurs big AFC upset


SAN DIEGO –Braylon Edwards knew that teammate Thomas Jones was engaged in a conversation. And he had a pretty good idea on the topic of discussion. But instead of allowing a relatively peaceful dialogue about the Jets’ most recent accomplishments to continue, Edwards offered a loud interruption.
“I’m on to the next one, on to the next …,” cranked from the audio system in Edwards’ locker stall after the Jets pulled off the biggest upset of the 2010 playoffs so far with a 17-14 victory over the No. 2 seed Chargers in Qualcomm Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
For Edwards, the Jay-Z track is more than a hit song: it’s the team’s theme.

“They keep doubting our abilities and things we can do,” said Edwards, who finished with two catches for 41 yards. “… That’s our whole mentality. We just keep doing our thing … We appreciate [the critics] saying we don’t belong.”
Yet, even after shutting down the AFC’s highest-scoring team (28.4 points a game) and the NFL’s hottest squad (winners of 11 straight going in) in San Diego, the Jets realize plenty doubters will remain as they prepare for the AFC title game against the No. 1 seed Indy Colts.
“We’ll see what happens in the matchup that probably nobody wanted, but too bad,” first-year Jets coach Rex Ryan said. “Here we come!”
The Jets are going to Indy in large part because of the formula that carried them through the regular season and a wild-card upset of the Bengals: running the ball, great defense and timely plays in the passing game.
“The best offense in the world. We held them to 14. No one held them under 20,” Jets safety Kerry Rhoades boasted.
New York can certainly thank Chargers kicker Nate Kaeding, who reassumed scapegoat status from the teams’ playoff meeting from five seasons ago by missing three field goals on Sunday. But to boil down the Jets’ victory to an opposing kicker’s bad day would be an injustice.
“The defense … I mean, we leaned on them heavy all year and they didn’t disappoint,” said Mark Sanchez, who joins Joe Flacco in becoming the only rookies to win two playoff games.
While there’s plenty of praise to go around, Sanchez and another rookie, running back Shonn Greene, deserve their share. Greene ran for 128 yards on Sunday, including a 53-yard touchdown run that put the Jets up 17-7 with 7:17 left in the game. It was Greene’s second straight 100-yard effort.
Meanwhile, the Jets’ green signal-caller, deemed to be the team’s weak spot heading into the postseason, was on the front end of the game’s biggest play. With San Diego up 7-3 early in the fourth quarter, the Jets had third-and-goal from the Chargers’ 2-yard line. Sanchez, who was sacked only once, scrambled to his right and surveyed the end zone without feeling significant pressure. As he continued to stroll toward the sideline, he found tight end Dustin Keller in the back of the end zone for the go-ahead score.
“The route we had, Dustin Keller just improvised a little bit and I felt exactly what he was doing,” said Sanchez, who was 12-of-23 for 100 yards with an interception. “We were just on the same page.”
The Jets were in striking distance at that point only because of another strong outing from their stingy defense, which allowed Rivers (27-for-40, 298 yards, 1 passing and 1 rushing TD, 2 INTs) and the Chargers to move the ball, but not light up the scoreboard.
San Diego, clearly knowledgeable of Revis Island whereabouts, spent a good part of the day staying away from New York’s Pro Bowl cornerback. When Revis lined up opposite of V. Jackson, the Chargers generally threw to tight end Gates,Malcom Floyd or another wideout. When Revis covered one of San Diego’s other targets or played deep in the team’s zone, Jackson generally was targeted.
However, as was expected, the Chargers decided to test Revis. And as the Bengals’ Carson Palmer (notes) did a week earlier in New York’s wild-card win over the Bengals, San Diego paid.
On third-and-8 with 4:23 left in the third quarter, Rivers floated one up to Jackson. After a wild sequence in which both players hit the ground, Revis walked away with his eighth interception of the year.
“Oh man it was crazy. I saw the ball thrown up and I tried to make a play,” Revis recounted. “And I saw Vincent try to cut in front of me to make the play. And I grabbed his hand a little bit so he couldn’t catch it. And as I’m going down I see the ball hit his foot and then it was in arms reach. And I decided to grab it.”
For Revis and the Jets, it was more than a pick. It helped set up an opportunity to work on a third blueprint to keep the team’s Super Bowl XLIV dreams alive.

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Jets notebook: QB Mark Sanchez is calm and cool


On the eve of the biggest game of his career and one of the biggest in franchise history, Jets rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez is displaying California cool.
The former USC star and southern California native can become the first rookie quarterback in NFL history to reach the Super Bowl if he can lead the Jets (11-7) over the Indianapolis Colts (15-2) in Sunday’s AFC Championship Game at Lucas Oil Stadium.
“Just treating it like any other game, doing the same stuff throughout the week on and off the field, being smart, getting my rest,” Sanchez said Friday. “I think that’s the most important thing that I’ve seen, just make sure you get your rest.
“It’s just been important for me to understand that you don’t always get to come back here, that it really is a privilege to be here. And once you get here, boy, all of the excitement of it and distractions, really, you just focus on playing. It’s going to be great. We’re very excited for the opportunity and definitely want to take advantage of it.”
Sanchez, who threw 20 interceptions this season, has thrown just one pick in his past four games. It’s no coincidence the Jets are 4-0 in those games and are 10-0 this season when they win the turnover battle.
Over those four games, Sanchez, who no longer wears the color-coded wrist band to dictate his level of aggressiveness, has been aided by a running game that has rushed for 169 yards, 171 yards, 257 yards and 202 yards, respectively.
That would be a comforting thought for any quarterback, let alone a rookie.
“Business as usual,” coach Rex Ryan said of Sanchez’s demeanor. “He’s just being Mark and messing around with everybody and having fun.”
During his press conference, Sanchez repeatedly thanked his teammates for their support during his tough times, especially veteran RBs Thomas Jones and Tony Richardson.
• The Jets will have a team sendoff to Indianapolis at their Florham Park training complex Saturday at 10 a.m. Fans can form a college-type ‘runway’ or ‘tunnel’ for the players as they board the bus to depart for the airport.
• The offensive line refused to get into a war of words with Colts LB Clint Session, who said the team is “licking its chops” to stop the Jets’ vaunted running game.
“I’m not surprised because they’re looking at it as a challenge, and they should be,” RT Damien Woody said. “They should want to step up to the plate and try to stop our running game. Like I said, we’re going to see at the end of the day who is going to win that battle.”
• DE Shaun Ellis, who again practiced with his broken left hand in a cast, said he’ll give it a go, but he has trouble grabbing and if he feels he’s hurting the team, he’ll take himself out of the game.
Ryan said they tried to fit Ellis with a cast that would free his thumb, but Ellis didn’t feel comfortable.
• S Kerry Rhodes, who banged his right knee in practice on Thursday, practiced yesterday and will play against the Colts.

• Ryan called the game “old-school” (the Jets’ running game) vs. “new school” (the Colts’ passing attack). Asked if he ever gets nervous before a big game, he replied, “I always said this: ‘Whatever you guys do, just d-d-d-don’t panic.’ ” he said, stammering for effect.”
Moments later, he said, “No, never. I don’t. There might be some concerns, but I never feel like that. I mean, I’m excited. Let’s go out and do it.”