Mike Pettine was the linebackers coach with the Baltimore Ravens from 2005-2008, with Rex Ryan the defensive coordinator. He then became the defense coordinator for the New York Jets under Ryan the past four seasons.
On Sunday, Pettine will return to Met Life Stadium for the first time since joining the Bills’ staff. Pettine said on Wednesday that he was motivated to prove himself against Ryan due to the mutual respect between them.
“I’d be a liar if I stood here and said this game didn’t mean more to me or I didn’t want to win it,” said Pettine. “Coaches in the NFL were born with a competitive gene, a hyper competitive gene and you want to win at everything. When I went on vacation with Rex and we were throwing washers on the beach, I wanted to beat him just as bad as I want to beat him on Sunday. It comes down to it’s a team thing and I can’t get drawn in to the emotion of that. I have a job to do to put my players in the best position to be successful and that’s’ what we’re going to do.”
Pettine is coaching a defense that is No.7 in red-zone defense despite missing Pro Bowl safety Jairus Byrd (plantar fasciitis) and No.1 cornerback Stephon Gilmore (wrist), though Byrd’s status for Sunday will be determined after Friday’s practice. The bend but don’t break defense has kept teams out of the end zone in both games when needed most, giving the Bills offense a very good chance to win both games, which they capitalized on Sunday.
While Pettine has had success with a currently undermanned unit, Ryan has taken over full-time coaching duties of the Jets defense, and has helped lead them to No. 2 in total defense, No. 5 against the run, and No. 4 in scoring in 15 points per game. Ryan said that being in charge of that unit has helped reinvigorate him.
“Absolutely,” said Ryan. “I just love to teach. There’s always been a partnership on defense with me going back to where I had Dennis Thurman and Mike Pettine with me and all the great coaches that are with me right now, Brian VanGorder and [Karl] Dunbar and [Jeff] Weeks. Well, maybe not so much Weeks [joking]. But, yeah, it is. I love the classroom. I just like getting in front and installing defenses.”
Both AFC East rivals are going to start rookies, though Doug Marrone was able to develop a familiarity with the Jets current signal caller. Geno Smith and his West Virginia Mountaineers faced off against Marrone’s Syracuse Orangemen three times, and lost all three by a combined score of 124-57.
Despite his previous dominance of Smith in college and going with E.J. Manuel in the draft over him, Marrone feels that Smith can be successful in this league.
“Having competed against him in college and then having the ability to work him out and spend some time with him, I had a great appreciation for him then,” said Marrone. “What was asked of him and what he did and what he had to do. When I look at him now, I see a player that is developing. I’ve said that before, we made a decision to go with EJ (Manuel), we thought that was best for our organization, but I thought there were quarterbacks out there that will win in this league. I think that Geno Smith is developing and he’s doing a nice job there, he really is when you see what they’re asking him to do.”
After last week’s struggle with the Patriots defense, both Ryan and Smith referenced getting the ball out of the quarterback’s hand quicker, with Ryan referencing that Manuel had only been sacked once this season. The importance of doing so is greater after Mario Williams’ 4.5 sack performance against Carolina last week that won him AFC Defensive Player of the Week, according to Smith, who has been sacked 9 times thus far, the second-most behind only Cleveland’s Brandon Weeden.
“It’s always important to get the ball out and to get it out on time,” said Smith. “You never want to sit back there and pat it and babysit the ball. So that is an emphasis and going up against a defense and a guy like Mario (Williams), it is going to be an emphasis to get the ball out. At the same time, I trust my offensive line. I think those guys are definitely going to be prepared for the challenge and I look forward to it.”
E.J. Manuel and Smith met each other in high school when Manuel was in 11th grade and Smith in 10th, and are good friends according to Manuel. Manuel says the complexities and athleticism of the Jets defense are what make them a tough matchup.
“A bunch of multiple looks,” said Manuel. “Fast, long guys. Guys that get to the ball very fast and a lot of veteran leadership on their defense, guys who have been in the league a long time. They have a lot of playmakers on their defense and I think a lot of their turnovers come from just giving you hard looks. You don’t really know who to call out as the Mike and all that kind of stuff. The good thing is we’ll have a bunch of those looks this week.”
Manuel will be starting his first regular season road game in his NFL career, but his experiences at Florida State help him understand what he needs to do.
“I’ve played in stadiums where it’s 95,000 people, a hundred (thousand),” said Manuel. “I know it’s going to be loud. Everybody is going to be against us except for the Bills fans that are there. I think the biggest thing is early in the game you want to really hush their crowd down. If you can go out there and put points on the board or try to get the momentum on your side because that’s where it matters the most, when you’re away. If you can get the momentum on your side early in the game and try to keep it, I think it’ll be a lot easier as far as the loudness.”
