BB: We're back in the division again. That's three division games here to start off the season – always big games. The Jets look good, as they always do. [They're] very good in the kicking game: returning kicks, blocking kicks, covering well, it's a real solid unit. Of course, defensively, they're statistically at the top of the league in a lot of categories. [They're] strong, take the ball away, do a good job on third down, all those things. Offensively, [it's] the same explosive guys that we've been facing down there. Of course they added [Plaxico] Burress. But you know, good group, guys that we've certainly seen a lot of in the past. Unfortunately, we've seen them have some big days. [There is] a lot to get ready for. [They are] well coached, they've got a good scheme, they do a good job, they give you a lot of things to prepare for. We'll need a good week of preparation to be ready to go here on Sunday. [It is a] division game, always a big game. Turn this week around and have a good week here for the Jets.
Q: When you're getting ready for an opponent, what do you put more stock in: the positive things you see or the breakdowns?
BB: I think any time you analyze a team, you try to look at their strengths and weaknesses – you know, what do they do well, what do you have to stop, what don't they do well, where do you have a chance to attack. You try to balance that off. You certainly have to defend the things that they're good at and try to neutralize those somehow or have some way to deal with them. There's obviously plays that you think you can run that are going to be successful based on whatever weaknesses or matchups you feel like are in your favor. It's a combination of those two things.
Q: What did you see against the Ravens that caused them to break down?
BB: I mean obviously it wasn't one of their better days. We've all been there before. But I think on balance, when you look at the football team across the board, not just a handful of plays, but you look at them across the board, they're a solid team and they do a lot of things well. We've all had our good days and our bad days. But I'm impressed with them and I have a lot of respect for them.
Q: They picked up Tom Moore in the offseason. Have you seen any of what he did in Indianapolis?
BB: I'd say there are a few things. I think the Jets are still basically the Jets. I think there are a couple things that you could look at offensively and say, 'That looks like an Indy idea.'
Q: Does it seem to you that they've gotten away from that 'ground and pound' philosophy they've used successfully the past two years?
BB: The Jacksonville game, you know, you see the Jets offense, you see their whole team executing very well; the second half of the Dallas game. The Raider game – that game really swung on a couple plays. I wouldn't overreact to the Baltimore game.
Q: What's your appraisal of Darrelle Revis? I know a lot of people have a high opinion of him.
BB: It is. [He is a] real good player. He's solid, does everything well. Good run force, good tackler, covers well in man-to-man, instinctive in zone, good ball skills, doesn't get very many penalties, a lot of tight coverage – he's good, good player. Both of their corners are good. Those guys, they line up every down and play a lot of man-to-man coverage and they do a good job.
Q: You met them three times last year. Did Rex Ryan have them doing different things each time?
BB: I think basically they have enough variety and flexibility in their defense and they do a number of different things that I think after you watch them play, you don't too many times look at them and say, 'Geez there's something we've never seen before.' But they give you a lot of different looks. It's not like you can say, 'I know what we're going to get here.' But when you see it, it's usually not something that – I'd say it's pretty unusual that you'd see something that you feel like, 'Wow they really they drew that one up for this game, that was a real special thing they just put in that week.' You can usually find that in other games and say, 'Well this is something they haven't used in awhile but this is what they've done before' or something that you can relate it back to. I think there's a lot of carryover in what they do in their overall system, but they do it off a lot of different looks.
Q: How have you seen Plaxico Burress evolve and change as a wide receiver now as opposed to a few years ago?
BB: [He] looks similar – big guy, real good ball skills, hard to match up against, physical, gets away from guys at the line of scrimmage, he is a big target down the field. He's a hard guy to match up on.
Q: How vulnerable do you feel they've been to pass rush without Nick Mangold playing the last couple of weeks and moving guys around the interior of the offensive line?
BB: I think they're a solid team, I really do. I think they're solid all the way across the board. It's pretty much the same guys we played against last year other than [Wayne] Hunter is in for [Damien] Woody but we saw a lot of Hunter last year too. It's the same group, with Mangold obviously in there, which we're certainly expecting him to play this week but that's out of our control. Really it's the same guys. Hunter played a lot last year, played against us, they used him as the extra tight end, all those things. It's really the same group of guys other than Mangold's replacement at center.
Q: Do you spend a lot of time projecting how an opposing pass defense is going to cover your offense or do you roll with that as it comes?
BB: We do a number of different things in our preparation. We definitely look at things that the other team has done. We look at things that have been done against us successfully that they might try to repeat or use a similar type of scheme. Sometimes we just throw things in there that are random just to kind of keep everybody on their toes. Maybe not something that necessarily we've seen them do, but just so that we're following our keys and running the plays without going out there and having our minds made up that, 'Well this is what it's going to be.' OK it's something completely different, how to react to it. We mix those kind of things into practice on a regular basis. Not just in the passing game but defensively or in the kicking game – put a reverse in or put some kind of play in there that we haven't seen for awhile. Don't know whether they're going to run it or not but just to keep everybody on their toes.
Q: Is Darrelle Revis a guy who has reached the level that what you do offensively depends on where he is and who he's on?
BB: I think you definitely need to know where he is. I think you need to know where [Jim] Leonhard is, I think you need to know where – you could say that pretty much every week with certain guys in everybody's secondary. Certainly, you have to know what you have with Revis, know what you have with [Antonio] Cromartie, Kyle Wilson, Eric Smith, you know, all the matchups, [David] Harris, whoever they have. A good quarterback and a well prepared team, they know who all those matchups are and when they change and what opportunities those present or maybe limit. Yeah, absolutely.
Q: Wes Welker has produced in the past but his numbers are off the charts this year. Is there anything in particular you've see that he's improved on or you guys have changed?
BB: No. Wes has been productive for us.
Q: What did you see from Shaun Ellis at this stage of his career that made you think he could help you? How much did his play in the playoff game impact your decision?
BB: He was available – we looked at all the players that are available. After going through the whole process of evaluation, contact, working out, meeting the player, working him out, working with his representatives and so forth, it worked out. Shaun has been a good player in this league, been very consistent [and] dependable. [He] played well against us – played well against a lot of people. We felt like he could help our football team and he has. He's been a good addition. [He is a] smart guy, very professional, really understands the game, works hard, has a good level of skill. He's big, he's strong, he can run, he has good quickness, he's a good technique player. He's been a good player and he's added a lot to our team.
Q: Do you have to make adjustments after you see who Darrelle Revis is covering? Do you adjust accordingly?
BB: You make adjustments throughout the course of every game, that's just part of the game. Your adjustments could depend on a lot of things – what you're trying to do and what they're doing and how it matches up. I don't think you go into the middle of the first quarter and say, 'These 30 plays that we were going to run, we can't run any of those. Let's try 30 different ones that we never practiced before.' I don't think that's really what you want to do.
Q: Has Aaron Hernandez improved enough health wise at this point to have a chance to play in this game?
BB: We'll see how it goes today and based on how it goes today we'll make a determination here tomorrow. It's the same answer every Wednesday – put him out there, put him through warm-ups, see how it goes. If he's able to do something, he'll do it. If he can't, we'll try the same thing tomorrow. If he's able to practice tomorrow, we'll practice him. If he's not, we won't.
Q: What has made Dustin Keller such a difficult player for you guys to cover over the years?
BB: Keller is a good player – he's tough for everybody to cover. He's got good size, really good instinctive receiver. He's got real good hands – catches the ball pretty much anywhere: high, low, he's got a real good reach-radius. He's got good quickness, good speed, he knows how to get open, he's a smart player. Obviously the quarterback has a lot of confidence in him. He goes to him in some crucial situations which I could see why he would. He's been productive, he's been dependable.
Q: Is he one of those guys kind of like Aaron Hernandez, who teams look at like a wide receiver or does he have more of the blocking skills?
BB: I'd say he's more of a receiver.
Q: Have you talked to the team about avoiding the talk about the Jets and the rivalry and all that?
BB: We talk about what we need to do to beat the Jets on Sunday, that's what we talk about.
Q: Do you tell them to just ignore it?
BB: We try to focus on what we need to do to beat the Jets. That's what we're here for. I mean, what else is there to talk about?
Q: When you get a guy like Shaun Ellis who has been familiar with the Jets offense, how helpful is he to your offense this week?
BB: We pretty much go through that every week. Every week we either have somebody that's been with their team or they have somebody that's been with our team. I don't think it's that big of a deal. Could somebody give you some useful information? Yeah, I'm sure they could. In the overall scheme of things, in 100 percent of the preparation, I would say that kind of information is one, maybe two percent at the most. They have plenty of guys who have played here. [We have Danny] Woodhead, [Shaun] Ellis, James [Ihedigbo]. I think that's vastly overrated.
Q: Any movement on the practice squad, adding a defensive back?
BB: Yeah, Sterling Moore. We'll take a look at him.
Q: And you have to drop someone to make space?
BB: Josh Victorian.
