EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The New York Jets are well-rested, healthy and eager to play again.
That all makes for a tough task for the banged-up Green Bay Packers, who know they’re getting an opponent returning from a bye-week break and rolling with a five-game winning streak.
“I don’t think it changes your preparation, but a team coming off a bye is definitely at an advantage,” Packers Coach Mike McCarthy said. “There’s no secret with that.”
The Jets (5-1) are tied with New England and Pittsburgh for the best record in the NFL and are a one-point loss to Baltimore in Week 1 away from being undefeated. Coach Rex Ryan has talked for months about how his team is headed for the Super Bowl, and his bold prediction looks increasingly more like a possibility than just bluster.
“We’re definitely hungry,” right tackle Damien Woody said. “We’re riding a nice winning streak and nobody wants to lose. Nobody wants to have that taste in their mouth.”
That’s why the Jets have had some particularly physical practices while preparing for the game against the Packers (4-3) today at the New Meadowlands Stadium.
“As good as that bye week was, we feel even better playing a football game,” Woody said. “Nothing beats having a quality opponent coming to your house, so it’s going to be a good challenge. I know there’s been a lot of talk about if the bye week will disrupt our flow, so that remains to be seen and we’ll see on Sunday.”
The six-day break allowed two of the Jets’ top defensive players heal from injuries thathampered them through the early part of the season. All-Pro cornerback Darrelle Revis declared that his bothersome left hamstring is 100 percent for the first time since Week 1, and linebacker Calvin Pace appears to be close to a full go after missing the first four games with a broken right foot.
The fact Revis is feeling like his usual shutdown self is good news for the Jets, whose defense has been solid but not up to its usual dominance. After all, it was ranked No. 1 last season but is only 12th this season, including 22nd against the pass.
“I think that if you can jump on a team and kind of hit them in the mouth a couple times,” Packers wide receiver Greg Jennings said, “then you can get them back on their heels versus you being on yours.”
The Packers will also present a good test for the Jets despite their struggles lately with consistency and injuries. Green Bay is tied with Chicago atop the NFC North, and a victory over New York would go a long way toward increasing the Packers’ confidence and belief that they can still be one of the elite teams in their conference.
“I think it says a lot for the coaches and the players,” Mc-Carthy said.
Six starters are sidelined, including cornerback Al Harris and safety Atari Bigby, who are on the physically-unableto-perform list, and running back Ryan Grant, tight end Jermichael Finley, and linebackers Nick Barnett and Brad Jones, all on injured reserve.
“It’s tough. It seems like guys are dropping left and right,” said linebacker Clay Matthews. “Like we’ve done all year, we’ll just continue to march on.”
Sports, Pages 26 on 10/31/2010