Despite Rex Effect, Jets Should Beat Bills

For the half a dozen years he was here, we kept hearing about what a great football coach Rex Ryan was. I never quite bought it, and his sub-.500 record didn’t make much of a case for it either. But, when it came to shock value -- in a profession where going for it on fourth-and-one is viewed as a revolutionary act worthy of Che Guevara -- Rex undoubtedly holds the trophy.

The first-year Bills coach won the pregame again this week (he was always much better at that than the actual game in his time with the Jets) by naming IK Enemkpali as a captain for Thursday’s contest in Buffalo.

Of course, Enemkpali gained infamy in New York in the preseason for sucker-punching Geno Smith into missing a series of games with a broken jaw -- and for snagging every local member of the sports media with his almost unspellable last name.

It’s easy to see why Rex would honor Enemkpali, who the Bills picked up about 12 seconds after the Jets cut him loose following Genogate. After all, the defensive lineman has made two tackles already for Buffalo -- and there’s still half a season to play!

Enemkpali won’t be much of a factor on Thursday night, and Smith probably won’t either, unless Ryan Fitzpatrick’s thumb becomes an issue, though the QB enjoyed arguably his best game of the 2015 campaign while playing with the ailing digit on Sunday in a win over Jacksonville.

The Amish Rifle will likely go under the knife by the end of the week, as the 10 days the Jets have between the Buffalo game and their next one (at Houston on Nov. 22) should afford enough time for post-surgery recovery. He’d be advised to do so after a win that would leave the Jets at 6-3 and in prime position for a playoff spot, instead of a 5-4 mark that would knot them with the Bills in the AFC East standings.

Once again, the Jets are playing an opponent they should beat. The Bills are on the road facing what will surely be a hostile crowd eager to see Rex get payback.

The Bills aren’t bad. They were .500 through the season’s first half, but won four out of six when Tyrod Taylor was healthy. After tossing only 35 passes in his first four years in the NFL while mostly stuck on the bench behind Joe Flacco in Baltimore, the QB has found a home in Buffalo (although he’ll probably regret that when it becomes Tundra-like in a week or two).

Taylor has done the two biggest things a quarterback needs to do to be successful: throw a lot of TD passes, and only throw a few INTs. He can also beat an opponent with his feet, presenting a threat the Jets D hasn’t really faced so far.

Rex’s crew is less formidable on defense and Fitzgerald should be able to pick his spots, as should RB Chris Ivory, who has had a miserable few weeks after a very impressive start.

Despite their old coach’s mind games, for Gang Green, it comes down to this: if they’re for for real, then they shouldn’t have a problem bettering not bad.

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