Jets Look To Reclaim Status as Road Warriors in Atlanta

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The New York Sun

ATLANTA -The Jets used to be the consummate road warriors. Lately, they’ve been road weaklings. This probably isn’t a good place to turn things around.


The Atlanta Falcons (4-2) have transformed the Georgia Dome from a half-filled mausoleum into one of the league’s most challenging venues for opposing teams. They are 10-2 at home since Jim Mora took over as coach, including a rout of St. Louis in last year’s playoffs.


“We just love playing at home,” Mora said, recalling a recent conversation with defensive end Patrick Kerney. “We were talking about how sometimes on the road we come out a little flat and he said, ‘You know, with our crowd, we could be asleep 30 seconds before we go on the field and because of the energy, we would still get pumped up.’ So that’s how our guys feel about playing at home.”


The Jets (2-4), on the other hand, have lost five straight regular-season games on the road (though, it must be noted, they did win at San Diego in the playoffs last season). Plagued by injuries at quarterback, they dropped their first three this season while averaging a mere nine points per game.


“We haven’t been very good on the road, and I don’t know what’s contributing to that,” coach Herman Edwards said. “We’ve handled it the same way. We just haven’t done the things that you have to do on the road to win. One of them is you’ve got to get the crowd out of it. We’ve always been behind, and that’s a little bit of our problem, too.”


Gang Green’s lack of success on the road is in contrast to Edwards’s first season in 2001, when the Jets went 7-1 on the road (as opposed to 3-5 at the Meadowlands).


They were a respectable 4-4 away from home in 2002, and they matched that .500 record last season. But the Jets began to tail off late in the year, losing their final two road contests after a November 28 victory at Arizona.


This season, the Jets have been downright dismal on the road. They started with a 27-7 loss at Kansas City, which came within 29 seconds of handing New York its first shutout in almost 10 years.


NEW YORK JETS (2 – 4) AT ATLANTA FALCONS (4 – 2)


(Tonight, 9p.m ., ABC)


Three weeks later, with third-stringer Brooks Bollinger taking over for injured quarterbacks Chad Pennington and Jay Fiedler, the Jets managed only eight first downs and 152 yards in a 13-3 loss at Baltimore. Last week, with 41-year-old Vinny Testaverde taking the snaps, New York struggled again in a 27-17 loss to Buffalo.


Edwards pointed out that the Jets have scored only seven points in the first quarter, home and away. It’s easier to come from behind when the fans are behind you, much tougher when they’re cheering against you.


“When you’re behind, the crowd’s involved,” Edwards said. “We’ve kind of been a team that’s played from behind a lot, and that’s not good on the road.”


The Jets’ revamped offensive line had trouble communicating signals in Buffalo’s outdoor stadium, a problem that figures to be magnified in the sold-out Georgia Dome. Pete Kendall will start at center for the first time in two years, taking over after Kevin Mawae went out with a season-ending injury. Kendall’s old spot at left guard goes to Jonathan Goodwin. Right guard Brandon Moore is the only starting lineman playing the same spot he was in the season opener.


“When you’re on the road, you have to be louder and you have to communicate,” Testaverde said. “That’s really the bottom line.”


The Falcons are eager to make up for a defensive performance that was downright offensive in a 34-31 victory over New Orleans last week. Atlanta gave up a staggering 211 yards rushing to the Saints, who didn’t even have running back Deuce McAllister.


On the other side of the line, Atlanta will likely be missing one key component of its dominating ground game. T.J. Duckett, the short-yardage specialist and change of pace to tailback Warrick Dunn, isn’t expected to play because of a sprained ankle. The Falcons will likely shift fullback Justin Griffith to the tailback position when Dunn needs a breather.


In what has been ongoing theme the last two seasons, the Falcons are still seeking more production out of their wide receivers. Dez White lost his starting job after catching only two passes this season – completing a total overhaul of last year’s first-string wideouts. Peerless Price was released in the preseason.


The Falcons are averaging just under 25 pass attempts per game, while leading the NFL in rushing with more than 185 yards per game on an average of 34 carries.


“That’s the nature of the offense,” said Brian Finneran, whose 19 receptions are the most among the wideouts. “We have such good running backs and offensive linemen, I’m sure we’ll go with that until we struggle. But I’d like to see us up around 30 passes a game so people will stop asking the receivers about it.”


Maybe people will stop asking the Jets about their road woes if they can win this week.


“We’ve always taken great pride in going to other people’s stadiums and sticking it to them,” receiver Wayne Chrebet said. “We have a great opportunity this week to not only show ourselves, but show everybody with a national game, that were certainly better than a 2-4 team.”


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