October 9, 1997

JETS QUARTERBACK NEIL O’DONNELL TALKS ABOUT HIS TEAM’S SUCCESS,
HIS COACHES & THE STRENGTH OF THE AFC EAST

In a national media conference call on Thursday, October 9, New York Jets quarterback Neil O’Donnell answered questions on a variety of subjects:

The Jets are winning more and your statistics have improved. What is different this year?

Coach Parcells brought a positive, winning attitude to this team. We had a great turnout when we started our offseason program in March. Now, everyone is coming together and trying to improve each week.

How has Adrian Murrell helped balance your offense?

When you can run the football, it helps with play action and mixing the offensive plays up. Adrian is a very elusive back. He has the quickness and foot speed to make people miss in the open field. If we continue mixing the run and the pass on offense – and it all starts up front with our line – we’ll be fine.

How would you describe the difference in coaching styles of Bill Cowher and Bill Parcells?

They are both very aggressive, emotional coaches. The only difference is probably their ages. I think Bill Cowher is just a younger version of Bill Parcells. As long as your realize that when they yell at you, they are only trying to make you a better football player, everything usually goes fine.

Do you see any parallels between your coach in 1991, Chuck Noll, and Bill Parcells?

They had the same type of demeanor but Bill is a lot more vocal. He will tell you what he’s thinking. Chuck was one who would stare at you and you would have to figure out what he was thinking. But they are two great coaches. One is the Hall of Fame and the other will be one day.

Is the AFC East as good or better than you remember it in recent years?

Yes. Four teams have winning records. We played Buffalo already. That defense has some of the great players it had when the Bills went to the Super Bowl. New England is the team to beat as the defending AFC champion. We play Miami this week and know Jimmy Johnson will have his team ready. And the Colts have given a lot of teams problems. You don’t see teams really blowing them out. Their games are going down to the wire.

There is also a lot of Super Bowl experience among AFC East coaches.

These coaches know what it takes to get their teams to a Super Bowl. That experience is the thing that makes the teams in our division so tough.