Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2004 | 9:25 a.m.
SUN WIRE REPORTS
Let the downplaying begin.
"This is not the game of all games," New York Jets coach Herman Edwards said Monday. "This is our sixth game. It just so happens to be that they're undefeated, we're undefeated."
Even before the hype could begin for Sunday's game between the New York Jets and the New England Patriots, who have won 20 consecutive games, Edwards was insisting upon a measure of caution, about not placing too great an emphasis on the game's outcome. At the same time, Edwards urged his players to savor their 5-0 start, the first in the 45-year history of the franchise and a record that Edwards said Monday had been a goal since the spring.
Edwards, who played for the Eagles when they went 6-0 to start the 1981 season, said he planned to draw on that experience as he instructed his players this week.
"You have to do all the little things right," Edwards said. "You have to get some breaks along the way. That helps. And I think we've been able to do that for five, obviously."
Gannon, 39, didn't go as far as announcing his retirement in his first public comments since the helmet-to-helmet hit knocked him out of the Raiders' 30-20 victory against Tampa Bay on Sept. 26.
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