Jets not buying into skeptics' predictions
There has been a lot of chatter about the Jets this offseason, and none of it has been particularly positive.
There has been plenty of chatter about the New York Jets this offseason, and none of it has been particularly positive.
They’ve got a three-man quarterback competition, a revamped roster that’s minus lots of familiar faces, and a growing number of skeptics who believe the Jets will have trouble winning a game, let alone contend for a playoff spot.
“The outside world’s not in here,” nose tackle Steve McLendon said Friday as the players reported for training camp. “That’s the difference. We’re not really worried about what they say. It’s not about proving them wrong, it’s about doing what we’re supposed to do. And the first thing we did today was show up.”
As for the new-look locker room, the defiant Jets insist they don’t share the doomsday sentiments.
“We believe in each other,” McLendon said. “It’s that short and sweet. We believe in each other.”
After a 10-6 season in which they barely missed the playoffs in Todd Bowles’ first year as coach, the Jets struggled through a brutal 5-11 campaign derailed by injuries and inconsistency. General manager Mike Maccagnan cleared the roster of several highpriced veterans, with the likes of Darrelle Revis, Brandon Marshall, Eric Decker, Nick Mangold and David Harris jettisoned by the Jets.
The rebuild for the future is in full effect, and that means there are likely some rough days ahead.
Marshall saw that coming and asked the Jets to cut him during the offseason so he could hook on with a contender. The wide receiver, now with the Giants, said during a recent radio interview that while New York is doing the right thing in the big picture, he couldn’t imagine making it through the season with the Jets “knowing that we didn’t have a chance.”
“It doesn’t matter. He’s not here,” running back Matt Forte said of his former teammate. “He hasn’t been here the whole offseason. So he doesn’t know what
chance we have or anyone has. That’s Brandon speaking on Brandon.”
But Marshall is hardly alone in his assessment of the Jets. The over/under for total victories set by many
betting lines has New York at five, with taking the under an increasingly attractive proposition.
One of the major reasons is the lack of clarity at the quarterback position. Much-traveled veteran Josh McCown is favored to emerge from a ho-hum competition that also includes Bryce Petty, a fourthrounder
in 2015, and Christian Hackenberg, a secondrounder last year.
McCown signed a oneyear, $6 million contract in the offseason to replace Ryan Fitzpatrick as the possible starter and resident QB mentor. Petty mostly struggled in limited opportunities last year. Hackenberg never saw the field
while being deemed a project as a rookie.
The Jets will spend the summer evaluating whether Petty or Hackenberg can establish himself as a potential starter. Meanwhile, the 38-year-old McCown fully expects to be under center when the regular season begins at Buffalo on Sept. 10.