With homegrown talent will pay dividends in end
“Any season like that, there’s going to be people that do that,” veteran running back Matt Forte said of players going their separate ways amid last year’s disappointing campaign. “That’s a good thing in a way because it shows who that person is, and you can get rid of him. It’s good for the young guys to have experienced something like that because they know once you go through a season like that, you don’t ever want to do that again. You know that feeling, and you don’t want to have that feeling again.”
That feeling has been replaced with the kind of kumbaya rhetoric that you’d expect on the first day of training camp.
Although Forte wisely admitted that “having a good vibe or a bunch of good guys in the locker room is not going to make us win games” and “it really comes down to making plays,” it’s important not to minimize the impact of locker room synergy.
There’s been a collegiate vibe around One Jets Drive throughout the spring, driven by an influx of youth that will have an opportunity to succeed and fail together this season. It’s a necessary and pivotal part of the evolution of every winning outfit.
You can count the number of senior citizens on this roster (30 and over in this line of work) on one hand. The Jets could have as many as nine first- or second-year starters at the beginning of the regular season.
“Big names left,” right guard Brian Winters said. “But there’s a lot of players that are making names for themselves on this roster.”
While linebacker Demario Davis believes in the “all or nothing” Super Bowl dividing line to define a successful season and Forte claims that a sub .500 record won’t be deemed a success, the reality for this franchise at this time is that plenty of good can come out of 2017 regardless of their final record.
There are important gains that can be made during this watershed season. Those improvements from young players won’t necessarily equate to more wins than a season ago. hose seeking instant gratification will be disappointed. Those viewing this team through a myopic lens will miss out. “It’s a lot of young guys, but a lot more tight-knit group where everybody respects everybody as a man, but also as an athlete and a competitor,” Forte said. “We’re going out there to compete against each other, but also to make each other better. It’s a different kind of vibe and feel, but in a good way.”
The Process might reap amazing rewards one day.
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