Jets mum on changes in Coalition
“I used to coach a lot of guys,” Bowles said.
Smith earned another chance to start for the Jets last season, replacing Ryan Fitzpatrick in Week 7 against the Ravens. But he tore his ACL in the second quarter, ending his season and, eventually, his time with the Jets.
“Me and Geno had a good relationship. We always talked. We were very honest with each other. I have lot of respect for him,” Bowles said. “Sometimes you just got to move on.”
When asked if he believes Smith possesses the talent to start in the NFL, Bowles said, “He got drafted. He’s talented enough.”
On Tuesday, when announcing his decision to sit Manning, Giants coach Ben McAdoo said it was his “responsibility to make sure we have a complete evaluation of the roster, top to bottom, especially at the quarterback position” — which, at 4-7, seems like something Bowles and the Jets should consider doing. Christian Hackenberg, 22, is nearly through his second full campaign and has yet to take a snap in the regular season. Last year, Todd Bowles waited until the final quarter of the season to hand Bryce Petty, 26, the reins. Petty took over for Fitzpatrick in the second half of a Week 13 blowout loss to Colts, which dropped the Jets to 3-9, and he would have started the final four games if not for a season-ending shoulder injury in Week 16 at the Patriots.
That’s not happening this year, according to Bowles. When asked Wednesday if he foresaw a scenario in which Petty would start the final quarter of the season, Bowles said, “Not right now, no.” “Josh is playing very well,” he added. Of course, Bowles is in the third year of a four-year contract and ostensibly is coaching for his job over these last five games. So it’s far from shocking that Bowles is sticking with McCown, who gives the Jets the best chance to win.
McCown has set career highs in passing yards (2,549), touchdowns (17), completions (235) and rushing touchdowns (three). McCown admitted his success this season will impact his impending decision on whether he wants to continue playing. “When you feel like you’ve been chasing, kind of, this level that you believe you can play at for a long time, and you start to feel like you’re scratching the surface of that and doing some of those things and settling into a system that you like, it’s hard to just go, ‘Yeah, man, I’ll be done,’” McCown said. “But at the same time too, if you are going to be done, it’s not to able to say you played your best ball at the end. So we’ll see. We’ll see how it goes. I love being in this system, and it would just be fun to play in a system for two years in a row. I’d love to see where I could take that.”
KELVIN Beachum and Demario Davis, the two Jets representatives in the Players Coalition, refused to comment Wednesday on the two players who chose to leave the Coalition because of disagreements with leadership over how to proceed.
The 49ers’ Eric Reid and the Dolphins’ Michael Thomas both announced their decisions to “withdraw (their) involvement” in the Coalition on Twitter Wednesday. Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins and retired receiver Anquan Boldin are leading the Coalition, which was formed to negotiate with the NFL about the best way to create social justice reform in the wake of player protests during the national anthem.
“I don’t know anything about that,” Davis said of Reid and Thomas. “No comment,” Beachum added. “The Players Coalition was supposed to be formed as a group that represents NFL Athletes who have been silently protesting social injustices and racism,” Reid and Thomas said in their joint statement. “However, Malcolm and Anquan can no longer speak on our behalf as we don’t believe the Coalition’s beliefs are in our best interests as a whole.” Davis spoke more generally about players’ interactions within the Coalition.
“The coalition has been a very solid group. As far as I’m concerned, everything’s been positive,” Davis said. “Talks between leadership, which is Anquan and Malcolm and ownership, has been very positive. And we hope we make some leeway in the negotiations and how we can get things done, the best way to help the community.”
Added Beauchum: “Malcolm and Anquan and all the guys involved have done a great job of coming together. We’ve been on calls, we’ve been involved, and it’s been a positive group. We’re in this thing together. It’s great to just see players come together … this year in a way that hasn’t been done in a while. So I think that’s a great thing, and as players, it’s great that we’re coming together to fight for a cause that’s bigger than just football.”
ESPN first reported Reid and Thomas’ decisions in a piece that outlined a proposal from the NFL that would offer nearly $100 million to “causes considered important to the African-American community.” According to ESPN, the money would come from the owners, and the league hopes the gesture would end the protests started by Colin Kaepernick last year. “From my talks with the Coalition, where things are at now, talks are still going along in a positive manner, both on the NFL side and the players’ side,” Davis said of the proposal. “But nothing has been confirmed. There’s still negotiations going on.”
Davis, though, is encouraged by the potential of the NFL’s proposal.
“They’ve very openly said that they want to help us and be behind us and supportive,” Davis said. “So if we can come upon an agreement to work together, it just shows that they are doing exactly what they said they were going to do.”