Optimism in face of Jets’ stark reality
IF THERE is no hope, all is lost for the Jets and their fans.
Todd Bowles was asked by The Post on Friday if he could identify two or three things for fans to look for come Sunday at the 0-2 Jets’ home opener at MetLife Stadium against the 1-0 Dolphins, some hope for this season and the future.
Rebuild City is the worst NFL city to reside in.
Sure, fans will be getting a personal Jets flag as they walk into the stadium, but there has to be more. Bowles is not one for small talk. His football coach personality was on full display when he answered the question.
“If we win the game, it gives them hope for the future,’’ he said. “I can’t give them two or three things to look at. We have to go out and play football. There’s nothing to look at as far as giving them hope other than winning.’’
At the least, the Jets need to get after it.
And yes, “Suck For Sam” is the Jets’ calling card this year in the hopes of finishing with such a terrible record they will be able to draft USC’s Sam Darnold or UCLA’s Josh Rosen and then build a bright future around those quarterbacks in the NQL, the National Quarterbacks League.
Perhaps the Jets can do some things well and still lose, that is probably the best scenario for this team.
Get some building blocks in order.
It would be nice if they could stop the run, a good place to start would be limiting Dolphins running back Jay Ajayi and forcing Jay Cutler to do some Jay Cutler turnover things.
Over Week 1 and Week 2 of the season, the Jets have surrendered 370 yards on the ground. Not good.
Here is the thing: In the locker room, the Jets say there have been small signs of progress and that is the way they approach the work week and each other.
As defensive lineman Kony Ealy noted: “The number one thing is it’s going to be good to see the new players in a home atmosphere, getting the chance to play in our first home game together against a division team, that’s always an exciting moment, get to see us up close instead of on TV. A chance to make that first impression in front of the fans.
“Just watch us work,’’ he said of his advice to the fans. “Whoever shows up, shows up. We really have a good team atmosphere of players. This is really a team effort. I’m very excited to be in front of the home crowd and soak my raw oats, I guess you could say. Getting this win is important, it’s a divisional game we need and it can set things off to start us going as a team.’’
Tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins will be making his first start of the year after a two-game suspension for a DUI arrest last season. He is looking forward to this new start.
“If you want to be negative, that’s your choice but you are our fans,’’ he said. “And not all of them are negative. We’ve been doing some encouraging things as a team, we just have to clean up some things.
“If you want to put a negative on it, we’re young. If you want to put a positive on it, we’re young.’’ True, it could go either way. “This is a huge opportunity for everybody,’’ Seferian-Jenkins added. “People think because we don’t have big names, everyone is so much better than us, when in reality every big name was not a name at some point. There is an enthusiasm in this building to perfect your craft.
“At the end of the day we have a bunch of no-names who can become big names.’’
That’s a start. Make a name for yourself and your team. If not, the fans will have to be content to walk away with a Jets flag and being one step closer to the draft pick of their dreams.