The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Jets wide receivers out to prove they’re better than people think
Quincy Enunwa knows that most opinions of the New York Jets’ wide receivers are far from favorable.
He and his teammates respectfully disagree.
“How can they know better when they haven’t seen anything?” Enunwa said about the naysayers. “It’s up to us to prove them wrong.”
That’s the daunting task for a mostly ragtag group of 13 wide receivers who have a combined 199 NFL catches for 2,597 yards and 10 touchdowns. Hardly eyepopping numbers and not the type of production that particularly inspires confidence in Jets fans.
Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker, who have 1,326 career receptions, 17,314 yards receiving and 134 touchdowns between them, were both cut this offseason as the Jets revamped their roster after a 5-11 season.
The main offseason story line has been whether Josh McCown, Bryce Petty or Christian Hackenberg will win the starting quarterback job . Once they sort that out comes this next head-scratching question: Who will they be throwing to?
“What’s great about what we are as a group is that we’re a group that has to function as a group,” Jets receivers coach Karl Dorrell said. “Usually, when you have an established player, you can find go-to opportunities for those types of players. This group, we’re still finding our craft, so to speak, because we’re developing.
“Even Quincy, a fourthyear player like he is, is developing into the type of receiver he’s capable of becoming.”
Enunwa is the most experienced of the bunch, with 80 catches for 1,172 yards and four TDs in three seasons over 29 games. He was the No. 3 receiver last season, but shot up the depth chart to No. 1 by default after Decker was cut on Monday — three months after Marshall was sent packing.
“I think every year, it’s going to be the same answer from me,” Enunwa said. “Last year, it was, ‘Do you think you’re going to be No. 3?’ And this year, it’s, ‘Do you think you’re going to be No. 1?’ I’m just going to play and do my best at practice, to battle, and if I come up the No. 1, that’s what happens. But, I just want to play. That’s it.” Dickerson, Marshall Faulk, “Mean” Joe Greene, Willie Lanier, Andre Reed, Bruce Smith and John Stallworth.
The mission was organized by New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who has been sponsoring the sport in Israel since it was launched in 1999.
“I love football. I love Israel. I love America. I think kids in America would die to have this group of players come and view them,” Kraft told The Associated Press. “The game of football teaches you lessons in life that nothing else does.”
While still lagging far behind soccer and basketball in popularity, football has made great strides at the grassroots level thanks to live NFL TV broadcasts and the expansion of the Israel Football League, now 10 years old. Unlike baseball, which still mostly appeals to American-Israelis, football has resonated with native-born Israelis who have taken a liking to the army-like strategy, camaraderie and collisions.
The game has really taken off in the high school league, where nine teams play across the country, and it is now no longer unusual to see kids tossing the pigskin around in city parks.
On Thursday, the NFL greats watched scrimmages between various high school teams, including the six-time defending league champions Kfar Saba Hawks — who have become an unlikely breeding ground of future commandoes in the Israeli military. Together with the eight flag football leagues for men, women and youth, there are currently about 80 teams playing football in Israel.