Cleared for tanking
Woody calls '17 a wash, eyes youth movement
Woody Johnson didn’t use the “R” word — rebuilding — but he may as well have been saying wins and losses don’t matter next season. The Jets are starting over, trying to build a team through the draft and create a young core that can sustain success, and Johnson is fully on board with that plan.
“Really, the way I want to be judged this year, hopefully from the fans standpoint, is watch how we improve during the year, look at each individual on the team and see how they’re getting better,” the Jets owner said Tuesday on ESPN Radio. “If they’re getting better, that’s a mark of progress. That’s what we’re looking for.”
The Jets made several notable cuts this offseason, jettisoning veterans Brandon Marshall, Nick Mangold and Darrelle Revis, after last season’s dreadful 5-11 campaign. They made a few stopgap acquisitions, landing quarterback Josh McCown and cornerback Morris Claiborne. But the Jets want to get younger, and build from within instead of chasing highpriced veteran free agents. Clearly, general manager Mike Maccagnan and Todd Bowles, entering their third season together, aren’t un- der any pressure to win.
“I think what you want to do, if you want to go to the promised land, you got to go in a certain direction,” Johnson said. “This is a direction we’ve never tried in the 17 years that I’ve been involved with the Jets. We’ve never gone this way.”
Speaking on WFAN, Maccagnan said: “Woody and Todd and I are all on the same page. ... We’re trying to build this organization so we can have the ability to be successful not just for the short-term, but the long-term. Woody has given us all the support we need. We’re focused on building this thing correctly.”
The Jets have suffered six straight seasons without a playoff berth after two consecutive appearances in the AFC Championship game. They nearly reached the postseason two seasons ago, before a crushing loss to the Bills. But that team was built on veterans such as Ryan Fitzpatrick, Marshall and Revis. “Lightning in a bottle,” was the way Johnson described it. “It wasn’t something you could duplicate.
“We’ve tried a lot of different things. We’ve got to find a quarterback. That’s a goal. What we’ve done over the years is trade picks away and put too big an emphasis on free agency and not enough emphasis on developing our own.”
But don’t tell the Jets players their record doesn’t matter, that losing is expected this season. Eric Decker, one of the few highpriced veterans still around, said he believes there is enough talent for the Jets to win their share of games.
“I’m still here to be a part of a winner,” said Decker, who is coming off shoulder and hip surgeries that limited him to just three games last season, but reported no lingering issues, and expects to take part fully when organized team activities begin on May 23. “My plan is to go to work and get better.
“Rebuilding is kind of a loosely used term,” added Decker, who was in Midtown on Tuesday for BTIG Charity Day, where athletes and celebrities acted as guest stock traders taking calls from clients to raise money for different charities. “I feel like we have a very good core. We’re building our team right now. Nobody can say what we are. This is our opportunity to come together, figure out what our identity is this offseason.”