The Jets have a roster full of playmakers like Aaron Rodgers and the newly acquired Davante Adams, but it's the team that produces results, not the roster.
That was the point Monday when Damian Woody and Rex Ryan went home on ESPN's “Get Up.” They lost their fourth straight game on Sunday (a 37-15 loss to the Steelers), tore apart Gang Green's talented roster and saw their head coach fired. Robert Saleh will take office within a month.
“There's a difference between a roster and a team. The Jets have a roster, but they don't have a team. They have a lot of players with famous names, but they're not up to any standard. They don't have any identity. And that's the problem,” said Woody, who played for the Jets from 2008 to 2010.
Despite “throwing different names out there to see what would stay on the wall” like Adams and Haason Reddick, the Jets continue to have doubts about Woody and slump. Where the leader is among the players.
“The players in the locker room have to decide what their season is going to be because all I keep hearing is excuses as to why things aren't going the way they want. “It's time for us to put our feet on the ground and say enough is enough, because like I said, right now, when you look at the roster, you can't see the team,” he continued.
Ryan, who coached the Jets for six seasons from 2009 to 2014, praised his colleagues' views but said the “pride” in the team “starts at the top.”
“As a coach… it starts with you,” Ryan said. “Your job is to build a culture and build a team. The name on the back is important, but not more important than the name on the front. You're thinking about your football team, You think about the New York Jets, where's the New York Jets pride? It starts at the top. We don't know that.”
Ryan acknowledged that Jeff Ulbrich, who moved from defensive coordinator to interim head coach following Saleh's firing, has a heavy burden on his shoulders, but he urged him to develop a winning culture starting with him. did.
“What on earth do they hire coaches for? Creating a culture, building a team where the team is more important than the odd individual. And right now, that's not the case,” Ryan said. Ta.
The team is currently 2-5 and its playoff hopes are slowly fading, but Rodgers said Sunday that the additions of Adams and Redick, acquired in last week's trade with the Raiders, have improved the team that entered the season with dreams of making a Super Bowl appearance. He said he hopes to be able to provide inspiration.
“We've got to work that out. Obviously, we've added two big-time players to the locker room. One is here and the other is coming Monday,” Rodgers said. Rodgers went 24-of-39 on Sunday for 276 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.
“So, everything is still in front of us. We've got to keep the faith in the locker room somehow and run with it. We can't win 10 straight games if we don't win first.”
A trip to New England to face a reeling Patriots team will likely allow this loaded Jets roster to come together as a team and secure their third win of the season.
