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Florham Park – It’s time for a heaping helping of Jets Whispers from One Jets Drive in Florham Park, New Jersey . . .
It is such a mistake to run a football operation worrying about public opinion polls.
Bill Belichick never does that.
While I have a tremendous respect for most fans, the Jets should not start Bryce Petty because some fans are clamoring for it.
If Todd Bowles and Mike Maccagnan decide the time is right to play Petty at some point, then go for it.
But it shouldn’t be done because of message boards or sports columnist pandering to a fan narrative that they know is popular. There are certain writers pounding the drums on the Petty thing because they know it will get clicks from fans. Total pandering, but good for website traffic.
Bowles/Maccagnan need to ignore the white noise, now, tomorrow and into the future.
Personally, I’m never into putting quarterbacks in to learn on the job. 9 times out of 10 it’s a disaster. Dak Prescott is an aberration. Players and coaches want to win every time they step on the field. In Florham Park, the sense I get it that the players and coaches overwhelming want Fitzpatrick to star. Quarterback who aren’t ready make it really hard to win. It’s the most important position on the team. With Petty at QB, the Jets lost 9-6 to a pedestrian Rams team. A Rams team that gave up 49 points on Sunday.
Look, I understand where sometimes first-round quarterbacks are thrown out there before they are ready. I don’t like it, but you have to deal with reality. It happens a lot.
But why do the Jets need to put a fourth-round quarterback out there when he’s not ready? Where is that written?
And this idea that they need to see what they have is so overrated. Are a few games late in the season truly going to show you what they have? Like I’ve said before, did a few games at the end of Denver’s season last year show Houston what they were truly getting with Brock Osweiler in free agency? Obviously not. They gave him a four-year deal for $72 million and have the worst passing offense in the league.
Totally overrated concept.
So Bowles and Maccagnan need to stick to their football instincts – both have been in the league for over 20 years – and do what they think is best for the Jets.
Don’t pander.
“If you let the fans dicate your choices, you will end up sitting with them,” Marv Levy once said.
WWBD – What would Belichick do?
Never, never, never does he ever factor in public opinion polls . . .
Today, Daily News columnist Manish Mehta interviewed Bryce Petty at his locker for about a half hour.
Who interviews a backup quarterback for a half-hour unless they are trying to create trouble?
This went on way too long.
But Mehta is smart. He knows the longer you interview somebody, the better chance they are going to deliver you a money quote. It’s like the old saying, “the more you throw up against the wall, the better chance something sticks.”
An example of this strategy working was last year with Darrelle Revis about the Patriots. Lengthy interview – pounded him with a barrage of questions, and finally got the quote he was looking for.
“New England’s been doing stuff in the past and getting in trouble,” Revis said. “When stuff repeatedly happens, then that’s it. I don’t know what else to tell you. Stuff repeatedly happened through the years. You got SpyGate, you got this and that and everything else. Obviously in those situations in the past, they had the evidence. So they did what they needed to do.”
The Jets can only hope his blitzkrieg directed at Petty didn’t lead to a money quote.
I’m telling you, the Jets have no answer for this writer.
The team’s mild-manner kicker Nick Folk is pissed at him now. Takes a lot to get Folk pissed.
November 30, 2016
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