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Jets coach Todd Bowles needs to show leadership here before this situation gets even more out of hand.
A video came out from a NYC concert from Saturday night, reportedly showing Leonard Williams pulling Darron Lee from a some kind of dispute with a woman.
“We are aware of the reports, we are taking them seriously and we are looking into the specifics of the situation,” the Jets said in a statement. “We will have no further comment at this time.”
Todd Bowles needs to show some leadership on the Lee front. Something is amiss here.
This isn’t an isolated incident.
Remember in February, Lee claimed to be attacked in a Columbus bar.
“Midway from the exit of the bar, I get hit and tackled simultaneously,” Lee said. “Have no idea who it was. I wasn’t in an argument with anybody. I hadn’t said a word to anybody. Just leaving the bar to go home, and I get punched and tackled. I have no idea by whom. To this very moment I have no idea by whom. Don’t care.”
On Twitter, he thanked the Columbus Police Department for sparing his life. The tweets were later deleted. The Columbus PD said there is no record of an incident at a bar.
In January, he tweeted to critics of his play, “Don’t tell me to go work on my game when you still work at chipotle bruh.”
And then last week, you had him making excuses for his rough play last season.
“Hey everyone, I played seven games on one leg. Not an excuse. Be ready for a comeback.”
Sounds like an excuse to me.
Lee had a high ankle sprain last year. He sat out three games, and then came back. If he wasn’t healthy, the coach shouldn’t have played him. So maybe this is on the coach, but it’s sounds like an excuse to me.
Too much going on with this guy.
Lee didn’t have a good rookie year. He didn’t help the Jets as much as expected in coverage, and had some trouble stacking and shedding in run support (see the 49ers game).
But not helping matters is Bowles claiming that Lee played well last year.
“I thought he played well last year,” Bowles said. “He gave up a couple of plays. I don’t think he struggled. I thought he played well as a rookie. I thought he made a mistake or two, here or there, but nothing that he didn’t learn from.”
He played well last year?
No he didn’t.
And when a coach claims a player played well, and didn’t, that is bad for the player and the locker room. I’m not looking for Bowles to throw Lee under the bus publicly, but to say “he played well last year” is a little insulting to our intelligence. How about saying, “He had some rookie struggles, had some good plays and some he’d want back, but the experience should help him moving forward.”
But by saying he played well last year is an example of enabling. He doesn’t need enabling now. He needs tough love.
Bowles and Mike Maccagnan need to figure out what the heck is going on with Lee. There is something amiss.
It’s not one isolated incident.
Bowles and Maccagnan can’t give this lip service. Don’t sweep this stuff under the rug. Perhaps he needs some help.
June 4, 2017
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