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Morris County – One of the most impressive parts of the surprising 2017 Jets is this . . .
Culturally, the Jets have done a 180 degree turn from 2016.
Last year, they were a house-divided, and this year, a close-knit, unified group that plays much harder and tougher.
They worked really hard this off-season to change the roster and locker room to make sure 2016 didn’t happen again.
There are a number of reasons the Jets are 4-5, but one of the biggest is their culture.
That dancing they were doing before the snap on defense might seem hokey to some people, but it shows you how much different the vibe is in 2017. They have a swag.
Josh McCown was asked about why the Jets have exceeded the expectations of people on the outside. I believe ESPN columnist Ian O’Connor asked the question. Most people in the media thought the Jets would be terrible this year. We all know that.
Here is what McCown said about the key to the Jets doing a lot better than a lot of media and fans thought.
“I’ve told you guys, I really believe it’s our chemistry,” McCown said. “It’s the makeup, and I still go back to halftime at Oakland. We had the muffed punt and all the things go bad, and I’ve been on teams where they get in the locker room and it’s quiet and everybody is whispering and they are pointing at that guy, and that locker room, everybody was together. Everybody was (saying) we’re going to bounce back, everybody was for one another, and back then it just confirmed what I believed to be true, that we had great chemistry, but that showed it. I think that’s been the key week in and week out, and (Head Coach) Todd (Bowles) does a good job of laying the vision, the plan out for us – and then for us as a group, veterans and young players, listening to veterans, being wise enough to do what they’re being asked to do, I think that’s the chemistry that we seek out, and we’re seeing that unfold and I think that’s what keeps us in ball games and keeps us competitive.”
Last year, the Jets were blown out six times. That shows you how bad their chemistry was in 2016. You shouldn’t get blown out six times in a league with so many mediocre teams and rules set up for parity. But it shows you that once games started to head south, there were guys who folded up their tents.
That isn’t happening this year.
They’ve been in every game aside from the Oakland game.
And that was a game their cornerback issue reared its head.
The handling of the cornerbacks, where the Jets’ brass seems to have a worldview that is a little out of sorts, is the only thing I can point to that culturally is a problem – too much blind loyalty. We will see if the Jets handle this better down the stretch.
But overall, the sea change in the Jets’ culture from 2016 to 2017 is pretty impressive.
November 3, 2017
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