Content available exclusively for subscribers
Maybe I’m nuts, but I don’t think this is the way to go . . .
Today in his press conference, Adam Gase was asked “a million” Sam Darnold questions to borrow a Chris Russo-ism.
Q)Is Darnold is expected to play if he’s medically cleared?
Gase: If they tell us he can go, you can tell him not to play, it’s not going to go well.
What’s up with that?
This reminds me of something I brought up yesterday.
Q)Are you concerned about Le’Veon Bell’s workload?
Gase: It’s hard to take him off the field. When you kind of say like, ‘Hey, we’d love to take you out this series,’ it’s not ideal for him. He wants to be in there.
Who’s the coach?
Look, I’m not looking to make a mountain out of a molehill, but this kind of stuff just doesn’t make a ton of sense to me..
Adam Gase is the head coach of the New York Jets.
Sam Darnold is a player on the New York Jets.
Le’Veon Bell is a player on the New York Jets.
Who cares what Darnold’s reaction is if he’s cleared, let’s say Saturday night, and the team decides to just wait a week, and not play him in Philadelphia? Why would his reaction even be a factor?
What am I missing here?
If Le’Veon Bell doesn’t want to come out of the game, who cares? It’s not up to him, so why would how he feels about his workload even matter?
Don’t get me wrong. Obviously I think the Jets need to get Darnold back out there ASAP to continue his development and maturation process. I get that, but how badly he wants to get back out is totally irrelevant. If Joe Douglas, Gase, Dr. Kenneth Montgomery and company decide to error on the side of caution and wait an extra week, so be it.
Also, obviously, Bell should get the lion’s share of the Jets workload at running back. I get that.
I just don’t subscribe to this theory that the players should be involved in decisions like this.
I can assure you players aren’t involved in these kind of decisions in New England.
Look, I have only been around Gase in practice and press conferences for a few months. I don’t know the man very well, so I can’t tell you why he would give answers like this, but I’m not a fan of this approach.
Player appeasement generally isn’t the part of a winning formula.
Adam, you’re the boss man, who plays on game day is up to you. How many carries a running back gets is up to you. Joe Douglas decides who is on the roster, and Gase decides who plays and how much. That is who the Jets’ power structure works. You could make a strong argument the Jets need a football czar over the coach, but that is a conversation for another day.
Perhaps Gase doesn’t think there is nothing wrong with these answers, but to me, this isn’t what you would expect from an alpha dog leader.
October 3, 2019
Premium will return by 9:30 pm on Thursday.