If there ever is a time for players to come together amongst themselves and have the kind of heart-to-heart talk that only players can give each other, this is it.
The Jets need to beat the Dolphins Sunday in Miami, then hope and pray enough teams lose to get them into the playoffs. They are coming off an emotional loss to the Giants where their pride took a pounding. You would think the Jets would kick the coaches out of the room this week and re-assert their accountability to each other.
You would think one player of stature would stand up and deliver a cold slap in the face about forgetting the past and playing like a Jet. Yet that hasn’t happened, perhaps because the Jets are so used to reacting to something their head coach has said they’ve forgotten the importance of their own voice.
The Jets used to be a talkative bunch, but not anymore. In fact, the lack of vocal leadership from those who wear uniforms is glaring and could be one of the reasons they are 8-7 and hoping for a miracle on Sunday.
Sometimes you need someone other than the head coach predicting victory. But with Ryan doing all the talking, no one has been able to get a word in edgewise. This is a week when they could use another voice, but no one offered to set a tone before yesterday’s practice.
“I don’t think you need guys standing up, saying this and saying that,” reasoned Antonio Cromartie. “Every guy knows what they need to do and every guy knows what to expect from each and every guy. When you have that understanding you don’t need a guy to stand up in the meetings and say this or say that. Every man in this locker room knows what we need to do.”
Aaron Maybin put it this way: “We all know what’s on the line. It’s either put up or shut up.”
It seems the Jets have decided to shut up. There remains hope of making the playoffs, but the swagger is gone. In truth, it has been gone for a while. During Ryan’s first season, whenever he predicted greatness his players would echo his sentiments. The coach talked, the players talked and all of them walked the talk together.
This year, we’ve heard mostly from Ryan, who all last week said the Jets were a better team than the Giants, and how he wanted to take over New York. The week became all about Rex and what Rex said.
Santonio Holmes, long dismissed as a real leader, chirped about the Giants defensive backs, and a few Jets came to the defense of Darrelle Revis when the Giants receivers questioned his greatness. But there was not the full endorsement of what the head coach was saying. It was more a shrug of the shoulders and “Rex will be Rex,” like an uncle who has a habit of saying inappropriate things.
Clearly, the Jets have been humbled. You could see it on Ryan’s face yesterday. You could hear it in the players’ voices. No one said they were better than the Dolphins yesterday. Their confidence has been shaken. They need a wake-up call.
Truth is, there’s an absence of vocal leadership in the locker room, and maybe that’s because Ryan hasn’t allowed anyone to assume the role. Bart Scott had plenty to say his first two years, but he hardly speaks out anymore. Revis, Brandon Moore, David Harris, Nick Mangold and Mark Sanchez aren’t vocal.
Let’s compare that to the Giants, where safety Antrel Rolle challenged his teammates publicly about their practice habits and received credit for his outspokenness after they defeated the Jets.
That’s the kind of vocal leadership the Jets need this week. It’s the kind of vocal leadership they lack.