The Jets have a stacked roster of playmakers in the forms of Aaron Rodgers and the newly acquired Davante Adams, but it’s a “team” and not a “roster” that produces results.
That’s the point Damien Woody and Rex Ryan drove home Monday on ESPN’s “Get Up,” when they tore into Gang Green’s talented roster that dropped its fourth straight game Sunday — a 37-15 loss to the Steelers — and saw the firing of head coach Robert Saleh in less than one month’s time.
“There’s a difference between a roster and a team. The Jets have a roster, they don’t have a team. They got a bunch of guys with recognizable names but they’re not playing up to any type of standard. They don’t have any type of identity and that’s a problem,” said Woody, who played for the Jets from 2008-10.
Despite “throwing different names to see what sticks on the wall,” a la Adams and Haason Reddick — who is due to report to the team’s Florham Park facility on Monday following a months-long holdout — the Jets continue to falter, with Woody questioning where the leaders are amongst the players.
“Those guys in the locker room have to make a decision of how they want their season to turn out because all I keep hearing is a bunch of excuses for why things aren’t going the way they’re going. It’s about damn time that someone in that locker room put their damn foot in the ground and say enough is enough because like I said, right now, I see a roster, I don’t see a team,” he continued.
Ryan, who coached the Jets for six seasons from 2009 to 2014, lauded his colleague’s take but noted the “pride” of the team “starts from the damn top.”
“As a coach… it starts with you,” Ryan said. “Your job is to build the culture, to build the team. The name on the back is important, but it’s not more important than the one on the front. You’re about your football team, you’re about the New York Jets, where the hell is the pride in the New York Jets?! That starts from the damn top. We ain’t getting it.”
Although Ryan recognized that defensive coordinator-turned-interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich is shouldering a heavy load in the wake of Saleh’s firing, he implored the development of a winning culture begins with him.
“What the hell do they hire the coach for? To create a culture, to create that damn team where the team is more important than the freaking individual. And right now, that’s not the case,” Ryan said.
Now sitting at 2-5 with their playoff hopes slowly dwindling, Rodgers said Sunday he hopes the additions of Adams— acquired in a trade with the Raiders last week —and Reddick can spark a team that entered the season with Super Bowl aspirations.
“We’ve got to figure it out. Obviously, we added two big-time players to the locker room. One’s here, one’s coming Monday,” said Rodgers, who went 24-for-39 for 276 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions Sunday.
“So, everything’s still right in front of us. We’ve got to somehow keep the belief in the locker room and start a run. Can’t win 10 in a row unless you win the first one.”
With a trip to New England on deck against a reeling Patriots squad, perhaps this loaded Jets roster will come together as a team and secure that third win of the season.