Updated, 7:00 p.m. ET
Resiliency is a word many are using today to describe
But the word is being used all around MetLife Stadium and the Atlantic Health Training Center these days, and it's not to describe any one player in particular.
"Each year is so different," he said, deftly turning the question away from himself. "We just have a totally different team from two years ago. We have a great resilient group of guys in here that want to succeed, want to do well, and I think we will do well this year."
"Man, we talk about a resilient group," head coach Rex Ryan said. "We certainly have one."
And where does resiliency spring from? Togetherness, bonding — and there's been a lot of that talk around the locker room these days as well. For instance,
"It's not just me, man. We've got 11 guys to the football," he said. "We've got fast guys. You see guys like
Sheldon tracking down Jackson like Davis just did a short while before? Well, maybe. As tackle
"That can carry you a long way, it can. It's a mindset. It's a band of brothers. It took us a while to figure that out. Now we're on that track."
"There are a lot of guys with chips on their shoulders. They feel disrespected," explained TE
Either the Jets players have become a cult, or they've become a band of brothers who are saying a lot of stuff that won't pan out in the weeks ahead.
Or else they're onto something. They're aware of that secret that seems able to be unlocked best in a football environment, so that once a season or so, some team gets "on that track," understands that it can become greater than the sum of its parts and can aspire to great things.
Which is it for these Jets? It's too early to tell yet, of course. Win or lose at New England won't resolve the question, either. But we'll know shortly.
Meanwhile, Rex Ryan was asked at his news conference today if he had anything to say to those critics who ranked us as the No. 32 team in the NFL this season. His answer hinted of resiliency and togetherness, with a dash of us against them.
"We never ranked ourselves 32nd. We said that from day one," he said. "We're a confident football team. We know how to prepare how to work, all that stuff. We feel good about us. Outside is what it is. Maybe we'll be 31st this week. We'll just keep working our way and we'll see."
Quinn's Back In
As expected, we announced the re-signing of QB
"Inside the Jets"
Our weekly radio show, "Inside the Jets," starts up again tonight from 7–8 p.m. from the Grasshopper Off the Green restaurant in Morristown, NJ, with the simulcast on ESPN New York 98.7FM. Host for the show is "Voice of the Jets" Bob Wischusen, and Demario Davis and Nick Folk are scheduled to be Bobby's guests.