England swings like a pendulum do, and Garrett Wilson seems to be internalizing that 60-year-old song lyric with his Jets teammates in London this week. Regular beat, steady as it goes, and bring it all together for a Jets awakening against the Broncos at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday.
Part of that is the British ambience and how it's potentially bringing the Green & White together.
"It's been cool, spending time with the guys, honestly not thinking about too much," the Jets' WR1 said Thursday of the practice week. "We did football today, obviously, and yesterday. The first day was an off day, and man, there were some good times on that day. I definitely feel we're growing together as a group out here. It's cool to see."
Fans might suspect it will take more than just a few days on the NFL's international stage to get the Jets off their 0-5 schneid, especially against the 3-2 Broncos coming off their road comeback win over the defending-champion Eagles. But Wilson is bringing more than just a vague vibe of Big Ben kumbaya. When asked about his captaincy, he leaned into his role this season as one of the team's offensive leaders.
"That is, some would say, a job description with being a captain," he said. "Truly when I was voted captain by my teammates, I took it that these people respect the way I go about my business. They voted me to be captain to be myself. You're still going to see that emotional side of me come out. ... It made it even more special for me that my teammates deemed me worthy. That's what made it special.
"There's still some nuance that comes with that. I'm still learning from guys like Q and captains that came before," he added with a hat tip toward defensive C-wearer Quinnen Williams. "I'm appreciative my teammates put me in that role."
More measured calm comes from Wilson taking his already prodigious talents to new levels and onto new lists. G attributed much of that to "banked reps."
"You're going to expect certain things," he said. "This is probably my second, third year being asked to negotiate defenses from the slot more, being a true choice runner. Things are clearing up, I'm a little less hesitant on routes like that where I have an option. And having guys with me that are trying to get me where I want to get and where I want the team to get, I'm going to keep trying to turn it up a notch."
Wilson's game has been ratcheting up for a while. On the one hand, he doesn't have a 100-yard receiving game in his last nine dating to last season at Miami. Yet for the first time in his fourth season, he's got 4 touchdown receptions through five games. His 33 catches and 382 yards both top all AFC receivers.
Yet even the TDs come with a quiet but insistent asterisk for Wilson. "I feel like my touchdowns haven't even been touchdowns because of the time they've come at," he said of his last three scores, all in the fourth quarter. "I want them to happen earlier."
Meanwhile, his unrelenting 80-catch-1,000-yard seasons moved him late Sunday against Dallas past Super Bowl royalty George Sauer at 309 career receptions and into the Jets' career top-10 list with 312 catches. He needs 15 receptions to pass Jerome Barkum for ninth on that list and 478 yards to pass Keyshawn Johnson for 12th place on the all-time yardage list. On Sunday, those goals are respectively unlikely and not happening.
But however he fares against familiar foe CB Patrick Surtain and Denver's top-10 pass defense, Wilson is assured of continuing his "cool" team record book ascent.
"Some years down the road," he said, "when I'm done playing, I'm sure I'll tell my kids, maybe brag a little and get 'em to believe what I'm saying. Until then, I don't even think about that. I'm not going to lie. I'll just go out and try to stay healthy and see where that puts me."
And see how he can wield his talents and influence to get head coach Aaron Glenn's first Jets team redirected toward those goals the team wants.
"It's obviously a tough thing, to put so much into something and not have a win to show for it," he said, still the image of a mallard on the Thames at high tide, calm above the waterline but starting a furious paddle toward Sunday's kickoff. "You think about the time, just the relationships that we have and we're not able to win together up to this point. The reality is we still have a lot ahead of us, a lot to prove.
"I'm thankful for the opportunity to just go out and compete every week. I've said this before: I feel like those hard times are not for nothing. Thoughts like that are keeping me focused on this goal at hand, and we're going to keep chopping."
