Aaron Glenn didn't have to wait until the question was completed. When asked about his plan for Saturday night when the Jets begin preseason play against the Packers in Green Bay, he delivered a direct response.
"We're playing."
The did not dress list should be a short one this weekend for the Green & White. Minus several players who will be held out due to injuries, Glenn will begin game action with QB Justin Fields and the starters on offense in between the white lines.
"I can't tell you how much a guy is going to play," Glenn said. "It's going to be [decided] on how the game goes but we're playing."
When asked the thought process behind the decision, Glenn again got straight to the point.
"I want to play," he said. "That's the reason."
Glenn, 53, will lead a young club out of the tunnel at Lambeau Field. Equipped with a roster that has four players of 30-plus years (which includes a long snapper, kicker and backup quarterback), the first-year head coach is emphasizing emotional maturity.
"People have so many opinions on what you should do about this game and have no clue what it's about," he said. "Sometimes players can hear that noise and don't realize man -- you're always going to hear that. It's just the nature of it -- you're going to get criticized. People are going to have expectations and that's OK. But you can't have people have higher expectations for you than you have of yourself. I think it's one thing our guys are really starting to latch onto and understand. And every day, I want to make sure I preach that to the guys because this game is hard and it's not always going to be pretty. But at the end, you have to make sure you keep pushing, keep pushing, keep pushing and we'll be just fine."
With Glenn having the benefit of playing 15 seasons in the NFL, he wants the Jets to focus on the task immediately at hand. Following Thursday's practice, he told reporters what his message was to the team recently after a first down holding penalty moved the offense back 10 yards.
"All I want you to do is cut it in half," he said. "Get me to second-and-10 and then cut that in half. Get me to third-and-5 and we're right back on track. … Guys just focus on what we're trying to do, cut it in half, cut it in half and we're back on track. Let's go."
A first-round draft pick of the Jets in 1994, Glenn recalled one of his first preseason experiences his rookie campaign. In a 24-13 summer defeat to the Eagles at the Meadowlands, the 5-9, 173-pound Texas A&M product was called on for punt return duty against Philly.
"I don't really want to talk about it because it wasn't good," he said with a smile. "It was against Philly. Herschel Walker was a personal protector, and I was catching punts. To see a 240-pound man just streaking down the field trying to catch a punt, that's not a pretty sight. So, I try to wipe that memory out of my mind."
He'll get a chance at some new memories Saturday night.
