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I want to get into something today way off the beaten path.
I was in a town the other day where a lot of Jets activity takes place – Morristown, New Jersey.
It’s a very cool town that dates back to the Revolutionary War, where a lot of Jets business takes place.
A lot of Jets players and coaches live in this town.
Some big meetings have taken place at Roots Steak House in the center of town. I believe they took running back LaDainian Tomlinson’s there during his free agent visit in 2010.
A few days ago, I saw Dave Szott, who does a great job as the Jets’ director of player programs, walking out of a restaurant with wide receiver ArDarius Stewart.
Look, I’m not turning this into a gossip column. It’s great that Szott was spending time with a young man trying to figure out the whys and wherefores of the NFL.
What struck me was that Stewart is still here in New Jersey, a month after the season.
And I’m thinking to myself, “That is darn smart of the kid.”
Stewart comes from a rough part of Birmingham, Alabama. He did a wonderful thing after he got drafted, buying the high school football team new helmets. He bought them Schutt F7 helmets, a new model introduced to the NFL this year. It cost Stewart $15,000.
He’s a great kid.
What is my point here?
If you come from a rough neighborhood, with a lot of problems, don’t go home during the break between the end of season and the start of the off-season program.
Stay where you work, go to the complex, workout, stay focused.
Idle hands are the devil’s workshop.
Look what happens when Robby Anderson goes back to South Florida – two arrests in less than a year.
Look, I don’t want to generalize here, but I’m telling you, a lot of players get in trouble when
they go back to their old stomping grounds.
I remember the late WR James Hardy, who recently committed suicide, said after he got drafted by the Buffalo Bills said “I can’t go back to Fort Wayne anymore.”
His body was found in a river in Fort Wayne recently.
Bad stuff can happen to some guys when they go home.
I wrote recently in Jets Confidential Magazine one of the reasons Mo Wilkerson has had problems in the last few years, like lateness, has to do with some family issues, people pulling at him.
Playing close to home turned out to be bad for Wilkerson.
Remember former Jets running back Mike Goodson, whose stay with the team didn’t last long; he was found sleeping in a car on Route 80. There was a gun in the car. Still no sure this case has been resolved, but he’s out of football. Goodson was originally from Irvington, New Jersey, a very tough town. Bringing him to his area connected him back to Irvington, and things didn’t end well.
I’m making a simple point here.
Stewart is smart for staying around the complex.
What good is going to come out from hanging around the old neighborhood in Birmingham, which he clearly hasn’t forgotten based on his generous gift.
February 1, 2018
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