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Florham Park – A few items to get into today in our Website Whispers leading into the Jets-Cincinnati Bengals season-opener . . .
I think Jalin Marshall can do a lot of good things for the Jets as a receiver and KICK returner, but as a punt returner, they are really taking a big risk.
Today, he muffed one punt, and bobbled another one.
As a kick returner, he’s fine. He catches those better, and even if you struggle a little catching some kicks, you have plenty of space to gather yourself and pick up the ball. As you know, it’s much tougher to do that with punts.
On offense, Marshall can help the Jets as a receiver and can be a major weapon on bubble screens and reverses. He’s electrifying in the open field.
But this punt return thing, they are keeping their fingers crossed.
If there are some problems, Jeremy Ross is on speed dial.
The bottom line is this – Marshall as a punt returner comes with a degree of risk – he’s not a consistent punt catcher . . .
As much as the Daily News tried, they couldn’t get Woody Johnson to buy into the “playoff or bust” narrative, they wanted him to go with. It was truly a pathetic display. I don’t know why Woody agrees to talk to the press anymore. Check this out . . .
Q)Would you be upset if the team does not reach the playoffs?
Woody Johnson: I’m not going to really look at it that way. We try to win every game. We try to get into the playoffs every year. That’s our goal, in fact, to go further than that. But you have to do it a game at a time as you know. So I’m not going to play the whole season out in advance. But we got Cincinnati and then Buffalo. We’re going to start with Cincinnati and see what we can do there. I go into every game thinking we’re going to win that game.
Q)Would you be disappointed if the team doesn’t make the playoffs?
Johnson: I’m not disappointed for the whole season yet, we haven’t played (laughs). So I’m optimistic. I’m optimistic that we’re going to be a good team, a balanced team on all three phases and that Todd and Mike have done a pretty good job so far. We’ll see on Sunday at 1 o’clock.
Q)Can the team make progress without making the playoffs?
Johnson: I don’t know how to answer that question. I mean we’re trying to get better each and every day. Every day we’re looking at players, we’re evaluating, we’re trying to get the best 53 we can get. So I think that’s the way you have to approach it – hard work, diligence, getting the right players, trying to get the team chemistry right between veterans and younger players, and putting a team together. That’s really what wins games.
Q)Should the fans expect the team to reach the postseason?
Johnson: I think the fans, our fans, particularly New York Jets fans, but football fans in general know that each season is different. I mean 25%, 30% of the players should be different. They are developing confidence in both Mike and Todd and the coaching staff. We’ll just have take it one game at a time.
Q)How do you expect the fans to pay the prices without having some type of urgency to reach the postseason?
Johnson: I never said there wasn’t any urgency.
Q)Are there are any consequences if the Jets don’t make the postseason?
Johnson: I’m not going to answer postseason (questions). I’ve already answered that. We’re not going to go through the postseason or the preseason.
Q)Is there really a sense of urgency if there are no consequences?
Johnson: That’s your interpretation. I don’t look at it that way at all. You’re trying to put the best players on the team each and every week, so there’s definitely urgency to try to make sure you have the best players and you’re playing them each and every week and that they are properly trained, they’re properly working out, they’re doing all of the things that they have to do, diet, rest, all of that stuff.
I had to walk away after a while. It was truly uncomfortable. It was almost like the writer was saying, “I’ve got nothing else to write, so I need you to issue a “playoffs of bust” directive, so I have a column. And when the owner wouldn’t go there, the writer seemed to get angry . . .
September 7, 2016
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