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This didn’t go over well with a lot of Jets fans, and on the surface, I can understand why.
I ran a poll today on Twitter I knew I would take a lot of criticism for, but I forged ahead anyway.
The poll question – “Poll – Who do you blame for all the recent arrests of Jets players?”
A)Mike Maccagnan
B)Todd Bowles
C)Christopher Johnson
D)The Arrested Players
Here are some comments under the poll:
“The players of course. We are not talking about infants here.” – MREX69
“This is by far one of the worst poll questions I have ever seen. Do you not know what accountability means?” – Mike Provino
“Who do we blame for this poll?” – Carlos Ocampo Jr.‏
Look, I understand the comments.
Or course personal accountability is important.
And Rashard Robinson, Robby Anderson and Dylan Donahue deserve the blame for getting arrested.
That’s a no-brainer.
What I was getting in the poll was a broader topic.
Of course you should blame the player for their indiscretion, but if you bring in three guys who have had issues in the past, and then they have issues under your watch, doesn’t the person who acquired them deserve some blame?
That is Maccagnan.
As for Bowles, is he making it clear enough to players that this behavior WON’T BE TOLERATED at One Jets drive?
With Anderson, who is a terrific player, it’s been one thing after the other, from two arrests, to on-the-field immaturity like spiking the ball on the Patriots on the sideline, hitting Johnson Bademosi in the face (he had a helmet on), to throwing his helmet on the field, to lobbying for a Pro Bowl votes on camera after a TD catch.
And over-and-over again, when asked about these different things, Bowles tells us, “I talked to Robby about it.”
The talks aren’t working! You need to change your strategy with him. These fireside chats aren’t working!
The Jets trade for Robinson, who has myriad problems before his arrival, and shortly after his arrival, he’s caught with a pot-laced candy bar in East Hanover.
Did Todd tell him he better get his bleep together, or did he just give him a clean slate? How was the trade not a wakeup call to Robinson, who was thrown out of LSU, and essentially thrown out of San Francisco?
As for Donahue, how is he still on the team after driving the wrong way drunk through the Lincoln Tunnel? He could have killed those people on the jitney he slammed into. I’m for due process, but I see no gray area about what happened here – he drove drunk the wrong way in the Lincoln Tunnel slamming into a passenger jitney.
Does the MacBowles regime ever release people to send a message, or is the GM too concerned with his personnel record? He foolishly gave up a fifth-round pick for Robinson, and drafted Donahue in the fifth round.
As for Mr. Johnson, who is a great guy, but sometimes I think that gets in the way of him of being tough enough with his two decision-makers, who he said after a 5-11 season that they both are “quite extraordinary.”
If I were the owner, and three players were arrested in three months, I’d be reading the riot act to my GM and coach. This is an embarrassment for the team he owns.
So my point is simple – the arrests are the player’s fault, but the culture is the fault of the people above them.
To me, some of the gains the Jets made a culture-wise last year, thanks to guys like Josh McCown, Jamal Adams and Demario Davis, has taken a few steps back the last three months. Three arrests in three months. Are you kidding me?
February 27, 2018
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