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Phoenix, Arizona – Today in Phoenix, at the NFC coaches breakfast, I was wandering around, and checking out what different coaches had to say, and I would glance over Sean Payton’s table, and kept seeing the biggest crowd.
At first, I couldn’t figure out why, and then it became pretty obvious – the crowd swelled at Payton’s table because of the New York-area people there to ask about new Jets offensive coordinator John Morton, a Saints assistant the last two seasons.
I went over. I understand you have to take some things his former boss says with a grain of salt, but there was still plenty one could glean from what Payton said.
“You’re going to be impressed with him,” Payton said. “I think he’s going to be outstanding.”
This quote wasn’t particular helpful. That falls into the “what do you expect him to say” department. The next one is better.
“I know this – there’s not any lack of passion,” Payton said. “He’ll be there until whatever hour it takes. He’ll spend a lot of nights there, I’m sure. He’s going to work his tail off. We had 2-, 3-in-the-morning nights during the year. That’s just how it is.”
This is incredibly important. Let me explain.
The Jets need an offensive coordinator who is going to open and close their training complex. They need this bad. I will tell you why.
The Jets don’t have an elite quarterback, at least not yet, maybe Hackenberg will emerge eventually, or maybe they pick Mitch Trubisky, and he eventually gets there, but they don’t have one now. Josh McCown should be the starter this year, and he’s solid, serviceable, but not elite.
So when a team doesn’t have a guy like Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers at quarterback who can lift an entire offense and team, you better have a coach who schemes the heck out of each game plan.
This guy Morton is going to watch more film than Gene Shalit trying to find mismatches, opponent weaknesses and so forth. No stone will be left unturned.
While 16 hours a day might not be ideal for the person doing it, it can be great for the team he’s doing it for, especially for a team lacking a franchise quarterback.
“He’s very meticulous,” said Payton.
And when you have an offensive coordinator with this approach, he’s going to scheme the Jets to some wins due to his intense research and work ethic.
Rex Ryan doesn’t believe in doing the 16 hour a thing. He doesn’t think it’s necessary.
I can understand where he’s coming from in terms of quality of life, but look how sloppy and ill-prepared his teams seemed his last few years with the Jets and then in Buffalo.
There is an old saying, “Inspect what you expect.”
Morton will do this.
He was an overachieving receiver from Western Michigan who bounced around NFL Europe and NFL training camps. He’s a gym rat, and incredibly competitive. He’s feisty and driven. Nobody will outwork him.
The Jets need this approach badly.
March 29, 2017
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