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In our society, some might consider this okay, but it’s really not . . .
Jets defensive tackle Quinnen Williams tweeted during the Philadelphia Eagles’ 31-7 win over the San Francisco 49ers – “Now Bosa see what I been going threw. No offense.”
He deleted the tweet, but not before somebody on Twitter who goes by the handle – “Billy M 91” – captured a screenshot of the tweet.
You can’t have that in a strong football culture, you just can’t – one side of the ball ripping the other.
“The plan is to create the best culture in sports,” says Jets GM Joe Douglas when he took over. “Every great team has that culture. It’s gonna take people with the right level of commitment, character and competence.”
Now, people are going to spin it that Williams is a great competitor and just wants to win, like they spin that Stefan Diggs is a great competitor and just wants to win, and that this why he threw a tantrum late in the Buffalo Bills loss to Cincinnati in the playoffs
That is a crock.
This was a bad cultural move by Williams.
When I first saw a reference to the tweet, it didn’t mention the last line – “No offense.”
So my first thought was, perhaps he was referring to bad run defense.
The 49ers, usually a very good run defense, did a poor job stopping the run against the Eagles in that playoff game.
After the bye week, the Jets’ run defense wasn’t very good, and Quinnen Williams was as much to blame as anybody.
For some reason, this is being ignored in the media echo chamber. Perhaps some people don’t want to tick off Williams’ agent, and not get information.
There were a number of big runs right at Williams, like Kenneth Walker’s 60-yard run on the Seattle Seahawks’ first offensive play in their win over the Jets.
So while the Jets’ offense was bad for most of this season, especially during the six-game losing streak to end the season, so was the run defense.
So maybe Williams shouldn’t be casting stones.
Not that you should cast stones at teammates even if your side of the ball is excellent.
Some people will defend Williams’ tweet, and say, “He was right, there was no offense,” kind of don’t get the culture thing.
In good cultures, players just don’t do this kind of stuff.
Williams was threatened to hold out of the off-season program if he doesn’t get a new deal.
“I feel like I deserve to get a contract done before the offseason program just because I did everything right on the field and everything right off the field,” Williams said.
Well, this tweet wasn’t doing the “right” thing off the field.
Neither was attempting to take a gun on a plane in 2020 at LaGuardia Airport.
Neither is screaming at defensive line coach Aaron Whitecotton on the sidelines during a game.
As we write about in the latest issue of Jets Confidential Magazine, available later this week, this Williams contract isn’t going to be easy to do.
He deserves a nice deal, but not an Aaron Donald deal. The run defense thing is a concern.
And perhaps some other things are as well.
January 31, 2023
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