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Robert Saleh likes to use this saying quite a bit . . .
“Make the main thing the main thing.”
And the main thing for the Jets right now is to end their 12-year playoff drought, the longest streak in all of professional sports.
Not appearing on “Hard Knocks.”
On Monday, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio announced, “Per a league source, the Jets are bracing for the preseason Hard Knocks assignment, despite making known publicly (and privately) their lack of interest in serving as the focal point of this year’s show.”
So essentially, according to this report, the NFL is basically prepared to force the Jets into doing “Hard Knocks” against their will.
Jets coach Robert Saleh made it clear on June 9 he wanted nothing to do with the show.
“I know there are several teams that would love for ‘Hard Knocks’ to be in their building. We’re just not one of them,” Saleh said.
This idea that the NFL can force a team to do a reality show, against their will, seems patently unfair.
I know the New England Patriots aren’t eligible to be on “Hard Knocks” this year since they made the playoffs last year.
But I find it hard to believe, that if New England were eligible for the show, that Bill Belichick, would ever let the cameras in the building. He would probably say, “Fine me, I’m not doing it.”
The Jets, New Orleans Saints, Chicago Bears, and Washington Commanders are the four teams that have to do the show this year if asked.
The Jets, Saints and Bears have made it clear they don’t want to do the show. According to published reports, the Commanders said they will do it if asked.
So why not go with the Commanders?
Clearly, if the league forces the Jets to do the show against their will, instead of going with the Commanders, it’s because they think the Jets are the sexier story with Aaron Rodgers now on the team.
But aren’t the Commanders an intriguing story with Hedge Fund guys about to buy the team from Daniel Snyder, and “Riverboat Ron” and everyone else in the building on the hot seat with new owners?
The Jets have missed the playoffs 12 years in a row, now the longest streak in all of pro sports.
Their focus needs to ending this dubious streak, not doing reality television.
They don’t need “Hard Knocks” cameras in their meetings.
They need to focus on building a strong culture after going 11-23 the last two years and finishing last in the AFC East both years.
The Jets lost their final six games last year with the playoffs on the line in many of these games. That showed the culture still needs some work.
They have so much work to do this summer to get ready for the season on both sides of the ball.
Obviously they need to get comfortable with a new QB (Rodgers) and a new offensive system under Nate Hackett. Their defense improved last year, but still have a lot of things to fix, like run defense up the middle and tight end coverage.
The Jets don’t need the distraction of “Hard Knocks.
If the league makes them do it against their will, that would be somewhat disrespectful.
But one last thing in closing, you have to wonder how Jets ticket sales are going with 40-year high inflation. I’m sure they are moving a lot of tickets, but that is a huge stadium and a lot of people are strapped for cash right now. Maybe there are some people on the business side who wouldn’t mind “Hard Knocks” to help promote the product. Remember, Ian Rapoport said recently on the Pat McAfee Show: “Let’s just say there are some higher-ups with the Jets, who if they were on ‘Hard Knocks,’ would not be very upset by it. I think the business people and really high-up people with the Jets, all the way up to ownership would probably be pretty psyched about it.”
June 27, 2023
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