Frustration isn’t an excuse to publicly call out teammates
The New York Jets are coming off a year in which their offense clearly let down their defense. Zach Wilson learned that lesson the hard way.
During the Philadelphia Eagles’ 31-7 blowout of the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship Game, Quinnen Williams took a jab at his own offense by comparing his efforts to those of the 49ers’ Nick Bosa, the likely Defensive Player of the Year.
Although Williams quickly deleted the tweet, he must understand that once something is in the Twitterverse, particularly when it’s been posted by such a famous star, it lives forever.
Quinnen Williams said “give me Aaron Rodgers.” pic.twitter.com/4fFTzD6TRa
— Jake Brown (@JakeBrownRadio) January 30, 2023
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This did not land well.
Jets fans can surely understand Williams’s resentment. After all, they lose five games in which they allowed one defensive touchdown or fewer. That is an outrageous number. In the team’s losses, they averaged just 10.7 points scored per game, making their 20.3 points allowed per game in those contests ring hollow despite its status as one of the best marks in the league. We don’t need to list all the stats to demonstrate how futile the Jets’ offense was in 2022.
Still, this is not acceptable for a player who is viewed as a team leader and who is seeking a contract extension from the team. I wrote an article explaining why Williams is a safe bet to lock up, and one of the points I mentioned is his status as a hard-working leader of the team. This is a me-first comment that emphasizes his own personal achievements while denigrating his teammates’ lack of reciprocation.
Several Jets offensive players have indicated their preference for Aaron Rodgers as their starting quarterback, including Sauce Gardner and Breece Hall (who liked a tweet saying that Rodgers could turn Garrett Wilson into Davante Adams). However, that is largely in lockstep with Robert Saleh‘s statement in a press conference that the Jets are going to look to bring in a veteran quarterback.
Williams’s tweet, on the other hand, was more similar to some of the behavior we saw from Jets players throughout the season. Garrett Wilson and Denzel Mims throwing up their hands in frustration when a throw was off-target or they didn’t get the ball, Elijah Moore’s public antics and trade request, and even Sauce Gardner and John Franklin-Myers liking tweets about Zach Wilson’s lack of accountability are all me-first actions. They erode the concept of team, a word that notably contains no “I.”
While the sentiment was understandable, the delivery was not. For all the talk of the culture Saleh has brought to the Jets, there seems to have been an awful lot of controversy this season stemming from the reverse. It would behoove Saleh to nip this in the bud before it frays the edges of yet another season.
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I actually think this is more about the OC than any of the QB’s. I know nothing, but just some reading between the lines on my part and clearly there was a disconnect between he and the players. My feeling is this is more about the scheme and not getting players in position to succeed than about any one player himself. Garrett’s comments about the offense being predictable to me was a sign. These players talk, and from what I’d seen Q and #2 spent some time together off the field. I’d say players on either side of the ball are morel likely to turn on a coach before a teammate. Just a thought.
As for Q posting on social media, I prefer he didn’t, it’s not like the D didn’t have some things to clean up, and I’m sure he wouldn’t like it if the offense started tweeting “hard to score from your own 20 every drive.”
I find your entire article ignorant and off the mark. Q’s comment was on point and factual. He has every right to feel how he does and you have zero right to critize him or make it a me first attitude. This is not what happen and your article only perpetuates petty bs. Let the players speak and say how they feel. It is not about you or your opinion of him vs. that piss poor QB. If you are supporting no.2 than cool..help him get better. Do not offer cover for his awful play and obvious disappointing season. Q and the Defense are allowed to vent, it is the off season. Plus, JD will replace the unproductive pup shortly. Good luck on you future no.2 articles.
If you’re going insult a person or or group of people such as the offense the least he can do is spell properly.
If I was the offense I send him Hooked on Phonix.
I think most of the players there understood that he meant the QB specifically. However, Zach Wilson may want to find his pride a bit. As disastrous as he’s been and as bad as his lack of accountability was, he doesn’t deserve to be shown up in public.
While I totally get your point here, the “me-first attitude” is detrimental to the concept of team, there are also generational and societal factors at play here. The trash-talking, brashness that everyone loves in Sauce comes w/ a negative underbelly of individualism and negativity (elevating one’s self at the expense of another by using insults). Hell, MJ and Bird were revered for it.
I commented on the Q article that you wrote and referenced here; Q is a simple guy (not being derisive, just factual), he lets his wife handle the vast majority of household decisions (watch One Jets Drive). I honestly believe that he meant no harm and failed to see the error of his ways in regard to “team”. In reality, with the OC & line coach gone, and likely a new QB at the helm, who is he really throwing under the bus anymore?
The first “participation trophy” generation is all grown up now and raising their own kids. They all are “special”, all their opinions are the right ones, and the world does indeed revolve around them. We used to see these behaviors from a more limited group of diva wide receivers, but now it’s everywhere. You reap what you sow.
I’m sure the NYJ have a media guru who teaches the team every year to “count to ten before hitting send”, but habits are difficult to break.
Next story.
I fully understand that this is the case. Nevertheless, I don’t believe you see other coaches put up with teammates showing each other up in the media. When it does happen, good coaches address it to make sure it doesn’t recur, and if it does, you’ll often see teams jettison those players (Antonio Brown and OBJ come to mind).
I’m not saying that Quinnen is taking me-first to that level, but the fact that it keeps happening on the Jets and there doesn’t seem to be any consequence for it is troubling. This is further showing up Zach Wilson & Co., players who are still his teammates.
I’m really not at odds with what you’re saying.
It just kills me that players need to be “held accountable” for things that ought to be, dare I say, common sense. Quincy, don’t hit QB’s out of bounds, CJ, don’t go off-sides on 4th and one, don’t embarrass your teammates etc etc
Perhaps, then, the issue is that the Jets have been drafting immature players… or, as you said, that part is generational.
With C.J., that wasn’t a coaching thing. It was just a veteran player not using his head.
Mark Gastinau (sp) was the first real jerk with his sack dances.
I had to leave for work so I had to listen to the game on the car radio.
That roughing the passer against Cleveland in what should have been game over almost made me drive off the Brooklyn Bridge.
Gastineau was certainly a me-first player, but I don’t know if that’s what caused him to rough the passer. Player selfishness and player boneheadedness are not necessarily 1:1 correlated.
He should probably go “threw” 3rd grade English before tweeting again.
Twitter is not necessarily a platform that prioritizes strong spelling and grammar.
He meant “no offense”, as in, he don’t mean to offend anyone.
Didn’t*
Yes, but his reference was to the fact that Bosa was suffering through the lack of QB play just as he had, which is a shot at the Jets’ offense.
Maybe someone needs a big mouth leader of the D for two 1st round picks.
These trades have worked quite well and it would send a message to the team that this won’t be allowed.
. The last two years in watching Saleh, he seems to want to be a buddy with the players especially defensive players.
So do we really want to pay a guy who’s sulking a month after the season?
After he gets paid his value drops significantly.
He can play the 5th year and then on a Franchise tag till he grows up.
It makes it difficult to root for selfish multi-millioniares!
They can’t trade their team MVP. He didn’t do anything that bad to warrant a trade. You don’t cut off your nose to spite your face.
That being said, I have criticized Saleh several times for not holding his players accountable. One of the vets on the defense (Mosley, specifically) needs to have a word with him and just say that it’s not cool. You’ve never heard C.J. say a bad word about anyone.
He’s not going to play on the franchise tag, and in general, I don’t blame him (though I don’t love the fact that he announced it).
A journalist who has an issue with facts.. Oh, that rich. These are grown ass men and you ” critizing” them is ridiculous. Saleh’s job is not to shut people down but to welcome open dialog and conversations. This allows for honest discussion and positive change. Not stuffing feeling so other people feel better. Change happens when you listen to oinions not your own, not when you berate or uncut honest dialog.