Speaking to TMZ, Antonio Gates gave his thoughts on the New York Jets.
The 2023 offseason has featured numerous players, coaches, and talking heads giving their differing takes on the New York Jets this upcoming season. Some believe that Gang Green is destined to be Super Bowl contenders after trading for future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Meanwhile, others aren’t nearly as high on the ceiling of the Jets this year.
You can count former Los Angeles Chargers tight end Antonio Gates among the latter.
Speaking to TMZ, Gates gave rave reviews on his former team’s draft results – believing that the Chargers did enough to turn the team into true Super Bowl contenders.
When the conversation switched to the Jets, however, Gates wasn’t nearly as optimistic about their chances. The 16-year NFL veteran believes the Jets have a talented roster, but a lack of chemistry will stop them from reaching their true potential.
“You can have the right players — from a talent standpoint, you can have the best talent in the league,” Gates said. “But if you ain’t got the continuity or the chemistry, man, it don’t make a difference.”
Gates brings up an interesting point. The Jets haven’t had a playoff appearance since Rex Ryan’s 2010 group. That team went to the AFC championship game. Despite the long playoff drought, many Jets fans are viewing a trip to the playoffs as all but guaranteed this season. That pressure will either make or break the team.
We’ve seen “super teams” work in the NFL. Tom Brady joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020 and recruited many of his close friends to sign with the team, including Rob Gronkowski. That move paid off for Tampa and Tom, as the Bucs would win the Super Bowl in Brady’s first season with the team.
Rodgers is in the same elite category at the quarterback position. So while it’s impossible to guarantee a Super Bowl win in the offseason, the Jets should be serious contenders for a deep playoff run this season.
I’m not sure how Antonio feels qualified to assess the chemistry of the NYJ, but as someone who is tuned in daily, I think that chemistry is one of our strong suits.
This team is a great combination of vets and brash young kids that seem to enjoy what the other brings to the table.
As Matt G said, winning is often conflagrated with chemistry. Winning makes for great chemistry. What a team needs to have is trust in each other when things are bad. Hopefully, this team is another example of winning being “caused by” chemistry.
He may be a HOF TE but he’s a hater! He did not win a super-bowl so his opinion doesn’t matter. Didn’t he get suspended for drugs? Go JETSSSS we are gonna be great!
Chemistry doesn’t predict success, it lags it. Former players can be forgiven for making this mistake, as I am sure it feels to them as though all that great chemistry catapulted them to triumph, but it’s just not true.