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The New York Jets remain the only winless team in the National Football League, despite the positives new head coach Aaron Glenn wants to tell the press and fans.
Before the Jets’ 37-22 loss to the Dallas Cowboys last week, Glenn preached that a recent pregame practice was one of their best. Earlier this week, he praised the team for the bond they made in their London hotel as they prepared to take on the Denver Broncos.
In all likelihood, the Jets’ playoff drought will reach a 16th straight season, and at this point, “it feels like there’s probably a curse,” former Jets wide receiver Eric Decker said in a recent interview with PK Press Club Digital.
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New York Jets wide receiver Eric Decker celebrates after catching a game-winning touchdown pass during overtime at MetLife Stadium. (Mandatory credit: Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports)
However, it was not always this way.
Decker spent three seasons with Gang Green, and in his second season they went 10-6 but missed the playoffs. During this season, Decker didn’t get any “cursed” vibes and actually reflected fondly on his time at East Rutherford.
“On the teams I was on, we had a good team, we had a chance to make the playoffs, and we lost it ourselves. To win 10 games and not be in it was crazy. But inside, for me, everyone inside the facility was all in, did their part and gave the players the opportunity…” Decker said. “No, I didn’t feel that way. I didn’t feel like ‘here we go again, it’s the Jets’ or that aura about it. It’s just little by little that adds up in the NFL. Those things are the deciding factor.
New York Jets wide receiver Eric Decker throws the ball into the end zone after catching a touchdown pass against the Tennessee Titans. (Brad Penner/USA TODAY Sports)
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“They have a very good team and I like this coach. It’s all about mentality, which looks like it needs to be changed from the outside, but being inside you don’t have that thought process.”
Glenn certainly has that mentality, but the results aren’t there. Decker, however, thinks the Jets simply need to control the “controllables.”
“In today’s football culture, it’s like if you don’t perform well now, we move on. That’s a lot of pressure on a coach and on the players. When guys don’t show up on time or lack effort, a lot of those things are controllable. It’s a wake-up call: ‘what’s going on inside? There’s obviously a lack of leadership or a shake-up that way’,” he said. declared Decker. “But if guys do the right thing and give 100%, the performance is a little trickier because it’s not necessarily as controllable.”
New York Jets head coach Aaron Glenn on the sidelines during last week’s game against the Dallas Cowboys at MetLife Stadium. (Vincent Carchietta/Imagn Images)
“I think it will turn out,” he added. “It’s just about someone leading that charge to the helm.”
