The last time the Jets made the playoffs, following the 2010 season, just two of the 80 players currently on their roster were in the NFL.
But that history didn’t stop linebacker C.J. Mosley from putting a “playoffs or bust” label on the 2022 season. It didn’t stop free-agent left tackle Duane Brown from signing and saying, “No one here cares about what’s happened before.” And it hasn’t stopped others from thinking big.
“We know how good we can be and how much talent we have on this team: Our goal is to make it to the playoffs and win in the playoffs,” tight end Tyler Conklin said. “Internally we think we can do that. Now we have to do it every week and prove it.”
Safety Lamarcus Joyner considered retirement before re-signing in the offseason. So, does he think this is a playoff team?
“I don’t think I would’ve returned if that wasn’t the case,” Joyner said matter-of-factly.
The Jets’ 11-year stretch without a playoff spot is nearly twice as long as any other team’s drought. Only Brown and quarterback Joe Flacco were in the NFL when the Jets lost the AFC Championship Game to the Steelers on Jan. 23, 2011.
“I love the confidence,” general manager Joe Douglas said on WFAN’s “Carton & Roberts” program. “I feel like every player should be thinking that way. When someone like C.J. Mosley says that — he’s not a man of many words and not a man of false bravado — that carries weight.”
External expectations differ. ESPN’s Football Power Index ranks the Jets as the second-worst team in the league, ahead of only the Bears.
“I feel like we are at the doorstep of doing a lot of good things,” Douglas said.
RT George Fant (veteran rest day) and CB D.J. Reed (knee) were not on the field Friday.
Fant was replaced by Max Mitchell in team reps. Reed was dealing with “a little bit of soreness” and could miss their game Sunday.
“From my understanding, he just needed to get off it for the day,” head coach Robert Saleh said of Reed. “Pretty sure he’s going to be fine.”
CB Bryce Hall (foot) also is sore after he got banged up making an interception in a joint practice Friday with the Giants.
Friday was a great day for WR Corey Davis, who made two airborne touchdown catches.
“He’s a little bit lighter, he’s in such a great headspace, and from a physicality standpoint there isn’t a technique, a play, or a job that he’s asked to do that he feels like he’s too big for,” Saleh said. “He could be one of those divas that just says, ‘Yeah, I’m too good to take a special teams rep, I’m too good to do some of the grimy stuff,’ but he does it all.”
Davis stayed down on the grass an extra beat after the first touchdown in traffic before a collective exhale when it turned out he only needed to apply a towel to his face. Offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur offered a fist pound.
“You can’t be laying down for a scratch on your face,” Saleh quipped.