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This begs the question: What would tanking have looked like? How do the Jets execute that?
Obstacles to NFL tanking
First off, the problem with pulling off the kind of tank some fans wanted is the 2020 Jets players and coaches clearly wanted no part of that. Even if a coach knows he is going to get fired, like former Jets head coach Adam Gase and most of his staff, no one wants that 0-16 albatross hanging around his neck in the history books and on his resume. And prideful players, including key rookie building blocks such as Mekhi Becton, Denzel Mims and Bryce Hall, desperately wanted to win some games. They were tired of busting their butts having nothing to show for it. Dinner tastes better after a win. The bumps and bruises don’t hurt as much.
“I know just being in the locker room (in Los Angeles) how much joy and excitement there was in these guys,” GM Joe Douglas said.
So if the players and coaches didn’t want to tank, could the man we just quoted, Douglas, have demanded it? Probably not. Based on the Jets’ old corporate structure, the head coach and assistant coaches didn’t work for him, so if they wanted to prepare the players to win games late in a bad season, he really couldn’t do anything about it. The GM picked the players and the coach coached the team. The GM wasn’t empowered to tell the coach how to coach his team or who to play. That was entirely up to the coach.
This brings us to the only man who could have demanded a tank: Christopher Johnson. A couple of fans we spoke to on the phone blamed Johnson for not giving a directive to his football operation to tank to get Lawrence.
This story is from the February/March 2021 edition of NY Jets Confidential.
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This story is from the February/March 2021 edition of NY Jets Confidential.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
![FIRST DOWN- A lot of potential, but a lot to learn](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2807/683114/60d3218d2dc46/crp_FIRST-DOWN-A-lot-of-potential-but-a-lot-to-learn.jpg)
FIRST DOWN- A lot of potential, but a lot to learn
There is a lyric in an old song by the rock group Chicago that sums up where Zach Wilson is right now:
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IN HIS OWN WORDS WITH DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR JEFF ULBRICH - Ulbrich breaks down Jets' defensive personnel
(Marcus Maye) can do it all. I would feel comfortable with him (at free or strong safety). He’s a guy that, to me, he can play deep, he can play the half field, he can play the middle third, he can do that and you feel comfortable with it. I think he’s got range, speed and athleticism. I think he’s got ball skills and instincts to be a deep safety. But I think he’s got enough size and girth and want-to and courage to play in the box. It’ll be fun to utilize all the things that he does. He can cover tight ends; he can cover some of the wide receivers in this league.
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Dan's Minicamp Diary
Becton bombarded with weighty questions
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Saleh calls Wilson ‘relentless' as a worker
QUESTION SESSION WITH QB ZACH WILSON
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Jets hope initiatives will increase winning edge
Aside from adding as many good players as possible to help the Jets improve, coach Robert Saleh and GM Joe Douglas are trying to turn over every stone to find extra ways to give their team a winning edge, and two examples of this were announced over the course of the offseason, with the additions of a game management coach (Matt Burke) and the installation of an Athletic Care and Performance Department. Let’s take a closer look at these two moves and how they might help the Jets:
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Dan's Spring Camp Diary
This time of year for learning, experimenting, not stats
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AUDIBLES-Saleh doesn't cave on offseason work
Tom Brady might be wrong about this one.
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SAFETIES
Justin Simmons, Broncos 6-2 • 202 pounds • 27 years old
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OFFENSIVE TACKLES
Trent Williams, 49ers 6-5 • 320 pounds • 32 years old
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LINEBACKERS
Lavonte David, Buccaneers 6-0 • 226 pounds • 26 years old