Woody Speaks

[JetNation]

Woody Johnson spoke to the media on Thursday. The full transcript can be found in our NY Jets forum. Here are some highlights, or depending on how you feel about the answers maybe they are low-lights, we will leave it up to you to decide.

On his thought process in bringing Head Coach Todd Bowles back…
I have confidence in Todd Bowles. We went through a pretty exhaustive search – a 10-day search – going through that process with Ron (Wolf) and Charley (Casserly) and Neil (Glat), and some other guys here, I have the same feeling about him (today as I did then). (He’s) very, very smart. (He) played the game (and) understands it from the player standpoint and from a coaching standpoint. He was (assistant) coach of the year with the Cardinals, so none of that’s changed. I’ve been talking to him the last couple of days, and I’m still very, very (much) in his corner. He’s very talented. I think he’s going to get better as we all are, including me, at what they do. So, I’m just so happy to have him – both him and Mike (Maccagnan).

On if there is mandate to make the playoffs in year three…
No. I don’t really like mandates because they normally don’t work – lines in the sand or whatever. You don’t want to judge it that way. The way we’ll judge it is getting better each and every year, and seeing it in our players, our young players – are they getting better or are they going the other way.

On what makes him think this is going in the right direction right now…
Just what I see when I see the young players and their contribution this year. Even though it was not the year we wanted or expected, you could see that some of the young receivers, some of the defensive players making a contribution. So that’s pretty good. That’s what we’re looking for.

On how disappointed he is with the 5-11 record…
Well, I’m in the game of winning. So, anytime I don’t win, I’m disappointed. We do this for our fans. Our fans want us to win. This is their team and when they don’t win, they’re disappointed. I don’t blame them. I’m disappointed.

On if he needs to suggest that the fans should be more patient…
I think that they have to have confidence. This is their team. They have to see what’s happening and have confidence that we have everything in place to make it better and give them what they want. So they can be proud of their team.

 

On if he wants Revis to return next year…
I like Darrelle, but it’s up to the coaches and general manager to decide how he fits, and all that.

On if it will impact the way he handles this football team as far as his ownership responsibility if he accepts a role in the Trump administration…
Let me just say it would be an honor to be considered for something like that. But that’s speculation at this time, so I really can’t comment on that.

On why Jets fans should be confident he can steer this team going forward…
That’s a good question. I think they have to be confident that we, the team here at the Jets, care about the Jets and care about the success of the Jets as much as they do and we’ve got the talent to do it. We’ve got to show them, Mike and Todd and the team and me, that we’re going in the right direction. That this plan, that we’ll be laying out, is a plan that they believe in. I think it’s the only real way to get better in the NFL, and that’s to build with young players through the draft. You can look at the history of all of these teams. It’s really hard to do it any other way.

On if his confidence in Coach Bowles wavered at any point during this season…
I think it’s the realization that you have to build with young (players) through the draft. It’s the way it’s done. Just having confidence in your drafting ability and your pro and particularly college scouts. Making sure that they’re accurately drafting the players that the coach is looking for to build this kind of team.

On how difficult it is for him to patient…
I’m like the fans. I’m not essentially patient. But I know that planning is the only way you get anything done long term. You’ve got to stick to your plan. It’s (like) investing or anything else. You’ve got to have a plan and you’ve got to have the confidence and courage to stick by that plan and build that way.

On how he feels about the quarterback position…
That’s a key position. We’re finding out. We’re learning more about (it). Now we’ve got Bryce (Petty) and Christian Hackenberg. We don’t know a lot about Christian, but we saw some good things from Bryce in the last (few) games that he played. So, we’ll have to evaluate.

On if he questioned why Hackenberg did not play this season…
I think it was a plan. We started out with four quarterbacks, so there was no way that Christian Hackenberg was going to get the reps to really get himself ready. This is kind of a redshirt year for him. We’ll see. Between now and camp, he’ll have some time to get better on his own without us talking to him.

On an anonymous coach’s comment that Hackenberg “couldn’t hit the ocean”…
Yes, I saw that. I guess it depends which ocean (joking). Maybe it was a small ocean (joking). EPA describes that as an ocean (joking). Anyway, no that’s not funny. You’ve got to ask Todd Bowles about Christian because he’s got some opinions about Christian Hackenberg. I think he has maybe a little bit (of a) higher opinion than that.

On if he believes the Jets have a realistic chance of winning the AFC East while Tom Brady and Bill Belichick are in the division…
I can’t talk about individual players or individual teams, but the AFC East has been very, very difficult with that great team. That’s a challenge, but we like a challenge. Our goal is to have a team that’s very, very competitive.

On his message is to the fans regarding patience…
I think they have to be confident in the plan and the idea of building this way. All of the great teams have been built this way. This is what you’ve got to do.

On what he would say to the fan that says change is necessary in order to win…
I would say you’ve just got to be confident in what we’re trying to do. There’s really no way around it. I understand their anger after losing. We don’t like to lose. Jets fans want to win.

On if he will consider lowering ticket prices in 2017…
We haven’t decided what we’re going to do with ticket prices this year. We probably won’t raise them.

On if he’s surprised by angry fans who decided not attend games at the end of the season when then became angrier upon learning that Bowles would be returning as head coach…
No. The passion shows up in a lot of different ways. No, I’m not surprised at all. I’m not surprised. They want to win and so they’re looking for answers. And the answer is what I’ve been describing – it’s the way you have to build these things. That’s the way to do it. A lot of change, as I pointed out earlier, is not the answer. That’s not the way to do it, in our opinion. You’ll get to where you want to be sooner if you go down the path that we’re going to go.

On if he sees Bowles and Maccagnan as a tag team working together…
Helping each other? They do. They’re on the same page. Different personalities, different ways of delivering information, as you are well aware, but they will get this done, in my opinion.

On if the structure of Bowles and Maccagnan reporting directly to him is working…
That’s the way it is on paper, but they talk to each other more than they talk to me. You have to have a community of interest between the two important players on the team side. On paper, it goes that way. That’s kind of typical to the extent that there is anything typical in the NFL.

On what he means specifically when stating that Bowles and Maccagnan will ‘get it done’…
What I mean is, from my standpoint, I have confidence that they have a plan looking into the future that will make the team better and they have a way of judging accountability and judging performance in a way that really accurately measures what’s going on.

On if he believes Bowles and Maccagnan will be able to deliver a Super Bowl…
I wouldn’t have them if I didn’t. I’m not in here to come in second place.

On what he has to do differently or better as an owner…
Everything. I have to get better, too.

On if he was angry or frustrated by some of the team’s performances this season…
What was the fans’ reactions, do you think, on that? Not good, right? Well, I mirror that.

On if he learned anything in observing Bowles or Maccagnan during a losing situation…
Yes, I think those are the guys you want in a particular situation like this. I think they can handle going down and they can handle, more importantly, going up.

Click here to read the full story...

[Flushing Roots]

From the NY Post this AM.

Must read for Woody.

 

How John Mara’s ultimatum led to a Giants transformation

To Charley Casserly, the key to this Giants roster came two days after last season ended.

On that day, owner John Mara met with reporters and said of general manager Jerry Reese: “Jerry knows this is on him. I’ve had that discussion. You can’t hide from the record. It’s up to you to get it fixed because the last three years are just not acceptable.”

That was a blank check for Reese. He used it to sign defensive end Olivier Vernon, defensive tackle Damon Harrison and cornerback Janoris Jenkins — a trio that completed this roster and propelled the Giants into the playoffs. The total bill came to just under $200 million.

“I’ve been in that position,” said Casserly, the former Redskins and Texans GM and current NFL analyst. “You do it because you have an owner that says, ‘Get ’em.’ Then, the owner will write the check now because every one of those was a difficult negotiation. They clearly overpaid for players but that’s what you do in free agency. You’re not going to get them if you don’t overpay.”

The spending spree last March filled gaping holes on the Giants’ defense. Teams preach that building through the draft is the only way to be successful, but the Giants’ turnaround showed free agency can work.

Teams usually fear spending big in free agency because free agents could be on the verge of decline, could stop playing hard after a big payday or could be a bad system fit. The Giants have not hit any of those problems.

“You have to have a really high batting average being right in who you invest all the money in,” said Joe Banner, the former Eagles president, former Browns CEO and current ESPN analyst. “Seeing teams invest a lot of free-agency dollars and then not be good, mostly it was because they put their money, especially their big money, into the wrong people. What’s compelling about what the Giants did is they basically hit — and significantly hit, not just like they were pretty good — with the guys they signed making big impacts. I don’t care who you are, it’s very hard to hit at that high a rate.”

The Giants are not completely a product of free agency. Of their 22 starters on offense and defense, nine were draft picks, eight were pro free agents, four were undrafted college free agents and quarterback Eli Manning technically arrived via trade.

Banner said he thinks this roster could be a long-term winner because the Giants signed younger free agents. Vernon (26), Jenkins (28) and Harrison (28) are all in their primes.

“There’s a risk if you don’t sign young players as they did, that it becomes a very short-term fix on a long-term problem,” Banner said. “Because most of the guys they signed are young, and they are certainly going to need to complement it with very good drafting, but I do think in this instance it could be a sustainable success story.”

[JetFanWithNOPSL2017]

Thanks for the full transcripts from Max and JN

[OH THE PAIN]

12 hours ago, Tinstar said:

http://www.newyorkjets.com/news/article-7/Johnson-Jets-to-Build-Through-the-Draft/4bb1b14b-dd78-4d71-b3cd-65fbed9f21fd

[Tinstar]

1 hour ago, JetFanWithNOPSL2017 said:

Thanks for the full transcripts from Max and JN

I 2nd that .

[munchmemory]

13 hours ago, Flushing Roots said:

Does anyone have a photo of Maccagnan without a cup of coffee in his hand?

It's actually purple drank, the only substance strong enough to assuage the demons of Mcc's awful drafting skills and our disastrous season.

[munchmemory]

"Well, I’m in the game of winning."

Are you?

[varjet]

I don't have confidence in Woody and am very skeptical of him, but I was impressed with his comments.  Let's see if the actions support them.  

The Giants have a franchise QB winding down his career.   It was smart of them to spend the money on defense.   The Jets should also release the over 30s and sign some mid 20s long term (except maybe OL).   But there is no reason to spend unless you have a QB.  

[Bugg]

"Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt."

Abraham Lincoln
 

[munchmemory]

Woody in those glasses and Jet hat portray him as the proverbial "prick with ears".  His words diminish this depiction exponentially.

[Ex-Rex]

Bleep.

[UnitedWhofans]

6 minutes ago, Bugg said:

"Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt."

Abraham Lincoln
 

Can you imagine Abe with this level of media? He almost lost the election in 1864 because of the war alone

[munchmemory]

Just now, UnitedWhofans said:

Can you imagine Abe with this level of media? He almost lost the election in 1864 because of the war alone

He'd be a lock.  Women swoon at guy's in stovepipe hats.  It's like an aphrodisiac.

[Savage69]

14 hours ago, Anthony Jet said:

I get it....there both named woody 

And Pinocchio had a wood pecker..  

[UnitedWhofans]

Just now, munchmemory said:

He'd be a lock.  Women swoon at guy's in stovepipe hats.  It's like an aphrodisiac.

And the beard. Never doubt the power of the beard

[Happy Clouds]

34 minutes ago, UnitedWhofans said:

And the beard. Never doubt the power of the beard

I pray that this quote doesn't sidetrack this thread into a Fitzpatrick discussion.

[y2k8]

The Jets may have a plan.  They may want to "stick" to that plan. But that plan, is not the plan, that they started with 2 years ago.

Just because you keep saying the word over and over again doesn't make it true.  There is NO evidence that supports this rebuild STARTED two years ago. They had big cap space and blew it all. No playoffs. A disaster of a 2nd year. Draft 2 young QBs who are not ready for prime time, Fired and retired coaches... Fractured locker room... Stars who don't play hard. A coach who's in game coaching decisions have regressed. NON-COMPETITIVE FOOTBALL TEAM.

This was the plan all along?  Fans need to be patient?

Please. 

If Woody Johnson actually believes what he says, he is dumber than I thought. 

[Tinstar]

The Jets fans don't want success, they want misery. They have had it so long it's in their bones . They feed it to their kids and perpetuate the misery .  It's all they know and all they want to know .

I want change, and stability . I thought it came with Parcells and Belicheck, but a cheat had other plans . I thought I had it with Herman Edwards but he was sabotaged by his GM and injuries to Chad Pennington .  Now I see another opportunity, and it looks like the owner is willing, but the misery is rearing it's ugly head again .   I hope this owner doesn't fall pray to this plague and he has in the past .

Stay true to your words Mister Johnson and let these men have a chance to build me a team .

That is all .

[y2k8]

8 minutes ago, Tinstar said:

The Jets fans don't want success, they want misery. They have had it so long it's in their bones . They feed it to their kids and perpetuate the misery .  It's all they know and all they want to know .

I want change, and stability . I thought it came with Parcells and Belicheck, but a cheat had other plans . I thought I had it with Herman Edwards but he was sabotaged by his GM and injuries to Chad Pennington .  Now I see another opportunity, and it looks like the owner is willing, but the misery is rearing it's ugly head again .   I hope this owner doesn't fall pray to this plague and he has in the past .

Stay true to your words Mister Johnson and let these men have a chance to build me a team .

That is all .

The problem is that the commentary we got yesterday was that of a regime who has just taken over.

I understand patience and that progress is in not necessarily linear, but can anyone honestly say this team is better positioned for success than the day Rex was fired?

The Jets have:

No QB

No OL

A defense that cannot get out of its own way.

The worst special teams in the NFL.

Tell where this regime has made progress and I will give them the benefit of the doubt.

But no one can, because we actually are worse off than where Itzik and Rex left the franchise.

Anyone who is telling you this team wasn't trying to win in 15 and 16 is a liar.

Everything we are hearing from Florham Park is revisionist history.

 

 

[Sperm Edwards]

15 minutes ago, Tinstar said:

The Jets fans don't want success, they want misery. They have had it so long it's in their bones . They feed it to their kids and perpetuate the misery .  It's all they know and all they want to know .

I want change, and stability . I thought it came with Parcells and Belicheck, but a cheat had other plans . I thought I had it with Herman Edwards but he was sabotaged by his GM and injuries to Chad Pennington .  Now I see another opportunity, and it looks like the owner is willing, but the misery is rearing it's ugly head again .   I hope this owner doesn't fall pray to this plague and he has in the past .

Stay true to your words Mister Johnson and let these men have a chance to build me a team .

That is all .

The Jets would have had this "change and stability" if Parcells had stepped down when he said, instead of waffling while Belichick's other options dried up. 

Also, the Jets sabotaged Herm Edwards? Herman Edwards. Herm Edwards was the victim. 

[Tinstar]

2 minutes ago, y2k8 said:

The problem is that the commentary we got yesterday was that of a regime who has just taken over.

I understand patience and that progress is in not necessarily linear, but can anyone honestly say this team is better positioned for success than the day Rex was fired?

The Jets have:

No QB

No OL

A defense that cannot get out of its own way.

The worst special teams in the NFL.

Tell where this regime has made progress and I will give them the benefit of the doubt.

But no one can, because we actually are worse off than where Itzik and Rex left the franchise.

Anyone who is telling you this team wasn't trying to win in 15 and 16 is a liar.

Everything we are hearing from Florham Park is revisionist history.

 

 

Finish .

Who was our QB when Rex was here ?

Who was the young OLman we had  ?

Who was our Edge Rusher and who compromised our Linebacking core ?

Who compromised our receiving core

Who did we have as 1 decent corner back to develop ?

Who was a decent candidate for any growth under Rex other than Wilkerson and Richardson  ?

I hear misery, and I am not interested .

 

[jack48]

woody's mouth opens and the usual smelly effluvia pours out

[jack48]

15 hours ago, rangerous said:

the heck with the coffee cup, does he ever tuck his shirt in?

Fat man's trick

[y2k8]

2 minutes ago, Tinstar said:

Finish .

Who was our QB when Rex was here ?

Who was the young OLman we had  ?

Who was our Edge Rusher and who compromised our Linebacking core ?

Who compromised our receiving core

Who did we have as 1 decent corner back to develop ?

Who was a decent candidate for any growth under Rex other than Wilkerson and Richardson  ?

I hear misery, and I am not interested .

 

Yeah, ok. What does that does that have to do with making progress in the last 2 years?

 

Do you realize that the best QB on the roster right now is Geno Smith? Think about that for a second.

But again, tell me why I should be optimistic. I'm all ears. I want to believe. Give me a reason. I dare you.

[JetFanWithNOPSL2017]

The Jets fans don't want success, they want misery. They have had it so long it's in their bones . They feed it to their kids and perpetuate the misery .  It's all they know and all they want to know .
I want change, and stability . I thought it came with Parcells and Belicheck, but a cheat had other plans . I thought I had it with Herman Edwards but he was sabotaged by his GM and injuries to Chad Pennington .  Now I see another opportunity, and it looks like the owner is willing, but the misery is rearing it's ugly head again .   I hope this owner doesn't fall pray to this plague and he has in the past .
Stay true to your words Mister Johnson and let these men have a chance to build me a team .
That is all .

SOJFs on message boards love to wallow in their misery, love their misery, live to have their misery confirmed by sports talk radio and malignant beat writers.

Without their misery and their Oh the Pain and their suffering their lives are empty and meaningless

Listen to some of their more foolish recent complaints as examples....

1. The parking spaces in the green lot are too small

2. The free headband they gave with my allegedly free tickets was awful

3. Shea Stadium was better

4. Our 21 year old rookie QB didn't play He is a wasted draft pick

5. Mac and Woody and Bowles didnt tell the media their exact specific detailed plans for everything

6. Everybody should be fired....also drawn, quartered and executed

And that is only part of the litany of misery of the Miserable Oh The Pain demographic

[Flushing Roots]

9 minutes ago, JetFanWithNOPSL2017 said:

 

 

 

 

SOJFs on message boards love to wallow in their misery, love their misery, live to have their misery confirmed by sports talk radio and malignant beat writers.

Without their misery and their Oh the Pain and their suffering their lives are empty and meaningless

Listen to some of their more foolish recent complaints as examples....

1. The parking spaces in the green lot are too small

2. The free headband they gave with my allegedly free tickets was awful

3. Shea Stadium was better

4. Our 21 year old rookie QB didn't play He is a wasted draft pick

5. Mac and Woody and Bowles didnt tell the media their exact specific detailed plans for everything

6. Everybody should be fired....also drawn, quartered and executed

And that is only part of the litany of misery of the Miserable Oh The Pain demographic

 

 

You forgot Maccagnan drinks too much coffee.

[Flushing Roots]

20 minutes ago, jack48 said:

woody's mouth opens and the usual smelly effluvia pours out

I would have expected a Colgate toothpaste smell.

[Dcat]

15 hours ago, joewilly12 said:

Macc without a coffee cup in his hand. 

OK.  Take a good look at Woody's expression.  Which of Bowles and Macagnan has his finger in Woody's rectum?  That might be the reason for no coffee in this pic.

[Flushing Roots]

18 minutes ago, Dcat said:

OK.  Take a good look at Woody's expression.  Which of Bowles and Macagnan has his finger in Woody's rectum?  That might be the reason for no coffee in this pic.

I think you're on to something...

[UnitedWhofans]

32 minutes ago, JetFanWithNOPSL2017 said:

 

 

SOJFs on message boards love to wallow in their misery, love their misery, live to have their misery confirmed by sports talk radio and malignant beat writers.

Without their misery and their Oh the Pain and their suffering their lives are empty and meaningless

Listen to some of their more foolish recent complaints as examples....

1. The parking spaces in the green lot are too small

2. The free headband they gave with my allegedly free tickets was awful

3. Shea Stadium was better

4. Our 21 year old rookie QB didn't play He is a wasted draft pick

5. Mac and Woody and Bowles didnt tell the media their exact specific detailed plans for everything

6. Everybody should be fired....also drawn, quartered and executed

And that is only part of the litany of misery of the Miserable Oh The Pain demographic

 

 

They know nothing else but misery.

[UnitedWhofans]

40 minutes ago, y2k8 said:

Yeah, ok. What does that does that have to do with making progress in the last 2 years?

 

Do you realize that the best QB on the roster right now is Geno Smith? Think about that for a second.

But again, tell me why I should be optimistic. I'm all ears. I want to believe. Give me a reason. I dare you.

I feel that 2 years ago, the cupboard was completely bare internally, when it comes to young talent. We had Richardson and Wilkerson. but that was basically all the young talent we had.

Now we have some young talent on defense that have shown positive signs of developing. 

[Tinstar]

48 minutes ago, y2k8 said:

Yeah, ok. What does that does that have to do with making progress in the last 2 years?

 

Do you realize that the best QB on the roster right now is Geno Smith? Think about that for a second.

But again, tell me why I should be optimistic. I'm all ears. I want to believe. Give me a reason. I dare you.

You have to want to believe . Geno may be the best QB, but we have 2 kids and a draft and free agency to await .

We have a young RT and a young center who has shown promise

we have 4 young WRs who have shown promise

We have 4 young Linebackers who have shown promise

We have 2 young DLinemen not including Richardson  or Wilkerson who are developing 

We have potential at TE even if you can't see it or believe in it .

We have youth in the secondary  that has gotten playing experience .

 

There's no part of our roster that this regime hasn't added youth too, but that youth must be developed .   This regime inherited an aging team in cap hell  with a bunch of cap money it had to spend . They used it to add specific veterans to the roster with contracts they could get out of if needed . When you're a 1st time GM and HC you have to try an establish a winning culture even while building  . Some of you can't stand this management because they had a terrible season in 2016, so imagine how you would have felt if they didn't win a few games in 2015 . After the Bills game last year I said the best thing that happened to this regime was losing to Buffalo and missing the playoffs . It should have sown us how far away we were and tapered the expectations of the fans .   The foundation was set, and now it was time to start adding to it . This is why I didn't want Fitzpatrick back  thought it would take some sand to move away from him .

We didn't because we did what everyone wanted and we're paying for it .

Our roster has about 40  players under the age of 25 not including

Richardson

Wilkerson

Carpenter

Powell

Decker 

Marshall

 

The rebuilding has gone on right in front of your eyes.  We need specific pieces to bring it all together . 

QB

Edge rusher

LT

The 3 hardest pieces to find .

It's my hope we can solve 1 of them this coming draft .

It takes time and patience and continuity, and if you can win along the way, so much the better . We have 1 winning season and 1 losing season . The winning season I look at as the seed being planted . The losing season was the seed dying . It's time to grow, and hopefully that started with Shell and Lee and Jenkins and Mauldin and Simon and Anderson and Peake and Burris and Johnson and all the other youngsters who had to play because of injury .

"You have to see a thing before you see the thing or you never will see the thing".  

End sermon

That is all .

 

[jack48]

29 minutes ago, Flushing Roots said:

I would have expected a Colgate toothpaste smell.

does bullspit come in mint flavor?

[varjet]

With Shell playing decently and the possibility of Winters coming back, the Jets OL is not disasterous, unless having no LT is an overall disaster by definition.

Carpenter, Johnson, Winters/FA (FA Guards are usually pretty easy) and Shell/Qvale/Ijalana is not a terrible start.  Whitworth for 7 could be a plug as the QBs develop,

 

[Tinstar]

1 hour ago, Sperm Edwards said:

The Jets would have had this "change and stability" if Parcells had stepped down when he said, instead of waffling while Belichick's other options dried up. 

Also, the Jets sabotaged Herm Edwards? Herman Edwards. Herm Edwards was the victim. 

This is a conversation I would rather not have again. Like Geno, he's history, so that's where I will leave both, in the past . My apologies for mentioning the name(s) .