Pride will have to be enough for Jets in Week 17

[Patriot Killa]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/nypost.com/2017/12/31/pride-will-have-to-be-enough-for-jets-against-tom-brady-patriots/amp/

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Jets ownership answered a major question about the team’s future Friday with extensions for head coach Todd Bowles and general manager Mike Maccagnan. Now, Sunday’s game with the Patriots will answer some questions about which players will stay with them in 2018.

The 5-10 Jets travel to Gillette Stadium with little to play for. Playoff hopes were dashed long ago. The 12-3 Patriots come into the game trying to lock up the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs. Jets players are just trying to prove they are good enough for Bowles and Maccagnan to keep around next season.

“At the end of the day, we’re paid to do a job,” left tackle Kelvin Beachum said. ‘We’re paid to play a game that we love. You’ve got to go and prove your love. This is a week to just put your pride on display. How much pride do you take in what you do every day?

 

“There’s not much to play for but your pride. You want to get a win to end the season. You never want to end the season on a bad note. It’s another opportunity for us to get a win. It’s some rough conditions from a weather standpoint, but these are the games where you really see the character of the team and the character of the individuals.”

With temperatures expected to be in the low teens and a wind chill expected to make it feel even colder, it would be understandable if the Jets started their offseason early, but players insist they won’t. Linebacker Jordan Jenkins said “pride” will keep them from phoning it in.

“If you’re a man, you’re going to play in times like this, tough times, cold game, don’t have a winning record,” Jenkins said. “Those are games you have to show up and play. You can’t just be like, ‘Oh, we’ve got a losing record. Oh, it’s going to be cold.’ If you want to say you’re a real man or the real deal, these are games you have to show up and play in.”

Bowles now has a contract that runs through 2020. He is about to finish his third season with the Jets without a playoff appearance. If the Jets lose this one, they will have gone 5-11 in back-to-back seasons. There is still plenty of skepticism about Bowles from the fanbase, and Bowles said this week he knows he can improve.

“I try to get better all the way around,” Bowles said. “I have a lot of work to do, obviously, and I try to get better. After the season I’m very hard on myself as I am every week, and just try to get better in all facets of the game as you go.”

Marquee Matchup

Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski vs. Jets S Jamal Adams

 

Gronkowski has plenty of reasons to be motivated Sunday. He needs 11 receptions or 116 receiving yards to trigger $2 million in incentives that his contract calls for. Standing in his way will be a cast of characters, led by Adams. The rookie had a tough time with Gronkowski in their first meeting of the season, when the Patriots tight end scored two touchdowns.

Adams will get help because the Jets know that one person can’t stop Gronk.

“When you look at him, you really have to do it by committee,” defensive coordinator Kacy Rodgers said. “You can’t say, ‘Well, we’re going to lock this guy on him.’ I’ve sat in a lot of meetings playing against him so much like this week we’re going to put a corner on him, this week we’re going to put a safety on him, this week we’re going to put a linebacker on him. The guy is extremely talented and then when you overload to take care of him, you weaken yourself in the run game and the guy running the show [Tom Brady], he’s excellent. He can see what you’re doing and he goes somewhere else, but you leave this guy alone, he’s a problem.”

Four Downs

MVP, MVP: Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has thrown an interception in each of his last five games. Is he slipping?

“No, not at all,” Jets defensive coordinator Kacy Rodgers said with a laugh. “This guy makes my stomach hurt watching him. The weapons they have, the way he manages the game, this guy is [defying] father time. He is like a fine wine.”

Brady is the favorite to win the MVP this season after throwing 30 touchdowns against just eight interceptions. He is completing nearly 68 percent of his passes and has thrown for 4,387 yards.

The 40-year-old is 24-7 against the Jets as a starter with 46 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. The Jets defense has played well lately against top quarterbacks Drew Brees and Philip Rivers. They’ll have to take it to a whole other level against Brady.

Can he Hack’ it? Jets coach Todd Bowles left the door open this week to Christian Hackenberg getting in this game. The 2016 second-round pick has not played a snap in his career. Bowles did not commit to playing the quarterback, but for him to even leave open the possibility makes it seem like he will definitely play.

“The expectations are, listen you’re on a NFL team now, to go out and do the right thing,” offensive coordinator John Morton said. “To go out and do the best that you can to your ability and it’s my job to make sure that I put them in the right position to have success.”

 

[joewilly12]

[ASH1962]

Pride will have to be enough for what?