Jets owner Woody Johnson says that team is not “loosey-goosey”
According to New York Jets owner, Woody Johnson, everything with the team is fine and dandy.
Even though his team is the subject of another off-field incident, the owner insists that the idea of the Jets being an out of control team is widely exaggerated.
Johnson wouldn’t explicitly say anything about reports that head coach Rex Ryan’s wife, Michelle, posted foot fetish videos on the Internet. But he did say that he fully supports Ryan.
"I have a lot of respect for Rex and his family," Johnson told reporters on Thursday. "My respect is not diminished one iota."
“Footgate” is the latest in a season of issues for the Jets, most of which were off field. Last week, they were the centre of attention when strength and conditioning coach, Sal Alosi, purposefully tripped Miami Dolphins gunner, Nolan Carroll, on a punt
return. The NFL is still investigating the episode and Johnson said that he has yet to decide about the fate of Alosi. He has already been fined $25,000 and suspended indefinitely by the team.
Johnson was noticeably upset when a reporter suggested that there are an “inordinate” number of non-football problems.
"I disagree with the word 'inordinate,' " said Johnson. He added that other teams in the NFL have similar problems, but didn’t mention any specific teams.
He also supports the NFL for its ability to control damage and that he is happy about the developing culture.
"We're going to make mistakes," he said. "We're not perfect, but we're pretty good ... Once we've made a mistake, we're pretty good at trying to make remedies and trying to correct what we're doing. We try to get better every year. We're going to work on
things like our culture."
The Jets are typically viewed as a traitorous team. In January, Coach Ryan was fined $50,000 for displaying and obscene hand gesture to fans at a martial arts match in Miami, Florida. Nine months later, in September, the team was admonished for being unprofessional
in their locker room, towards a female television reporter from a Mexican television station.
In the same month, Braylon Edwards, wide receiver for the Jets, was arrested on a DUI charge. Then came the Alosi scandal, which blew up even more when it was revealed that Alosi ordered the inactive, sidelined players to form a wall, which is illegal.
Johnson did say that he apologized to Dolphins owner, Stephen Ross.
Johnson also apologized to New England Patriots owner, Robert Kraft. No, not for no reason. New York’s special teams coach, Mike Westhoff, said on a radio interview that the Patriots use the same sideline wall technique.
"We don't want to be insulting them," Johnson said. "Our job is not to insult another team, particularly from a coach or owner's standpoint."
The NFL interviewed the team, including Westhoff, looking into whether Westhoff broke a rule by making those comments publicly.
Westhoff says that he didn’t accuse them and had no idea about the sideline wall used by the Jets. The Jets have said that it was all Alosi’s idea, and Westhoff thinks that the league believes him.
"I hope they do, because I know it's true," he said, adding that the league conducted a "very thorough" investigation on "something that was ridiculous anyway."
The Jets are also involved, however indirectly, in the Brett Favre/Jenn Sterger case. Sterger claims that when both she and Favre were on the Jets squad, the veteran quarterback sent lewd photos and racy text and voice messages to her.
Johnson does not agree with the idea that Ryan’s coaching has created a franchise that is undisciplined.
"I don't agree with that," Johnson said sharply. "I don't think we're loosey-goosey. I don't think there's a lack of discipline. You can't win the number of games we've won -- even with a rookie quarterback -- and be loosey-goosey. We're very disciplined."
Johnson added, "The culture I'm looking for is starting to develop, and it's developing to the point where people in this building are able to handle [adversity] and focus on what our real job is, and that's playing football."
The Jets have a 10-4 record thus far and need to win just one game to get to their second playoff series in a row. Hopefully, they will be able to do so next Sunday against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field.
Stay tuned!
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