Tag: Adam Gase

Jets to have representative at Colin Kaepernick’s workout

The Jets will have a representative at Colin Kaepernick’s private workout.

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With the Jets backup quarterback situation in question for next season, they will take a look at Colin Kaepernick.

Kaepernick is participating in a private workout in Atlanta on Saturday for all 32 teams. The Jets will send a representative to watch Kaepernick’s workout, according to ESPN. The event will include an on-field workout followed by an interview.

On Wednesday, Jets head coach Adam Gase was asked about Kaepernick’s upcoming workout, but he declined to discuss the quarterback.

“I got to worry about this week,” Gase told reporters. “That’s what my job is. That’s a question for personnel guys.”

The last time Kaepernick played in the NFL was in 2016 with the 49ers. It was in San Francisco that he began to protest racial and social injustice, kneeling during the national anthem. Before that, he led the 49ers to the Super Bowl in 2012 and made the NFC Championship in 2013. After that, his production started to dip.

Many believe Kaepernick has been blacklisted by the NFL for his kneeling protests that began in 2016. After being released by the 49ers in 2016, Kaepernick filed a grievance against the NFL in 2017. He and the NFL reached a confidential settlement in 2019.

The Jets could use a backup quarterback, but it remains to be seen how real of a shot they or any other team will give Kaepernick.

Christopher Johnson using whatever goodwill he has left on Adam Gase

Chairman and CEO Christopher Johnson publically endorsed Adam Gase despite his 2-7 record, much to the chagrin of fans.

For better or worse, Christopher Johnson is hitching his wagon to Adam Gase.

The chairman and CEO stated Gase will remain the head coach in 2020 despite from fans and pundits alike calling for his firing.

“I want to assure you there will be no changes in coaches here,” Johnson told reporters Wednesday. “Adam has the trust of this team. He has the trust of Sam. He has the trust of (general manager) Joe (Douglas). He has my trust. He’s a good man. He’s a good coach.”

Johnson explained part of the reason for keeping Gase is continuity with Sam Darnold’s development. Johnson added that Gase’s first year can’t properly be evaluated due to a ridiculous amount of injuries to the team.

“Sam hasn’t been given the best opportunity to thrive,” Johnson said. “We’ve had so many moving parts on the offensive line that I think it has affected his ability to play as he would like. There’s a great deal of work to do. Everyone understands that. And we’re just getting started. But I feel really good about this team moving forward.”

It’s not surprising that Johnson isn’t planning on firing Gase after one season. While it would send a positive message to an angry and win-deprived fanbase, it could cripple the morale of a team that has yet to turn on Gase. 

What is surprising, though, is how Johnson effectively gave a ringing endorsement of Gase despite the Jets’ 2-7 record and terrible statistical rankings. Even after a seven-point win over the equally-lowly Giants, the Jets rank 30th in points scored and 32nd in total yards. Even with a bevy of injuries, those numbers are atrocious; they’re nothing Johnson should be publicly praising.

It also sends a bad sign to Jets fans when you basically tell them you’re happy with the job Gase has done in 10 months. Objectively speaking, he’s been a terrible coach in the games he’s lost, and lucky in the games he’s won. He was pitched to fans as an offensive genius, but the Jets have only scored more than 20 points and put up more than 300 yards of offense twice all season. Darnold looks to have regressed and no player looks to have developed under Gase’s guidance. He even cost the Jets their starting inside linebacker by leaving Avery Williamson in a meaningless preseason game in which he tore his ACL. 

It would have been easier for Johnson to take Le’Veon Bell’s approach and just continue preaching patience for the future of the team. Instead, Johnson is telling fans he believes Gase is that future, despite every indication that this won’t be the case. 

“I understand it. I’m frustrated, too,” Johnson said when asked about fans’ frustrations. “Every player on this team hates to lose. … Losing is a whole new thing and it’s terrible and I want it to stay terrible. Who wants to get used to that? But I can assure you that this entire building is about getting this team to a better place.”

Almost three weeks ago Johnson was caught on camera criticizing the team before a loss to the Jaguars. The next week the Jets lost to the previously winless Dolphins. If Johnson wasn’t happy with the team before, what changed over the past few weeks for him to suddenly support his coach? The Giants win, though great for morale, wasn’t particularly impressive considering the defense blew a two-score lead and were a Jamal Adams fumble recovery for a touchdown away from losing.

This is less about Gase and more about a vote of confidence for the team moving forward. Though the Jets roster is bad and their season awful, there are still solid pieces surrounding Darnold. If players were also calling for Gase’s head, maybe Johnson would change his tune. But with players like Jamal Adams and center Jonotthan Harrison praising Johnson’s decision, firing Gase would decimate the morale of the team for the rest of the year and send the Jets into a bigger tailspin before moving back to square one this offseason. 

“It shows [Johnson] has faith in coach Gase, like the rest of us do,” Harrison said. “It shows he sees the potential and he sees where this team is going. Instead of listening to the outside noise — Gase this, Gase that — he said, ‘I have total faith in coach Gase.'”

Adams, who at one point refused to talk to Gase and Douglas after trade rumors, also backed Gase: “That’s our head coach and that’s who we ride with.”

Johnson doesn’t have the best track record as an owner. His hands-on approach and seemingly genuine interest in player causes — a drastic contrast from his brother, Woody — made a strong first impression, but he’s 11-30 since taking over in 2017. He let Mike Maccagnan build the roster through the 2019 offseason and played a role in overpaying for free agents. Gase could be yet another mistake in the Christopher Johnson era, and that’s probably not something he’d like to admit after only 10 months.

“It’s said that you are what your record says you are, and that’s not very impressive,” Johnson said. “But looking forward, I think it’s going to be a good team. I have so much faith in Adam and Joe to put together a great future for us.”

We’ll see about that.

6 takeaways from Christopher Johnson’s Wednesday comments

What did Jets acting CEO Christopher Johnson say on Wednesday? Here are the Jets Wire’s six takeaways.

Christopher Johnson ended his media hiatus Wednesday to deliver an unsurprising bit of news.

Johnson announced that Adam Gase will return as the team’s head coach in 2020 despite his failings thus far. Gase has gone 2-7 and Sam Darnold has struggled under his direction. Instead of listening to reactionary fans, though, Johnson will stick with Gase next season — for better or worse.

Gase, however, was not the only subject Johnson spoke about when he met with reporters. With that said, here are six takeaways from his Wednesday press conference.

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Christopher Johnson makes it official: Adam Gase will return in 2020

Christopher Johnson confirmed with reporters on Wednesday that Adam Gase would return as head coach for the 2020 season.

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After months of absence, Christopher Johnson finally addressed the media on Wednesday.

In doing so, he made major headlines. The Jets CEO made it clear that Adam Gase will return as the team’s head coach in 2020. Gase is not in jeopardy of being fired; instead, he has Johnson’s confidence.

Johnson said he told the team last week that Gase would return despite outside noise of there being a potential coaching change. He also spoke with some players about the decision one on one. Gase is 2-7 in his first season as the Jets head coach. Johnson, however, has not wavered in his support for his first head coaching hire despite some frustrations.

“I want to assure you there will be no changes in coaches here,” Johnson told reporters. “Adam has the trust of this team. He has the trust of Sam. He has Joe’s trust. He has my trust. He’s a good man. He’s a good coach.”

Johnson is understandably frustrated with the team’s progress or lack thereof through nine games but has shown the utmost support for his new regime. He still believes the future is bright.

“There’s a lot of work to do,” he said. “There’s a great deal of work to do. Everyone understands that and we’re just getting started. But I feel really good about this team moving forward.”

The relationships that Gase has built in the building with Sam Darnold and Joe Douglas have not gone unnoticed and played a big part in the decision to bring Gase back next season. He is not solely keeping Gase for Darnold’s sake, but it was a major component in his decision making.

“It’s absolutely important, but that’s not why I’m keeping Adam,” Johnson said of Darnold. “That’s certainly a component. Changing systems year after year is a disaster for a young quarterback, especially.”

As for Gase and Douglas, Johnson said, “Seeing him work with Joe, it’s a whole new dynamic in this building. It’s a really positive dynamic. They have the same vision for this team going forward.”

Sam Darnold, Daniel Jones offer hope for the future of New York football

Both Sam Darnold and Daniel Jones showed everyone how they can be the next franchise quarterbacks in New York.

The future shined a little brighter for the Jets and Giants on Sunday.

It’s hard to see positives amid such a disappointing season for the Jets and the Giants, but Sam Darnold and Daniel Jones both showed their abilities to play competitive games. Darnold displayed all of his athletic mobility without any of his signature turnovers to throw for 230 yards and two scores on his way to the win, while Jones found holes in the Jets defense to finish with 303 passing yards with four touchdowns. 

Neither the Jets nor the Giants fielded even a remotely good pass defense, so this game won’t paint a perfect picture of either Darnold’s or Jones’ potential. But there were enough bright spots from both quarterbacks to give New York fans a glimmer of hope once the rest of the roster is fixed.

Darnold needed to have a good game after a horrendous three-game stretch, and he finished with his first turnover-less game since Week 1. He was in much better command of the offense and looked every bit as good a quarterback as he could be.

One of the most intriguing aspects of Darnold’s game – and the one that’s gotten him into trouble with turnovers as well – is his ability to go off-script and find his receivers by extending plays with his legs outside the pocket. Recently, those plays have resulted in costly turnovers for the Jets. But against the Giants, Darnold played mistake-free and led three touchdown drives by making throws you only see from the best.

Darnold didn’t back down from adversity and consistently poor pass blocking. He rebounded and didn’t change his game despite a month-stretch of mistake-ridden play.

Jones, meanwhile, went toe-to-toe with Darnold and matched him almost point-for-point most of the afternoon. He hit Darius Slayton on two second-quarter touchdowns to draw within one point and then found Golden Tate on back-to-back touchdown drives to take the lead. Jones continues to improve every week for the Giants and seemingly always finds ways to make the big play. Sunday’s loss was Jones’ second game with at least 300 passing yards and four total touchdowns.

Jones played well but also fumbled the ball three times – one of which resulted in Jamal Adams’ incredible strip-sack touchdown. He’s shown the ability to be the Giants’ franchise quarterback but, like all young quarterbacks, needs to hold onto the ball. Coincidentally, Darnold has the same problem for the Jets and has looked atrocious at times with inexcusable mistakes. Darnold corrected a lot of problems from the past three weeks to finish the game with a clean sheet – Jones just needs to do the same. 

Again, this isn’t a final judgment call on the abilities of Darnold and Jones. They bother played against very weak defenses. But even against bad teams, they performed well enough to give hope in a city that hasn’t seen much in recent years when it comes to competent quarterback play. Both quarterbacks obviously still have issues, primarily when it comes to holding onto the football. But this first duel between Darnold and Jones could signal a shift in New York football, one that could feature two long-term solutions at quarterback if each team learns from the mistakes of its past to build a solid roster around the two.

Jamal Adams is Jets Wire’s Player of the Game vs. Giants

Jamal Adams was a man on a mission in the Jets’ second win of the season, a 34-27 victory over the Giants Sunday.

Jamal Adams was a man on a mission in the Jets’ second win of the season, a 34-27 victory over the Giants Sunday.

Adams was flying around the football field all day. He had nine total tackles, two sacks, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, one pass defense and a defensive score. For his performance, Adams is Jets Wire’s Player of the Game for Week 10 of the regular season.

The Pro Bowl safety said earlier in the week that this game had a little extra meaning to it given it was the battle of New York. But he was on a completely different level in this game. It seemed everywhere the football went, he was there, too.

One of those plays came on a strip-sack of Giants quarterback Daniel Jones. Adams was coming in hot on a blitz and obliterated Saquon Barkley before getting to Jones and ripping the ball out his hands to take it to the house for a touchdown. Right before that drive, Adams told Adam Gase that he was going to create a turnover on that drive, Turns out he was right.

You don’t see many safeties with Adams’ playing style. He’s brilliant around the line of scrimmage and is solid in pass coverage, too. Most safeties only have one of those qualities, but Adams is a one of a kind player.

It definitely felt like a weight was lifted off of Adams’ shoulder after the dispute he had with the front office over the last couple of weeks. Adams finally spoke to both Joe Douglas and Gase about his name being brought up in trade rumors and cleared the air with both parties. The noise finally calmed down around him and he went out and balled.

He’s clearly the leader of this defense and there’s no way to envision him not on it. His play on Sunday continued to show why he is in the elite category at his position.