The Jets may be out of the NFL postseason tournament, but they're not out of desire.
With three games to go -- starting with hosting Washington on Christmas Eve, followed by a short turnaround playing at Cleveland four days later -- head coach Robert Saleh eased off the reins a bit this week with walkthroughs on Wednesday and planned for Thursday. The team will practice on Friday ahead of facing the Commanders at MetLife Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
"We kind of got beat up in the Miami game, a lot of guys, not from a year-ending injury standpoint but it was a rough one," Saleh said during his Wednesday news conference. "I just wanted to make sure we're focused a lot on regen, getting our bodies back, trying to change the schedule, tighten it up and give them more regen opportunities."
Other than quarterback Zach Wilson, who remains in the concussion protocol, Saleh said that the team left Miami after the 30-0 loss with a minimal number of new injuries.
On Monday, Saleh echoed the sentiment that permeated the locker room at Hard Rock Stadium, saying that the loss that eliminated the Green & White from the playoffs (coupled with wins by Houston and Cleveland) "doesn't feel good."
It was a quiet locker room where players like Garrett Wilson, D.J. Reed, Allen Lazard and Sauce Gardner spoke in muffled tones about their frustration over the Dolphins game and a season gone sideways after it began with such high expectations.
"After the game everyone, is running high or low on emotion," Saleh said. "In our case, I think after a couple of days of reflection they always show up on Wednesday. Even coaches, Monday [film review] and Tuesday [players' day off] are not fun after losses whether you're in it or not. But when you hit the grass together and we're communicating it always goes away and it provides a good reset.
"Everyone gets it, from coaches to players. As coaches, you're putting your best game plan together and everyone's watching. As players, 31 other teams are getting your tape. It's always your résumé. It's not necessarily a threat, but it's understood you are what your tape says you are. And I know, if your brother's going out there to sacrifice and play his tail off then the expectation is that you do it for him and you do it for one another. But that's the cool thing about this group. I do think they will go out there and fight like they have all year."
After a post-bye win over the Giants, the Jets moved to 4-3 with 10 games remaining. They've gone 1-6 since and will close out their home schedule against the Commanders.
"I know there's a lot of frustration," Saleh said. "There's frustration from fans, coaches, players, everybody with regards to how the season has panned out. At the same time, when those young men put those helmets on, the man next to you has his hand in the dirt and you're making sure he can do everything to the best of his ability. I do my job so you can do your job. And that's really the cool thing about football where everybody matters. So I think in this sport, and I'll speak for all 32 teams, that every locker room feels the same way.
"I never subscribed to the idea that players quit. I haven't, because when you quit, you quit on your teammate and that's probably one of the greatest things to me. But when you look at our locker room and you look down our roster, I feel like we've got tremendous character, those guys love one another and they'll play for one another."
