Quincy Williams stepped off the practice field and on to the podium where, with an Alabama lilt, he detailed his ‘mission’ in ‘this new era of the New York Jets.’
‘I want everything,’ Williams said on Thursday morning. ‘I want to lead my team to a place that we haven’t been in a while.’
A few feet below the microphone, his feet carried a message, too. The linebacker, 28, wore bright green cleats but near the laces was an image of bright red lips and pearly whites.
A smile? On the evidence of these early days of training camp, more an illustration of bared teeth.
It has been a punishing start to life under new head coach Aaron Glenn. The Jets are a week into training camp but already the message is being hammered home.
‘We want to be a fast, physical and violent outfit,’ offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand said on Thursday.
Aaron Glenn is trying to turn the New York Jets into a ‘a fast, physical and violent outfit’
Glenn and his coaches have put their players through a tough first few days of training camp
Linebacker Quincy Williams wants to lead the team ‘to a place that we haven’t been in a while’
That much became clear earlier this week, when the Jets took the rare step of re-introducing live tackling into practice.
It was evident again on Thursday, when defensive end Eric Watts crushed Breece Hall and a couple of fans nearly came to blows in the bleachers. We’re only in July but one father didn’t take kindly to his view being obstructed by an autograph hunter.
‘Oh, I love this right here,’ said Williams, who has not done live tackling in practice since college. ‘At OTAs Coach Glenn already said we’re going to be physical during training camp. I said: “You talking my language!”
The hope for Williams? It all pays off come September and he can achieve his mission of ending the joint-longest playoff drought in America’s major leagues (14 seasons).
But all the brutality could make some coaches wince. Not here.
‘I love it,’ defensive coordinator Steve Wilks said. ‘It’s a fine line. Everybody’s worried about getting hurt and this is football. But… AG is doing a hell of a job, trying to prepare us for exactly what we’re going to see.’
Engstrand echoed those sentiments. No matter that more physicality means more time in the firing line for Garrett Wilson – just a couple of weeks after the star receiver signed a four-year, $130 million contract extension.
‘Garrett absolutely needs to get tackled!’ the offensive coordinator said. ‘I firmly believe, with all my heart, that what we’re doing is the right thing to do.
Star wide receiver Garrett Wilson had some brilliant one-on-one battles with Sauce Gardner
‘The best way to get good at something is to do it. So it would be negligent upon the coaching staff to not do that.’
On Thursday, Glenn prowled around the practice field dressed all in black. He carried a whistle in his mouth and wore a shirt that read: ‘Grind’
All week players have been lining up to draw a line in the sand between this regime and the last. Some have barely attempted to disguise their digs at former head coach Robert Saleh, who was sacked last October – midway through another miserable season.
It was obvious back in January, when Glenn was introduced at this facility, that he possesses all the self-assurance and strength of personality required to be a head coach.
Glenn wasted little time before putting his stamp on this team. He told Aaron Rodgers his services were longer required and began laying the foundations for a new era with Justin Fields under center. His impact on the practice field is evident already, too.
‘I see it in our competing level,’ special teams coordinator Chris Banjo said on Thursday. ‘When you talk about what AG stresses and his personality, I think it becomes very, very infectious.
‘That starts to spread and you start to see the juice from guys at practice, the competitive talking – I won’t use the word I wanted to use – on the field, I think that all signifies what AG is bringing. The juice they’ve been able to play with has been really cool to watch.’
All that remains to be seen? Whether Glenn can build the playbook and the roster to drag New York back towards the big time. Whether the Jets can find that ‘juice’ once the season starts.
Justin Fields is the new quarterback trusted to the lead the Jets in the post-Aaron Rodgers era
Williams wants the New York Jets defense to be ‘consistently feared… every single week’
On Thursday, there were flashes of brilliance from Fields but also plenty of evidence that, offensively, the Jets still have a lot to work on.
Even if there is no doubting the talent of Wilson and running back Hall. It was a privilege to watch their respective duels with Sauce Gardner and Williams up close.
‘I love it – every single day when the coaches be like, “We got that money on the line,” I need all of it,’ Williams said. ‘Anytime we go pass rush like today or do a tackle drill, I got to have the best running back in the league up.’
This session belonged to the defense. No question. And no matter that Wilks’ group remain a work in progress, too. ‘We’re definitely a long way away from where we need to be, but I see the progress each and every day,’ he said. ‘I like the direction in which we’re going.’
The next stop on that journey? ‘To be consistently feared,’ Williams said. ‘Every single week.’
