Jets Q&A: Did Todd Bowles have enough good players to win?
New York Jets head coach Todd Bowles watches from the sideline during the first half of an NFL football game against the New England Patriots, Sunday, Dec. 30, 2018, in Foxborough, Mass. Credit: AP/Steven Senne
Did Todd Bowles have enough players to win with?
If you believe safety Jamal Adams, no. He supports Bowles, who was fired Sunday night. Adams said the Jets don’t have enough talent and that it’s not the coach’s fault that they went 4-12.
“Coaches coach, players play,” Adams said. “We’re on that field, we got to come to play. We didn’t show up.”
Adams wasn’t just talking about Sunday, he was talking about the entire season. But when Bowles was asked about the talent he’s had, he wouldn’t answer it directly. He said you coach who you have.
“As a coach, you feel like you can win with anybody,” he said. “My job, and our jobs as coaches, is to go out there and coach the guys the best we can to try to win the ballgame. So we take our accountability.”
Does Bowles have any regrets from the last four years?
“No, I don’t,” he said.
What went wrong with the offense Sunday?
This probably was the most fitting finish, considering how the offense looked for much of the season. The Jets didn’t score a touchdown. They turned the ball over three times. They got in the red zone only twice, failed to convert on fourth down both times and came away with no points.
“We just couldn’t get anything going,” Sam Darnold said. “I thought there were some drives where we drove the ball well and moved the ball, just couldn’t finish in the red zone. I think there were two or three drives where we drove down there, if we finish on those drives, I think it’s a different game.”
How would Darnold describe his rookie season?
It’s too soon for him to say. He said he will think about the game Sunday and Monday and begin reflecting on his year after that.
Bowles’ assessment of Darnold: “He had some ups and downs. It’s a learning process for him. Hopefully that helps him going forward.”
What did Henry Anderson think of the roughing-the-passer penalty that was called on him?
He didn’t like it, and didn’t know what else he could have done.
Tom Brady had just gotten rid of the ball on a third-down pass with Anderson in pursuit. He didn’t hit Brady hard; he just pushed him and Brady fell right in front of the officials. The Patriots capitalized on the extra set of downs as Brady threw a touchdown pass to Phillip Dorsett.
“Dumb by me, but I’m running full speed at him,” Anderson said. “Unless I dive out of the way to avoid him, that’s the only way I don’t really hit him. I was trying to slow down and he continued running in the path that I was running in. I tried to brace myself against him. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do besides jump and dive out of the way.”
Does Brady have any New Year’s resolutions?
He does. “Less interceptions, more touchdowns,” he said. “That would be it.”
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
