Damien Woody Says The Players Are Worried About Their Jobs Instead Of Trevor Lawrence, And He's Absolutely Right
Jets fans were beside themselves when they started winning games and threw away their shot at Trevor Lawrence. That's understandable, but according to ESPN analyst and former New York Jet Damien Woody, the players don't give a rip about tanking the way fans do. They have a job to do.
He's on the money.
"I think a lot of this noise is because people think Lawrence is a generational talent. I didn't hear reporters back then talking about, 'Why did you guys win a game?' Woody said.
"People were trying to find a way to win a game and finish the season off and get the hell out of there. Maybe because the draft has gotten so much more notoriety, but I don't remember that type of noise."
Damien Woody tried to explain why fans and player don't see eye to eye.
"Fans stand for 'fanatics,' and a lot of times fans are irrational. They don't think with a clear head sometimes. Players don't care about the future. Players live in the here and now, each minute, each meeting, each practice, each game. They don't care about next season or the draft."
He's right, but so are the fans
Damien Woody is giving first-hand knowledge of the thought process of a player. Fans, for the most part, understand that players on the New York Jets don't benefit individually when the Jets lose, but fans still want them to lose anyway.
That's where the disappointment comes.
The Jets went from securing a projected superstar at the most important position in sports to thinking about keeping Sam Darnold because a couple doo-doo athletes decided they would show up and play well for the first time in four months. Fans are incredibly frustrated that a decent performance on one Sunday out of sixteen ruined their future. Of course the Jets aren't dead to rights just because they lost Trevor Lawrence, but it surely doesn't help.
For Jets fans, they know they need all the help they can get.
Fans are irrational, and there's no questioning that. Those fanatics are also aware of what's at stake and very often think big picture in every win or loss. In this case, winning the past two weeks crapped on their plans.
We should feel bad for Jets fanatics, but we never will. We just can't help it.