The Jets will arrive at training camp Wednesday in the familiar surroundings of SUNY-Cortland, but in a much different place than when they arrived there last year.
Optimism is flowing around the Jets in 2014, one year after the expectations were low and Rex Ryan appeared to be a dead coach walking. Now, they are talking about returning to the playoffs for the first time since 2010.
Part of the optimism comes from it being July, part of it from winning three of their final four games last year and part from a belief they are much better than last season when they finished 8-8.
“I feel great about this team,” Ryan said.
The Jets added receiver Eric Decker and running back Chris Johnson to bolster the offense and drafted safety Calvin Pryor in the first round to improve an already strong defense. Geno Smith is back for Year Two at quarterback with more confidence and the experience of going through a 16-game NFL season.
But Ryan said he believes this Jets team is more than just the sum of its parts on paper. He likes what he has seen in the weight room and on the practice fields this spring.
“It starts with passion,” Ryan said. “It starts with heart. It starts with guts. I think this team has it. I know this team has it. They feel good about each other. They know how to work and build each other up. I think we’re there. It sounds like it’s easy to do. Bull. It’s not. You have to build it, and it’s built. Now we’ll worry about all the other parts of it — how we match up. That’s fine.”
Decker comes over from the AFC champion Broncos. Instead of entering training camp coming off a Super Bowl run, he joins a team that has not had a winning season in four years. Still, Decker is encouraged by what he has seen.
“I think we had a great offseason,” Decker said last week. “We had great OTAs, a great mini-camp. I think we really grew as a team. It takes time to build that chemistry. I thought through our practices and our time in the weight room and the film room, we really did that. Obviously, everything’s not perfect and it’s never going to be, but we’re working to that. I think training camp is going to be crucial for us that we execute on a high level and set our goals as far as what we want accomplished as an offense.”
The Jets entered last year picked to finish at the bottom of the NFL. They surprised everyone with an 8-8 record and it saved Ryan’s job. This year, Ryan said he can feel the difference as the team heads to camp.
“[It’s] way different,” Ryan said. “We had seven new starters on defense, seven new starters on offense, 11 new coaches. We were getting to know each other.”
Even though the experts won’t be predicting the Jets to be the worst team in football this year, no one is going to pencil them in for a trip to the Super Bowl. Ryan knows the doubters are out there, but said he believes the experts don’t know what he does.
“They don’t see it,” Ryan said. “They don’t see the heart. They don’t see what we’ve built. We know we have a ton of work to do, but I’m telling you we have a locker room full of those people. When we let people go, we’re going to let Jets go. Like there’s more than 53 Jets in that locker room. That’s when you know you have a good football team.”