GREEN BAY, Wis. – Robert Saleh was asked about the identity of his Jets team back in June and his answer was telling.
“Our identity is not going to reveal itself until we see adversity,” he said. “When things are good everyone loves being part of winning, everyone loves being part of the good things. … But, what’s going to happen when you hit adversity, when things aren’t going your way? How are you going to look, not only as an individual but as a team? Those moments have to reveal themselves.”
Adversity hit the Jets in a big way on Thursday when pass rusher Carl Lawson crumpled to the ground on Ray Nitschke Field after his left Achilles’ tendon ruptured, ending his season before it really began. The injury hit the Jets like a sledgehammer. The team was confident that Lawson was going to be the answer at pass rusher it has been lacking for the past 15 years. In the early days of training camp, Lawson made the three-year, $45 million contract the Jets gave him look like a wise investment. He dominated every day and had the Jets dreaming of what he could do in games.
They woke up from those dreams on Thursday.
Now, Saleh must pick up the pieces and get his team back on track. This is one of the reasons Saleh was hired by the Jets. They were impressed by many things about the coach, but his leadership was paramount.
When you ask people inside the Jets about Saleh, you often hear about his energy but you also hear about his calmness. While the Lawson news had to be deflating for the 42-year-old, he surely did not wallow in self-pity.
You only have to look back to last year in San Francisco to see how Saleh deals with injuries. The 49ers were decimated by injuries on defense to Nick Bosa, Solomon Thomas, Dee Ford, Richard Sherman and Ezekiel Ansah. The 49ers still finished No. 5 in total defense and No. 4 in passing defense in the league.
When the Jets interviewed Saleh, his ability to build up the bench stood out. Saleh was able to coach up reserves to maybe not play as well as the men they replaced, but close. Last year in San Francisco, Saleh got career years from cornerback Jason Verrett and defensive lineman Kerry Hyder, two players who had not played big roles prior to last season.
“Next man up” is a cliché that gets thrown around every time a team has injuries. But Saleh seems to genuinely believe in coaching players 1 through 85 on the roster.
“The difference between player A and player Z is minimal,” Saleh said this spring, “and the only thing that keeps player Z from becoming player A is an opportunity and reps. Let’s see what happens.
“Does it always happen? It doesn’t, but unless you’re willing to be bold enough to coach your tail off and to invest as much as you can into these young men and give them the opportunity to be seen, give them the opportunity to get reps, and give them the opportunity to get better, you’ll never know what you might find. So, that’s just the belief and the philosophy of not only our coaching staff but the entire organization and that’s something we’re committed to.”
Lawson’s potential production is probably not going to be replaced by one player. Some combination of Bryce Huff, Ronald Blair, Vinny Curry and others will have to step in and replace him.
The loss of Lawson also should not be viewed as the difference between the Jets having a good season and a bad one. Let’s keep things in perspective – the Jets were going to struggle this season even with Lawson. His impact will be felt on the defense, which now may give up more yards and points in certain games than if Lawson was playing, but defensive ends do not have a great impact on win-loss totals.
Still, Saleh must now regroup his team, which surely was numb after Thursday’s news.
The Jets have three weeks before they play Sam Darnold and the Panthers in Charlotte. It has been an offseason of sunshine and rainbows for the Jets with the hiring of Saleh and the drafting of Zach Wilson. Clouds rolled in on Thursday. Like Saleh said, adversity will reveal identity. We’re about to start finding out who the 2021 Jets are.