NFL

Bart Scott Flips Off A Cameraman, Rex Ryan In Tears: A Rundown Of Today’s Jets Madness

So, the Jets lost yesterday. That loss assured the team of not reaching the playoffs. The Jets are really, really not happy about this, and that’s to be expected. They’re pro football players, you PLAY to WIN the GAME, they didn’t, and now they’re going home early for the first time in Rex Ryan’s three years. But whatever the Jets do, they tend to do it louder than most teams, so of course they couldn’t be a garden-variety sort of pissed. No, they were Jets pissed. The following is a rundown of exactly what that entailed.

First off, receiver Santonio Holmes – a team captain – is not exactly Mr. Popular in the organization right now. Holmes was benched during yesterday’s loss to the Dolphins, and running back LaDainian Tomlinson – pretty much an elder statesman at this point – didn’t hold back in assessing how the captain failed to live up to his title:

“It’s tough for guys to follow a captain that kind of behaves in that manner. You’re a captain, guys looking at you. You’ve got to lead by example. You’ve got to play your tail off until the last play.”

Oh, and additionally Holmes and Mark Sanchez had a dustup recently. And it’s a good thing Tomlinson was in a talking mood, because several key Jets weren’t earlier today. Jenny Vrentas, who covers the team for the Star-Ledger (N.J.), provided a look at several instances that painted a picture of a team in disarray. For example, right now it seems the only thing Bart Scott (and Darrelle Revis, for that matter) can’t wait to do is get the hell away from everybody:

Revis refuses to talk, uncharacteristic. Bart Scott yells at cameras, tells them to get out of his face.

And…well, Scott did a little more than that. From Brian Costello, the New York Post’s Jets reporter:

Bart Scott just gave the middle finger to a photographer in the locker room “take a picture of that. Get out of my face”

Well, clearly Scott was a lost cause. Was Holmes willing to talk about his issues? Vrentas again:

Holmes is escorted out by Jets PR, also refuses to talk.

Okay then. Rex Ryan, though, what about him? His team fell far short of the goal he sets every year, but surely he’s still brimming with bravado! Surely he will let everyone know that the New York Jets aren’t going anywhere!

Rex Ryan cried when addressing team this morning. Rex “pleaded” with players to be a team, said they must come back and build a team.

…Or not. In fairness, again, the Jets are frustrated. They’re not going to the playoffs. They lost three in a row to end the season. And as Vrentas pointed out, many Jets did talk to the media. But this is what the Jets have created for themselves. Outsized expectations – fueled by members of the team and especially the coach – combined with the New York market lead to outsized scrutiny. Even though the Jets who didn’t talk today might be in the minority, the ones who remained silent made them look like a team unwilling to face the consequences. Maybe they’ll be back in full force next year, but for now, they’re a shell of what their coach guaranteed they’d be.

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