Left tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson has gotten his new deal, a smoke-and-mirrors long-term contract not nearly as potent as first reported. Center Nick Mangold, cornerback Darrelle Revis, and linebacker David Harris continue to wait. And, especially as to Revis, it could get ugly.
The guy who writes the checks (or, in the minds of Mangold, Revis, and Harris, doesn’t write big enough ones) isn’t concerned.
“I think the fans know that we have to run the team . . . and we have to run it within the rules,” Woody Johnson told Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. “The fans know that we are trying to win. We are using our best judgment -- [G.M.] Mike Tannenbaum all of the coaches and me as well. . . .
“We’re trying to put the best team on the field within the rules to win the Super Bowl,” Johnson said. “I guess the fans are going to have to have a little confidence in our ability to make that happen.”
Of course, this doesn’t change the fact that three key players believe they were promised new deals, that they’re apparently not getting them, and that their reaction could make it harder to focus on the task at hand.
Meanwhile, Johnson has confidence on the team’s ability to focus on the task at hand.
“We have a team of coaches that are second to none,” Johnson said. “I would characterize our on-field talent the same way. . . . I’m extremely excited. Every day I get more excited because it gets closer and closer.”
We like the enthusiasm. But if the Jets aren’t successful this year, a much different -- but equally strong -- emotion will emerge in January.