The Jets did not live up to the hype last season.
Coming off two straight AFC Championship Game appearances, the Jets flopped to an 8-8 record that left Rex Ryan eating his words and the team reeling from finger-pointing in the locker room. There’s been less big talk from the team this offseason, although Tebowmania has kept silence well away from the team. Linebacker Bart Scott says that the change in tone is representative of the biggest difference between this year’s team and the 2011 edition.
“Not a sense of entitlement. Understanding how hard it is in this game, and how blessed we were to be where we were,” Scott said, via Jenny Vrentas of the Newark Star-Ledger. “And how hungry we are to get back there, and be able to prove the doubters wrong. They have an opinion of us, and sometimes perception is reality. But it doesn’t make the perception the truth.”
Scott also talked about the defense becoming more passive last year, something that was visible on the field and led to less impressive results on that side of the ball than in Ryan’s first two seasons. This year, the plan is to be more aggressive and think less, according to Scott. The Jets offense is also preaching a return to basics by grinding things out in Tony Sparano’s offense.
A sense of entitlement doesn’t work with that style of play so Scott had better be correct in his assessment of the team.