Jets open up on locker-room fighting: It got worse and worse
As the Jets cleared out their lockers on Monday for a sixth consecutive “baggies day’’ that followed a playoff-less season, one underlying theme bubbled to the surface as a significant contributor to their disappointing, underachieving 5-11 finish: a locker room too divided and without enough positive chemistry.
On Sunday, after the Jets’ 30-10 season-finale win over the Bills at MetLife Stadium, cornerback Darrelle Revis shed light on those combative locker room moments casting a “dark cloud’’ over the team this year.
On Monday, as some players reflected on the season, the lack of locker-room harmony clearly was an issue.
“When you see bad things going on, you almost lose your purpose,’’ receiver Quincy Enunwa said. “When the team doesn’t feel like a team, then you start doing it for yourself. The losing didn’t help, but it was kind of a mindset that just kind of spread, and it wasn’t good.
“I think it can be fixed,’’ Enunwa went on. “We know what we need to do. Hindsight is 20-20. I think looking at it now, we know, Coach [Todd] Bowles knows. There are going to be a lot of changes, and I think they’re going to be for the better.’’
Asked if Bowles could have done a better job curbing in-house player dissension, Enunwa said: “I applaud Coach Bowles’ effort. He did what he was supposed to do. He did what he needed to do. But we have to also police the locker room. It’s about us policing ourselves as well.’’
One player who tried to be a leader, but also was a center of a few storms, was receiver Brandon Marshall, who clashed with defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson dating back to a locker-room argument they had in Kansas City in Week 3. It was their postgame spat that first revealed an issue, and it seemed to linger.
“When you lose, everything’s challenged,’’ Marshall said Monday. “It’s personal. In this environment, there are a lot of things tested. There’s so much tension. We were tested this year. Relationships were tested. There was a lot of tension.
“What matters is what we do moving forward and how we pick up the pieces. The strong teams, the good locker rooms, are the ones that can pick themselves up from it. It wasn’t perfect this year. In retrospect, there were a lot of things I can do differently. I can work on my timing, but I’m totally fine with my approach this year.”
Marshall called the locker-room strife something that “comes with only winning five games and having the type of year we had.’’
“When this happened, everyone’s digging and searching for something to point the finger at,’’ he said. “That’s expected, especially in this market. You just have to be tough.’’
After the Bills game Sunday, when Richardson was asked if he could “co-exist’’ with Marshall on the same team next year, he said, “No comment.’’ That was a clear indication that whatever issues they had during Week 3 remain months later.
On Monday, Marshall was much softer and more effusive about Richardson when asked the same question.
“Sheldon’s a great talent,’’ Marshall said. “He has a big heart. This guy loves football.’’
Marshall said he was moved when he heard Richardson speak to the team after he was suspended earlier this season, saying, “From that moment, all I saw was this guy be committed to being a better person and being a better teammate.’’
“He’s been getting better every single day,’’ Marshall said. “Has it been perfect? No, but this guy is light years from where he was last year. I commend him for that.’’
Enunwa, for one, said he understands where Marshall is coming from with his vocal nature, but he also understands how it rubs some teammates the wrong way.
“For me, with Brandon, I always make sure that I hear the message rather than the delivery of the message,’’ Enunwa said. “That’s not easy for everybody. People are going to say some things in the heat of the moment, and you’re not always going to agree with what they say, but sometimes there’s a hidden message. I got what he was saying. I’ve always gotten what he said.’’
Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick said: “For everybody in this locker room, losing takes its toll. We put so much time and effort each week into the gameplan and so much work in the offseason that it’s tough on everybody when you’re losing games.
“I was proud of the way we finished, staying together and winning the last game, but it’s not an easy thing for anybody with the adversity, the pressure and the expectations and not being able to meet any of those, it makes a tough year for everybody.’’
Linebacker Lorenzo Mauldin said he sensed a different feel from this year’s team than last year’s that went 10-6.
“Last year, we went through a lull and pushed ourselves out of it,’’ he said. “After the first three games this year, I felt, ‘Oh, we’ll come out of it.’ But it was like we didn’t have the same spark as we did last year. We just didn’t give enough. We didn’t fight like we did last year.’’
Except with one another.