LAS VEGAS — New York Jets owner Woody Johnson really, really, really hated his offense last year. But he has a two-word plan to get it fixed — and close the gap between the Jets and the Miami Dolphins and Buffalo Bills:
New York Jets Owner Woody Johnson Talks Miami Dolphins, Buffalo Bills
Johnson revealed that straightforward plan here Thursday during a makeshift news conference on the NFL Honors red carpet.
Jets owner Woody Johnson talks to @PFN365 @AdamHBeasley about the team’s offensive woes. #NFLHonors pic.twitter.com/LPRDUeBuQa
— David Bearman (@DavidBearmanPFN) February 9, 2024
“We need to keep the quarterback vertical,” Johnson said. “It’s really all about the offense. For the last five years, it’s been about the offense. The offense has to score, keep the defense off the field.
“Defense is good, but we got, I think we were developing a really good plan for free agency and the draft, coaching trying to get the offense, so we have a balance, more of a balance, a balance on offense. We run the ball better in the red zone. A change in our practice schedule? We’re looking at everything. So we know we know what we can’t do, so now we got to do it.”
When asked by PFN if Rodgers’ return from a torn Achilles alone will close the four-win gap from 2023 between the Jets and the Dolphins and Bills, Johnson replied:
“Yeah. I think we can close it with Aaron Rodgers, yeah for sure. We’ve got a very good defense. If we can do anything on offense. I mean, we won games without scoring a touchdown. That’s absolutely incredible.”
Johnson repeatedly took a sledgehammer to Nathaniel Hackett’s offense during his seven-minute availability.
And he put coach Robert Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas on notice: It’s now or never.
MORE: Woody Johnson Rips Zach Wilson At NFL Honors
“They’ve seen me about as mad as I could be with what was going on with the offense particularly,” Johnson said. “We’ve got all this talent and we’ve got to deploy talent properly. So I think they all got the message.
“This is it, this is the time to go. We’ve got to produce this year, we have to produce this year.”
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