Bowles: This Is A 'No-excuse' Business

Bowles: This Is A 'No-excuse' Business

Q: What was your message to the players coming out of last season?

Bowles: It’s just a no-excuse business. You win games or you don’t. It’s not 5-11 but you played a couple of games close. It’s not so-andso got hurt or so-and-so wasn’t here. You win in spite of, and that’s the only thing I was trying to convey going into the offseason.

Leberfeld: I couldn’t agree more. There are no moral victories in the NFL. Good message. Nothing matters other than your win-loss record and whether you made the playoffs. There are no medals for trying. This isn’t T-Ball. The Jets need to do a lot better than 5-11 in 2018.

Q: Do you believe that players were content with playing close in games?

Bowles: Guys weren’t happy at all. We knew we could play better, and we should be angry in the offseason and we (should have been) angry looking at playoff games.

Leberfeld: Being in the Jets’ locker room after the Jets’ close losses, I don’t think they were content playing close. Guys were ticked off, as they should be.

But you know what is a good way to close out close games? Having a great pass rush. A great pass rush is like a great closer in baseball. Big sacks in the fourth quarter can help a team close out games, like Goose Gossage. The Jets’ lack of great pass rush has really hurt them in recent years. GM Mike Maccagnan needs to fix this.

Q: How much pressure will you put on yourself next season to make sure it ends with a different result?

Bowles: No more than I have since I got here. I put pressure on myself every day, and that’s part of it. It makes me a better coach and it makes me a better person.