Robert Saleh does not have an issue with cornerback D.J. Reed bringing up the 1985 Bears and the Legion of Boom Seahawks in the same sentence as the 2023 Jets.
The Jets’ head coach does have a problem, however, with how Reed’s quote was covered by the media.
“I do think we have a paraphrase problem with the way that our guys talk,” Saleh said. “I think when you look at D.J.’s quote, he answered the question. Just like every team in football and every player in football will talk about what they think they can be.
“Every team has potential to be special this year. All 32 of them. But I think what’s important is listening to the whole quote. Listening to our players, knowing the players and knowing that they are so focused on the moment and trying to get better every single day and they talk about that. No, unfortunately, that’s the part that gets omitted in our paraphrase generation.”
Reed, on a Zoom call with reporters on Monday, brought up the historical comparison unprompted.
“I’m very confident,” he said. “I think we have the potential to be the best defense in the NFL and honestly I think we can be historical. Not just the best defense in the league, but I think we can have a historical defense like the ’85-’86 Bears, like the [Legion of Boom] in 2013.
“I think we can be that dominant if we put all the things together and we just focus on the now and we’re deliberate. If everyone plays up to their potential, I think the sky’s the limit for us.”
The Jets have not quite channeled Vince Young’s “Dream Team” comment about the 2013 Eagles, but they have not been all that far off in their rhetoric about their team’s potential.
The Super Bowl is the goal for the Jets and confidence is high after they brought in Aaron Rodgers during the offseason.
“Why not [talk about the Super Bowl]?” running back Dalvin Cook asked rhetorically Thursday. “That’s where we trying to go. That ain’t gonna dictate if we win or lose any football game.”
Ahead of a high-profile opener Monday night against the Bills, Saleh tried his best to toe the line between toning the rhetoric down and projecting confidence in his team.
“We don’t openly talk about [the Super Bowl],” he said. “We get asked questions and we answer them. But everybody wants to win a championship. The reason why I don’t care if our guys say something is because they always bring it back to the moment.
“No one’s talking about that part of it. And that’s why it doesn’t matter.”
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