LONDON — John Simpson learned the lesson early in his career with the Raiders and now he is trying to pass it on to his young teammates with the Jets.
“[Expletive] happens all the time,” Simpson said this week. “Bad things happen to the best teams in the league. They happen to the worst teams in the league. It’s all about what they do once that bad thing happens. Once we figure that out, once we figure out who we are when adversity hits I think we’ll be a better team.”
The Jets have not responded well to adversity this season and that is part of the reason they are 0-5. Turnovers have killed them in each of the last two weeks. Fumbles against the Dolphins and Cowboys seemed to deflate the Jets and they did not recover.
After last week’s loss to the Cowboys, Simpson was wiping away tears while speaking to reporters. He explained his emotion a few days later.
Guard John Simpson speaks to the media before a Jets’ training camp practice earlier this season. Bill Kostroun/New York Post
“For me, I’m a sore loser. I ain’t going to lie. I hate losing,” Simpson said. “The biggest thing that we were talking about when it happened was adversity. For me, I feel like I’ve had to deal with adversity a lot.
“I kind of feel like I’m here for that reason, to help the other guys get through those things and reach the other side and help this team get over that hump of adversity. I feel like that’s where we are right now. We’ve got a young team. We’ve got a lot of guys that haven’t had to deal with much adversity. I took it personally because I feel like that’s what made me. Adversity kind of made me. I take that personally.”
Jets guards John Simpson, left, and Marquis Hayes (77) work on drills at practice. Bill Kostroun/New York Post
Simpson is only 28 years old but he is one of the veterans on the Jets and he said he is making it a point to teach his younger teammates about how to deal with adversity better.
Jets coach Aaron Glenn and Broncos coach Sean Payton go way back. Payton was on the Cowboys staff when Glenn played there in 2005 and then Glenn played for Payton in 2008 with the Saints. Glenn coached under Payton with the Saints from 2016-20. On Sunday, the two Bill Parcells disciples square off.
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“I owe a lot of my coaching development to Sean,” Glenn said. “I think he’s a hell of a coach. Offensive minded, really understands exactly how to attack different defenses and he’s taught me a lot about being a coach. Listen, he’s one of the guys that I love everything about who he is and what he’s about and I’m looking forward to competing against him, because I know how he is.”
The Jets elevated WRs Brandon Smith and Isaiah Williams from their practice squad. They downgraded LB Ja’Markis Weston from questionable to out.