FOXOBOROUGH – Jets offensive tackle Damien Woody couldn’t find the words following the Jets 45-3 whipping at the hands of the New England Patriots on Monday night.
“What do you call it?” Woody asked.
“A haymaker,” a reporter replied.
“A haymaker…just bow,” Woody said. “It’s just one of those things where you have to take it and you have to get up and move on. That’s the only thing I can equate it to right now.”
Woody was dead on. Monday night was supposed to be a statement game to reassure Jets fans and the rest of the football world that they were a team to be feared. The chest thumping and bravado came to a quick rest as the Patriots took it to the Jets early and often. But as bad as the Jets looked, the season is far from over.
Sure, the Patriots had no problems making the Jets looked like minced meat in front of a fired up Gillette Stadium crowd. Ex-Jet Danny Woodhead had no trouble making the Jets linebackers look slow, while Tom Brady tossed four touchdowns. But a few days from now these teams could be right back where they started.
The Jets (9-3) host the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, while the Patriots (10-2) travel to Chicago to take on the Bears. All it takes is one bad week for the Pats and good week for the Jets and the teams will once again be neck and neck. A true professional will make sure this most recent setback is a distance memory by 4:15 on Sunday.
Woody, a well-traveled veteran, said he understands that principle. But even he had to admit this was not an easy one to swallow. “No question,” he replied when asked if the loss was embarrassing. “As a competitor, it definitely is. But there’s nothing we can do about it.”
Woody’s sentiments were felt throughout the visitor’s locker room. The Jets got pounded, but there is always next week. But next week is right around the corner.
“[The coaches] are going right back home, getting in the lab at 3:30 a.m. – 4:00 a.m. in the morning and they’re preparing for the Dolphins,” Santonio Holmes said. “We took this under the chin and walked away from it. We’ll take a deep breath and get ready to take it out on the next team.”
Will it be that easy? You never know with this team.