New York Jets: Todd Bowles reprimands team on skirmishes

It’s not easy to be the head coach of the New York Jets, especially after all the recent events these past few months. Todd Bowles is already making sure the entire team knows how he plans to run things, especially if they start skirmishes against each other during hot practices this summer to prepare for the regular season. Bowles recently reprimanded the team due to their inability to let their actions speak for themselves on the gridiron and not against each other since they’re teammates.

We here at The Jet Press would like to thank the Media Relations Department of the Jets for sending us a complete transcript of what Bowles felt needed to get done to set an example for the team. He’s handled things well in light of all the controversy involving Sheldon Richardson and most recently Geno Smith. Here it is in its entirety:

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On Calvin Pryor not being at practice…

He had a personal thing he had to deal with. He’ll be out for quite a few days.

On the chippiness on the field…

Arguments are fine. You just want to make sure nobody cheap shots someone. Half of them don’t want to throw a punch, the other half don’t want to get hit. The talking is fine. Snacks (Damon Harrison) is practicing to be an auctioneer and talk at an auction when he gets done (joking), but the rest of it? It’s training camp. It was a good spirited practice.

On if Pryor will play next Friday against Atlanta…

Probably not. He had a death in the family and he had to go tend to some personal stuff. He won’t be back for a couple of days. I don’t know if he’ll get enough reps to play in the game if he does come back.

On injuries to Antonio Cromartie and Brandon Marshall…

I didn’t see Marshall’s. I saw Cromartie’s bruise, but he came back in and he was fine. I didn’t see Marshall’s at all.

On James Brewer…

I know he had a stiff back, I’ll find out more when I go inside.

On Marshall taking himself off the field…

Yeah, I didn’t see that one though. I’ll find out about that when I go in.

On if he has even less tolerance for fighting…

No, my rule is the same going in. You fight and hit somebody on the field, I don’t think it got bad out here, but you want to prevent it before it started.

On the penalty for fighting…

They knew they’d be running, but it’s at my discretion on how much.

On if he is strict on fighting compared to other head coaches…

I don’t think so. I think it happens a lot of places. We’re not the only team that does it. I think it happens at a lot of places.

On if there was a message he shared to the team after they ran…

We understand that we can talk mess and we can jaw at each other. As long as the hits are clean, we’re fine. But we’ve got to take care of each other at the same time. There’s not cutting and there’s no hitting in the back and those types of thing, there’s no cheap shots. If it’s good clean play, I don’t have a problem. They can talk all day.

May 27, 2015; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets head coach Todd Bowles watches organized team activities at Atlantic Health Jets Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports

On if he wants physicality in practice…

It’s training camp. It started two weeks ago. It’s about time.

On if he spoke with Geno Smith when he was at the facility today to see doctors…

I didn’t. He came in when we were out on the field. I knew he was coming in to see the doctors but I knew we’d be at practice so I didn’t get a chance to see him.

On Smith participating in physical activity unsupervised by team personnel…

He shouldn’t be doing it right now. We handled that internally. We had that discussion.

On if there’s a risk with Smith practicing without team personnel…

Yeah, he just got surgery. You don’t want him to get infected.

On how the wide receivers are performing with Ryan Fitzpatrick…

It takes a while, but I think they’re clicking pretty well. They’re coming together. It’s not going to happen overnight. Day-by-day, they’re getting a feel for each other. Ryan knows where they are and they’re working on certain things that they can do and audibles they can make. I think it’s coming along pretty good.

On if he spoke to Smith over the phone when he handled it internally…

As an organization, we handled that. They talked to him so it was fine. It wasn’t that big of a deal.

On an expected timetable for Smith to return to the team…

I don’t know, that’s up to the doctors and the healing process. I couldn’t tell you at this time. Hopefully soon, but I couldn’t give you a date.

On if Chan Gailey and Fitzpatrick’s relationship has paid off …

I mean, it’s been paying off since he got here, since he got started with training camp. They understand each other very well. He understands what Chan is trying to do, so they’ve been working together for a long time. That clicks all the time.

On the chemistry between Marshall and Eric Decker…

They push each other to get better. They compete, they push each other, they talk on the sideline. Just to have Brandon to come in this spring and click with Decker has been good.

On if Smith’s timetable changed after surgery…

As what I was told, it’s about the same.

On Jeremy Kerley still getting first team reps during practice…

That’s a personnel grouping, that’s not necessarily a couple of things. Quincy Enunwa is a bigger guy so you can quasi have another wide out and a blocker at the same time and do some things. We’re just looking at it as a different role. It has nothing to do with (Jeremy) Kerley.

Dec 28, 2014; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; New York Jets wide receiver Jeremy Kerley (11) in the first quarter at Sun Life Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Barr-USA TODAY Sports

On if Kerley is the top slot receiver …

They’re competing for it. Right now, he is, but everybody is competing for it. We’ll see when a couple of games happen what happens.

On if he has an expectation on whether Devin Smith will be available for the regular season opener…

Not yet, no.

On if training camp is hot enough…

It’s getting there. Tempers are flaring, so I guess it’s a little hot. It can be a little hotter.

On if Nick Mangold and D’Brickashaw Ferguson were allowed to rest today…

Yes.

On if Cromartie has struggled during camp…

No, I don’t. I think he has some technical errors here and there. He’s made some good plays. He’s given up some plays. He’s just got to hone in on his technique. He’ll be fine.

On his belief that Cromartie typically improves as training camp progresses…

He works on different things every day. Until you know what coverage he is in, you’ve got to see what he’s working on so you can’t really look at it and say he got beat here or he got beat there. So we have different things that we give him to work on every day.

On whether he wants to see Lorenzo Mauldin throttle back or continue to play at full speed…

You want to see him go full speed. You want to see him play smarter. His first time out the box, he was a little anxious. Probably hyperventilated in warmup a little bit, got gassed a little early, but he’ll be better.

On whether Cromartie takes risks and exposes himself…

No, he’s a football player. All the guys at some point in time, you get a chance to make a football play, you have to make a calculated decision. He’s not doing anything the other 11 aren’t doing.

On what plays Dakota Dozier was struggling with…

I think all of (the offensive lineman), after the second group and all of the third group was struggling, period. They were struggling to sustain, they were struggling with power, they struggled, period, on both sides of the ball.

On whether Smith is able to eat to sustain his weight and conditioning…

I haven’t seen him. I don’t know exactly what he’s eating. I’m assuming, and I’m not a doctor so don’t quote me on this, but you can drink protein shakes or something from a straw, but I have no idea about his meal plan. Hopefully, he doesn’t lose too much weight. You get stuff in your jaw, I think it’s going to be tough.

May 27, 2015; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets quarterback Geno Smith (7) hands the ball to New York Jets running back Bilal Powell (29) during organized team activities at Atlantic Health Jets Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports

On Smith’s physical activity…

Well (the trainers and doctors) said he couldn’t do anything physical so I’m going by the rules of what they said so he doesn’t get an infection.

On whether it is disappointing to see pictures of Smith tossing a football…

It’s not disappointing. It’s something you don’t want to do and we addressed it.

On whether Smith tossing a football is something that warrants discipline…

No.

On Chris Owusu’s progress…

He’s coming along. He’s getting better by the day. Obviously, it’s taking a while. He’s had a history of it and he’s coming along.

On whether he thinks there be any more camp fights after today…

Probably (Laughter).

On why he thinks there will be more fights…

Testosterone. You get tired, guys are out there for a long time. It’s football.

On Pryor…

I’ve seen him maturely handle assignments and do everything he’s supposed to do. You don’t hear a lot out of him. He’s vocal on the field. He does his assignments. He gets better. He understands football. We can talk, other than coach/player, we can talk talk. I can see things he’s going through and help him along that way along with Coach (Joe) Danna and Coach (Daylon) McCutcheon. It’s his second year, he had a humbling his first year so right now he’s just all about working and he’s getting better and I can appreciate that.

On Pryor’s ability to have a breakout season now that the team has added cornerbacks…

I don’t know if it’s the cornerbacks. He has to play his own position. He’s got to have a good season just to have a good season. I don’t know if it will be a breakout or what, but he should get comfortable in his second year with taking care of his body and the weight program and understand how the league works and as far as the amount of games you have to play so I think he’s settling in that way.

On Pryor’s potential for growth…

Yeah, he’s got a lot of potential for growth.

Dec 28, 2014; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; New York Jets free safety Calvin Pryor (25) reacts against the Miami Dolphins during the second half at Sun Life Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

On how players can strike a balance between physicality and going too far on the field…

I mean it’s a fine line. You want to be very physical and nobody wants get their butts kicked. You see the same guy every day and you’re fighting him every day physically and to get into a fist fight is what we don’t want because you can break your hand on a helmet, you can hurt somebody. We’re not trying to hurt each other. At the end of the day, we all need each other, but it’s a fine line. The mess-talking, the bravado and swagger and everything is fine but you have to understand situational football at the same time. You can’t fight and be braggadocious and be loud if you don’t understand what’s going on in the game. That makes for a dumb player and we are not trying to have dumb players.

On whether he talked a lot as a player…

I actually did not. I had a few games here and there, but I did not talk a lot.

On whether he got into any fights in training camp as a player…

Yes I did (laughter).

On how many fights…

I don’t know, there’s been a couple (laughter). Some of them you jump in because it’s your teammate and some of them, you get a little tussle but nothing big.

On whether he won the fights…

I didn’t get hurt, so I must have been okay (laughter).

Next: Coffee with the New York Jets: Why Geno, why?

New York Jets: Todd Bowles reprimands team on skirmishes

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