Steve McLendon speaks out from the heart about Jets

Defensive tackle Steve McLendon of the New York Jets spoke to the media after Sunday’s loss about the current state of the franchise. He spoke from the heart and was 100 percent accurate in what is really happening.

Make no mistake about it, the New York Jets are easily one of the worst teams in the NFL. This franchise has many more problems besides which quarterback they plan to start under center. From bad coaching, missed tackles, players not playing up to their potential, and a lack of execution, the Jets are a disaster.

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It’s a shame since the Jets had such high aspirations heading into the regular season based on last year but the truth of the matter is, no one really expected this. With a tough schedule and a team filled with a plethora of aging veterans, it’s no secret why they haven’t been able to find consistent success.

With yet another loss thanks to another abysmal team in the Los Angeles Rams, the Jets are now 3-7 as hopes of making a run in the NFL Playoffs are gone. Now, all the Jets can focus on is taking things one week at a time and well, finding some positives to take into the long offseason ahead.

Defensive tackle Steve McLendon recently chimed in his thoughts on the current state of the Jets after Sunday’s loss to the Rams. Here is what he had to say, courtesy of the Media Relations Department of the Jets:

On where the team goes from here…

We’re going into the Bye Week and we understand that as a team, we want to win. Especially as a defensive line, we have to stop the run, we have to do more. I have to do more. I have to do better. I have to see things faster. Some of those runs, I’d rather put on me than the team anyway because I take pride in (stopping) the run. Right now, we’re going into a bye week and when we come back off that bye week, we have New England and we know New England is going to watch this film and New England is going to try to come out fast and hard on us. We have to learn how to just build off the little things, just continue to play smart. We have to continue to play fast. We have to play smart and continue to play fast.

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On how hard it is to say the defense has to do more when they held the Rams to no touchdowns…

Still, giving them any points. The standard is the standard. The standard is no points. Anytime we’re on the field, we have to stop them and they got more stops than we did, so they won.

On what he still has left to play for…

First of all, you have to play for this organization. You have to play for the name on your back. You have to play for pride. Let’s see where the chips fall. Let’s try to steal one out. I’ve been in this league for a long time, anything can happen. Anything can happen. I’m going to come to practice every day ready to work, ready to play, ready to just get better. I’m still learning. I’m the first to say it. It takes a lot to come in this locker room after a loss, especially when you know you were well prepared coming into this game.

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Overall, McLendon’s true assessment of what he plans to do is admirable. At a time where fans and analysts question the true commitment across the roster, McLendon takes full ownership on what he controls and at least for now, offers to give even more hustle to end the season on a positive note.