Sam Darnold believes the Jets can be competitive.
The 22-year-old quarterback has been sidelined with mono and New York has been blown out in both of the games he has missed. Darnold addressed the team's struggles when he met with reporters Monday.
“I think, for me, I’m just going to go in there and control what I can control. Obviously, we need to fix some details at other spots as well, we’re not blind to that,” Darnold said at a press conference (via the team's official website). “It’s just about going out there in practice, in the meeting rooms, in walkthrough and not being shy about it either, not being worried about anyone’s feelings. It’s about getting this stuff right and we’re going to get it right. It’s just a matter of time.
"We’re going to go on a little run here. It’s going to be fun, but it’s going to take a lot of work. I know a lot of the guys on the team are willing to put in that work.”
The Jets will have a bye week before facing the Eagles in Philadelphia on Oct. 6. Darnold said previously he's hoping to be back on the field for that game.
“Even if everything was great and we were 3-0, I’d want to be out there helping the team,” Darnold said. “For me, as a competitor, I’ve always wanted to go out there and help my team win, so I’m anxious to do that and get healthy as fast as I can.”
Jets running back Le'Veon Bell also expects the team to bounce back from its slow start.
“It’s a team thing, it’s not just the quarterback," Bell said Monday. "Football is a game of three phases. It’s offense, defense, and special teams, right? ... Offensively we’ve got to get better. Regardless of if Sam (Darnold) is in the game or not we’ve got to protect him. We’ve still got to make plays on the outside. We’ve got to just clean up the little things and we’ll be fine.”
The Jets will enter their matchup against Philadelphia with an 0-3 record.