You may think the New York Jets are rebuilding, but cornerback Buster Skrine disagrees.
"You can't rebuild in New York," Skrine told ESPN.
Why not?
"Because y'all will eat us up," he said with a smile, alluding to the media. "Ain't no rebuilding here. It's getting right to the point. This is a competing team. We still have the players to compete."
Skrine became the first holdover to comment publicly on the Jets' dramatic roster shakeup. In case you've been snoozing, they said goodbye to household names such as Darrelle Revis, Nick Mangold and Brandon Marshall, among others, replacing them with younger, cheaper and less established players.
Coach Todd Bowles and general manager Mike Maccagnan have provided their take on the offseason strategy, but those who survived the Great Roster Purge have remained quiet. ESPN caught up with Skrine last weekend at a charity event in Manhattan.
Skrine said he hasn't been surprised by anything.
"I'm going into my seventh year and I played for Cleveland, so I've seen it happen," he said. "Sometimes you have to figure out the right formula for the team, and I trust Coach Bowles. Every morning, he's up at 4:30. I trust Maccagnan. I trust everybody. I know they've got something up their sleeve. They're going to make it work.
"At the end of the year, Bowles said, 'I'm not going to let y'all down this year. We're going to make it work. We're going to come in and I know things are going to change.' I know, going into next season, it's going to be a different atmosphere. I'm looking forward to it."
Skrine didn't want to dwell on last season's 5-11 disaster, except to say, "It didn't click like we wanted it to." There were well-documented chemistry and disciplinary issues, casting the Jets as a dysfunctional team.
Without getting into specifics, Skrine suggested the morale will be better now that the locker room chemistry has been altered. He expects Bowles to set the tone April 17, the start of the offseason program.
"I know Coach Bowles, when he says something, he means it," Skrine said. "We'll probably be one of the most organized teams in the league. We're a young team. When you have a younger team, you can tailor your team exactly how you want it to be. I think that's how they want it to be. I think we're going to have a good year.
"I know, coming into this year, our organization, we're going to come in swinging this year."
"You can't rebuild in New York," Skrine told ESPN.
Why not?
"Because y'all will eat us up," he said with a smile, alluding to the media. "Ain't no rebuilding here. It's getting right to the point. This is a competing team. We still have the players to compete."
Skrine became the first holdover to comment publicly on the Jets' dramatic roster shakeup. In case you've been snoozing, they said goodbye to household names such as Darrelle Revis, Nick Mangold and Brandon Marshall, among others, replacing them with younger, cheaper and less established players.
Coach Todd Bowles and general manager Mike Maccagnan have provided their take on the offseason strategy, but those who survived the Great Roster Purge have remained quiet. ESPN caught up with Skrine last weekend at a charity event in Manhattan.
Skrine said he hasn't been surprised by anything.
"I'm going into my seventh year and I played for Cleveland, so I've seen it happen," he said. "Sometimes you have to figure out the right formula for the team, and I trust Coach Bowles. Every morning, he's up at 4:30. I trust Maccagnan. I trust everybody. I know they've got something up their sleeve. They're going to make it work.
"At the end of the year, Bowles said, 'I'm not going to let y'all down this year. We're going to make it work. We're going to come in and I know things are going to change.' I know, going into next season, it's going to be a different atmosphere. I'm looking forward to it."
Skrine didn't want to dwell on last season's 5-11 disaster, except to say, "It didn't click like we wanted it to." There were well-documented chemistry and disciplinary issues, casting the Jets as a dysfunctional team.
Without getting into specifics, Skrine suggested the morale will be better now that the locker room chemistry has been altered. He expects Bowles to set the tone April 17, the start of the offseason program.
"I know Coach Bowles, when he says something, he means it," Skrine said. "We'll probably be one of the most organized teams in the league. We're a young team. When you have a younger team, you can tailor your team exactly how you want it to be. I think that's how they want it to be. I think we're going to have a good year.
"I know, coming into this year, our organization, we're going to come in swinging this year."
