FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Todd Bowles’ predecessor would have all 53 players on the roster frothing at the mouth in an anticipation fueled by rage and the desperate chase for respect by the time they stepped off the team buses on game day.
Rex Ryan used to love using the phrase: “Play like your hair’s on fire.”
That often led to mixed results for Ryan’s Jets, who sometimes were too amped up and other times lost focus and discipline, perhaps because too much emphasis was placed on particular games and not enough on others.
In stark contrast, Bowles will bring a Jets team into Gillette Stadium on Sunday to play the AFC rival Patriots that is quiet and confident, a team not intimidated by the defending Super Bowl champions, one relishing the chance to change the narrative in a division the Patriots have owned for more than a decade.