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Quinnen Williams Is Not Listening to Criticism of Winless Jets

New York Jets defensive tackle Quinnen Williams had some strong comments about criticism of his winless team, making it clear he's ignoring all negative criticism.

Max Goodman

The Jets are winless through Week 3 for the third straight year. They were embarrassed on Sunday in Denver, losing 26-0 to the Broncos.

That said, star defensive lineman Quinnen Williams doesn't believe this team deserves any criticism.

"We still don't want to hear that s---," Williams told reporters on Monday.

One of the best players on one of the league's worst teams, it sounded like frustration was setting in for the former first-round pick. Williams was coming off his first breakout performance of the year—recording 1.5 sacks against the Broncos—but when your team gets shellacked the way they did, negative comments are going to come your way, especially in New York. 

Williams laughed the situation off as a reporter pressed with another question. Eventually, he opened up with more about what he meant.

"I'm saying that people who have negative stuff to say about Zach [Wilson] and the team, we're not listening to it," Williams explained. "We want to keep getting better every single day, because if you listen to the negative things, you can eventually believe in those negative things and go into a tank about those negative things. For me, for this team and for Zach, we're not listening to the negative s--- that is being said."

That's in line with what Williams' teammates were preaching on Sunday in Denver, just in a different way. From Wilson to some of New York's veterans, the message was that this team is better than their winless start, but rebuilds take time. More patience, hard work and execution will be required before desired results start to show.

"People can hate all they want but what’s feeling sorry for ourselves going to do," Wilson told reporters on Sunday. "We need to keep our confidence high and just understand that we’re in this position for a reason. We have the talent, we have the players, and we have the coaches in the scheme to get this thing done.”

READ: Zach Wilson Believes Brutal Start to Season Will Make Jets Better

Even if Williams has a point, defending his teammates who are going to battle on Sundays, there's plenty of evidence supporting the widespread criticism that's blanketing this team. The Jets are 2-17 since the start of last season. They've been outscored 70-20 so far this year. The mistakes are glaring between the lines and levels of concern are slowly starting to grow off of it. 

The good thing for this group, however, is they have plenty of time to right the ship. That starts this weekend with a Week 4 matchup against the 2-1 Titans.

"We’re three games in and it’s round one of a 15-round fight," coach Robert Saleh said Monday. "It’s not like our faces are broken or anything. We've just got to continue to work and try to find a way to get better."

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Max Goodman
MAX GOODMAN

Max Goodman covers the New York Jets for Sports Illustrated and FanNation. He also covers the New York Yankees, publisher  of Sports Illustrated and FanNation's Yankees site, Inside The Pinstripes. Before starting out with SI, Goodman attended Northwestern University and the Medill School of Journalism. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism and Master’s Degree in Sports Media, graduating in 2019. While at school, Goodman gathered valuable experience as an anchor and reporter on NNN SportsNight and played on the club baseball team. Goodman previously interned at MLB.com as an associate reporter covering the Miami Marlins. He also interned with ESPN, working as an associate reporter on Mike Greenberg's Get Up. Goodman is from New York City. He grew up in Hell's Kitchen. Follow Goodman on Twitter @MaxTGoodman and connect with him via email by reaching out at maxgoodmansports@gmail.com.

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