Mike White’s first NFL start ended with a win, and with fans inside MetLife Stadium chanting his name – something he had to do a double-take on as he heard it late in the game.
“At first I had to listen again, like, are they chanting my name?” White smiled in his postgame media conference. “But I had to stay locked in the game, so my only hope was that they weren’t going to do while we were at the line of scrimmage or in the huddle, so I could hear.”
White had never heard that any level, even while putting up monster numbers at Western Kentucky,
“That’s Mike F’n White – he’s a savage, an animal, a dog,” running back Ty Johnson said. “I knew he was going to have a game. He’s a gunslinger, and he was slinging that thing.”
“He deserved that. You saw what he did today. They should be chanting his name, he earned it,” added fellow running back Michael Carter. “He’s one of the first guys in here every day, and every rep someone else takes, he takes it in his head. He plays the game the right way and treats it with respect.”
Carter and Johnson both had big days – the former had 24 total touches for 172 yards and a touchdown, the latter nine touches for 86 and a score – but it’s because of what they DIDN’T do early on that allowed them to have success.
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“(Offensive coordinator Mike) LaFleur came to me Saturday and said he was gonna let it rip to start the game, because he thought they’d be tight and not let us run the ball,” White said. “So, we were able to soften them up and get our run came and screen game going. The decision to cut it loose early kind of caught them off guard, and we were able to execute the offense from then on. They play a lot of zone and don’t like to let guys get behind them. I think we did a great job of taking what they gave us and executing the plan.”
Indeed, the Jets’ first drive started with five straight passes, although the biggest one (a 30-yard completion to Denzel Mims) was called back, and eight of the 11 plays on the opening touchdown march were through the air.
The next two drives, despite ending in interceptions, were similar, and that allowed the Jets to mix it up later on, working in a lot of underneath routes and allowing Carter to have a career day.
“We knew they were going to play a lot of zone, so we had a lot of underneath routes that Mike could get to quick,” Johnson said. “Coach LaFleur gave him the right tools and put it in his hands, and it all came to fruition.”
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“A lot of credit to coach LaFleur. He did a great job today putting us in a position to win, and we went out and executed,” Carter added. “The game of football is take what they give you. That’s what we did and it worked out in our favor.”
White said he “knew there would be completions out there” after watching Cincinnati’s defense on film, but it was up to the team to go out and execute. That they did, to the tune of over 500 yards of total offense, but it was those first two drives that set the tone for success.
“It was a matter of making great decisions and guys running good routes. That’s what we did,” White said. “I compare this to being a three-point shooter – when their shots aren’t falling, they try to get to the line to see the ball go in. For us, seeing those chains keep moving, it helps everyone calm down and get in a rhythm. I want to get everyone involved in the game and get them a feel for it, so their first play isn’t a big third down in the second quarter.”
They even threw in a little razzle-dazzle, with White catching a two-point conversion pass from Jamison Crowder, who also made another throw earlier in the game on a play that was incomplete but saw the Jets draw a pass interference penalty.
“We’ve been practicing that for weeks now and we finally got in a situation where we could call it,” White smiled. “We got to the line and it was a perfect look, but Crowder threw an awesome ball and all that went through my mind was don’t drop it.”
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Of course, they also had an injury scare with White when he was pushed head first into one of his offensive lineman, but in true gamer fashion, he just rubbed some medicated balm on it and got back in there on the next drive.
“A little sore on the side of my neck, but that’s it; I probably stayed down a little too long, and I was thinking about it like ‘oh no, now I’m going to have to go do follow the finger,” White said. “But I felt fine, so they rubbed some balm on it and I was good. I was trying to watch the game through the mesh of the blue tent, but as soon as I got out there, I got the tablet and got right back into the flow.”
White didn’t know when his day would come, and he also doesn’t know when his day will end, even if head coach Robert Saleh said after the game that an extended run could be a possibility. For now, though, he’s taking things one day at a time.
“Today was fun, and I personally did a good job not making it more than it is – and the coaches’ and team’s faith in me helped that. They were supportive and it made it that much easier,” White said. “I have an immense amount of faith in myself, and today was an affirmation for it, but my mindset is execute the job that’s given to me, and attack every day in whatever role I’m in.”
And, while it was surely nice for White to be able to celebrate with numerous family and friends in attendance, tomorrow isn’t just another day – it’s day one of a four-day week that ends with a Thursday Night Football showdown with the Colts.
“Use the rest of the day to celebrate, because we’ve earned it, but it’s a short week, so we have to move on and get ready for the Colts,” White said.
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