Joe Benigno isn’t shy about the world knowing that as much as he wants Adam Gase ousted as head coach of his favorite team, he also would love to see a total housecleaning.
Linebacker Avery Williamson, who joins Joe & Evan every Tuesday, is on the short list of players Joe doesn’t want to see leave, even if he could’ve been a little better with his interception return on Sunday.
“Man, I didn’t see the cutback! I thought I was gonna get around the edge and beat ‘em with speed!” he laughed. “Thinking about you guys must have been in my head! I’ve never scored a touchdown, so that’s why I was so upset – I felt like Jim Brown when I had the ball in my hands, or more like Willis McGahee!”
All laughs about the situation, as Joe and Evan both joked that they knew the Jets wouldn’t score a touchdown if Williamson didn’t (spoiler: they were right, as the Jets took a delay of game on the first offensive play of the series).
“I was thinking, ‘man, I hope we can still punch it in,’” he said. “I got it down there, and unfortunately we didn’t, but it’s one of those things.”
There seem to be a lot of those things piling up, though, but no matter what’s going on around him, Williamson has kept himself prepared as his playing time has ramped up.
“My position coaches told me that I was going to be rolling through this week, so I was ready,” Williamson said. “I was up for the challenge, ready to fly around and make plays. I’ve been feeling really good, and feel like each week I’ve been improving. I’m a competitor, and I want to be out there all the time.”
And yes, while Joe is ready for everyone to go, Williamson is on the short list – and if it were up to the pending free agent, he would be a leader of Gang Green long-term.
“I definitely want to be a part of this,” Williamson said. “This is home now. I hate the situation we’re in and want to see it improve, and I’d love to be here and be a building block for the New York Jets. I’m just going to keep playing hard and we’ll see what happens; I know it’s a business, and you never can tell, but the main thing for me is making sure I leave a good impression on that field every week.”
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