Veteran center Ryan Kalil used his playing experience as a teaching moment in the New York Jets’ players-only meeting last week.
On Monday of last week, one day removed from the New York Jets‘ fourth consecutive loss to begin the season, veterans called a players-only meeting. This team, even with their No. 1 quarterback Sam Darnold out with mononucleosis, still needed to find a way to come together as one, and quickly.
Veterans that took leadership for the meeting included Steve McLendon, Jamal Adams and one of the older guys on the team in center Ryan Kalil. The latter 34-year-old veteran ultimately used the experience he has in the pros as a teaching moment for this ballclub.
“One of the advantages you have playing a long time is you get to see all the different kinds of seasons and all different kinds of games, so you have experience to draw from,” Kalil told Mark Cannizzaro of the New York Post. “My message was that I’ve probably been in every kind of situation you can think of, and the thing that I’ve learned over 13 years is not to ride the roller coaster.
Kalil’s words must’ve struck a chord with this organization. New York won its first game less than a week after the players met. Gang Green defeated the Dallas Cowboys by a score of 24-22 on Sunday.
Kalil and the offensive line started to come together in the victory as well. In the first four games, they allowed 23 sacks, an average of 5.75 per game. Against Dallas, they only allowed two.
