Jets Captain Demario Davis Rejects Pressure to Change Course After 1-3 Start

Demario Davis, the New York Jets’ veteran linebacker and one of six team captains, pushed back Thursday against growing doubts about the team’s direction after a 1-3 start left the franchise at 4-17 under coach Aaron Glenn.

“The sense of urgency isn’t changing, and that’s when you know you’re doing the right [things]. If you need to change your process when things are going wrong, that means you weren’t doing the right things early on, and that’s one of the good things about this organization,” Davis said after practice. “Two things that this group is going to do: It’s not going to flinch, it’s not going to waver. We haven’t gotten the results that we wanted, but we’re not going to flinch.”

“We got the right guys that are resilient. But we’re also not going to waver. We’re not going to change our process. We’re just going to do the little things a little bit better, and that’s what we’re working towards,” he added.

The Jets have dropped three straight, including a 23-12 loss to a Chicago Bears team missing starting quarterback Caleb Williams. Chicago ran 89 plays to New York’s 32 and outgained the Jets 492-157, a disparity the final score didn’t fully reflect. The result followed a tight, frustrating seven-point loss to the Detroit Lions in Week 3.

Glenn, whose name has appeared on early-season coaching hot-seat lists amid fan frustration, has urged the team to ignore outside noise about the franchise’s recent history. Davis, a 37-year-old five-time All-Pro, said he isn’t second-guessing Glenn or the organization’s approach.

“Our process doesn’t change. It’s the right way,” Davis said. “I’ve been around a lot of programs, and we’re doing the things that lead to winning. Unfortunately, we haven’t gotten those results on Sunday. But we continue to sharpen the process. We continue to come back to work and we work the right way.”

“When you’re trying to build a sustainable winning organization, you have to be able to make those plays in those moments, and that’s what we’re working to do. We have enough guys in this room that can make those plays,” he said.

Davis acknowledged the defense was “little shocked” by the past two weeks’ results after a strong start to the season, though he pointed to four takeaways against Chicago as a sign of progress, even with three of them negated by penalties.

Rather than dwell on the Bears loss, Davis said his attention has already turned to Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns, who have won three straight. “With this group,” he said, “we’re going to respond the right way.”