Helter Skelter » Giving quarterbacks big money doesn’t guarantee success

The NFL’s six highest-paid quarterbacks in 2018 will be spectators this postseason. Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers ($33.5 million) Daniel Jones Jersey , Atlanta’s Matt Ryan ($30 million), Minnesota’s Kirk Cousins ($28 million), San Francisco’s Jimmy Garoppolo ($27.5 million), Detroit’s Matthew Stafford ($27 million) and Oakland’s Derek Carr ($25 million) couldn’t lead their teams to the playoffs.Only Cousins had a winning record (8-7-1), and he failed in a do-or-die game in the regular-season finale. Cousins, who received a three-year, fully guaranteed, $84 million contract, struggled in a 24-10 loss to the Chicago Bears that eliminated the Vikings.Of the top six on the salary list, only Rodgers has won a Super Bowl. Ryan is 4-6 in the playoffs, Stafford is 0-3 and Cousins is 0-1. Carr and Garoppolo haven’t made a postseason start.Among the 12 starting quarterbacks still playing, six are still under their rookie contract and another — Nick Foles — is a backup.Here’s a look at a few more numbers entering wild-card weekend:SETTING RECORDS: New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees broke his own record with a 74.4 completion percentage, the highest in a season in NFL history. … Philadelphia’s Zach Ertz set a record for most receptions by a tight end (116). … San Francisco’s George Kittle set a record for most yards receiving by a tight end (1,377). … Teams combined to score 1,371 total touchdowns, the highest total in a season. … Eight quarterbacks had a passer rating of 100 or higher, most in a season.LAST MAN STANDING: Philadelphia’s Doug Pederson is the only one of seven coaches hired in 2016 still with his team. Adam Gase (23-26, Miami) Quincy Williams II Jersey , Chip Kelly (2-14, San Francisco), Hue Jackson (3-36-1, Cleveland), Mike Mularkey (19-17, Tennessee), Dirk Koetter (19-29, Tampa Bay) and Ben McAdoo (13-16, Giants) all were fired, some sooner than others.WORST TO FIRST: The Bears (12-4) and Texans (11-5) won their divisions after finishing in last place in 2017. The Eagles won the Super Bowl last year after going worst-to-first in the NFC East.THE NEWCOMERS: Seven teams who weren’t in the playoffs last season qualified this year. All seven — Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Indianapolis, the Los Angeles Chargers and Seattle — will play this weekend. Since the 12-team playoff format was adopted in 1990, at least four teams have qualified for the playoffs in every season that were not in the postseason the previous year.WILD-CARD CHAMPS: Nine teams who played wild-card games have won the Super Bowl, including the 1980 Raiders, 1997 Broncos Ryquell Armstead Jersey , 2000 and 2012 Ravens, 2005 Steelers, 2006 Colts, 2007 and 2011 Giants and 2010 Packers.TOUGHEST ROAD: The Eagles and Colts are each trying to become only the third No. 6 seed to win a Super Bowl, joining the 2005 Steelers and 2010 Packers.EASIEST ROAD: Since 1975, 49 of the 86 teams (57 percent) to reach the Super Bowl were No. 1 seeds. In that span, 20 No. 2 seeds, four No. 3, nine No. 4, two No. 5 and two No. 6 made it. Over the past five years, nine of 10 No. 1 seeds played in the Super Bowl. Only the 2016 Cowboys didn’t get in.WELCOME TO THE DANCE: Four quarterbacks will make their postseason debut as starters. Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson, Chicago’s Mitchell Trubisky and Houston’s Deshaun Watson play this weekend. Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes has a bye.STINGY DEFENSE: In three of the past four seasons, the teams with the stringiest regular-season scoring defense have advanced to the Super Bowl. The Bears led the league with the fewest points allowed per game (17.7) this season. FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — Joe Douglas stepped to the podium with a big smile — and plenty of pressure.The new general manager of the New York Jets is a burly, bearded symbol of hope for a franchise desperate to find its way back to respectability.The 42-year-old Douglas paid his dues for years as an assistant in the front offices in Baltimore, Chicago and Philadelphia. He’s now the main man for the first time, and he assured Jets fans that he’s more than up to the task.“You’re getting a general manager that is a relentless worker,” Douglas said Tuesday during his introductory news conference at the team’s facility. “Someone that understands a winning culture. Someone that is going to strive to put a product on the field each Sunday that competes for greatness and that I hope will make you proud.”Douglas’ hiring last Friday night marked the end of a tumultuous offseason stretch for the Jets Gardner Minshew II Jersey , who stunningly fired Mike Maccagnan last month — only weeks after he oversaw the team’s draft, spent big bucks in free agency and played a key role in hiring Adam Gase as coach to replace Todd Bowles.The timing was odd, and the Jets were criticized by some for appearing to lack focus and direction.Now, they have Douglas and Gase, who built what the GM called “a special bond” during a stint with the Bears and can’t wait to turn things around in New York.The Jets haven’t made the playoffs since the 2010 season, when Mike Tannenbaum was the GM and Rex Ryan the coach. New York is now on its third GM and second coach since the franchise finished one win away from getting to the Super Bowl — in which it hasn’t appeared since 1969.“Simply stated, Joe is the right person at the right time who our fan base will get to know and love,” team chairman and CEO Christopher Johnson said. “I feel that we now have the right people in charge of our football operations.”Douglas didn’t make any bold proclamations or flashy guarantees, but acknowledged he’s stepping into a unique situation — mainly because he’s already got a franchise quarterback in Sam Darnold leading the way.“There’s a lot of exciting pieces on this roster,” Douglas said, pointing out linebacker C.J. Mosley and running back Le’Veon Bell. “But it starts and stops with quarterbacks. It’s the most important position in all of professional sports.”Darnold is entering his second NFL season and coming off an impressive season-ending stretch during which he threw six touchdown passes and just one interception while completing 64% of his throws in his final four games.“I’ll say this: Building around a young quarterback, there was a sense of urgency in Philadelphia,” Douglas said, referring to the Eagles‘ Carson Wentz. “We had a young quarterback and we wanted to put the pieces around him.“I think there’s going to be that same urgency anywhere, but especially here with a young quarterback like Sam.”Douglas will have control over the 53-man roster, and he and Gase will report directly to Johnson. The coach and GM aren’t concerned about any perceived potential conflicts where they might not be on the same page — something that apparently caused some friction between Gase and Maccagnan, although both insisted that wasn’t the case.“We’re both competitors,” Gase said. “And we hate losing.”Douglas and Gase spent only the 2015 season together in Chicago Christian Wilkins Jersey , but Douglas said he and Gase — then the Bears’ offensive coordinator — clicked instantly and recognized that they shared similar philosophies on building a winning program.“His evaluation skills are unbelievable,” Gase said of Douglas. “Coaches trust him. Like, you don’t hear the squabbles because he does such a great job of evaluating players.”Gase, known for having a high-energy personality on and off the field, thinks there’s already a comfort level between the two.“He’s such an easy guy to connect with,” Gase said. “He probably likes my insanity a little bit.”After Johnson told Gase last Friday night that he decided to hire Douglas, the coach quickly reached out to his old buddy — a few times.“It was, ‘When are you coming up? When are you coming up?'” Gase said.Douglas reiterated that he learned collaboration between the front office, scouts and coaches is the way to be successful, first in Baltimore under Ozzie Newsome and then in Philadelphia under Howie Roseman.There were reports that Douglas was going back-and-forth during the interview process, trying to decide whether to stay with the Eagles or join the Jets.“I would say that if there were serious reservations, I wouldn’t be here answering the questions that I’m answering,” Douglas said. “We had the interview (last) Sunday and then had multiple discussions up until Friday night that led to me being here.”Douglas said he would spend the rest of this week getting together with the coaching staff to go over the roster, check out the remaining practices and begin to put his front-office staff together.And then, they’ll prepare for the season.“This is a game of wills,” Douglas said. “And we’re going to try to build a team that can impose its will on other teams.”