Eric Decker is aware that he will be under a microscope during the 2014 season. After a career-high season with the Denver Broncos, the wide receiver will no longer have the luxury of Peyton Manning throwing him passes. Now, he enters his first season with the New York Jets where he is not totally sure who he will be working with, something that could seriously hurt his productivity in 2014.
Decker is admitting the obvious; the New York Jets are not the Denver Broncos and are nowhere near ready to be considered as Super Bowl contenders. According to the wide receiver, several adjustments still need to be made as the offense and defense work to gain chemistry at the start of voluntary offseason workouts. After signing a five-year, $36.25 million deal, Decker is expected to be a big part of that and he is trying to adjust.
"This offseason is going to be big for me," Decker said, via YahooSports.com. "Just to build a relationship with the receivers in my room and the quarterbacks, Geno, Michael, and just getting to work. If you put in the time in the offseason, if you stay in the playbook and understand things, that gives you the best opportunity to do those things. I'm not going to promise numbers or statistics. That stuff will take care of itself."
The receiver will have plenty to adjust to considering the Jets have yet to name a starting quarterback. With Geno Smith returning and Michael Vick having signed on, head coach Rex Ryan announced there would be an ongoing quarterback competition to see how gets the starting job. Decker has played for three different quarterbacks in four years and understands that uncertainty at the position can put a lot of stress on the receiver.
"It's important to have that relationship with your quarterback," Decker said. "When you're on the field, he wants to trust his receivers are going to be in the right spot. As a receiver, you want to trust he's going to put the right ball on you so you don't take hits, or he understands when you get in and out of routes. Those things take time. Like a couple of years ago, built that relationship with Peyton. Before that, Tim. Before that, Kyle Orton. It's part of the game. That's football. It happens in a lot of places. You get very lucky if you get one quarterback your entire career. "
Decker admits that he will miss playing under Manning. The wide receiver credits the veteran quarterback as being one of the best ever and he says he took a lot away from his time under Manning. That will come in handy with the Jets.
