Jets Center Wesley Johnson Blames Himself For Petty Injury
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) — Wesley Johnson watched his quarterback writhing on the turf and knew it was all his fault.
Bryce Petty was sandwiched last Saturday by Miami's Cameron Wake and Ndamukong Suh while throwing a pass in the New York Jets' 34-13 loss, suffering a bruised chest that looked to be a lot worse at first. X-rays and a CT scan were negative, and Petty will start Saturday at New England.
Petty, coach Todd Bowles and offensive coordinator Chan Gailey all called the play a "miscommunication," but Johnson shouldered the blame.
"I appreciate them all saying it was a 'miscommunication,' but yeah, I snapped it early," Johnson told The Associated Press on Thursday. "That's why none of the other guys were moving."
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In replays, the ball is seen snapped by Johnson — starting in place of the injured Nick Mangold — to Petty, but the rest of the offense line doesn't appear ready to block . That left Wake and Suh with clear lanes to Petty in the backfield.
"That was a mistake that turned into a bad one," Johnson said. "It was on me."
The team first announced that Petty had the breath knocked out of him, but once he got back to the sideline and started throwing some warmup tosses, he felt a burning sensation in his chest.
So, he was taken for X-rays at the stadium and was sidelined the rest of the game.
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"It was a hard hit," Johnson said. "I was worried. It was a pretty low feeling watching my buddy laying there on the ground. I'm glad he's OK."
Then, Johnson smiled.
"I don't feel so bad about it anymore," he added. "He's OK. ... It was a hit, though."
Petty said earlier in the week that Johnson apologized by leaving him a batch of homemade chocolate cookies.
Well, not quite.
"I left two cookies on the hood of his car just because I knew he'd eat them," Johnson said, smiling. "I park next to him in the garage. There was a real apology before that because I felt horrible when he was on the ground. But the cookies had nothing to do with it."
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