Jermaine Kearse was far from pleased last week when he heard the details of the NFL’s new policy on the national anthem.

The veteran wide receiver and his New York Jets teammates couldn’t be happier Colts Kemoko Turay Jersey , though, to have the full support of acting owner Christopher Johnson.

”For me personally, I’m very appreciative of him,” Kearse said after practice Tuesday. ”I think he kind of gets it.”

NFL owners voted last Wednesday to require players to stand for the anthem or stay in the locker room. Teams will be fined if players don’t stand. Some players have been kneeling during the playing of ”The Star-Spangled Banner” before games the last two seasons to protest police brutality and racial inequality.

”Honestly, I’m disappointed,” Kearse said. ”I think they’re kind of missing the point. For us as a team, I think if you’ve paid attention, nobody on our team kneeled, but that doesn’t mean we don’t support the causes of why people are kneeling.”

Johnson said shortly after the league announced the policy that he will not punish his players for any peaceful protests – and would pay any potential fines incurred by the team as a result of his players’ actions.

”To me, honestly, the conversation about whether players are kneeling or not Joe Mixon Bengals Jersey , I felt like that conversation was dying and it didn’t get brought up until they decided to make the rules,” Kearse said. ”So, I think we’re kind of getting away from the actual cause. I think we’re starting to focus on the kneeling part rather than the cause behind it.

”I wish they would be more like Chris, to be quite honest, and support the players and actively be involved and have those conversations with their players.”

Added coach Todd Bowles: ”It’s always nice to have the owner have your back. It’s about the issues for us. We didn’t have a problem a year ago. We’ll continue to talk as a group, as a team and as an organization, and go forward from there.”

Left tackle Kelvin Beachum echoed Kearse’s sentiments about the NFL’s new policy. Beachum and quarterback Josh McCown are part of the Players Coalition, an advocacy group of NFL players that has had discussions with league owners on social matters.

”It is disappointing, but it is what it is at this point,” Beachum said. ”We’ve been talking about this issue for a number of years and the league finally made a decision. We’re going to still continue to do the work. Our owner supports us in doing that work and he’s with us as we’re doing that work. So we’re not going to keep talking this game and keep talking about the anthem. We’re actually going to do something about it and go find a solution.”

Johnson met with the entire team last week and explained to the players why he voted in favor of the new NFL rule – only San Francisco’s Jed York abstained – while also assuring them they would not be punished by the team if they did not adhere to the league’s policy.

”He’s very supportive of us,” Kearse said. ”I mean Buccaneers Jordan Whitehead Jersey , whether guys choose to or not, he supports our decision – their decision – but like I said, nobody last year kneeled. The fact that he’ll support us any way he can is a very gratifying feeling.”

Johnson took over the day-to-day operations of the team last June from his brother Woody, who is serving as the U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom in President Donald Trump’s administration. Trump frequently has been critical of players who have protested during the anthem, so it would appear a tough spot for the younger Johnson while balancing business, politics and family.

But Christopher Johnson immediately earned his players’ respect last year when he went up to each one in the Jets’ locker room before the team’s home opener against Miami in September and asked if he could stand with them in unity.

Johnson, the players and the coaches stood – arms locked – on the sideline before every remaining game. Several players pointed to the owner’s actions as playing a large role in establishing cohesiveness on a team that stuck together despite a 5-11 record.

But Johnson’s latest stance has become a polarizing issue with some Jets fans and even politicians saying the owner’s support of a player potentially protesting during the anthem is misguided.

”It’s great that he stuck his neck out there,” linebacker Darron Lee said, ”because I know a lot of people feel passionate about that.”

New York Rep. Pete King wrote on Twitter on Saturday that it was ”disgraceful” that Johnson would pay fines for players who would kneel during the anthem. King added that Johnson’s decision was ”encouraging a movement premised on lies vs. police.”

”Would he support all player protests?” King continued. ”Would he pay fines of players giving Nazi salutes or spew racism? It’s time to say goodbye to Jets!”

The Jets have not decided what they will do this year during the national anthem, but Lee said if he had to take ”an educated guess,” he thinks the team will lock arms again. Beachum and Kearse stressed that unity is the top priority with the Jets.

”I think it’s very important that no matter what we do Kolton Miller Youth Jersey , that we do it together,” Kearse said. ”We’re a locker room with different personalities, different thoughts, so not everybody thinks the same. Whatever we choose to do, if we can do it collectively, 鈥?Doug Pederson called for a pass to his quarterback on fourth down, went for 2-point conversions when the chart said otherwise and stuck with the same aggressive approach in the biggest game of his coaching career.The Philadelphia Eagles are Super Bowl champions because they weren’t intimidated and wouldn’t back down just like their coach.“We just wanted to stay aggressive,” Pederson said. “My mentality coming into the game was that I was going to stay aggressive with Nick (Foles), and allow his playmakers to make plays.They made one big play after another in a 41-33 victory over the New England Patriots on Sunday night to win the franchise’s first NFL title since 1960.Pederson was criticized for being too aggressive in his rookie season when the Eagles were 7-9. He didn’t change his philosophy this year, but his players executed the plays.On fourth down from the 1 with 34 seconds left in the first half, running back Corey Clement took a direct snap and pitched to tight end Trey Burton Eagles Dallas Goedert Jersey , who threw to Foles for a touchdown that gave Philadelphia a 22-12 lead.“A quarterback going out on a route? I was pumped to go over there and talk to Doug and we agreed to do it,” Foles said. “We worked on it for a long time and executed perfectly. We’ve been working on it for a month.”Burton was recruited as a quarterback out of high school by Florida. He was confident he’d make the right throw and Foles would make the catch on a play called “Philly Special.”“Coach has some guts,” Burton said. “People don’t realize how great of an athlete Nick is. I would’ve thrown to him even if he was covered. He would’ve gone up to get it.”Other teams who failed to topple New England after taking leads in playoff games were too conservative. Atlanta blew a 28-3 lead in last year’s Super Bowl and Jacksonville had a 20-10 fourth-quarter lead in the AFC championship game.But the Eagles never let up the same way they went after Minnesota in a 38-7 win in the NFC title game two weeks ago.“We wanted to be aggressive,” running back Jay Ajayi said. “We understood that this is a team that doesn’t quit, that plays four quarters and we were going to have to be aggressive all game long. We showed that. We wanted to set the tone early and we wanted to keep our foot on the gas.”Pederson’s aggressive nature almost backfired when he went for a 2-point conversion early in the second quarter because Jake Elliott had missed an extra point on the team’s first score. When it failed, the Eagles led 15-3 and that loomed large when they fell behind 33-32 in the fourth quarter.But Pederson didn’t hesitate going for fourth-and-1 from the Eagles 45 with 5:39 left in the game and the team trailing by one point. Foles tossed a 2-yard pass to Zach Ertz and later connected with Ertz on the go-ahead TD pass .“Doug has been aggressive since he came here,” Ertz said. “That’s part of our identity. It’s a big reason we’re here and now we’re champions.”AP NFL website: .