Glenn in his media availability before practice put it well regarding the departures of two first-round/Pro Bowl/All-Pro players from the roster: "The one constant in this league is change. This is a fluid game, fellas. Players come and go, coaches come and go."
Fields had a similar take on the business side of the NFL. "That's one thing in this league that doesn't change, and that is change," he said. "You have to adjust to it. The team that adjusts best keeps on going and ascending."
It can get confusing but Topic 2, which became Topic 1-A at midweek, could also be split into two parallel lines of inquiry, since with players departing, other players often arrive on the scene. In the case of the Jets' trades with Colts and with the Eagles a day earlier for CB Michael Carter II, Fields and the offense gained the services of two promising wideouts in Adonai Mitchell and John Metchie III.
"First and foremost, I'm excited to have those guys on the team," Fields said. "They're really talented, great football players. It's going to be kind of a slow process, but hopefully we'll catch them up to speed, a few plays at a time as each week goes along. ... These guys are very intensive and smart. I don't think they'll have any problem picking things up."
Glenn concurred on the Mitchell/Metchie acclimation process: "I don't know how long it's going to take to get those guys ready to play, but we're going to do everything we can to get them up to speed."
But the main topic now isn't who's starting or how the Jets are feeling about the departures of key defensive components. It's whether they can pair their 39-38 win at Cincinnati two Sundays ago with a second consecutive win, at home against the Browns.
"We've been building one thing since Week 1," Fields said. "A lot of those games were one-score games. Last game, we just happened to be on the other side of this one-score game this time. We know games are going to be like that week in and week out. But I think the biggest thing is building on this win and taking that into next week."
A day later, Glenn said: "It was an intense day. And now we're looking forward to playing Cleveland."