It was seemingly contradictory advice coming from Curtis Martin. The veteran running back was telling rookie Leon Washington to slow down.
"The most helpful thing he told me was to be more patient," Washington said. "He told me to wait for my blockers and my openings. At first I was just trying to bounce out, but this is the NFL, you can't just do that."
Washington is learning to balance patience and urgency, a balance the Jets need him to master to fill the void left by the injured Martin. Yesterday, the undersized rookie out of Florida State ran for a season-high 129 yards on 20 carries and scored his first two NFL touchdowns in the Jets' 31-24 win over the Lions.
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