(Photo: NJ.com)
The New York Jets. J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets. This is a franchise that has been a mess for years now. They haven’t made the playoffs since the 2010 season when Rex Ryan was the Head Coach, Mark Sanchez was the starting Quarterback and they had a Cornerback named Darrelle Revis, who was one of the best players in the NFL at the time before he became a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Since then, the Jets have had four Head Coaches since dismissing Rex of his duties. Todd Bowles was hired in 2015 and was let go in 2018, Adam Gase was hired next and lasted only two years, then, Robert Saleh was hired and was just fired on October 8th. The quarterback has also been an issue with this franchise. Just last April, they acquired Aaron Rodgers from the Green Bay Packers thinking it would fix their problems, but it hasn’t. He got hurt unfortunately and missed the remainder of the year with a torn Achilles. Aaron has returned this year, but the team results haven’t been what many hoped they’d be. After the loss yesterday to the New England Patriots, the Jets now sit at 2-6 and in last place in the AFC East. What exactly is the issue?
The primary source of their struggles is the offense. I’ve said this off the microphone and this site, so now, I’ll say it here. Aaron Rodgers doesn’t scare me as he once did. During his Green Bay days, he could take games over with his arm and attack a defense left and right. He can’t do that now and with him being 40 years old, he looks every bit of it on the field (not everyone can be Tom Brady). In this last month or so, I’ve stated that Aaron can’t throw the football over 40 times, and if he does, that will be a recipe for a loss. When they played the Denver Broncos in week four, Aaron threw the ball 42 times, and in week five against the Minnesota Vikings, he threw the ball 54 times along with three interceptions. Instead of skipping OTA’s, he should’ve been there because he’s not on the same page with his receivers. Another issue has been their Offensive Line. If anything, they should’ve addressed that instead of acquiring Davante Adams. The day they landed the veteran Wide Receiver, I remember saying it did nothing to improve their team. When this offense makes Breece Hall the priority, good things happen. The Jets have a notion that Aaron can still take games over with his arm and that’s not the case. At this point in his career, all Aaron can do is take care of the ball. Every veteran Quarterback reaches a point in their career where they must lean on the ground attack and he’s at that point.
The defense has shouldered much of the weight and has been one of the best in the league. They can put together the best efforts and do all they can to keep you in the game, I’m talking about forcing turnovers, getting after the Quarterback, and getting off the field on third down. But, when you have an offense that can’t hold up their end of the bargain, it puts a dent in what the defense does. It’s very similar to baseball when a pitcher is on the mound and throws an amazing game, but his offense can’t back him up and get him the run support. That’s the best analogy I could come up with. Quinnen Williams is one of the best defensive tackles in the league and Sauce Gardner is still making a name for himself. One thing you can always count on is the Jets having a strong defense.
Robert Saleh was the fall guy and nobody can say otherwise to me. He was never given a roster to compete and was basically working with what he was dealt with. I knew his name was on the hot seat entering this year, but I didn’t think he’d be terminated as quickly as he was and during the season which I’ve never disagreed with. Making a coaching change in a season is a distraction. Look at what’s happened since they fired Robert, they’re 0-3 which further proves my point. I wasn’t sold on the Jets when they acquired Aaron last April. More than a year later, nothing has changed. At this point, they are just a soap opera more than a football team.
