Yet Another Jets Season Blends Into The Last Decade’s Compilation Of Excrement
The last 10 years have been a blur for me as a Jets fan. The 2021 season, which went out with a whimper in a 27-10 defeat in Buffalo on Sunday that was notable for Gang Green’s historically awful offensive output of 53 total yards and the gusty Western New York winds that somehow allowed a gutsy Jets defense to keep the contest close for three quarters, will blend seamlessly into the franchise’s compilation of excrement.
Jets fans should know better than to try to take away anything positive from this 4-13 debacle because this 10-year period has been a constant state of déjà vu. Or as it’s known colloquially, Same Old Jets. After every season, I want to wash my brain out with soap so I can forget these travesties ever happened.
As it is, outside of one tease in 2015, can you really distinguish between some of these products? How much different was last season’s 2-14 abomination that marked the end of the Adam Gase era from the last Rex Ryan campaign in 2014 that ended at 4-12? Or Sam Darnold’s inaugural season of 2018, where the rookie quarterback displayed some degree of competence in the final quarter of that 4-12 season from what we just witnessed from current rookie QB Zach Wilson?
Like with Darnold, many are excusing Wilson’s poor introduction to pro football this season as due to an inadequate supporting cast. “Wait til they surround him with better weapons and a good offensive line,” they say.
Ah, the hope angle. Sorry folks, but we’ve also been here before. The Jets are going to reap a bounty in the draft, with two picks in the top 10 (Nos. 4 & 10 overall) plus two more early in the second round, right? Well, how many high picks has this franchise bungled in the last decade, including General Manager Joe Douglas’ first class in 2020? Since the 2015 Draft, the Jets have owned the 6th, 20th, 6th, 3rd, 3rd, 11th, 2nd, and 14th overall selections—of all those picks who were supposed to be part of this year’s core, only Wilson, guard Alijah Vera-Tucker, and defensive lineman Quinnen Williams were active in Buffalo, with fragile tackle Mekhi Becton on injured reserve. Second rounders? Though Marcus Maye and Elijah Moore were solid selections who unfortunately ended the season on IR, the only one who saw action was 2020’s Denzel Mims, who somehow led all Jets receivers in snaps but did not catch a pass on just two targets. In a game of B-U-S-T, Mims is at “S”,
Or what about all that precious upcoming salary cap space, estimated to be over $50 million by overthcap.com (but could easily go higher with well-deserved cuts and contract restructurings)? How’d that work out for Douglas’ predecessor Mike Maccagnan, who first went all in on veterans for the one near-miss 2015 campaign and then went outside sound team-building principles by spending exorbitant sums on a running back (Le’Veon Bell) and a linebacker (C.J. Mosley) in the 2019 offseason? This past offseason’s free agency haul had more salary cap dollars tied up on season-ending IR (edge rusher Carl Lawson, wide receiver Corey Davis, and safety Lamarcus Joyner) than on the field for the finale (running back Tevin Coleman, wide receiver Keelan Cole, and defensive lineman Sheldon Rankins).
That’s why the Jets are where they are today--a team that can’t come close to competing at standard NFL levels. There aren’t three or four guys they could bring in to turn around their fortunes; this team is bereft of talent at so many positions in every phase of football—offense, defense, and special teams.
It’s been that way for years, and even Head Coach Robert Saleh finally acknowledged as much following the Jets’ eighth loss this season by double digits. “We’ve got a long way to go if we want to close the gap with Buffalo—and New England and Miami, for that matter,” Saleh said in his Buffalo postgame press conference.
Saleh went on to say that he is largely counting on “player development” for growth, which is fine, but is he the right man for that job? As a defensive-oriented coach, he was responsible for putting together one of the worst units in this franchise’s history. The Jets ranked last in the NFL in both points and yards allowed per game this season.
The more relevant question is: How many Jets defenders looked like they got legitimately better with live game reps over the course of the season? I can think of two—cornerback Bryce Hall and Williams’ brother Quincy, a linebacker who through Week 14 had the 10th most missed tackles among the 50 players at this position with at least 400 snaps, per ProFootballFocus.com but has played cleaner since.
Even the vaunted defensive line, which was thought to be the strength of the team, vastly underperformed in Saleh’s system. If any position group on this team had the depth to withstand an awful injury such as Lawson’s training camp Achilles tear, this was it. Unfortunately, the results speak for themselves: Only six teams registered fewer than New York’s 33 sacks, of which just 21 came from a member of their front four. If you’re a believer that sacks are an antiquated measure of a pass rush, Pro-Football-Reference.com also ranked the Jets 25th in the league in pressure percentage. Like many who stood in the pocket before him, Buffalo’s Josh Allen had time to check his list and check it twice—the winds in his face during the middle two quarters did more to frustrate him the Jets’ pass rush on Sunday.
New York also surrendered the third-most rushing yards per game, partially because opponents were often well ahead and prioritized grinding the clock. Then again, you would think that the Jets kind of knew what was coming in those situations, so can you explain why they were also 24th in yards per rush attempt? Mosley racked up 155 tackles going into the finale but had received a putrid 33.7 grade from PFF for his run defense because so many of them came like seven yards downfield.
So we really can’t make any sound judgement as to whether Saleh, who does seem to have earned the respect of the players and the media, has what it takes to get this team turned around. As a fan, I hope he does, but I’m also keenly prepared for the prospect that the organization, including Douglas, might need yet another reset in a year or two.
Because that’s how this franchise rolls, much to the shame of all who have been supporting them during this hideous last decade.