With the New York Jets currently playing with a 2-5 record, most have written them off. This, though, is the NFL, a place anything can happen.
Imagine Woody Johnson woke up one morning and held one wacky contest after sipping his finest Columbian coffee. Imagine this contest, as whacky as it may be, awarded ownership rights of the New York Jets to his absolute favorite fan.While the idea itself is beyond comprehension, the word “wacky” and the name “Woody” have one meaningful relationship. So, we have the right to continue.
The brand-spanking new owner of the Jets would hold a press conference naming Bryce Petty the starting quarterback of the squad. He’d explain that Petty is the future and that Christian Hackenberg would be on deck. He’d drone on about the future being now since Todd Bowles‘ current 1-5 squad having no shot at the NFL Playoffs in 2016.
Thank the football gods not even Woody Johnson can get that wacky.
If he did, the feel-good comeback story that is the 2016 New York Jets would have never happened.
Players, coaches, and quite honestly, everybody involved with the organization, don’t think like fans do. They don’t give up on a season when things go wrong. Should six-game slate go horribly wrong — like, say, a result of 1-5 in the standings — football people won’t pack it in and go home.
The only thing they can do is take one day, one practice, one week at a time. They allow themselves to continually have a purpose every time they travel in to work.
That’s what Bowles and the Jets are doing as we speak. He’s put forth his gameplan to defeat the Browns in Cleveland this Sunday. Ryan Fitzpatrick, Brandon Marshall, and Darrelle Revis are all on board. These guys are professionals in the league that plays for pay.
If they started thinking about giving up, they wouldn’t be pros.
Here are several reasons why these New York Jets still have a very legitimate shot at the 2016 tournament:
The Schedule
Any able-minded football fan could see it coming a mile away. As easy as the New York Jets schedule was in 2015, is as difficult as it was in 2016.
The first six games of Gang Green’s schedule were beyond ridiculous. A record of 2-4 coming out of it would have any Jets fan ecstatic.
Obviously, they failed. New York finished the miserable stretch at 1-5. Only now does the schedule open up into normalcy:
- @ Cleveland Browns
- @ Miami Dolphins
- vs. Los Angeles Rams
- vs. New England Patriots
- vs. Indianapolis Colts
- @ San Francisco 49ers
- vs. Miami Dolphins
- @ New England Patriots
- vs. Buffalo Bills
No other league can destroy or propel a team’s fortunes more than the NFL.
By the time we wake up in three weeks, these Jets can be 5-5 and right back in the mix of the tournament.
Good Fitzpatrick
We all know who Ryan Fitzpatrick is. He’s a guy who’s both good and bad, meaning we simply never know which Fitzpatrick is going to show up.
For the better part of the first six weeks, there was the bad Fitzpatrick. The 11 interceptions only tells part of the story.
He’s been horrid. Without Eric Decker, he no longer has Quincy Enunwa in that familiar Y-spot and the offense is out of sorts. The offensive line, too, has done Fitz no favors.
When the guy is right, though, he’s more than capable.
While you keep the bad Fitz moments in the back of your head through this stretch, don’t forget what the good Fitzpatrick can bring to the table. 31 touchdowns a season ago against a weak schedule presents that very evidence.
Bowles Figured It Out Defensively
When Sheldon Richardson was suspended during Week 1, Muhammad Wilkerson played his best game of the season (1.5 sacks, five tackles). When Big Mo was sidelined in Week 7, Sheldon Richardson played his best game of the season while lined up in his familiar 3-technique (one sack, six tackles).
The point is: in this situation, less is more.
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It’s impossible to fit three interior defensive linemen into a two-man system. Hopefully, Bowles has realized this by now and adjusts accordingly.
What he must do is gamble and put one of them at the nose tackle spot, in taking Steve McLendon off the field:
With the Jets ranking so well against the run and so horrid against the pass, taking this chance in going lighter should happen immediately.
If Bowles doesn’t adjust accordingly and we, yet again, see the 4-man heavy front, it’d be extremely disappointing.
If he figures it out, this defense will finally play up to its potential.
Mandatory Credit: Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports
One Game Changes Everything
There are very specific and hilarious monikers for the National Football League.
One is, the “No Fun League.” This comes by way of the sentiment that Roger Goodell and his henchmen will always fine and suspend based on the slimmest of issues.
The other is the “Not For Long” league. This one illuminates the idea that nothing lasts forever and things can change at the drop of a hat.
In this league, one game can literally change everything.
The Jets 24-16 victory against the Baltimore Ravens could have done that for this group.
Is it likely? No. Does that one sole victory mean Bowles’ crew will run down a historic NFL schedule? No.
What it does is provide hope. It’s just one small step to what we saw a season ago from Andy Reid‘s Kansas City Chiefs. It’s the first step in the Jets mirroring Chad Pennington‘s 2002 squad.
While 2-5 is a horrid start. It’s not a death sentence.
The only worry Bowles, Fitzpatrick and the rest of the Jets are worried about right now is Cleveland.
They’re not dead yet.