The New England Patriots lose in the Super Bowl which means the 2018 offseason is officially here, especially for the New York Jets.
What an eventful 2017 season in the NFL that culminated in the Philadelphia Eagles winning their first Super Bowl championship against none other than the New England Patriots, 41-33.
This is basically the equivalent of the New York Jets winning the Super Bowl. This may be blasphemous but the Patriots losing in the Super Bowl is almost sweeter to some fans than the Jets actually winning.
Also, the conclusion of Super Bowl 52 signals the unofficial commencement of the 2018 season.
Forget about 5-11, a clean slate now exists. Everyone is tied for first place at 0-0. This is when the Jets typically “win the offseason,” but hopefully, this time it can translate to the regular season.
Wipe the slate clean.
2018 starts now. #1T1G pic.twitter.com/GrVbkBaZ3c
— New York Jets (@nyjets) February 5, 2018
Time to plant a few seeds here in the field of hopes and dreams:
#Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski said at the podium that he is “definitely going to look at my future, for sure.” Will sit down a few weeks after the season and see where he’s at regarding retirement.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 5, 2018
Bill Belichick deflects any retirement questions, says he'll only talk about this game. Tom Brady says "I expect to be back"
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) February 5, 2018
So the best tight end in football and (prisoner of the moment) one of the best tight ends of all time, certainly of this generation, is pondering retirement.
The Gronk words come with the future of Tom Brady and Bill Belichick still in doubt. Even if they stay put (which seems likely, unfortunately), there could be an opportunity for a different team to win the AFC East.
I know that seems farfetched and for good reason. The Patriots have won the division nine times in a row. Also, they’ve won it 14 out of the last 15 years and the one year they didn’t win it, they lost it on a tiebreaker.
This team has waxed the division and the other teams frankly haven’t put up much of a fight. There’s still plenty of questions left to be answered for the rest of the division, such as, who the hell will be starting at quarterback for Buffalo, Miami, and, of course, the Jets. Until that question is answered, the Patriots will continue to reign supreme.
Other Jets News, Stories:
- Redskins could complicate plans for Cousins to Jets (Brian Costello of the New York Post).
- 10 predictions for 2018 offseason (Dan Graziano of ESPN).
- Because of past mistakes, Magic Mike faces make or break year (Rich Cimini of ESPN New York).
