It’s not fun to be part of the New York Jets faithful last season. While the New England Patriots continued to lord it over in the AFC East, the Jets did its part in making sure that the division looks familiar by finishing with a 4-12 record. But with a number of headline-grabbing moves this offseason, will the Jets finally have a year to be proud of? Read on for an overview of New York’s key player this coming season along with the team’s key game, best/worst scenarios and a complete list of the Jets’ 2015 schedule.
[sc:NFL240banner ]When the Jets management decided to rid itself of head coach Rex Ryan and general manager John Idzik back in December, it marked the end of an era for the franchise. A period that featured back-to-back appearances in the AFC title game in 2009 and 2010 followed by four consecutive seasons that saw the Jets do typical Jets things: missing the playoffs and having one frustrating regular seasons after another. All told, the Jets are no better today than when Ryan arrived at East Rutherford six years ago.
Last season was clearly the worst during Ryan’s tenure as the Jets finished their campaign with a 4-12 record, the only team that didn’t reach .500 in the AFC East. There are lot of areas the Jets have to improve on moving forward, but a healthy offseason haul and a new coach in Todd Bowles should bring some measure of optimism to the team. This coming season, the Jets are priced +2,500 to win the AFC and +5,000 to win the AFC championship.
Offseason Review
Last season, the Jets gave their fans every reason to be an alcoholic. Perhaps the only thing that saved Jets fans from drinking cyanide was New York’s solid performance on the ground, offensively and defensively. In 2014, the Jets rushed for 142.5 yards per game (third overall) and gave up just 93.1 rushing yards per contest (fifth). Those aside, the rest of what the Jets did was bad. Geno Smith struggled mightily. The receiving corps was pure junk. The secondary was atrocious. Those were the very reasons why the Jets ventured into the offseason hell-bent on renovating the lineup. New general manager Mike Maccagnan made sure of it when he let go of team cancers such as Chris Johnson and Percy Harvin, and signed Brandon Marshall.
Even at age 31, Marshall does appear to have enough gas left on the tank to be a legitimate threat while lining up across Eric Decker, the Jets’ top receiver (962 yards, five touchdowns) last season. Marshall, who played three seasons for Chicago before coming over to the Jets had 721 receiving yards and caught eight touchdowns in 2014. To add depth to the receiving corps, the Jets drafted Ohio State product Devin Smith, which is currently behind Marshall in the Jets’ depth chart.
The Jets also made a huge splash in the offseason when it comes to upgrading their secondary. Maccagnan, feeling the pressure to fix the team’s faulty pass defense, spent a ton of money inking cornerbacks Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie. With those two former All-Pro corners in the mix, expect the Jets to improve from their defense against the pass that allowed opposing teams to record 234.1 passing yards per game last season—14th in the entire NFL.
Then on August 11, as if the Jets needed to remind us that they’re the Jets, obscure linebacker IK Enemkpali waltzed into the team’s locker room and socked Geno Smith right in the jaw. Enemkpali did not just knock Smith down; he also knocked the Jets’ immediate future careening into a completely different direction because this pathetic fallout over an unpaid $600 ticket meant that Ryan Fitzpatrick will now be the Jets‘ starter. To some New York fans, however, Smith’s injury is a blessing in disguise, as most of them would crack their own jaws if that meant ridding the team off of the error-prone Smith—even for at least six weeks.
With Fitzpatrick under center, the Jets will have a veteran quarterback, who finished 2014 with 2,483 passing yards and 17 passing touchdowns as part of the Houston Texans. Fitzpatrick is a smart guy (Harvard graduate) and an experienced quarterback, but whether he can be a cure to the Jets’ diseased passing game is a wait-and-see game until the season starts.
Key Player – Ryan Fitzpatrick
The ball is literally now in Fitzpatrick’s hands. With Smith sidelined for a big chunk of the coming season, Fitzpatrick gets to starter again. The front office has done an excellent work of upgrading several positions on the team, including the targets down field, giving Fitzpatrick fewer reasons to fail on steering the Jets’ passing game into respectability.
The litmus test for the Jets’ overhauled defense comes early as the team flies to Lucas Oil Stadium for a matchup against the Colts. Last season, Andrew Luck led the Colts into attaining an average of 305.9 passing yards per game and 42 passing touchdowns—both No. 1 in the NFL.
Best/Worst Case Scenario for the Season
Best Case Scenario
Almost all the moves that the Jets’ front office pulled off in the offseason pay huge dividends. Fitzpatrick plays well right out off the bat and quickly develops chemistry with receiving corps’ alpha male, Brandon Marshall. Marshall and Eric Decker each finishes the season with at least 1,000 receiving yards, which means that the Jets have successfully morphed into a double-bladed team—capable of beating opponents on the ground and on the air. Revis and Cromartie, meanwhile, anchor one of the best, if not the best, secondary in the NFL. The Jets misses the playoffs but cobble up a decent 8-8 record.
Worst Case Scenario
Fitzpatrick and Marshall fail to see each other eye-to-eye early in the season, thus setting the stage for another miserable year for the Jets. Fitzpatrick plays like an older version of Smith in terms of passing efficiency, and collapses under pressure of New York’s harsh media environment. In the end, the Jets finish with a 6-10 record, good for last again in the AFC East.
Complete Schedule
WEEK
DATE
OPPONENT
TIME (ET)
1
Sun, Sep 13
vs Cleveland
1:00 PM
2
Mon, Sep 21
@ Indianapolis
8:30 PM
3
Sun, Sep 27
vs Philadelphia
1:00 PM
4
Sun, Oct 4
@ Miami
9:30 PM
5
Bye Week
6
Sun, Oct 18
vs Washington
1:00 PM
7
Sun, Oct 25
@ New England
1:00 PM
8
Sun, Nov 1
@ Oakland
4:05 PM
9
Sun, Nov 8
vs Jacksonville
1:00 PM
10
Thu, Nov 12
vs Buffalo
8:25 PM
11
Sun, Nov 22
@ Houston
1:00 PM
12
Sun, Nov 29
vs Miami
1:00 PM
13
Sun, Dec 6
@ New York Giants
1:00 PM
14
Sun, Dec 13
vs Tennessee
1:00 PM
15
Sat, Dec 19
@ Dallas
8:25 PM
16
Sun, Dec 27
vs New England
1:00 PM
17
Sun, Jan 3
@ Buffalo
1:00 PM
Writer’s Prediction
The Jets finish third in the AFC East with an 8-8 regular season record.
