What will be the record of the Jets in 2016?
2016. New year. New players. New coaches. A new season starts off. What will be the Jets record this season?
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Another early NFL preview magazine says Jets will be terrible | NJ.com In its print-only preview, Sporting News predicts the Jets will go 6-10 and finish third in the AFC East. |
| Source: www.nj.com/jets/index.ssf/2016/07/another_early_nfl_preview_magazine_says_jets_will.html | |
6-10. 3rd in the AFC East. Yikes! This is what the Sporting News predicts for this football team this year. Let us analyze the reasons for this.
New Players:
Out with the old. In with the new. Gone are fossils CB Antonio Cromartie, LB Calvin Pace and bust LB Quinton Coples. Enter draft rookies LB Darron Lee, LB Jordan Jenkins and CB Juston Burris. While the loss of outstanding LB Demorio Davis will hurt the corps, Lee and Jenkins will be mentored by veteran LB David Harris and 2nd year player Lorenzo Mauldin. Pro Bowler Darrelle Revis can show Burris the intricacies of Todd Bowles’ system and left tackle Ryan Clady can aptly fill in the place of retired D’Brickashaw Ferguson.
Even though newcomer Matt Forte may not be as good a between the tackles runner as departed RB Chris Ivory, his receiving skills are better suited in the spread offense of offensive coordinator Chan Gailey. Overall, while the defense will lose the NFL experience of the players who left, the speed, youth and energy of the newcomers will bring much needed life on that side of the ball and will be a welcome change to the missed tackles and broken coverage of the old guys who were released by the team. T
he Jets were able to find suitable players on offense for those that had left and should not miss a beat. New York brought in dependable players through the draft, free agency and trades (Clady was brought in for a 2016 5th round draft pick) and so the offseason did not damage the team as much as it did to other teams.
The 2016 NFL Schedule:
This is the sledgehammer that will crush the Jets season. Brutal, just brutal. The AFC North. Bengals, Steelers, Ravens. The NFC West. Seahawks, Cardinals, Rams. Sprinkle in intra-conference opponents Chiefs and Colts and things are bleak. But wait! We forgot to include games against the AFC East (Patriots, Bills, Dolphins). That’s it! Put a nail in the coffin. This season is over.
Gang Green will face 8 playoff contenders and play the Patriots and Bills twice during the season. They will be hard pressed to win any one of those games. But it’s not just the quality of the opponent but also the gameplay of the Jets that will determine their fate. In 2015, even though the Jets offense struggled against the likes of the Cowboys, Dolphins and Jaguars, their defense was able to hold the fort down and keep them in the game until Ryan Fitzpatrick, Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker scored in the 4th quarter.
However, when defenses completely shut down Fitzpatrick and Co., even Todd Bowles’ defense was not enough to win football games. There are no better examples than when the Jets faced the Houston Texans and the Bills. Ryan had thrown interceptions earlier in these 3 games and their offense wasn’t clicking on all cylinders. Wilkerson, Richardson, Revis et al had kept the score close and within reach up to the 4th quarter.
But when it came down to the final play under 2 minutes, the Jets QB threw the devastating INT which sealed the win for the other team. In 2016, the Steelers, Seahawks, and Cardinals (among others) are on a different level than those in 2015. Not only do they have great defenses but their QBs, RBs and WRs will score more than 30 points and not keep the game close.
The pressure will be on Ryan (or Geno Smith or Bryce Petty) to score touchdowns and it has already been proven that no Jets QB can bring the team back from a deficit in the 4th quarter against good defenses. These opponents are just too much for New York to handle than in previous years.
The Verdict:
6-10. Looking at it again, this record may actually be too optimistic for Gang Green in 2016. Even though general manager Mike Maccagnan kept the team intact as they lost free agents, their opponents for this year have all around better talent than those in 2015 and NY won’t be able to hang around with them. These teams have the defenses to make the Jets QBs commit turnovers and the firepower to break Bowles’ schemes.
Facing 5 playoff contenders in their first 6 games, it would not be surprising if the Jets fall into a 1-5 hole to begin the season. The Browns and 49ers are the only teams that offer any relief on their schedule, which adds up to a 2 win year. 2-14. Just looking at those numbers is enough to make any Jets fan cringe. All one can do is sigh and look forward to 2017.
