More importantly to me, this means we are a team whose fans can actually root whole-heartedly for wins each week without any guilt about draft positioning. For the majority of the past 2 decades we've been a bad/mediocre team without that luxury. We always had it in the back of our minds that any win could mean the difference between getting a shot at the potential FQBs in the draft, and being left with the #1 defensive player after they're all gone. This is the first time in as long as I can remember that I'm watching games without the draft in the back of mind in even the tiniest way. It doesn't matter where the Jets pick this year because they're no longer in the evil constraints of desperately needing to find their QB. It feels so damn good to know that a handful of "meaningless" wins won't impede the next 5-10 years of the franchise. A handful of wins actually matters positively for development now, and landing the top DE, WR, or RB in a draft would feel like an amazing blessing in 2019 rather than the kind of bittersweet consolation prize it's been for years on end now as they repeatedly missed out on the chance to take an elite QB prospect. It's really been a remarkable shift for me as a fan and I'm enjoying every second of it.
With the second pick in the 2018 NFL draft, the New York Giants... And with the 14th pick in the 2019 NFL draft, the New York Jets...
Agreed. Sam Darnold has shown rookie mistakes, and his both his accuracy and arm strength leave a bit to be desired. That said, I think he has the intangibles, that is, maturity, intelligence, leadership, decision making, and the ability to learn from his mistakes, that our past drafts have lacked. And, I think with time and coaching, his accuracy will improve. We do need some more elite weapons on offense. We need a true #1 WR, a solid TE, and good as Crowell and Powell have been doing, we could definitely improve in the backfield. Also, the holes left on the O-Line by Mangold and D'Brick have never been truly filled. On defense, we really need an edge rusher. Badly. And of course, I'm STILL not sold on Bowles. Even when the team wins, I see the same patterns of weakness that leads to losses in other games. If this team doesn't vastly improve this year, I'm saying we should move on. We have the talent on the field, but I don't think this coach knows how to use it properly. I hope he proves me wrong, but 4 years in, I'm not seeing it.
I defend Leonard Williams to just about everybody but he’s quite simply not an elite talent. Good player, sure. Hasn’t taken that next step to be elite yet.
This is a classic Jets fan response to the last two games. I understand the frustration, trust me, but it is funny to read. Even us winning two games and scoring 76 points at home, there are fans that are asking why we can't punish opponents. This forum is awesome haha
Exactly. This is my reasoning as to why I've given up on Bowles. Anyone who has been on here long knows that I am a very optimistic fan, to a fault, but I have long defended Bowles. There is a lot of talent here, which is why when we lose like we do, you can not do much but blame the coaching staff
The New York Jets is a team that has won three games against teams with a weak combined record of 5 -12 (.294) and lost to three teams with a mediocre combined record of 9 - 8 - 1 (.529.) “You are what your record says you are.” — Bill Parcells The team now faces ten games against teams with a combined record of 30 - 26 - 1 (.536.) Only two of those games are against opponents with a losing record.
Of course we are inconsistent. We have a 21 year old rookie QB seeing many things for the first time in the NFL. I think all things considered, the primary metric for success is Darnold growing. And I think we're seeing him do that the last 2 weeks. He's progressing very well for a rookie QB, especially one who is 21 years old.
The son of champ. I know you're kidding, though. Sort of. Kind of. A little. No. I have to admit that my stomach was churning a little with under a minute left, lol.
Yesterday I saw a young Jets team do something I have rarely seen a Jets team do for as long as I have been a fan (trust me its a long time), they didn't play all that well and they STILL put up enough points to win the game by more than a field goal. That is something that the Pats make a living doing. The Jets not so much. I like who we are right now....and we're getting better every week. Now if we can just manage to stop anything up, over, under or in the middle..... I never once yesterday felt like we were going to give that game back. I never once yesterday felt that old "shit, here we go" feeling when Indy scored. I was actually confident that we would answer. Imagine that....a J-E-T-S fan confident in anything about the team. Next, pigs will fly.........
Yep. It's beyond hysterical. Too bad the trim on the doggy's sweater isn't green. That would be beyond perfect, but it's still great, hahaha.
There's def more heartbreak to come, but this team is growing, learning how to win. Jets D is on pace for 40 takeaways, thats far more then last season, all without a true outside pass-rusher to help the interior. Got a rookie QB making plays and growing each week.
I know. I was just being a wise guy. It's also the cynic in me. I can't change overnight after following this team for longer than a lot of you have been alive. Oh, the pain . . .
This is true, but doesn't it feel a little bit different so far? Feels good seeing a QB drop back and feel somewhat confident. Jets have to continue to build on this, next year we might be a force to be reckon with.
