Mark Sanchez? :rofl: You really think this team would have this team better than 4-4? I want some of what you're smoking. The Jets would be no better than 2-6, if Sanchez was still the QB. HE wouldn't have had the fourth quarter comebacks Geno Smith led this team on.
4-4 is not bad at all. We beat Pats and Falcons and played most of our difficult games already. After the Saints game, we will have a more manageable schedule. 8-8 or better is still on the table and when the season started, I would sign up for 8-8 in a heartbeat. Also we lost a very good Bengals team. They were the best overall team we met all year. With a rookie QB on the road against a very good team, you can't expect too much.
Yesterday's result is not surprising. Since 2010 the Jets have had at least 1 no-show per season. 2010 45-3 Patriots 2011 45-19 Eagles 2012 34-0 SF 49-19 Patriots 2013 49-9 Bengals The trend should get back to the norm and the Jets should be in tight games the rest of the way. The only game that worries me is this Saints game coming up.
Smart move with a young team. They've all been getting beat around the head all season for the same mistakes they made this week. No point in continuing the beatings on the same subject.
The Saints game is tough. After that: Bills Ravens Dolphins Raiders Panthers Browns Dolphins All 7 winnable. Will the Jets win all 7? No, but I could see them going 5-2 or 4-3 in that stretch. We will see.
Comes from over inflated expectations. Folks refuse accept that this is a team rebuilding. New GM, OC and Rookie Qb screams for patience.
The 49ers got blown out last year like 50-6 and they play in the super bowl. Sometimes you'll encounter the guy who is bigger and badder than you. Hopefully that guy gets pummeled by someone who is even badder than him so you don't have to worry about him.
It's a good game to apply the 24 hour rule, grow from it, and move on... We're not quite there yet, but most of us already knew this. Going into the season i fully understood we were rebuilding. We are clearing out the cap, starting new guys at the majority of positions, developing a lot of young players, have all new coordinators, and of course a rookie QB. What i was hoping for was players going out there with fire (win or lose), the developing guys to take a step up, promise from the QB position, progress from our new OC and offense, removal of the negative venom surrounding the team, and some exciting moments as a Jets fan. We've done all that by mid season (the tougher part of the season), and are 4-4 with a chance to play meaningful December games. I doubt we make the playoffs, but i sure love the direction and am overall very happy with what I've seen thus far. Move on from the Bengal game, and do the best we can do vs the Saints. Second half of season should be fun!
I think we are a couple years away from the playoffs, but taken the players we lost and who've we got now, 4-4 isn't bad. I still have us at 7-9. This will probably be the draft of the quarterback, but nothing is certain, look at the last time we traded up for one. i say stick with Geno.
Forget the 24 hour rule. I prefer the 168 hour rule. In 168 hours will be celebrating our next big win.:metal:
Before I get into the meat of my post, I do want to say not only is 4-4 not awful, the last seven games of the season offer a chance to come out with a winning season. Since I don't want to predict that will not happen, that consideration does provide perspective. But I think for right now the "be happy with 4-4" argument is not persuasive, for the following reasons: 1. What was the main factor in the skeptical pre-season predictions? A Qb controversy. Speaking for myself, back in the pre-season Smith had hurt his ankle, and Sanchez looked to be the starter, yet we knew the FO and CS would have at some point to see what they had in Smith. In short and given that Sanchez I lost faith in a long time ago, that set of circumstances added up to a bigtime Qb controversy. Which for me was the major reason in saying the Jets were probably headed to a losing season. Instead Sanchez got taken out by Ryan's decision to play him in the midget game, and the midgets did their part. Meanwhile Smith healed and got more time with the first team in what remained of pre-season. And we have no Qb controversy other than perhaps seeing what Simms can do at some point. So this factor is huge. 2. Ryan v. Idzik. Most fans were concerned heading into this season that Ryan and Idzik appeared to have different agendas. There is still some of that, but as it has played out the concern in retrospect seems overblown. In fact Ryan's agenda to make the most of the D has fit with Idzik's, with one exception (Milliner), and he's made good use of Richardson and improved play by Davis, elevation of Wilkerson's game and the hidden gem that was Harrison. On O see Marty below. 3. Marty. Despite having optimism about getting Marty, in the preseason I was skeptical he could do much with Sanchez. In other words I felt even with an upgraded OC Sanchez could not be salvaged. Instead we see Marty working with a rookie Qb and, imo, getting the most out of him (which is still problematic, but better than it could have been). 4. Tampa Bay. I didn't necessarily think the first game was likely to be a loss for the Jets. But I did think TB was going to be better than they were and have been this season. As it was the Jets were lucky to win that game. 5. New England. While they still have Brady, this is the weakest NE team I can recall in a long time. And while it was great that the Jets beat NE in the Meadowlands, the big picture is it was kind of a meh win. And balanced by a loss earlier against a very beatable Pats team. Meh is right. 6. Atlanta. In the pre-season I thought this game, in Atlanta, would be a loss. But Atlanta was missing six starters when the Jets played them, and their CS made some questionable calls during the game. Smith had his best game so far against a very weak Atlanta secondary. And the Jets won by 2 points. Meanwhile Atlanta right now is 2-5, having just lost to the Cardinals. In other words if I had known that Atlanta would be 2-5 at this point, I would not have had this down as a loss. 7. Net points. I see nfl.com has a new stat column called net points. People can debate how relevant it is, and it obviously runs counter to the "you are what your record says you are" pov. But it is interesting that despite being 4-4, the Jets have the third worst net point number in the league, with only Jacksonville and the Texans worse. I think this indicates the reality that the Jets have been lucky to win some close games, and have also gotten creamed in some others. No win has been dominant. So 4 wins is nice, but the way they have won is not all that impressive. 8. FO Performance. This is probably the most controversial subject I can put down here, but I think while Idzik and his people have been an upgrade for sure over Tanny, they are not as much of one as I had hoped. Some of the deadwood moves they made were frankly obvious. Like how much credit do we really want to give them for letting Bart Scott go? Or Shonn Greene? I also think the Garrard signing was a minor fiasco and while the Jets did not have much cap space and limited options, that move did nothing to help. Not having a vet Qb on the roster left Sanchez as the best Qb in camp. See 1. above for how that worked out, but that was luck and not to the FO's credit. Drafting Smith is seen by most here as a plus for the FO, but I am not so sure it will prove to be. But still, give them cred for that, and certainly the Richardson pick. But Milliner? Further down the draft board they will probably be happy in the long run with the Winter pick, but who else? Meanwhile they held onto Ducasse, and let Slauson go. That is not to their credit. Meanwhile it's probably too early to say how good the Ivory signing will prove to be, but Goodson, Landry, and Winslow are for different reasons not looking so great (I know it's unfair to blame the FO for Winslow's situation, but neither do they get credit for his signing). Colon has stayed healthy, so we can give them a plus there. (Ftr I do not include Revis pro or con in this discussion since that was Woody's call.) On balance, so far I give the FO a C+. So, add it all up, and I don't think the 4-4 compared to pre-season predictions is all that great an argument.
sorry, I couldn't make it through this full War and Peace-like Tome.... Frankly I yearn for those far more glorious days of "Jet Fans United" and "It's only a message board"
The Bucs, Falcons and Patriots wins were all signature parts of those teams seasons so far. The Bucs were supposed to be a contender going into the season but they lost to a young rebuilding club in a particularly glaring fashion and despite close losses for a bit thereafter they've never managed to get back up on their feet. The Jets keyed the terrible season the Bucs are having. The Falcons were disappointing already by the time the Jets rolled into town but they had salvation arriving in the form of a rookie QB to beat on and a young unfinished defensive backfield for Matt Ryan to exploit. The loss to the Jets really knocked them back on their heels and their season has now spiraled out of control also. The Pats had been winning tight, lucky games all year on their last possession as Tom Brady's efficiency was way down except in crunch time. They ran into the Jets and their luck turned in a big way and they lost a tight game late. Pure karma there in my opinion. Nobody should make light of the Jets being 4-4 at mid-season. You are what your record suggests and the Jets have been a scrappy team all year. A team that will beat you if you let them. Can't ask for more than that in a rebuilding year with a young team and a coaching staff coaching for their jobs.
Frankly I don't understand the logic of using a self admission of lack of attention span as an answer, even as a putdown. But your admission is duly noted.
I certainly do not mean to make light of the 4-4 record considering it is at least somewhat a rebuilding year. And while my previous post was primarily about the unanticipated reasons why the pre-season skepticism has so far shown to be not a solid basis for accurately predicting the record right now, I do give you credit for addressing the parts you did address. (While noting you did not address everything.) In order: Tampa Bay. i think a large part of why TB was expected to be a contender was that Freeman was expected to further develop, and no one expected the CS to be as bad as they have been so far. Freeman in fact has been cut and did not look good in his Vikings debut. And to say the CS remains in shell shock or something like it due to the Jets' beating them is, well, let's just say I think you overstate the effect of the Jets on TB. Atlanta. i certainly agree the Falcons were in trouble when the Jets rolled into town. I merely was comparing the team the Jets faced to the one at least I expected they would when the schedule came out. And I do think Ryan exploited the Jets secondary, especiallyl thanks to Gonzalez, and would have won the game but for dropped passes and probably if Atlanta had taken the FG at the end of the first half. But lets focus for both these teams on the assertion that one loss can have a longer term effect on a team. Is that going to happen to the jets coming off a 40 point loss? New England. In the off season I frankly did not know what to expect from the Pats. WIth Welker gone, Hernandez in jail, and question marks in the running game, it was perhaps fair to predict an off year for them. But they seem better able to put together a competitive roster than most teams, so I hardly thought it likely the Jets would even split with them, given the recent ineptitude of Jet performances against them. Yes, it is to NE's credit that they have won some close games. My point is merely that they are not the dominant team they have been, and so a win over them is not as impressive as it would have been in past years. Add it up and the Jets were lucky to get the win Opening Day thanks to the personal foul call, beat a Buffalo team in one of the wins even the darksiders expected, faced a depleted and overrated Atlanta team and came away with a very narrow win where their CS made questionable moves, and split with an NE team having an off year. Meanwhile they got killed by Nashville and Cincy, and lost to Pitt who was 0-4 at the time. I think I have reasons to not be very impressed.
