Stick A Fork In The Season!

  If you were watching the Bills game and stayed till the end and saw Ryan Fitzpatrick take a knee to end the season, pat yourself on the back. In a meaningless game there were some good things to see but I’m not sure what we Jet fans are looking forward to next year.  In fact after it was announced this week that five Jet assistant coaches were not coming back next year, I’m trying to come up with some selling points for our future new assistant coaches that will attract quality people. But more on that later.

  Fitz did an admirable job in his last game as a Jet. His numbers 20-30, 210 yards, 2-TDs and no interceptions helped lead a balanced attack. The Buffalo Bills never had a chance and letting go of Rex Ryan during the week helped seal the victory.

  A few things to come away with from the Bills game and the season. It is now obvious to the Jet coaches something fans have known, that Bilal Powell has been underutilized. He hits the holes quickly and has some real fine lateral movement. His pass catching ability is excellent and if you watch him closely, he is great at picking up blitzes. He just turned 28 and still has a fair amount of game left in him. Whether he will be here when and if the Jets turn this thing around is another story.

  Robby Anderson still drops more balls than we’d like but he is a talent. His numbers for the season are 42 receptions, 587 yards and 2-TDs. And remember he wasn’t even a starter until Eric Decker got hurt. The upside for Anderson is excellent if the Jets can get someone to throw him the ball.  He has a lot of learning to do but give the front office credit for finding and signing this undrafted free agent out of Temple.

  Quincy Enunwa is the type of player Jet fans want on this team. His numbers:

58 receptions, 857 yards and 4-TDs are a huge improvement from last year. For the first ten games he was the Jets best player then leveled off, then made some great catches toward the end of the season.

  In his second year, Leonard Williams was voted by teammates as the team’s MVP. He is well deserving of this. Playing on one of the most underachieving units I ever saw, the Jets defensive line, Williams came to play every game and played hard. At only 22-years of age, he will continue to improve.

  He might be gone next season but David Harris always gives his best. He missed one game this year for the first time in seven years. We all know he lacks the pure speed on pass coverage but he continues to be a tackling machine.

  The above players deserve praise for not giving up on the season. There are probably more but these players are the ones that stood out to me.

  With the players mentioned above what else do Jet fans have to look forward to next year? On offense our young receivers besides Robby Anderson all look like players. If the Jets keep Jalin Marshall from returning kickoffs and punts, he looks like he can be a good NFL player at receiver. The same goes for Charone Peake who I think has a tremendous upside in the NFL.

  On defense Darron Lee seems lost on pass coverage at times but his speed is scary. He moves around the field like a linebacker should. Despite him getting burned too many times, I’m very optimistic he will improve next year. Linebacker Jordan Jenkins had a pre-season injury that was nagging him the whole year. In the eleven games he started, he had 2 ½ sacks and had 23 tackles and 18 assists. And this guy can hit! He should play a pivotal role on the defense next year.

  Next year may be the same as this year. I can’t explain why the Jets kept some of their coaches. Chan Gailey retired (sure he did). And the Jets fired these coaches: QBs Kevin Patullo, RBs Marcel Shipp, DL Pepper Johnson, OLBs Mark Collins and DBs Joe Danna. Why the Jets kept defensive coordinator Kacy Rodgers I can’t understand. But the real head scratcher is keeping Brant Boyer as special teams coach. The Jets special teams were non-existent! They were a disgrace! Maybe Boyer’s punishment is that he has to come back and coach the Jets special teams another year. The dilemma for the Jets now is how do they get quality people on the coaching staff? What is going to attract a good offensive coordinator to this team without any stability at the quarterback position? This is a real challenge for the organization.

  I wrote in my last article the Jets should cut Brandon Marshall, Darrelle Revis, Nick Mangold , Matt Forte, Buster Skrine, Marcus Williams and David Harris. I’m not sure now about Harris. He is a great locker room guy and great defending the run. I would say keep him and don’t play him on passing downs but in the NFL today every play is a passing down. The Jets have got to clear cap space and if they are smart will go on the cheap next year for the QB. The problem is that Woody Johnson is the knee jerk reaction type trying to make a splash i.e. getting Brett Favre and then Tim Tebow. The only way to turn this thing around is to have some discipline and patience that is tough for any NFL fan particularly in the New York area. Clear the cap space and concentrate on the offensive line.

  Todd Bowles will be back for another year. I can’t see how he will last past next season the way he has been coaching. His clock management was awful. His on field and half time adjustments stink. The team showed a lack of discipline with Wilkerson and Richardson being late and missing meetings. He may one day become a good NFL head coach but I don’t see it with the Jets.

  The 2017 NFL draft will be on April 27. The clock is ticking……..

 

  

Green Tidbits:

….Give Doug Middleton credit for pouncing on that kickoff for a TD in the end zone….Insulting from the west coast is that 49er fans and sports talk radio hosts are calling their team the San Francisco Jets…. The Jets finished 32nd in red zone scoring efficiency. They finished 3rd during the 2015 season…..I still like safety Rontez Miles who comes to play. Not sure if has starting ability but Jets need more players like him…. Despite being benched three times, Ryan Fitzpatrick threw for more interceptions (17) than Tom Brady, Tyrod Taylor, Colin Kaepernick and Dak Prescott combined….If you saw the Rose Bowl, USC quarterback Sam Darnold is the real deal. He is a red shirt freshman and could probably come out after next year….The more I see of Deon Simon on the defensive line, the more I like him…. The Jets have beat two teams with a winning record under the Bowles/Maccagnan regime and one was quarterbacked by Kirk Cousins. They didn’t beat any in 2016….Enunwa, Anderson, 

J. Marshall, Peake, Powell, Lee, Jenkins, Simon and Williams show a nice core that can give Jet fans hope….

@GreenRewind



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