I understand the overreaction that some display. Its the way we are loosing games that inflames people. We are competitive and we have chances to win , but have been fooled (once again) into believing we are better then we really are. The defense has been stout at time , but lately can't match up to a sheet of bounty (a wet piece of bounty at that). The offense is performing the way we all expected at times , but sputtering in key moments . The rook is going to make mistakes! We all knew it and we shouldn't be surprised that he chucks one up for grabs or isn't aware of whose surrounding him . I'm just glad he's not tap dancing back their the way Kellen was when he got his shot. I'm not done on hoping just yet. If we can beat New England and win the week after , coupled by a patriot loss to New Orleans (Thanks Peyton and Bela-cheat) we actually have a shot at making something of this year. I'm madder that we're in third place behind the Dolphins and my only Bar here in Colorado is a Bills bar (Dear lord give me strength). I'm here for the long haul and I'm here till the end. The real disappointment this year is the defense. Just one stop is all we are asking for. One stop in any of 4 games this year and the outcome is different! That's the only thing that needs to said and remembered from this 2009 season.
I really don't like the argument that says, "We all thought we were going to be an 8-8 team, just because we started out 3-0 doesn't change that." The fact of the matter is that we started off hot and played to our potential and had mistake-free football for the first few games. Now, it seems like the Jets have regressed and are playing their worst football more than halfway through the year. And I know we have a rookie QB and he was at fault for 2 of our losses, but we lost 3 other games that really had nothing to do with a rookie head coach or a rookie QB. If Sanchez and Ryan are in their 4th year, we still would have lost those games. What bugs a lot of Jets fans is that our so called playmakers, guys that we thought we could rely on and be our veteran leaders, are the ones making the mistakes that end up costing us games. Our "number 1 defense" has given up two game winning scores in the final seconds of two must win games. The Jets are so close to being a contender, as it seems like they have been for so long. I feel as if the Jets just think they can show up on Sundays and a win will be handed to them because, on paper, the Jets have a better team. I think this is where the high confidence level and cocky attitude really hurts us.
Now that I threw out the 0 and 3 start and look at the team as 1 and 5 with a win over Oakland I feel much better about this team. And why is this positive for the future? A 360 pound veteran coming off an ACL is probably not going to be an impact player for at least 2 years if ever. Leon had a devestating injury that isn't a slame dunk to recover from. This team has found a way to lose those games against Buffalo, Miami twice and Jax, three of them at home. We weren't finding ways to lose against good teams we found ways to lose against bad teams. Not an indication that things are getting better. I always thought this was a rebuilding year. I'm dissapointed because it's clear while we have the makings of an excellent O in a couple of years maybe year 4 under Sanchez, the D is a dissaster waiting to happen. The D line is a mess right now and we need to replace two on the OL. That isn't an easy task for a team that's QB won't be ready for at least two more years. Rookie QB's rarely give you great performance, neither do second year QB's. This team needs some big drafts and big player development over the next couple of years. The real problem with this team is the Owner, GM and HC don't seem to think we are rebuilding which is now obvious. The fans are hard on the team because the team has tried to win the off season two years in a row and create instant expectations with a lot of talk and bold moves that haven't changed the fact that we are rebuilding. They have also tried to shake the fans down by raising prices to make the stadium a place for Corporate only customers. We are close to looking very much like the Redskins under Snyder and unfortunately when you become only about the big bucks you better deliver the goods or the fans are going to stop buying. All you have to do is look at the Baseball teams one of them hasn't delivered and one of them has, one stadium is full the other is half empty.
baltimore did pretty well with a rookie qb and the same d coordinator???? the jets need to clean house and fire everybody that can be fired in terms of front office and coaching and bring a totally new mentality. when rex kept schotty and the rest of them with tannenbaum staying in the front office you had to expect some underachieving. these guys are the pros.
I'm past the wishful thinking that the quick start forced on me. The truth is, we are setting up for what should be a promising future. This is something we haven't had as a franchise very often. I'm optimistic that Ryan, and Sanchez are going to come out of this season with so much valuable experience, that next year will be a much better gauge of what this team is destined for.
Yes they are. If the rookie QB was holding us back I'd agree but he's played well enough to win 7 of 9 games. The D has blown 2 games and STs another one. We are finding ways to lose. Coming into this season I expected 6-7 wins and I just wanted to see the QB develop but 3-0 playing well expectations change. We can run the ball as well as anyone, we have good STs, we have a good D, we have good weapons for the QB. We should be 6-3 at worst right now and it's disappointing. Rebuilding projects are a thing of the past in this league, it's a win now league. Does that mean I expected a SB this year? of course not but especially after the great start I expected them to be better than 4-5 and it's disappointing. Most games in this league are close games so losing close games doesn't really do much for us unless we eventually bust through and win a few of these. That's what I want to see. if we finish 7-9 that will be ok as long as we win a few of these close games down the stretch and the team begins to believe in those situations setting up what I think will be a very good 2010.
I think very few people are over reacting, and anyone that expected big things this year were fooling themselves. However, there are things that are troubling. Ryan came in with all this bluster about how he was going to "change the culture". He ran his mouth good and loud, but what are we seeing? Stupid penalties. Bad clock management. Lousy tackling. Questionable play calling. All things we saw in the Mangini, Edwards and Kotite eras. Remember when Parcells came in? There was no talking, just coaching. Foot was put to ass, and mental mistakes were not tolerated. That's what I hoped to see with Ryan, but he has been a disappointment in that aspect so far. I hope I'm wrong about him, but time will tell.
+1 .... Well said .... Get's ridiculous with hearing how "bad" we are, blah blah blah .... Hey we could be Bill's fans and NEVER having won a SB or not even being in the playoffs in the last 11 years .... At least we can say we've been to the big dance and won, some teams have NEVER made it that far .... I'm not saying that we should accept mediocrity but the media and darksiders tear us down unless we are winning every game.
Tom Coughlin and Eli Manning were practically run out of town after the 06 season. They responded by winning a SB not crying about it. There is no question that the fans will support this team and go nuts when the Jets put a good product on the football field. This fan base has stood by this team for years. Rex and the team have to understand that the fans are being asked to pay a huge amount for this team both the season ticket holders and those willing to sit through two hours of commercials for 20 minutes of play on Sunday. When the coach asks for the fans to support the team and the team comes out flat at home after a bye in a must game against a decent but not great football team, the Coach and the players have no one to blame other than themselves. Great players who perform in NYC are richly rewarded in not just money but in lifetime adulation and respect. They have doors open to them that don't exist anywhere else in this country. Stop blaming the fans for a lack of performance. This team didn't crumble down the stretch last year or lose 4 out of 5 this year because of the fans and the negative reaction. This fan base was as pumped up last year and this year after the 3 and 0 start and it was the team that went negative not the fans. The fans are following the teams lead not the other way around.
Look, we're all frustrated. I get it. Look at the successful franchises in the NFL. How many of them have had massive coaching turnover and been successful? Most have a very stable ownership group, front office, and coaching staff. Makes you want to ask, "Which came first?". Does a stable front office and coaching staff make a franchise successful or does a successful front office and coaching staff make their own stability? I think there's room for both sides of the argument. Look at our own history. We're constantly changing approaches and personnel every 2-3 years like clockwork. We go from Al Groh and a 3-4 defense to Herm's Tampa 2. We let James Farrior go because he's not a good fit, we get Vilma in and bring in other personnel to run the 4-3 Tampa 2. Herm leaves and in comes Mangini. We go back to a 3-4. We finally get more pieces to run the 3-4 and Mangini leaves. Rex likes to run the same front, but he's still bringing in "His guys" who know and fit his system. Every time you change coaching staffs you're changing a good portion of the roster. Those new guys, even if they know the scheme, are in a new place with new faces around them. It takes time to build the chemistry and confidence with your teammates. Bottom line, let's let a coach stick around for more than a year or two and see if he can build something successful. If we're constantly building and ripping up the foundation of our franchise and changing the floorplan, we'll never get the house built.
"Blame the fans!" What a bunch of crap. The problem with this team is that we hear from apologists that we need to stick with a rookie Qb as the only guy who can supposedly play decent football at that position - why is that the case? - takes time to learn his position. Meanwhile too many starters are old and will not get better in the next year or two. Faneca, Woody, even Moore, Jones, Richardson, Ellis, Jenkins, Pouha, Douglas, Thomas, Scott, Pace, will all be 30 or older next year, and Lito nearly so. Of the younger stars, Rhodes and Keller are not showing improvement, and the bench in the secondary after Revis, Leonhard and I guess Eric Smith is very thin and not showing improvement. Clowney has some potential, as does Green. Mangold is solid at C, Ferguson less so at LT, and there's nobody else young and promising on either line. By the time Sanchez is in his third year, who will be starting? Revis, Harris, Mangold, Leonhard, Ferguson, probably Cotch and Edwards. Green? maybe. Keller? I sure hope he's improved by then. Eric Smith. Leon and Jenkins. I sure hope these guys come back, but it's rather iffy right now. I don't see where all the rosy optimism for the future comes from, considering the foregoing.
This team is not built for the period when Sanchez is likely to come into his own, which would be 2011 to 2016. That's not unusual - it takes time to develop a young QB and the Jets have clearly decided to fast forward that process as much as they can by playing Sanchez all year. What is unusual about the Jets current roster make up is that they have spent a lot of money on free agents and traded for a lot of vets the last few years and as a result they have not been developing the mainstays that you would expect to slot in around a young QB as he matures. The LG, RT and main RB are all sitting in slots that are going to be key to Sanchez success and preventing younger guys from being groomed there for when Sanchez is ready for primetime. They'll be dropping out just about when he is ready to go. The RG is also getting up there given his skill set and attributes, Brandon Moore minus a step is not an NFL caliber guard. I can understand what they're doing with Jones and Greene from a wear and tear standpoint: you don't want to start taking tread off of Greene's tires if you don't think Jones is going to be around next year or certainly by the year after. The offensive line decisions that have been made were clearly made looking at a 2008-2010 window. With Favre in town that was possible but with Sanchez its not. The Jets are going to have to re-adjust on the line in a hurry now. Basically the Jets are going to have to aggressively develop the replacements for Faneca and Woody and Moore over the next season or two or they're going to get caught with their pants down like the 2005 Jets did when injuries and aging suddenly leave Sanchez defenseless.
I agree 100%. It's always disappointing as a fan to fall so far and so fast, and the 3-0 start gave us some false expectations. The bottom line is that 4 of our losses could have just as easily been wins. It's the little things, little mistakes, that are killing us. I mean, we could be the Browns or Raiders.
Brandon Moore is no spring chicken, but 29 isn't ancient for a lineman by any means. He's very servicable a mauler for the ground game. Faneca and Woody, I can see being replaced fairly soon, hopefully it's going to be a youth movement rather than an endless series of stopgaps at the LG position, I think we may end up drafting a RT to groom behind Woody. I just wish we had more draft picks to do it with.
Funny how the position is being interpreted as "blame the fans" when the position I'm actually putting forward is that a culture of blame is pointless and counterproductive. As fans, there's no sense in having to find somebody to blame for every disappointment. Losing happens in sports, even to talented and experienced teams. Get over it. And if you can't, go watch baseball. In this case, we aren't losing because we're untalented, we're losing primarily I suppose because this is year one for this head coach, defensive system and quarterback. That problem doesn't get better if we make a point of blaming the head coach, DC and QB. If we're seeing the same sorts of mental mistakes a couple years into this era, maybe you have to move some players, or change the scheme. But to freak out over this sort of stuff in the first year of the Rex era is beyond retarded. To those saying the Jets fans have stuck by the team, if by 'stuck by the team', you mean bitch and moan about how the team is so bad, and the organization is so Fd, and being a fan is so hard, and its just the SOJ, yea, the fans have stuck by the team if thats what you mean. But if I was the team, I wouldn't want fans like that sticking around me. It's just a bringdown. And as a fan of the team, I can't stand listening to this same shit year after year. Grow the F up. By the way, this team is by no means overly aged. We've got a few old players on the OL, but OL guys don't fade at 30 by any stretch, and D'Brick and Mangold are two young talents at the two hardest positions to find talent at. Jenkins is 30, but I don't see him slowing down. Look at Trevor Pryce, who is 35 years old, in the same system Rex is bringing here, and had his fifth sack of the season last night. Theres a pretty good track record of big men up front staying strong well into their 30s, look at at Ted Washington, Sam Adams, or Pat Williams, he's 37 and the key to the strongest run D in the league. The only player whos age is a real concern is Jones, and I'm not concerned. A, because we've got two talented backs on the roster behind him. And B, due to some combination of his body type and physical training regimen and the light workload he saw his first years in the league, he really hasn't shown a sign of breaking down, in fact I'd say he's currently in the middle of his best season as a pro. So, if people need something to worry about, I guess this is as good as anything else, but there isn't any good reason to worry about this either.
Good post, and I mostly agree. The business about Jones and Greene also involves Washington, obviously, or was intended to. If Greene came along this year and next, the Jets probably hoped to have Leon and Greene cover the major portion of the running duties next year or the year after, and then Jones would be gone. That is at least somewhat up in the air right now. I certainly hope Leon comes back at 100%, but imo it is more common that there would be some diminution in his condition.
I've yet to hear the coaching staff or the players say that this is a re-building year and we need time to develop our young quarterback, etc. They talk about winning. Now, not later down the road. And when that doesn't happen, it's the fans fault? The fans feed off the teams performance. And I ain't seen much to cheer about.
