When I watch the New York Jets this season, and I have Sunday Ticket so I get all the games, I see something special on the near horizon. We're not there yet, but almost. On the offense, there is Geno. He is still making rookie mistakes, and will the remainder of the season. He has his share of bad throws and bad reads. But he also flashes signs that say he will be a winner in this league. He has a fucking cannon hanging off his right side, and can make every single throw in the NFL. He is confident to the point of fearlessness, and he doesn't allow a bad play to ruin his game. He shrugs it off and gets back to work. And he says all the right things at the right times. He is a leader, and a good one. A DAMN good one. He owns his mistakes, and his team mates respect him for it. He has already come out from Sanchez's shadow and made this team his, and he has done it quickly. There is Kerley. I have watched and loved this kid since we drafted him. He was monstrous early on on Sunday, converting one first down after another. He gets open, has excellent hands, and runs crisp, clean routes. And he is forming a bond with our rookie QB that will make both of them better.And Hill, although not the force I was hoping he would be, has shown some strides. I never judge a receiver until his third year in the league is complete, so the jury on Hill won't deliver their verdict until next season.z There is Bilal and Ivory. While neither is gonna make the pro bowl, both have run hard. I love how they rode Ivory this past week, which keeps Bilal's legs totally fresh for this game against the Saints. I love how Ivory ground out over a hundred yards this past week. Both of these guys are damn good RBs. There is the OL, which completely took control in the second half. Winters is looking like a solid pick. Mangold and Brick are the stalwarts they've been since we drafted them. Colon is playing pretty well. Even Howard, who I have never been big on, played pretty well. I do think that RT is a position that needs to be upgraded, and when it is, the OL should be one of the better lines in the league. There is The SONS of Anarchy: Wilkerson, Richardson, Harrison. This defensive line is more than just special. It's downright fucking scary. And considering that the greybeard of the bunch, MoWilk, is only in his third year, with Snacks in his second and Richardson his first, the sky is truly the limit with these guys. SONs of Anarchy indeed! These guys are demolition experts, the way they blow shit up. Harris and Davis are playing well on the inside too. Pace will need to be replaced in the long term, but the rest of the front 7 is just beastly. The secondary is really our achilles heel, and that will have to be tweaked. Antonio Allen was a very pleasent surprise this past game. I thought he played exceptionally well, despite Gronk's big day. It should have been an even bigger day; a MUCH bigger day, but Allen stopped it from getting out of hand. Even our kicker has been special. But who knows with kickers. They have hot streaks, then eventually they get cold and are run out of town on a rail. And lastly, there is the coaching staff. I had taken a "wait and see" attitude concerning Rex, but at this point, I am willing to publicly state I want him to sign an extension and remain our HC. I also love love LOVE what Marty Mornhinweg has brought to the table, and how he has handled Geno and a group of undertalented skill position players. This coaching staff right now should all be extended so they remain together for the forseeable future. It is consistency in staff as much as anything else that leads to success. Overall, I think next year our window opens and stays open for the forseeable future. There are still weaknesses that need to be addressed in the draft and free agency, and when they are, this team goes from good to great. Yes, I see something special being built here, and it has me damned excited to be a fan of New York Jets Football!
Excellent read! I agree with you on most everything. I differ on AUSTIN HOWARD. I think he has played very well and he and Colon are brutes in the run game. I do not care for the punter at all. Id suggest we get Malone back. This team has a great future and has 12 picks and a big budget next year! GO JETS!
Amen to this. Future is starting to look bright and could be very bright with one more strong draft to follow this last one.
The future is bright and we have the cornerstones of the franchise already in place. (Geno, Wilkerson, Kerley, Milliner, Hill, Richardson, Hill, Harrison, Powell, Coples etc)
Nice post Tony. It's been fun watching this team so far with 6 highly competitive games out of 7 and the Jets on the good side 4 times of the 6. The story for me so far is that defensive line. I don't think I have ever seen a 3-4 line be that disruptive. It's like having 3x Kris Jenkins out there lately.
I think we are all witnessing the start to possibly one of the best defensive lines in the game of football. And the scariest part, as the OP stated, the oldest is in his 3rd year. I have said it before and I will say it again. With a few moves on the offensive side and defensive side of the ball, this team will be a playoff contender every year. For once, we did this right. We built a team that is young, fast, hungry, and built to last. We don't have any huge free agent signings. All rookies and young unproven talent that are just gelling together. Rex Ryan needs to be extended. Needs to be. In fact, OP, you are 100% correct. This whole coaching staff NEEDS to be extended. Consistency is key in the NFL and with a consistent coaching staff, the sky is the limit.
I agree with everything you said.1 or 2 special draft years and we will be into the conversation with the big boys.
I'm not ready to go all in yet. This team is so up and down they could look like dog shit this weekend, and it will be back to same old same old.Still lots of deficiencies in talent particularly on offense. I will say though, one thing I LOVE about this team is how physical they are. They go out and hit hard. I've watched a lot of the other teams in this league and I'm not sure theres a single team more physical, top to bottom, than our Jets. The OL has got a bunch of maulers (Colon helped with that) enough has been said about that tough D Line. The LB core goes all out. Even the WRs get out in the DBs faces on run plays, they don't take running plays off. They might be the weakest WR core talent-wise in the NFL, but at least they go balls out all game. Even if they don't have the talent to hang with the Saints' and Broncos', etc, of the world, they are still going to make it tough as hell on those teams any given sunday with how physical they play.. and there's something to be said for that.
agree on 99% of this. the o.p. is wrong about howard needing to be replaced though. howard is young and improving. he has played well enough to be considered a bona fide starter in this league and would start for many teams. instead of looking for a replacement idzic should be trying to lock him up before he hits f.a. and there is a bidding war.. bringing back the entire ol will be key next season
I agree the RT position, I believe is set for the next 5-8 years. Austin Howard is a monster and has greatly improved this season in pass-protection. I love his mean-streak as well. Hopefully Winters continues to progress and play well (so Vlad is not on the field) and Colon stays healthy. I see us def drafting a replacement guard in the upcoming draft. I love the heart and soul of this team, they hustle, they stay competitive, they DON'T GIVE UP. I love this team. Heart and Hustle, the 2013 NY Jets. Holla @ your boy! Lol.
There is a lot to be excited about...I've been a fan for 5 different times exactly like this. A good QB with lots of potential and a team around him that seems to be getting better. Ken O'Brien looked fantastic and the rest of the team in the mid 80's was looking up, too. They got deep into the playoffs, but couldn't close. Vinny had a huge resurgence and Keyshawn and Wayne were awesome. Curtis Martin was unstoppable and things looked fantastic in 98 only to have the fumble in Denver and the turf monster take Vinny the next year. They never recovered the form they had in 98 and again got close, but couldn't win it all. Pennington came into the league looking like a really smart passer that rarely made bad decisions. They absolutely blew out Peyton Manning in indy in the playoffs one year. They had the Steelers beat in Pittsburgh in the playoffs, but again couldn't string together playoff wins or win it all. Then in 08 Favre came to the Jets and no one had any idea what to expect. They went 8-3 in their first 11 games and looked great. They beat the pats in OT in the type of game the Jets NEVER win and things looked awesome. They beat the Titans in Tennessee when they looked like the best team in the league and then Favre got hurt and the team fell to shit. 09 came around and for the first few games, Sanchez looked like a smart QB who didn't throw int's. He had the running game to protect a rookie and things looked up. A surprise run in the playoffs was unexpected, but again 2010 was going to be a great year. It was. 11-5 with a HUGE win at NE in the divisional round, but again they couldn't close at Pittsburgh. 2011 and 12 were bad and worse. The team eroded and so did our once promising QB. So, now we are in 2013. The team was predicted by many (in fact by most) to be HORRIBLE and competing for a #1 draft pick. We lost our best player to free agency, and our starting QB to a shoulder injury. We have no weapons, and our backup QB that fell out of favor in the draft and was maligned by most on this forum and almost everyone in the media (with the exception of Ron Jaworski) was supposed to be mediocre at best. Well as it looks now, that mediocre backup QB has pulled off 4 game winning drives in the 4th QTR or OT, the D-line has been a force, and guys like ivory have been running as hard as anyone in the league. Our #1 receiver is out, our top draft pick has been hurt, our best option at tight end was suspended, but still the team is at 4-3 right now and only one game out of the division lead. As good as Vinny looked, you knew he was close to the end of his career and the window was short. Same with Fare. As good as Pennington looked, he always had a weak arm and he was fragile, so you didn't know how long that would last. Sanchez started throwing picks like they were completions, so that went out the window quickly. With Geno, we're still in the maybe he's the guy phase, but he's looking more and more like he will be...Add a valid #1 receiver - a big, strong, fast weapon who can catch (unlike hill) and who knows what we can have over the next few years. There's never been a time that I can remember when the JEts have been so young at so many positions , but still so promising...So, goddamn right, there's a lot to be excited about. P.S. You've got fat fucks on the radio felating eli manning who is among the worst QBs in the league this year. If minnesota was competent, the Giants would easily be 0-7.
I agree with Tony all the way with this post. Sunday's game was HUGE, but maybe not for the reasons most would expect. Yes, beating NE is always a hoot and it keeps us in the running now in the AFC East. But the game was huge because of what it revealed about the team. It's as if we saw the team starting to gell right before our eyes. The offense was getting it together as a unit. The defense, same thing. Individuals moving as one machine. And to do this against a Tom Brady speaks volumes. Okay, Amendola wasn't out there, but Gronk was and the defense was still all over every down. And Smith is maturing right before our eyes. With the now-revitalized "ground and pound," he was feeding off of it and taking his shots effectively and in a more calm demeanor. Deliberate, accurate passes. I'm starting to feel good about this team again and especially because it looks like maybe our Don Quixote-like QB quest for the impossible dream... a QB who can actually carry the offense, has finally arrived. It's been painfiul... Penny, then the stop-gap Favre, then on to El Guapo... it seems like we've been searching forever. But now, finally, I think Smith is the real deal. So we have to keep him healthy. And now we can stop pissing away draft picks on QBs and start bringing in other personnel who can add to the mix. Things are looking okay now, better than the 4-3 record suggests even. So yeah Tony, you are spot on.
Don't get me wrong, 2010 was a great year. Jets were a favorite coming in and they backed it up for the most part during the regular season before giving us another thrilling playoff run. But these are the years that I think I enjoy the most. Zero expectations, non-believer "experts" by the dozens, and the educated part of the fan base that had a quiet but realistic hype about the talented front 7 defense. A couple nice surprises on offense in Powell and Ivory and Nelson. I have to say that I'm enjoying this year. Just enjoying the ride.
