They seriously overachieved so far. The problem with overachieving is that you regress to the mean...and they're now regressing.
I'm torn. The realistic me (looking towards the future schedule) says that this is an 8-8 team which is a vast improvement from last years shitty record and shitty team. We should still be in the wild card hunt with the Steelers, Raiders, Bills, Dolphins, Chiefs, and Texans all in about the same position as us. We control our fate as much as anyone and NEED to beat the Bills, Dolphins, and Texans going forward. We can lose the rest of our NFC games as long as we are holding the tie-breakers over those teams. The optimist says we are playoff bound and will sneak in at 9-7 and can maybe steal a playoff game on the road if we nab the 5 seed. The pessimist in me says that this team could be in a whole lot of trouble as far as the future looks. I'm still up in the air about this coaching staff and while I think Gailey has done a decent job thus far, he doesn't seem as though he's going to be an extremely progressive coordinator moving forward. The roster beyond 2016 (next year) is a mystery. The only offensive lineman young and experienced enough to consider a shoe in starter for that year is Carpenter. Mangold and Brick are going to break down soon enough and have enormous cap numbers. We need to draft a running back sooner rather than later. Devin Smith needs to develop into a quality player to replace either Decker or Marshall by then. As far as the defense is concerned, the linebacking core needs an entire revamp. We should hope Demario Davis is gone, and David Harris will most likely be fading by 2017, although I said that about him this year. Wilkerson needs to be resigned but he could be gone as easily as he could be signed long term. The secondary is the only spot moving forward that the future is very bright. Marcus Williams looks to be a quality player, we have plenty of talent at safety locked up for a while. And as everyone knows. Until a better quarterback pops up on the roster, we'll always be a 7-9 to 9-7 [10-6] team battling for a road playoff game every year. Then again the NFL changes drastically each year so it's exciting.
I voted very pessimistic as an emotional answer, I will admit that. The loss this Thursday completely crushed my spirit. I'm not looking for someone to tell me to back off the ledge or any of that shit. Fuck that, that loss was a devastating blow, personally. I understand that this team and coaching staff could have plenty of potential and even somehow.....actually make the playoffs? But I doubt it, unless our running game really, really shapes the fuck up, I don't see us even getting in the playoffs let alone getting to .500 Our running game has always been the key to the offense, and the defense, I just can't explain. I thought we had a great defense, and they have been porous in so many ways that I wish I could explain but for my lack of football knowledge. I can't even watch football tomorrow, I really don't think I can. For some reason, the loss on thursday completely deflated me. I know it's a very emotional response and I hope I'm wrong, but I don't see any light at the end of the tunnel. It just seems like a perpetual left hand turn into darkness.
The sooner that fuckhead is off the team the better. I CAN'T BELIEVE that asshole actually has supporters. Fitzpatrick has done a commendable job up to this point. If you think your going to get anywhere remotely the same type of production from that fucking egghead you are as dumb as Geno is himself. Not only is Fitz better during the play, but in between snaps he can actually READ A DEFENSE. Not something our homeboy Geno can do.
Three more wins with new systems on both sides of the ball, a rookie HC, no punt or kick returner, poor STs, a mediocre QB, a questionable OL, no TEs, slow LBs, no pass rush without blitzing, and injuries to several key players isn't improving by much? That's a 75% improvement, and nothing at which to sneeze. Don't forget that it can take some time for a new CS to gel as well and take some time for them to determine which of the team's holdovers will be in the team's plans for the future. The NFL mandated that we HAD to spend a lot of money. Just because we spent a lot of money doesn't mean we got great players. You always have to overpay in FA. The thing you have to remember is that in spending that money to make the team more competitive, Mac didn't saddle the team for years with the contracts. Most of the FAs can be cut after this season with no cap hit, the rest can be cut after next season. He wasn't "going all in" for this season, and this team was not a "win now" team as some posters mistakenly claimed. It was built to be more competitive while they are building a solid foundation and building the team the correct way, through the draft. This team had a lot of holes in the starting lineup, too many to fill in one off season, and little quality depth. Most of us knew that. Most of us also knew that there are almost always adjustments and a learning curve for a rookie HC. Teams can take time to gel. Two of our top rookie draft picks were injured and missed key time during TC and preseason. Most of us expected the team's record would be somewhere between 7-9 and 10-6, with the potential of being perhaps a little better, if everything went perfectly and fell into place and we avoided key injuries. That didn't happen. I see no reason to be disappointed. The circus is gone. While Bowles still has things to learn and work on, he's already light years better than Rex in some ways, and we have reason to be hopeful, if not optimistic about the future. Mac made some great moves in the off season. He seems to have a great eye for talent, knows the game, has a plan, and is thoroughly professional. We have a lot of reason to be optimistic about the team's future with him in charge. In short, I think we have a lot of reasons to be hopeful, we just have to be patient and temper that hope with realism, and not get too excited.
Realistically, this team CAN win another 4-5 games, I have a hard time objectively writing this team out just because we lost the turnover battle on a short week. We're more than what we are last week win or lose, we are what our record says we are. Jets fans need to learn to accept the good and the bad and think bigger picture, we're too reactionary and what-have-you-done-for-me-lately for our own good in the end.
Its not rocket science the O-line was going to struggle with the starters in there that's what makes me pessimistic ...........
Living on Blind Faith after the Knock Down last Thursday The problem is when we come to town or even have a home game all the teams we are "supposed to beat" play like the Pats for us. So every game is losable IMO rather than winnable with our cast of characters and CS Agree we are an overachieving 8-8 team with an average QB and now a suspect defense decimented by injury. Bowles and Chan have made screwy calls 40% of the season. This is more evident when we fall behind or a game is close. But 5-4 is really an improvement. So my attitude is Meh with a smile...depending on my mood more pessimistic or optimistic
If you didn't begin your post with three more wins, I would have applauded everything you said here and handed you the post of the thread award. I think we get healthy from here and we're 9-7 or 10-6.
Compared to this time last year... A thousand times better. Happy with the cs changes, happy with Fitzpatrick. Compared to a month ago... Somewhat deflated. Last three games have been very disappointing. To recapture the optimism they need to start playing like they were in September. Low penalties, high effort, good fundamentals. Hammer the Texans, beat the Dolphins and then beat the Giants. God, that would be so good if they did that.
If they lose to Houston they are headed to 8-8. I feel pretty good about 9, but am hoping for 1o. I just wish we had one more guy who could beat man to man coverage. Kerley ain't that guy. I saw that again the other night. Maybe Enunwa can, but he can't catch. His blocking will help our run game. I would also like Decker to stop feeling like he is obliged to drop one catchable pass every game. I think Ridley is just getting over ACL-itis, or whatever ligament he tore. Takes guys a game or two to cut loose. The guy can run. P.S. I just read somewhere that Decker has only 3 drops this season. So I stand corrected. It certainly seems to me that he has had more. Of course I do not know what the requirements for a 'statistical' drop are.
We've underachieved so far this season. There's no way we should have lost to the Eagles or Bills. Oakland's offense is really damn good so I'll give them credit and we lost in New England which isn't a shocker. But we should be 7-2, not 5-4. Things I'm Unhappy With: Coaching time mismanagement/no sense of urgency when we are down at the end of a game Ultraconservative playcalling on 3rd and 4th downs Marshall's bonehead plays Fitzpatrick's noodle for an arm Inconsistent o-line play (and this was a problem before injuries) Linebackers that suck at playing defense Benching of Kerley Special Teams mismanagement Things I'm Happy With: A receiving corps that can actually make things happen Pass blocking QB that doesn't constantly do something stupid D-Line doing it's job Not being the laughing stock of the NFL Head coach doesn't make headlines
Without a doubt. And I know tons of fans might not want to hear this. But if Rex was coaching here this season I think we would be about 7-2. Now this doesnt mean I want Rex back and I dont think he's a great coach. But he got a lot out of his teams. And with a roster like ours in currently constructed , I think we would be in better positioning. I put the losses to Philly, Oakland and New England squarely on the coaching.
We're on track for the 9-7 narrow playoff miss that I predicted all offseason but foolishly ditched when I saw the hot start. Gotta keep your eye on the bigger picture. On the bright side I went back and looked at pre draft talk from this April and got really excited about Petty again.
Agree and I also feel SO... we have a new HC who is learning, we have a team that has warts and we know that but we have a winning record all year. That says alot about the team and the coaches. My area of concern has been ST ... they are the weak link on the team and now with Folk out well need I say more.
The team, FO and CS are all trending in the right direction after the last regime's debacle and the mess they left this team with. The NE and Buffalo games were both games we had a chance to win and didn't make the plays to do so. I question some of the clock mgt. issues that the CS has been having. However the team looks alot more together than they did over the last 2 or 3 years. I think we end the year at 9-7 and fight for that final WC spot.
Looking at our schedule and strength of opposition is very telling. So far, the teams we've played are a combined 35W-40L, but that's somewhat distorted by NE's 8-0, so if we remove NE, we went 5-3 against 27W-40L opposition. We've lost to every team we've faced that was at .500 or above, getting all our wins against the cellar dwellers of the NFL, and even some of those games were close (Jacksonville game, Redskin and Browns games for a while). We went out and spent everything we had, and just like every other team that has gone on a big free agency splurge, we got nothing to show for it except mediocrity.
