NY Jets: Where do we go from here?

Nov 12, 2015; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets center Nick Mangold (74) hikes the ball to New York Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick (14) in the 2nd half against the Buffalo Bills at MetLife Stadium. The Bills defeated the Jets 22-17 Mandatory Credit: William Hauser-USA TODAY Sports

The NY Jets suffered another tough loss when they were in it for the majority of the game but failed to make the most out of opportunities to leave victorious.

By now, we all know the Jets lost a sloppy game to the Buffalo Bills in front of their home crowd on Thursday Night Football. Despite a packed house and a loud rabid fan base, the Jets couldn’t do enough to overcome their mistakes and lock down a victory against the Bills. It was a crushing defeat that virtually knocked the Jets out of second place in the AFC East, both the Jets and Bills now stand at 5-4, with the Bills now holding the tie breaker.

The story line to this one differs a bit from the past several weeks, yet many of the main characters have remained the same. On Thursday night, the Jets fell behind early and found themselves in a hole 22-3 by the time the Jets’ offense showed any life. Despite a valiant effort in the second half, the Jets fell short in their bid to come back.

Turnovers and poor play were the culprit in this one.  The Jets find themselves in a “skid” despite a win the week before against a win-less road team in the Jacksonville Jaguars. Simply put, the Jets are playing poor football.

So, where do the go from here? Let’s take a look.

Next: Offense

Nov 12, 2015; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick (14) scrambles with the ball against the Buffalo Bills during the third quarter at MetLife Stadium. The Bills defeated the Jets 22-17. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Offense

Ryan Fitzpatrick once again had a poor game. The veteran signal caller struggled through most of the game with accuracy and once again turned the ball over. The Jets need more consistent play at QB. We’ve talked about it all year, you can’t win football games with poor quarterback play in this league, and that is what the Jets got from Fitzpatrick on Thursday night.

He finished the night, 15/34/193/2 TD/2 INT. You can’t turn the ball over as a starting quarterback against the better defenses in this league as they will make you pay. I’ll give credit to Fitzpatrick who took to the field, once again banged up, but he needs to make a better showing of himself then he did on Thursday.

Eric Decker continues to prove he is not just a product of his years with Peyton Manning in Denver, as many claimed when the Jets signed him. Decker once again gave it 100% and was the force that kept the Jets almost respectable in this contest. As far as the receiving game went on Thursday night, you could say this was the “Decker Show” despite a key third down drop late in the game, Decker was everywhere and proved he could get open all night long. Decker finished his day with six catches for eighty five yards, a 14.2 yard average per catch and a touchdown. The next closest receiver for the Jets was Chris Ivory with two catches for 36 yards! Decker gave it his all to help give his teammates a chance to win.

In contrast Brandon Marshall was almost invisible for the Jets once again. Banged up and limping badly at times on Thursday, Marshall only managed 3 receptions for 23 yards. A beast at the beginning of the season, Marshall’s contributions have been slight the last two weeks. We talked about Marshall at length this summer, his age and his health were concerns, and they have begun to take their toll on him this season. Fortunately for the Jets they have a long ten day span after playing the short week until their next game, for Marshall to hopefully shake off some of the bumps and bruises.

Ivory had a good night against the Bills after disappearing the last two weeks. Make no mistake, Ivory is still being hampered by a nagging hamstring issue, but he did show some flashes of the running style we saw earlier this season. It might be a sign that the hammy is getting better, but it remains a concern. Ivory finished the game with 99 yards on just 18 carries for a remarkable five and a half yard per carry average. Stevan Ridley was the only other Jets’ running back available to Gailey on Thursday night after Zac Stacy was injured on a kickoff return to end the first half. Ridley ended his night with -1 yards on 3 attempts.

Nov 12, 2015; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets running back Chris Ivory (33) stiff arms Buffalo Bills linebacker Tony Steward (50) in the 2nd half at MetLife Stadium. The Bills defeated the Jets 22-17 Mandatory Credit: William Hauser-USA TODAY Sports

The Jets’ offensive line has been banged up for the last three weeks, and it has shown itself in inconsistent play. On Thursday, they had success at times opening holes for Chris Ivory in the run game, but then would take some plays off seemingly, allowing defenders to penetrate into the Jet backfield. Hats off to Nick Mangold for taking the field once again injured, playing in the trenches is never easy in the NFL, but with a neck injury, it must be hell.

Mangold’s presence helped along the line, but it was apparent he is still not 100%. D’Brickashaw Ferguson had another sub par game for him, and Jet fans are watching the continued decline from his Pro Bowl days. Brian Winters was once again a mixed bag out there playing in replace of Willie Colon. He actually made a few excellent blocks in this game, but his game still can only be described as barely adequate. We talked at length about the age of this offensive line this summer and the health concerns they carried. The lack of depth along this line is truly worrisome, and if another starter would happen to go down, it could spell the end of the season.

The Jets’ offense has been scoring more points compared to last year. Fitzpatrick has played fairly well, but has been far from spectacular. The problem with this offense, continues to be consistency. To win football games in the NFL, you must have consistency, and the lack of that key factor has played a part in the Jets going 5-4 to this point.

Look, the Jets have played well at times this year offensively, but then they have had games I think most fans would like to forget. The problem is the offense is built around just three players; Ivory, Decker and Marshall. As hard as these guys try, and they have put 100% of what they have on the field for the Jets in every game, they just can’t do it all! What was seen as a promising stable of running backs at the season’s start, has now dwindled to the “Ivory show.”

A much touted receiving corps going into this season has proven to have a huge drop off behind Decker and Marshall. Gailey’s usage of Jeremy Kerley this season has left the talented wide receiver a non factor at the half way point in the season. Marshall is extremely banged up and Decker has seen his share of bruises along the way as well. With little to offer behind them, the coaching staff has had to run Decker/Marshall onto the field injured, giving them very little chance to get healthy. Behind Decker and Marshall on Thursday night, no wide receiver recorded more than one reception!

The wear and tear of a NFL season has its affect on every player in the league. Nobody is as fresh and ready to go as they were on opening day. Unfortunately for the Jets’ offense, it has a bigger effect on aging veterans. We’re seeing that effect now, injuries are piling up, guys are slowing down, and as my readers pointed out this summer the depth for the Jets is questionable. All were quite apparent on Thursday night.

The Jets totaled 128 yards of offense on the ground in this one, 99 of those yards came from just one player, Ivory. No other running back gained a single yard! It just can’t happen! On the other hand, the Jets put up 193 yards in the air and a banged up Marshall and Decker accounted for 108 of those yards while Ivory added another 36, bringing the total to 144 yards! It just can’t happen if you want to win football games consistently in the NFL, three players don’t make a team.

Next: Defense

Nov 12, 2015; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Buffalo Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor (5) sacked by New York Jets defensive end Sheldon Richardson (91) in the 1st quarter at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: William Hauser-USA TODAY Sports

Defense

Oh how the mighty have fallen. Once ranked number one in the league, we’ve seen them torched for yardage in recent weeks and as a result have been forced to watch their ranking tumult. The Jets’ defense was predicted to be the strength of the team, and it likely still is, but they have failed to be dominant in recent weeks. This defense touts a lot of talent, it gets paid a ton of money, yet it is currently ranked number twelve by the folks at BleacherReport.com.

The Jets’ defense has proved stout against the run at times, but at other times, like Thursday night, they disappear for stretches. The group held the Bills to a respectable 143 yards on the ground, but they had trouble once again with a quick shifty back in the form of LeSean McCoy. McCoy broke the one hundred yard mark against the Jets’ defense, and was allowed to scorch them for some big gains in the process.

Most importantly, the Jets’ defense failed to stop him when the game was on the line late in the fourth quarter, when they needed to stop the Bills the most. The Bills were allowed to run the ball and eat up the clock in the process.

Make no mistake, the Jets’ defensive line is a talented group, but they have invested three first round picks up front and most fans had hoped for more dominance from them this year. I know some will argue that it is the system that they are playing in this year, that their responsibilities are to occupy offensive linemen while the linebackers makes the plays, but when you invested three first-round picks, you surely would like to see some dominance.

The defensive line hasn’t played poorly, they have been inconsistent along the way however. They brought pressure all night on Thursday and even produced four sacks of Tyrod Taylor, but in the end, they failed to stop the Bills when it counted down the stretch.

Which brings me to the linebackers. As many of you know, I’ve been a real critic when it comes to this group. Calvin Pace was retained for another season this off season, but has seen his snap count reduced drastically. Pace can still get to the passer, producing two sacks on the season, but it is apparent to even the novice fan that his skill set has faded for the Jets.

Demario Davis again has not impressed this year, hand picked by the guy coaching the Bills, his play can only be seen as inconsistent. The best of the group is veteran David Harris, who turned in another tackling machine performance against the run on Thursday, but also proved once again that he can be a big liability in the passing game. Quinton Coples might as well been held inactive over the past several weeks, as Todd Bowles has obviously found no good way to use him.

Sep 21, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; New York Jets linebacker Quinton Coples (98) against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium. The Jets defeated the Colts 20-7. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The young guys saw very limited action, with Lorenzo Mauldin and Trevor Reilly only seeing a handful of snaps combined. The group as a whole is exposed when opposing offenses choose to use their tight ends or running backs in the passing game. We’ve talked about this problem for the past several years, but it remains a weakness and opposing offenses are once again attacking it.

Thursday night was no exception with Charles Clay, McCoy, and Karlos Williams combining for 11 receptions and 144 yards. When the Bills needed a big play or a crucial third down, they were successful using their tight ends and running back against the Jets’ defense. This can’t be allowed to happen game in and game out, opposing offenses have figured it out!

The Jets’ defensive secondary played better this week, keeping both Sammy Watkins and Robert Woods in check. The held Taylor to only 153 passing yards, but they need to carry some of the blame for the yardage given up to McCoy and the Bills’ tight ends. Calvin Pryor has played much better this year, but once again was too banged up to play on Thursday.

Pryor had injury concerns before being drafted by the Jets, and so far in his career, those concerns have proven valid. Pryor did not play against the Bills and with a banged up Dion Bailey not playing, Rontez Miles and Marcus Gilchrist were the only reliable safeties for the Jets.

In the past two weeks prior to Thursday’s game with the Bills, the Jets’ secondary had allowed 671 yards through the air. If you include the Jacksonville game, and the Patriots game, in the past four weeks, the “elite” secondary has surrendered 1,179 yards! Miscommunication, missed assignments and poor tackling have been their nemesis throughout the season.

They fared better against the Bills, but much of that can be credited to playing against Taylor and the absence of Antonio Cromartie. Cromartie is likely one and done with the Jets as father time and injury have slowed his game to a crawl. The Jets’ back end needs to play better if they want to go anywhere this season.

The Jets’ defense has the potential to be a dominant force in the AFC East, many fans thought that it would be the strength of this football team, but much like the offense, a handful of players can’t do it all! Wilkerson, Harris, and Darrelle Revis played great for the Jets on Thursday, but they can’t be the only ones. It just can’t be allowed to happen!

Next: Final Thoughts

Nov 12, 2015; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets head coach Todd Bowles looks on in the 1st quarter against the Buffalo bills at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: William Hauser-USA TODAY Sports

Injuries have piled up on the Jets this season. Decker, Marshall and Ivory have been banged up and missed time this season. Defensively, Pryor, Buster Skrine and Cromartie have had their injuries as well, causing them to miss valuable time with their units. Meanwhile, the Jets have put seven players on injured reserve, and won’t see any of them return to contribute this year.

Injuries are unfortunate, but they happen. They tend to slow teams down, but the Jets can’t lay all the blame for their “slide” on the injuries alone. We talked a lot about the age of this team this summer, we discussed the possibility of injuries due to their age, and the affects they may have as the season progressed.

Most importantly, we discussed the potential for a drop off in consistency, if the Jets had to rely on its questionable depth at certain positions. The Jets are seeing that in the past four weeks, injuries to starters have made the Jets’ coaching staff to turn to its depth and the results have not been good.

Next: Rex had his cake and ate it too

Thursday night’s game was a tough one to lose, especially it being a divisional game with possible playoff implications. It is far from over Jet fans, but the Jets’ coaching staff will need to clean things up fast! There is still plenty of football to be played, but if the Jets continue to play at this level for very long, it will prove to be another disappointing year for Jet fans. Next up, the Huston Texans.

I saw this loss as indicative of what Jet fans were concerned with this summer. The Jets have talented players at key positions, but they will need to play better if they have any dreams of making the playoffs. What’s your take on Thursday night’s game? How would you grade the season so far? Most importantly, how do you see them playing in the second half of this season?

Please leave me a comment below and Let’s Talk Jet Football!!