New York Jets: Team has all the right personalities

By Todd Gerstenhaber | Sep 25, 2015

This time last year was when it all seemed to implode for the New York Jets. In another potential statement road game, the Jets bent, but appeared as if they weren’t going to give up after Geno Smith threw a beautiful touchdown pass to Jeremy Kerley during the fourth quarter of their Week 2 matchup in Green Bay. Then it was all painfully taken away by the timeout debacle created by Marty Mornhinweg.

As the media seems to love to do, everyone pounced on the Jets. Geno, Kerley, and Marty seemingly haven’t been the same since. Rex Ryan is still the same, just in a different place. As reported by Marc Belcher of WIVB News, the Bills lost in part due to the amount of penalties they accrued across the span of 60 minutes of football.

More from Jets News

The Jets have a new flavor to them this time around. Like Rex, Todd Bowles is a defensive mastermind. The only difference is Bowles is even-keeled no matter the situation. There’s no questions being asked of anyone of this team, based on their current standing.

The notable thing about this team is that there is nothing newsworthy to report besides the fact that they are doing what they are supposed to be doing. This is in part due to the tone set by the new regime. Even in the locker room, he’s notably unemotional.

Antonio Cromartie said Todd Bowles' only postgame msg to #Jets was "just get ready for PHI." (1)

— Kimberley A. Martin (@KMart_LI) September 22, 2015

Instead of having the coach be the personality, Bowles let’s his players set the tone. It’s more of a controlled confidence this time, instead of an unabashed bravado. These Jets have been humbled by this league. They’re veterans. Guys like Ryan Fitzpatrick, Brandon Marshall and Chris Ivory – leaders on the offensive side of the ball for this team – have all experienced their fair share of failures, lack of success and general ineptitude.

Even Darelle Revis has a new perspective on how fast things can go south, as he experienced with a dysfunctional Buccaneers team in 2013 despite having a good season individually. It’s all about having the right personalities assembled to keep everyone in check.

Marshall has turned himself into controlled confidence personified. In my opinion, he is a perfect fit for this team not only from a personnel perspective but in terms of his presence in the locker room and his personality. He is essentially this Jets team’s Bart Scott. I mean, how many players would walk out on the set of Monday Night Football wearing this?:

Brandon Marshall joins @SportsCenter, and he brought a strong suit game. pic.twitter.com/iCVq8thf7U

— ESPN Monday Night (@ESPNMondayNight) September 22, 2015

…and then have this to say about the offense’s play (as reported by Darryl Slater of NJ.com):

"“I think that collectively, we feel that we left a lot of meat on the bones, and we have to get better…When we have a defense playing that well and giving us so many opportunities, we’ve got to take advantage of it. We’ve got to do a better job. We’ve got a long way to go before we can start crowning ourselves.”"

The thing is, Marshall is exactly right. Who would come out and say that on the set of Monday Night Football? Only a veteran, who understands that this is a marathon, not a sprint.

At the same time, in the same report from Darryl Slater, it was said that Marshall screamed at Fitzpatrick when he noticed a difference in coverage. It takes a certain personality to be okay with a guy like Marshall screaming at you. Fitzpatrick is that guy. That led to this:

How many Colts defenders does it take to stop Brandon Marshall? One? Two? Three? Nope. TOUCHDOWN #NYJvsIND http://t.co/EgaJXeQcvh

— NFL (@NFL) September 22, 2015

John Idzik’s approach last year was bringing in guys who had never really proven themselves in this league and try to get them to prove themselves in a season that was deemed make-or-break. Mike Maccagnan has taken calculated risks on guys who have proven themselves, maybe lost some credibility, but could regain their standing in the right situation. Even a Zac Stacy would fit into this category. Eric Decker, based on his play last year, could fit into this category.

The Monday Night Football crew made note of the football IQ in the Jets’ offensive huddle. This isn’t to say that they are all Pro-Bowlers. They’re guys who have been around a long time, and can be confided in. Something the Jets haven’t seemed to have on offense in a while is trust.

Raise your hand if you would normally expect the Jets to march down and get a touchdown in the 4th quarter to answer the opposing teams’ previous touchdown drive and essentially ice the game? I can’t even see your hands but I know not too many are raised.

Speaking of personalities, the Jets’ offensive gameplan is about as entertaining as Kimmie Gibbler’s boyfriend Duane from Full House. It truly is “whatever.” The creator of this “whatever” offense, Mr. Chan Gailey, may be the Duane to the Jet’s Kimmie Gibbler. No one is sure exactly why or how, but it just works.

Yeah, it will confuse you at times. Running the ball on third and medium when your offense is looking to pounce on the wounded Colts and then miss a field goal was a head-scratcher. Then at other times – like the drive ending in the Marshall touchdown noted above – all the right plays were dialed up.

The Full House that is the Jets seems to work with a mish-mosh of personalities. It’s unproven, atypical and not expected to last. However, for now, it works and there’s no need to change it.

Next: New York Jets: Todd Bowles discusses Week 3 injuries

More from The Jet Press