NY Jets: If you’re reading this it’s too late

The NY Jets dropped the ball and beat themselves in a big loss to the Rex Ryan-led Buffalo Bills.

Welcome. If you’re reading this article, that probably means you’ve meandered over to TheJetPress.com. You probably have some interest in reading some analysis as a reaction to the Jets’ latest debacle. You may be looking for reasons as to why they lost. You may even be looking for reasons to believe that the Jets can turn it around. Sitting at 5-4 through 9 games after the disaster that was last season, the Jets and the fanbase should be hopeful and aren’t crazy to believe this team can snag a playoff spot.

I will tell you one thing simply: if you’re reading this, it’s too late. No, the season isn’t over. Yes, the Jets are still in relative control of their destiny. But don’t expect a win any week. Not a single one. They will win more games, I’ll tell you that. But don’t put your heart and soul on the line anymore. This is a season to disconnect yourself emotionally. Do it before you get sucked into a game like some of you may have on Thursday. Like I said, if you’re reading this, you’re probably a fan or have some interest in their performance.

The emotions were building to this. This game couldn’t have come at a more emotionally vulnerable time from a fan perspective. After last week’s gift of a win (which I treated as a loss), the Jets had a chance to really right the ship against Rex’s Bills and calm everyone down with a good performance. A win Thursday would’ve separated the Jets from the pack and solidly established them as the fourth best team in the AFC. Now that we’ve been thrown back to the pack after a 1-3 four-game span, it’s time to disconnect.

Todd Bowles isn’t worried. Ryan Fitzpatrick is having surgery today. Chris Ivory reestablished himself as a threat out of the backfield. Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker showed up as usual. The Jets have the makeup of a quality football team. We’re regressing to the same point where we were at last year where the conversation is about execution. Just like John Idzik made clear during his 2014 mid-season press conference/filibuster on the state of the team after a 1-7 start, the team isn’t executing. Let’s hope we’re not in the midst of another 1-7 stretch.

Feb 1, 2014; New York, NY, USA; Recording artist/rapper Drake performs during the Revolt Party at the Time Warner Cable Studios. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

When I say it’s time to relieve yourself of any further emotional damage and disconnect from this team for this year, I am speaking from firsthand experience. Tonight, I took the plunge. I drank the proverbial Kool Aid. My “Jets sense” told me the Jets weren’t finished, even when they were down 22-3.

Yes, I wanted to turn the TV off at that moment, but my “Jets sense” would be tuned in. The Jets and Bills are two teams that never play a full game consistently. That is part of the problem. Even with each increasingly painful squandering of fourth down conversion opportunities, the Jets still had me clinging to hope.

After the Bills failed to get a punt off late in the game, I was all in. I jumped up like I was at the game myself, ready to explode as the Jets fought off the demons of Rex and knocked the Bills down the playoff totem pole. It didn’t happen. I was left in a state of feeling unfulfilled. I am not emotionally whole at the moment because the Jets didn’t do what they were supposed to do: win the game.

Such is life as a Jets fan. If you thought this year was going to be any different than others, you were wrong. Maybe we’ll finish with 9 or 10 wins and make the playoffs. Maybe we’ll collapse and win 1 or 2 games down the stretch. Maybe the team will wake up and go 6-1 down the stretch. None of these scenarios are out of the realm of possibility. That’s how every season is.

Next: Ryan Fitzpatrick going under the knife

If an analytical study of a team’s performance unpredictability on a week-to-week basis based on how many games a team loses when they are expected to win or win when they are expected to lose existed, and a number was assigned to that statistic (call it the unpredictability index), I would assume the Jets would rank near the top of this index.

What I’m trying to say Jets fans is that it’s time to accept your fate. If you thought you could wake up and expect some consistency in a Jets’ performance – good or bad – you’re wrong. Don’t fight it. Don’t try and psyche yourself into thinking that the Jets are going to play to form. If you think otherwise, you will think differently in due time. If not, and if you’re (still) reading this, it’s too late.