Failures of the Jets never seem to end
By Mark Kelly
The New York Jets, even when they give fans some kind of hope of having a meaningful season, will always continue to fail in the grand scheme of things.
Before I begin my diatribe, let me say that this is not for the weak-minded. This is a very harsh breakdown of the New York Jets that has frankly, disgraced itself and its fan base countless times. Those failures never seem to end and they never seem to care. That year after year their fans are the laughing stock of their friends, family, and coworkers.
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If you are offended by this, please know that the writer understands that football is just a game. This is a form of entertainment not to be confused for reality or anything resembling importance outside of sports metaphors.
If you are a fan of the Jets, it just never ends. This franchise just never fails to totally humiliate you or make you feel like you wasted your football life by rooting for such a disaster of a franchise.
Monday night’s 28-3 debacle was just the latest in a series of laughable performances for a franchise that actually has the gall to think they represent a pro sports franchise.
It’s time the truth finally gets spoken about this franchise. This franchise is a total disaster. They are a laughing stock. Since the NFL-AFL merger, no franchise has been as bad as the Jets have.
Just think that the Houston Texans, who started play in 2002, have won more division titles than the Jets. No team in the NFL has won fewer division titles than the Jets two. Just think about how bad that is. Two division titles won in 46-plus seasons. The Patriots have won the AFC East 13 times since 2001. It’s hard to imagine that the Jets and Patriots play the same sport.
One thing is for certain and that is that this franchise just does not get it. I honestly thought that after the total disgrace of the John Idzik era that they were starting to get a clue. They admitted their horrific failure of his hire and went about hiring a new head coach and general manager.
However, the process that occurred after that just goes to show what a horrible organization this is. If you really want the person to blame for this disaster and the sad excuse for a sports franchise, you don’t need to look any further than Woody Johnson.
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It’s hard to imagine that Johnson could be a success at anything with the absolutely horrific way he has managed his football team. Since he took over as the owner of the Jets in 2000, he has done nothing to show that winning is in any way a priority.
The people he has hired to run his franchise had no or very minimal success in the NFL when they were hired as either a general manager or head coach.
Personally, it’s hard not to like someone like Herm Edwards or Rex Ryan or even Todd Bowles, but it’s painfully obvious that none of these coaches had anything on their resume to show that they could lead a team or franchise to success.
I am a big believer that if you want to build a successful franchise, you need to hire proven guys that knows what it takes to build a winner. Year after year we have seen a franchise that has no identity or plan on how to build consistent success. You need a general manager who understands how to build a team, a coach that gets the most out of his talent, and a consistent identity for how you are going to make that happen.
If you look at the marquee franchises in the NFL, they all have strong foundations of success that have drafted well, managed the salary cap well, understood how to use free agency and expect success and achievement from anyone that puts on that uniform.
If you are a member of the Packers, Patriots, Steelers or Ravens you know what is expected of you and how to represent your franchise. What exactly do the Jets represent? Coaches like Bruce Coslet, Pete Carroll, Herm Edwards and Rex Ryan have tried to put in “Play like a Jet” moniker, but in all honesty, that slogan makes others in the NFL laugh hysterically, because “play like a Jet” is what most opponents pray for when they take on this team.
Oct 17, 2016; Glendale, AZ, USA; New York Jets wide receiver Brandon Marshall (15) reacts on the sidelines in the fourth quarter against the Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium. The Cardinals defeated the Jets 28-3. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
“Play like a Jet” means, underachieving, missing assignments, throwing interceptions, fumbling, getting called for a penalty or just being an overall total embarrassing failure.
If Woody Johnson was serious about winning, he would hire a proven football executive that has experienced success, won Super Bowl’s and proven that he knows how to instill confidence in all their employees.
It’s amazing just how bad this franchise has been at building their roster over the years. If you really want to have consistent success in the NFL, you need to draft very well. The Jets drafts under Woody Johnson have been hysterically awful.
Going back to 2000, the Jets have drafted just three players that were All-Pro selections, John Abraham, Darrelle Revis and Nick Mangold. They have miserably failed in selecting players after the first round, which is a great indication of how poor they are at scouting and analyzing talent. Only one player (Laveranues Coles, taken in the third round of the 2000 NFL Draft) has been named to the Pro Bowl.
Looking deeper at the Jets draft selections, it’s gotten much worse as the millennium has moved on. Since taking Revis in the first round of the 2007 NFL Draft, the Jets have only drafted one player named to the Pro Bowl.
Looking at the last three years, Darron Lee has done well but is out of position in the current Jets scheme, and after hurting his knee on Monday night, might be the latest of the Jets high picks to miss significant playing time. Other selections such as Dee Milliner, Quinton Coples, Kyle Wilson and Vernon Gholston have been total busts. who are either out of the NFL or a backup.
Players such as Calvin Pryor, Sheldon Richardson, and Leonard Williams have shown promise, but their talents are being wasted by a coaching staff that is one of the worst in the NFL.
Without a doubt, coaching in the NFL plays a much bigger part in winning or losing than any other of the major sports. Since Woody Johnson took over, the head coaches he has brought in have been totally overwhelmed and unable to get the most out of the players on the roster.
Whether it’s been Herm Edwards, Eric Mangini, Al Groh, Rex Ryan or Todd Bowles, Jets head coaches have consistently been unprepared, unorganized and had a massive ignorance in understanding how to manage an NFL game. This season has been a revelation in that category, as Bowles and his staff have looked totally clueless as to how to analyze their opponent and put their players in position to make plays.
Who I really feel sorry for are the people that spent money and invested in this fraud. Imagine paying good money only to have the tickets they bought for the 2016 season be useless by October 16? Make no mistake about it, the Jets season is over and they only have themselves and the consistent horrendous decisions they continue to make, to blame.
If I was one of the people who wasted my hard earned money on this joke of a franchise, I would demand my money back. I would pen a letter to Woody Johnson describing, in detail, my total disgust for the lack of heart, discipline and intelligence he has shown in the people he has hired to lead his laughing stock of a football franchise. I would let it be known that I am sick and tired of the Jets hiring losers, and most importantly, making all their fans feel like losers for rooting for them.
The time for excuses is over Mr. Johnson. You have watched the franchise fall apart time after time after time after time after time after time after time after time. Either get your act together and hire solid football people that know how to draft, use free agency and manage the salary cap or sell the damn team! Either way, Mr. Johnson, you should give the fans that wasted their time believing in you, their money back.
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The head coaches change, the general managers change, the players change, but the results painfully stay the same and until Woody Johnson wakes the heck up and cares that he has an NFL franchise that is an utter disgrace to its fans, the results will not change.