The disaster that has become 2016 for Jets

At 1-5 to start the season, the New York Jets have once again returned to their old ways. This season will go down as a complete disaster.

When general manager Mike Maccagnan and head Todd Bowles were hired together, every fan of the New York Jets was excited. They finally hired a general manager and coach the right way. Both men were deemed as smart, thorough people who knew how to put a good football team together.

Heading into 2015, there were very low expectations for the Jets, despite several high-profile additions such as Brandon Marshall and Darrelle Revis. Still, Geno Smith was the starting quarterback, until of course, IK Enemkpali decided to break his jaw. Ryan Fitzpatrick went on to have the best season of his long, inconsistent career, setting a franchise record for touchdown passes with 31.

Although they came one game short of reaching the NFL Playoffs for the first time since 2010, the Jets had their first top ten offense in a very long time. They also even had a top five defense. There was so much hope headed into 2016 that Jets Nation got beyond excited.

Sure, they let Damon Harrison and Chris Ivory walk, but no fan was concerned about that.

Maccagnan was lauded by the media and fan base for bringing in veteran running back Matt Forte and trading for veteran left tackle Ryan Clady. They even had a great draft by selecting speedy linebacker Darron Lee in the first round. The Jets looked younger, faster, and better than the 2015 team. Even though Fitzpatrick didn’t re-sign until the first day of training camp, most fans expected him to pick up right where he left off.

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Now, here we are, staring at a 1-5 record, and Fitzpatrick is on the bench. Who would’ve predicted that before the season?

The defense has been atrocious. Bad is not a strong enough adjective to describe what has transpired with this under-achieving unit.

Lorenzo Mauldin, Calvin Pryor, and Marcus Williams had promising 2015 seasons and they all were expected to build on it. Not only have they not expanded on their 2015 success, they have each played so poorly that they don’t even deserve to be on the football field.

Revis has somehow gone from arguably the best cornerback in the NFL in 2015 to one of the worst in 2016. (Yes, his numbers prove that he was great; just because he had two bad games against two elite receivers does not speak to the value he gave this team last year).

He can’t cover anyone and gets beat on every route, not just the go route.

Bowles has not made any adjustments on defense and now is in charge of a lazy, soft, conservative defense that ranks among the worst in the league.

Bowles’ aggressiveness has withered away with all the high expectations for this unit, but can you blame him for not blitzing anymore?

The Jets’ best hope is to be as bad as they are now for the rest of the season. This team needs a franchise quarterback for the first time since Joe Namath. No, finishing 6-10 or 7-9 and trading for Tony Romo to be their quarterback next year is not what this franchise needs.

Must Read: Geno Smith won't magically fix glaring issues of Jets

Few remember the state of the roster before Maccagnan got here. This is a rebuild contrary to what many fans and media believe. Yes, they are an old team because of the spending spree Mike went on during the 2015 offseason. He had a ton of money to spend and used it to stay competitive while he rebuilds the roster. Wasting a high draft pick on a 37-year-old quarterback who is one hit away from never taking an NFL snap again would wipe out everything that this team is building towards.

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