Problems of the Jets simply due to years of poor culture

Throughout this entire season, fans of the New York Jets have had to witness multiple problems. However, these issues aren’t anything new. Why? Because of poor culture.

Throughout the season, fans of the New York Jets have had to suffer through losses, a quarterback controversy, and off-the-field issues. Unfortunately, due to poor culture, these problems have gone on much longer than just this season.

Back in 2009, when the Jets hired head coach, Rex Ryan, this team was full of poor culture. When veteran quarterback, Chad Pennington left, the team had no team captain. So, they relied on NFL legend, Brett Favre. However, we all knew he would only last one year.

Also, they had absolutely no motivation. They had good players, but those players didn’t want to play up to the speed. Ryan had a goal to change that. In 2009, Ryan drafted USC quarterback, Mark Sanchez, which seemed to fix the quarterback problem. He (Ryan) also brought in excitement. The players were excited about the coaching change and were willing to listen to Ryan.

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In the ’09-’10 season, it looked like the culture was fixed. The team went 9-7, and the players were aggressive enough to put them into the AFC championship, but they ended up losing to the Indianapolis Colts.

The Jets would lose veteran running back, Thomas Jones to free agency in the 2010 offseason. Instead of drafting a young star, they went with another veteran, LaDainian Tomlinson. LT was proven, but he was too old.

They did draft Shonn Greene in the third round, but he didn’t turn out great. However, despite this poor decision, the team would make it to another AFC championship. They would again lose, but this time it was to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

In 2011, poor decisions would show, and the Jets would finish 8-8 with no playoff appearance. This would cause players to stop listening to Ryan, which would bring up more problems.

In 2012, the Jets would try and keep fans interested by picking up quarterback, Tim Tebow. Unfortunately, it was only a fan interest decision. Tebow hardly played in 2012, and the Jets would go 6-10.

Next year, Rex felt like there needed to be a change at quarterback, which wasn’t really necessary. They decided to draft Geno Smith in the second round.

Smith played alright in his rookie year and helped bring the team back to .500 with an 8-8, but they still didn’t make the playoffs. The next year would be Ryan’s last year, and he definitely showed it was time for a coaching change. The Jets would put a horrendous 4-12 record, and the fans screamed for change. The next year, The Jets brought in new head coach, Todd Bowles.

Bowles wanted badly to win, and he was given good veteran players like receiver Brandon Marshall and quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. They also brought cornerbacks Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie back into the mix.

While this did add talent, they still had horrible culture problems, and you could see it all offseason. A few examples are when linebacker IK Enemkpali broke Smith’s jaw, and when defensive end Sheldon Richardson violated the NFL’s substance abuse policy.

These kinds of problems showed there was no culture. The players were just there for themselves and didn’t care what happened with the team. But, it still worked out okay, and the Jets had one of their best regular seasons in years, going 10-6.

Unfortunately for the team, all of the problems have really come out this season. You’ve seen a lack of performance from veterans like Revis and Marshall, as well as from Fitzpatrick, who they tried so hard to get back in the offseason. Also, Richardson has gotten into a lot more trouble, as was predicted.

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Overall, the problem is definitely culture and it has to change. Bowles will be back next year, and he has to work with your players, fire the cancers like Richardson, Revis, and Fitzpatrick, and bring in young talent who want to compete and win. If nothing is done next year, the team can expect another abysmal season.

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