New England Patriots: Eye on the AFC East — New York Jets
By Hal Bent
NEW YORK JETS:
The “New York Jets” and “disappointment” seemingly go hand-in-hand. The Todd Bowles era started with a bang in 2015, as the team actually won ten games. It was all courtesy of Ryan “Fitzmagic” Fitzpatrick doing his thing and Chris Ivory rushing for over 1,000 yards, while Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker each also going for over a 1,000. Muhammad Wilkerson and Sheldon Richardson teamed with rookie Leonard Williams and “Snacks” Harrison up front, David Harris tackled everyone, and Darrelle Revis was shut-down at the corner with Antonio Cromartie.
Then, poof: 5-11, 5-11, and 4-12. That was the result of the next three seasons for Bowles.
Ryan Fitzpatrick got hurt and the Jets drafted the dreadful Christian Hackenberg in the second round. Matt Forte cashed checks with little production at running back, Marshall and Decker were hampered by injuries, and the defense imploded when Harrison left in free agency. Harris, Revis, and Cromartie all aged overnight, and Richardson and Wilkerson took turns quitting on the team.
The Jets showed some fight early on in 2018, as they scraped out a 3-3 record after beating the Indianapolis Colts in Week 6. But then they lost nine of 10, which ultimately cost Bowles his job (though strangely, general manager Mike Maccagnon kept his, and now gets another shot to choose his coach).
It’s not all gloom and doom in Gotham, though… there’s some hope that Maccagnon and the new head coach, with over $100 million in cap space to spend, might acquire some talented young players to help turn this franchise around.