This article is for the diehard fans of New York, who have been holding on by a thread while they watch their NY Jets stink up the field over the past several decades. What I mean by this is that the Jets fans have been waiting to see their team get back to the Super Bowl as it has been 55 years since. Obviously, the Jets have only made one Super Bowl appearance in their entire existence which came back in 1969. Joe Namath and the Jets largely upset Johnny Unitas’ Baltimore Colts 16-7 as the Colts were heavily favored that year. Namath’s Jets became the first AFL team to defeat an NFL team in winning a Super Bowl. Even though the Jets only brought home one Lombardy the fans still to this day love Joe Namath and everything he did for the beloved Jets organization and team in his 13-year tenure there. I have not been alive long enough to have seen all the QBs the Jets have assembled since Namath retired, but I can tell you one thing, none of the QBs the Jets have had since the early 90s haven’t come close to that type of franchise player.
They’ve had plenty of decent to good QBs, Vinny Testaverde who spent 2 stints with the Jets, and Chad Pennington, who looked very promising until injuries plagued his career, then there was hope and belief that getting Brett Favre towards the end of his career would surely be the answer to end their half-century of misery. Shockingly, with Brett under center, the Jets neither made a Super Bowl appearance nor the playoffs in his lone season as a Jet. Favre wound up getting hurt and was shipped back to the NFC North the following season to play for his long-time rival Minnesota Vikings. Two seasons later came ex-USC Trojans QB Mark Sanchez who led NY to back-2-back AFC championships (2010-2011) but fell short both times. Last season it seemed like all the misfortunes of the Jets were going to come to an end. When you bring in Aaron Rodgers, yet another ex-Packers QB how can you not be overcome with excitement. I mean it is a guy who led the Packers to a Super Bowl win, it may’ve been over a decade ago but still, Green Bay seemingly scouts the best of the best at that position, and the proof is there. I mean the Packers have only had 3 starting QBs in the past 32 years. Well, surprise, surprise last year the Jets found out their season was over pretty early, extremely early, in fact, there’s an old saying “The early bird gets the worm”. It was earlier than that, as Rodgers only played four snaps into their first game and then tore his achillies tendon. When you rewatch the footage of the play where the damage was done you can see the tendon snap back like a rubber band.
Enough of the negative noise though. Let's discuss what the Jets fans are looking forward to this season. Aaron Rodgers is now 100% healthy even if he is over 40 years old. Star RB Breece Hall is back healthy and stud WR Garrett Wilson is primed for a breakout year. Jets GM Joe Douglas made sure he brought in enough talent to have in place for his guy Rodgers by beefing up the O-Line, I don’t believe it’ll be a top unit in the league, but anything is better than last year's struggles from their big men up front. Often hurt (missed 37 games the past four seasons) T Tyron Smith was brought over from Dallas who can play the left tackle or guard positions. LG John Simpson came from Baltimore where he started every game last season including both Ravens playoff games. Douglas also signed ex-Ravens RT Morgan Moses to sure up the right side of the O-line. Mike Williams, ex-chargers WR was brought in to help bolster this core unit of pass catchers that also has second-year WR Xavier Gipson alongside future Superstar Wilson. Offensively they have more than enough talent to work with.
When you think about this New York Jets team you may think of the 4x MVP Aaron Rodgers, their RB Hall, and even WR Wilson, but the first thing that should come to mind is this astounding Jets defense. This may not be the New York Sack Exchange of the 1980’s although this is as scary of a unit as you’ll see across the league. Last season the Jets were second in passing yards allowed. They also allowed just 19 pass TDs (tied 2nd), had 15 INTs (12th), 15 FF (11th), 10 FR (11h), & 48 sacks (9th). This Jets D has huge pieces at every level from the D-line, heart and soul of the defense Quinnen Williams, newly acquired players in both Javon Kinlaw & Haason Reddick, LBs C.J. Mosley, Quincy Williams, and of course the backend that is loaded with talent. One of the best lockdown CBs in the entire league is Sauce Gardner, his teammate on the other side of the field D.J Reed, Michael Carter II at the nickel position, underrated S Tony Adams, and recently signed veteran Chuck Clark. I’ve quietly been a fan of Chuck Clark from his days in Baltimore. He’s not the best in pass coverage but what he brings to the run game with his ability to tackle in the open field just brings even more greatness to this DB room.
New York Jets fans are in a great place right now with Rodgers and this intimidating defense that can single-handedly win them games with sufficient play from any passer, let alone the game-changer that Aaron has been. Even better news for NY is that the Division rival Buffalo Bills have lost a lot of staples to their team and seem to be slightly trending in the wrong direction. To analyze the rest of their AFC East rivals, the New England Patriots and Belichick parted ways and are entering a full rebuild that will keep them out of the mix for at least the next few seasons. Then there is the Miami Dolphins who are potentially a threat to the Jets after winning the East last season. However, one thing favoring the Jets here is that the Jets will host the Dolphins the last week of the season. Say the Jets and Dolphins are tied for the division lead in week 18, that will not bode well for these Fins. If you don’t know what I am alluding to with the previous statement I will leave you with this stat. The Miami Dolphins have not won a game they've played in 40 degrees or less in their past 11 games in such temperatures.
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