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New York Jets: Losing Eric Decker May Spell Disaster

By Alan Schechter

Sep 15, 2016; Orchard Park, NY, USA; New York Jets wide receiver Eric Decker (87) catches a pass in front of Buffalo Bills defensive back Nickell Robey (21) during the second half at New Era Field. The Jets beat the Bills 37-31. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 15, 2016; Orchard Park, NY, USA; New York Jets wide receiver Eric Decker (87) catches a pass in front of Buffalo Bills defensive back Nickell Robey (21) during the second half at New Era Field. The Jets beat the Bills 37-31. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports /
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The loss of Eric Decker may loom quite large on the balance of the New York Jets season.

The New York Jets sit at 1-4. Consecutive losses to the Kansas City Chiefs, Seattle Seahawks, and Pittsburgh Steelers puts them in a very precarious position. They sit three games behind the New England Patriots in the AFC East and are looking up at several teams in the race for a Wild Card spot. As they head to Arizona to face the Cardinals, the Jets sit with a season on the brink.

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The fan base is already to the point where they are questioning the quarterback and the coaching staff. Prior to this past week, Ryan Fitzpatrick was a turnover machine and fans are beginning to rumble about starting the beleaguered Geno Smith. I have already said my piece on the issue here at Spin Zone, but the frustration is understandable. Even the coaches have made some curious decisions, making some, including Richard Rodgers of the Jet Press to wonder if Todd Bowles is on the hot seat.

Needless to say, times are getting tough in Florham Park.

Now, they have gotten tougher. On Wednesday, the Jets announced that wide receiver Eric Decker has been placed on injured reserve, after playing in only three games. Bowles stated (team press release) that Decker is set for surgery on his partially torn rotator cuff and that the recovery time is eight months. The team is hopeful that he will be ready for next season.

This has the potential to be a disaster.

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There was a lot of talk about the depth chart at wide receiver during the offseason. The problem was that behind Decker and Brandon Marshall, there wasn’t much depth. Now, there is talented depth, but it isn’t experienced depth. If you take out Marshall and Decker’s numbers, the Jets wide receivers have posted 41 receptions. If you take out Quincy Enunwa‘s team-leading 27 receptions, that leaves 14.

To put it simply, all of the production has come from Marshall and Enunwa. The Jets aren’t a team that uses only two wide receivers. Chan Gailey likes to roll out four- and five-wide receiver sets. Most of the players in those sets now are simply unproven. The team does not know what it will get from that group over the rest of this season. It’s next man up, of course, but who really are those guys? Nobody really knows.

And Jets fans, let’s be honest. Do we really know if Enunwa is going to be this good for the entire season? Don’t get me wrong, he has been great so far. To me, he is one of the biggest surprises for the Jets so far in 2016. He was coming on at the end of last year and has been strong through five games. But, he has not done it for an entire season. This could be the year, but to say that we know it would not be fair at this point.

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Let’s put the experience factor into perspective. Eric Decker has posted 385 receptions in his career to date. The Jets receivers, excluding Marshall, have posted 63 receptions in their collective careers. I think that’s a big drop off in experience.

This season has real potential of falling apart. A lot of young players are going to have to step up in order to prevent it.

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