New York Jets: Time on the side of Mike Maccagnan, Todd Bowles
Slowly but surely the management and coaching staff of the New York Jets has shown they are not tanking in 2017, but they are building toward the future.
New York is the city that never sleeps and the city so nice they named it twice. Even though East Rutherford, NJ, isn’t part of the state of New York, Bergen County (where the New York Jets call home) is considered part of the New York City Metropolitan area. The problem with never sleeping is one become restless and having an ego to be named twice, success is expected and expected rather quickly.
At the beginning of the season, the media began using the “T” word, because the Jets were getting rid of veterans. The problem is the Jets weren’t tanking. They were rebuilding, and they knew it would take time and growth of the players, and taking precious snaps away from the young players by having veterans around wasn’t good for the team. Also, some of the veterans they let go were locker room problem and had to go.
Whether or not you like the way they let go of some of them, mainly David Harris and Eric Decker, they were in got to go situations. Their salary cap numbers were high, and the Jets need as much space for 2018 free agency.
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The Jets said they want to build through the draft. However, even Mike Maccagnan knows you can’t build only through the draft, but you must add pieces in free agency when they present themselves. Not having enough cap space would prohibit the Jets from doing just that. Getting rid of high-priced guys was their only recourse for a small free agency class.
Fans wanted more urgency from Todd Bowles earlier in the season, because he seemed indifferent to what was going on. Bowles knew a lot of what people were missing, the roster is young, the offense is new, the offensive line was filled with pieces that hadn’t worked together, and the defensive line had an injury to their most important player.
What he Bills game showed us is that the offensive line is starting to gel, even if they still make mistakes along the way. Muhammad Wilkerson is also getting healthier. Bowles knew Wilkerson was fighting through an injury that affected him being able to establish a base and use his hands to establish leverage and fight off double teams. The linebackers weren’t doing Wilkerson any favors by not getting to the quarterback either.
All along, Bowles said the team was getting better week by week. It just wasn’t showing in the win column. We can’t breathe easily because of the tough schedule that lies ahead of the Jets, but we know the Wilkerson is starting to get better and the offensive line is developing cohesion.
You win and lose football games in the trenches. You win by running the ball and protecting the quarterback, which starts with the offensive line, and getting to the opposing quarterback and stopping the run, which starts with the defensive line.
We will see where this all goes in the coming weeks. For now, though, the Jets need patience and allowing this team to grow and mature. Let’s not rush to judgement every week. Patience is a virtue.