New York Jets: 2012 season offers blueprint for hope in 2018
All fans of the New York Jets need to look to is the 2012 season to find hope for the 2018 New York Jets.
Fans of the New York Jets can look back to the 2012 NFL Draft when two teams that finished in last place got what they believed were going to be franchise cornerstones and see some similarities. That season, the Indianapolis Colts finished 2-14, and the Washington Redskins finished 5-11 — the same record as the Jets.
The 2018 Jets seem to be bereft of talent. First, let’s look at the first point of contention, the offensive line. The offensive line issues stem from injuries in 2017. James Carpenter played hurt almost the entire season and it negatively affected his play. Brian Winters also missed significant time due to injury. They also upgraded the center by signing Travis Swanson.
When you take a look at the pieces surrounding RGIII in 2012, it was so much better than the pieces on the 2018 Jets. They had Santana Moss, Pierre Garçon and average-to-below-average talent elsehwere.
The Jets receiving group isn’t as bad as you think. They have three players who are capable of 1,000-yard seasons. Terrelle Pryor already has a 1,000-yard season under his belt, and both Quincy Enunwa and Robby Anderson are ascending players with the talent to do so. They also have a quality tight end and three running backs who can catch the ball out of the backfield (one of whom can play tight end as well).
As far as the defense is concerned, the addition of Trumaine Johnson goes a long way. The Jets now have four good-to-great coverage guys in the defensive backfield in Jamal Adams, Marcus Maye, Morris Claiborne and Johnson. That will only help the Jets pass rush, because the longer a team can cover, the more likely they are to get pressure on the opposing quarterback.
On the surface, it may appear as if the Jets didn’t make enough moves in the offseason to be a contender in 2018. When you look deeper, though, everything might just be falling into place exactly the way it should for this team to become a contender immediately.
Next: NFL 2018: Each team's biggest storyline pre-OTAs
You may look at this roster and think that it’s basically the same as 2017. However, after a closer examination, you’ll realize it’s very different. It’s not one about just for looking at the seasons beyond 2018, but this season as well.