New York Jets: Why Gang Green in 2018 will look familiar to fans

It’s becoming abundantly clear that the New York Jets are trying to build their team in the mold of the New England Patriots.

The New York Jets have their franchise quarterback. Do you know what else they have? They have a bunch of nondescript players who don’t have superstar caché but are good at what they do. It’s very similar to the team that has dominated the AFC East for the better part of the last two decades — the New England Patriots.

Taking a page out of the Patriots playbook isn’t a bad idea given that they have won eight Lamar Hunt Trophies and five Lombardi Trophies. The only true superstar outside of Tom Brady that the Patriots have had in the dynasty was Randy Moss, and that team fell just short of becoming the first 19-0 team in NFL history.

People always seem to marvel at what Brady is able to do with “limited talent around him.” However, is that really a true characteristic of what the players are? Sure the players that typically thrive in New England don’t typically thrive elsewhere. The question that should be asked isn’t are they bad players, but why do they fit so well in New England?

The culture in New England is “do your job.” That’s not just on a given role, or a given game, but from play to play. Everyone has a role, and they master that role. Not only does everyone have a role, but New England signs free agents and drafts players not based on his individual talent, but on a player’s ability to do what they want within their system.

The Jets are clearly trying to emulate that. Hence the reason they drafted players like Nathan Shepherd, Foley Fatukasi, Parry Nickerson and Chris Herndon. And they also signed players like Isaiah Crowell, Terrelle Pryor and Trumaine Johnson.

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Before the salary cap entered the NFL, stars won multiple titles, because they could be kept together for long periods of time. In today’s NFL, however, it’s not about superstars. It’s about a combination of players who can be versatile while also having players play a specific role and drafting and signing free agents to the role you want them to play.

I’ve seen a lot of Jets fans say they want to see this team win multiple Super Bowls. That’s the model. The model of the past won’t work, period.