NFL New York Jets

New York Jets’ 2014 Midseason Grade

Fresh Videos

By @Bigwoolf5

New York Jets

Tommy Gilligan-USA Today Sports

To say that the first half of the season for the New York Jets was a disappointment would be quite a huge understatement. The Jets came into the 2014 season with playoff aspirations, but after eight games, they are more likely to get the No. 1 pick in the 2015 NFL draft.

This offseason, the Jets made a few splash acquisitions when they signed Eric Decker and Chris Johnson. The goal was to give second-year quarterback Geno Smith more firepower to work with on offense so that he could progress. That idea hasn’t worked out though, as Johnson is barely involved in the offense at all, and Decker hasn’t been healthy all season.

To add on to all of that, Smith has regressed big-time, and hit rock bottom in Week 8 versus the Buffalo Bills when he threw eight passes, three of which were intercepted.

The Jets brought in Michael Vick as Smith’s backup just in case Smith failed to improve, but Vick has been ineffective as well. Before their Week 8 game, the Jets traded a conditional fourth-round pick for Percy Harvin, which was a low-risk move, but he unfortunately won’t solve all of their problems.

While the offense has been anemic for much of the season, it isn’t all bad on that side of the ball. Led by Chris Ivory, the Jets rank fourth in rushing yards per game. The fact that the Jets were going to have a solid run game was a big reason fans had playoffs on their minds, but if you can’t throw the ball, you won’t win many games in the NFL nowadays, and the Jets rank 32nd in passing offense.

While the offense’s shortcomings get all of the headlines, the defense hasn’t been great either. This starts with GM John Idzik. This offseason, there were a lot of free agent cornerbacks to be had, and the Jets had a ton of cap room to acquire at least one of them. Somehow though, Idzik inexplicably didn’t get a single cornerback, and it has hurt the Jets’ defense. Not only did Idzik not sign a cornerback, he also let the Jets’ best cornerback from the 2013 team, Antonio Cromartie, leave for the Arizona Cardinals.

Now the Jets are stuck starting Darrin Walls and Antonio Allen every week at corner. Second-year cornerback Dee Milliner was expected to be the team’s No. 1 corner, but he has been injured all season and has only played in three games so far.

Like the offense though, it hasn’t been all bad for the defense. The biggest strength of the Jets team is their defensive line led by Muhammad Wilkerson and reigning Defensive Rookie of the Year Sheldon Richardson. These guys have helped the Jets to a top-five rushing defense, and they are also top five in sacks. The problems come when the Jets can’t get to the quarterback. Opposing quarterbacks have been carving them up, as shown by Kyle Orton‘s 238 passing yards on just 10 completed passes.

The Jets are the perfect example of a team whose weaknesses have heavily outweighed their strengths at the midway point of the season. A team ranked fifth against the run and fourth in rushing offense would usually have a winning record, but it’s a passing league now, and the Jets can’t stop the pass or throw the ball themselves, which is why they are 1-7.

The Jets came into the 2014 season with questions that certainly needed to be answered, and it says a lot about the team that after eight games, there are more questions than there are answers. It seems as though the Jets will have to start over in 2015 with a new head coach and a new quarterback, which was every Jets fan’s worst-case scenario for the 2014 season. This season, just about everything has gone wrong for the Jets.

Grade: F

Share Tweet
Trending Now on