The New York Jets Will Be Taking Off Soon
The Stench of History
The Jets are rebuilding correctly, and more people should know about it.
You would think a team in the media capital of the world would have no trouble finding coverage during their rebuild but here we are. It might make sense though if you’ve been paying any attention, New York sports just isn’t the national media draw it used to be. Where once kids in Iowa loved Mickey Mantle and the Yankees, they now love Shohei Ohtani and the Angels or Trae Turner and the Dodgers.
Football has followed the same path. The best teams are now in the western part of the United States and national attention has followed. The Rams and 49ers are consistent Super Bowl contenders, while teams like the Chargers and Raiders are on the rise. Meanwhile, the New York teams are picking fourth and fifth in this week’s draft, positions all too familiar after decades of losing.
The great thing is though, general manager Joe Douglas knows all too well the history of the franchise he now controls. After 60 years of being the NFL’s punching bag, anyone who knows football would be hard-pressed not to. The stench of losing travels far and seems to permeate everything white and green, keeping fans and free agents alike far, far away.
In Good Hands
Armed with the fourth and tenth picks in this week’s draft, Douglas aims to bring in players with top-end talent, the likes of which have been few and far between in Jets history. The last elite player the Jets have had was Darrelle Revis? Sad. Either way, teams need elite players to win in the NFL and the Jets have a shot at grabbing two. Don’t believe me? The Bengals and Jamarr Chase would like a word.
One glaring need the Jets have is at cornerback, and thankfully a good one might be there for them at the four spot in Ahmad Gardner. Personally, I’m hoping one of Aidan Hutchinson or Kayvon Thibodeaux falls to that pick, and we grab the top receiver at 10 whoever that might be. In this scenario, head coach Robert Saleh gets the elite edge rusher he was so used to having in San Francisco, while the offense picks up another dynamic playmaker. The rest I leave up to Douglas as he’s done nothing but prove he can evaluate talent, especially up into the later rounds. One thing I would say to Jets fans who are worried about Thursday’s draft is that they shouldn’t be. We are finally in good hands, Joe Douglas has proven he knows his football.
Zachs Fifth Avenue
If there is something to worry about it’s Zach Wilson. Not because he doesn’t have the talent or work ethic to take a leap, quite the contrary actually, but because the pressure to succeed in the NFL is a lot, especially for a 22-year-old, especially in New York. Acute readers might think I’m projecting but we just watched Sam Darnold go through this same thing and struggle. The young man did his best but once his play faltered the pressure to pick it back up became too much. To his credit, he never cracked, but the stress on his face and his level of play on the field made it obvious that he was going through a lot mentally.
I worry that if Zach comes out the gate struggling he’ll start believing the noise in the stands and on Twitter. He might start smelling the stench of history even after Douglas has tried so hard to cover it up. Zach undoubtedly has the talent to be a great quarterback in this league, but can he be a great quarterback in New York? A great quarterback for the Jets?
Personally, I think so but only time will tell a real answer.
It’s just really unfortunate that the entire rebuild rests on this kid’s shoulders because lord knows the burden is heavy. Turning around 60-plus years of history isn’t easy, it’s even harder with fans breathing down your neck. I just hope he has a good support system around him and from everything we’ve seen, he does. If things don’t work out however I’ve never been more confident that the team can still compete until they find their guy. That’s called having a foundation, a sign of competent management. Something we haven’t seen in New York in a long time, not anymore.
Joe Douglas has shown enough for him to be trusted at the helm Thursday night in Las Vegas and all we as fans need to do is sit back, relax, and watch it all unfold. National media might not be paying attention, Jets fans surely will be! And when they try catching on later, we’d have already taken off!
