Load up the tank again. The Jets season is over.
The annual rite of passage, or at least every year in the last nine seasons save for 2015, has arrived. Gang Green fell to 1-6 following Sunday's 29-15 loss in Jacksonville. No matter how well they fare in the next six games against teams with a combined record of 6-37, it won't be nearly enough to matter.
No professional team plays to lose, though I've seen a few who came close in recent years, but the reality of New York's situation dictates that general manager Joe Douglas offload certain valuable assets by Tuesday's trade deadline in the pursuit of extra draft picks, further weakening this decrepit group.
Robby Anderson? Make the wide receiver someone else's headache on and off the field. For every big play he makes with his speed, there are a bundle of half-hearted efforts where he fails to help his quarterback, like the two Sam Darnold passes his way on Sunday where he might have been able to fight off the intercepting defenders.
Leonard Williams? Once again, you couldn't tell if the defensive lineman was on the field. Well, not until he was dinged late in the fourth quarter (though, to be fair, he was credited with 4 combined tackles and a sack was taken away by a pass interference flag on Jets linebacker James Burgess). On Monday, Williams was reportedly traded to the Giants.
There isn't a single player on this team who would make me say "Wow, I can't believe the Jets traded him," so long as the price was fair. And that includes safety Jamal Adams, who had one of the worst outings of his distinguished career on Sunday, and Darnold, who has had two stinkers in a row.
This season has been that much of a disgrace. Somehow, the Jets will find themselves worse off than they were at the end of 2018. That 4-12 club had glaring holes at almost all of the premium positions, positions that this franchise has ignorantly ignored through several management regimes, such as:
- Edge pass rusher
- Cover cornerback
- Offensive tackle
- Number one wide receiver
- They also needed a new head coach to replace the fired Todd Bowles.
Yet, with the number three overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft and over $100 million in salary cap space to fill, the Jets now have glaring holes at:
- Edge pass rusher
- Cover cornerback
- Offensive tackle
- Number one wide receiver
Oh, and they could also use a new coach, since Adam Gase has been in over his head since opening day. What's with the loyalty to offensive line coach Frank Pollack, who has been responsible for perhaps the worst unit in the league? That was the case even before injuries felled tackle Kelvin Beachum and guard Kelechi Osemele, who lost his job to Alex Lewis and was cut after electing to undergo surgery on Friday in a PR disaster for Douglas.
No matter the horrific line play, folks now feel they have a right to also question the quarterback. Darnold is clearly regressing before our eyes. I'm no doctor, but he appears to have a serious case of post-traumatic stress disorder from the constant pressure he has been under during the last two weeks.
Darnold was sacked eight times on Sunday, twice by Jaguars rookie Josh Allen, the player the Jets bypassed in favor of interior lineman Quinnen Williams with the aforementioned third-overall selection. Darnold also served up three more picks following his four-interception horror show last Monday night in the 33-0 debacle against New England.
Darnold will eventually fully recover from the mononucleosis that sidelined him for three games earlier this season and still forces him to wear extra padding to protect his spleen. But this? Once a pass rush gets in a QB's head, it's not easy to shake. It can be a career-wrecker.
Where Darnold once dazzled with his improvisational skills, now he's not giving himself a chance. Yes, he was terrific in helping the Jets end a 30-game drought without scoring a touchdown on their opening drive, but then the Jaguars realized, "Oh, yeah. Darnold struggles when under pressure." Darnold stopped stepping into throws, going 1-for-4 for 16 yards with an interception and three sacks taken over the course of the remainder of the first half, which ended with Gang Green trailing 19-7.
And where has Gase been through all of this? Perplexed on the sideline, making no adjustments, such as having a tight end move over to chip a Jacksonville edge rusher when he was out wide against overmatched rookie Jets tackle Chuma Edoga. By his own admission, Gase's play-calling has left a lot to be desired.
Gase was supposed to be the quarterback guru, remember? Peyton Manning vouched for him. The Jets have played four games with Darnold. He has five touchdown passes and eight interceptions. When does the guru stuff start?
I doubt Douglas will make Gase pay for the anguish Jets fans have experienced this season. The two are supposedly also tight. In the next two days, Douglas, who stepped into this quagmire in June when he replaced the disgraced Mike Maccagnan, has more pressing matters. He needs to acquire the highest quality and quantity of picks available in the market. Blow this team up, season-ending record be damned.
Even if someone else is more successful in "Tanking for Tua" (Tagovailoa, the Alabama quarterback many assume will be the top pick in the 2020 Draft), the Jets can be assured that they will be in line to select college football's best:
- Edge pass rusher
- Cover cornerback
- Offensive tackle, or
- Number one wide receiver
For a FAN's perspective of the Nets, Devils and Jets, follow Steve on Twitter @SteveLichtenst1
