Same Old Jets, unlucky, or just plain stupid?

As a life-long Jets fan, I feel this season is one of the most painful ever. That is a big statement for a franchise that has shown so much promise and lets its fans down each and every time since the 1960s. Before we analyze the current disaster of a team, we must put into perspective the Jets as an organization. This is a team that has won the AFC Eastern division twice, once with a 9-7 record. Even with a five-team AFC East division until 2000, they should have won 9 or 10 times. In 38 years, the Jets have never finished first in the AFC, and have finished 2nd only once, in 1998.



The Jets however, unlike many loser franchises, have had numerous teams that looked on paper to be super bowl contenders. These would include the 1981 team that blew numerous games before losing at home to Buffalo in the wild card playoff round, the 1982 team that was cheated in Miami in the mud bowl, the 1986 team that started out at 10-1 and then lost one of the worst playoff losses in history after a ridiculous rash of injuries. The 1998 team, which was the only well-coached team in this 38 year time period, turned the ball over in Denver 7 times to lose, the 1999 team lost when Vinny went out for the year in the first half of game 1, and the 2003 team blew a game in Pittsburgh by missing two very makeable filed goals (a conservative coaching error, not a player error) which would have brought them to the AFC championship game.



Now for this year's team: This team went out and acquired a hall of fame QB who can still play, a top Offensive line, and several excellent defensive players to comprise a real solid roster; they started slow and looked incoherent. Then the team got hot, and looked like a threat to win the AFC.



Now back to the present: unfortunately the Jets defensive coaching staff has yet to figure out how to play a 3-4 defense. In fact what the Jets play is a 3-8 defense, routinely lining up outside Lb on WR and leaving almost anyone out of the back field completly uncovered. When a team rushes three players in the NFL, even if all three wore capes on their backs, this guarantees little to no pressure. Even horrible QBs in many high schools can pick apart a defense this way. This team sucks. The following steps urgently need to be made to turn this team super next season.



1. Brett Favre should not retire. To keep him in place please see 2-5 below.

2. Fire Mangini and all defensive coaches today.

3. Hire Belichick at all costs. Tamper, cheat, offer him millions, do whatever. He is obviously obsessed with NY anyway.

4. Draft and acquire WR play makers.

5. Sign a free agent CB, there are enough bad guys out there. Take a one year flier on one of them.



There are an unlimited number of potential loser Jets fans who will continue to fund the team. However, if this franchise does not see it as an absolute emergency to produce a consistent winner at all costs, I, and hopefully tens of thousands of other longtime suffering Jets fans, will come to their senses and follow this team from afar if at all.