The Bills being Super Bowl contenders has officially booted the Jets from priority TV coverage in my area.
I get PIT/BUF instead of NYJ/CAR, but I'll stream the latter. Happy to get MIA/NE as my late game.
Jets thoughts heading into the year:
I’ll predict 5 wins. It’s a very young roster, and with one glaring exception, it feels like the team probably got better at every position group. They’re clearly the worst team in the division, so they’ll be lucky to pick up a win there. For the first time in a very long time, I think there may be more concern over the defense—specifically at corner—than the offense. Their CB group includes all first and second year players, all drafted from round 5 or later… on top of having cut their most experienced CB this past week. I don’t know if Darnold will have long-term success in Carolina, but I expect him and Robby Anderson to have huge games this Sunday against this secondary. Part of the reason losing Carl Lawson was so devastating was that you hoped that he (and Quinnen Williams) would be able to generate enough of a pass rush to force quick throws, instead of the corners having to hold their coverage for too long.
All that said, I'll state the obvious and say that this season is a success if Zach Wilson can show himself to be a franchise QB in the making. His preseason has been promising, but it’s safe to say there will be bumps in the regular season. He’s already set up for more success than Darnold ever was, as the GM has already started investing in the o-line and providing weapons. Excited to see Elijah Moore at WR, who the beat reporters have been raving about all summer. Corey Davis seems to have established a connection with Zach early, so hopefully that carries over when opposed by the starting defenses. What encourages me about his signing is that, for once, the team invested in a FA who may actually have his best years ahead of him instead of behind, as he’s consistently gotten better each year in the league so far.
On coaching, I liked the Gase hire at the time, so maybe this means nothing, but I’ve got a good feeling about Saleh, based on listening to him in pressers, mic’d up practices, etc. It’s also nice that his OC seems to be running a modern NFL offense that may actually play to the QB’s strengths. For comparison, neither of Sam Darnold’s Jets OC’s is in the league any longer.
TL,DR:
The Jets are still far away from the playoffs. Excited to see if Zach Wilson can be the guy, and to watch a lot of the young players around him. If Zach shows enough progress, then this year was a success.
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