Something has to change

Edition #768

☕ Good morning ☀️

I was debating whether to put something out today. With Christmas just a couple of days away, why ruin that holiday spirit by having to talk about these Jets.

So I’m just going to put out a quick post today and then we can all get on with our holiday activities, which for me includes taking the little ones to meet Santa today.

I said it throughout the season and I’ll repeat it again, the 2024 version of the Jets is so incredibly unlikeable. And that’s across the board.

This Aaron Rodgers experiment is so uninspiring. The players seem incapable of performing consistently for more than a drive. The coaches seem scared to criticise.

Jeff Ulbrich actually stood up at a podium with a straight face and said he was proud of the players, proud of the way that 3-11 team morphed into a 4-11 team.

According to ESPN the Jets became the 2nd team since 1940 to not punt in a game and score less than 10 points. I mean I have to give it to this team, they truly find special and unique ways to collect the worst records.

Aaron Rodgers seemed to indicate that some players were checking out, but that’s coming from a guy who constantly blames Cover-2 as the reason he’s not throwing to Garrett Wilson. Maybe he was, maybe I’m imagining it, but did anyone else think he was forcing the ball to Adams? Maybe wanting him to catch that 500th TD.

By this point of the season you are who you are.

The Jets have the most vanilla game-plans in football.
The Jets can’t put a consistent effort out there.
The Jets can’t play complementary football
The Jets are the worst coached team in football.
The Jets are ill-disciplined.
The Jets are lacking in basic fundamentals.

Last week the Aaron Rodgers/Davante Adams showed a little bit of life. But that was against a depleted 3 win team who lost to a 2 win team led by Aidan O’Connell. We asked whether that was the real version or whether it was a mirage, yesterday we got our answer.

There is no way the Jets can run this back. Not only is it not paying dividends in the short-term, but there’s a good chance it’s going to be biting the Jets long-term.

Despite seeming to get open all evening, Garrett Wilson was largely ignored completely from the gameplan for the first 55 minutes.

"I don't know, to be honest with you. I just gotta go out and put my best foot forward and hope that things fall my way. I'd like to be involved, love to make an impact on the game, but people see it differently. That's out of my control." said a visibly frustrated Garrett Wilson

If you’re Garrett Wilson, and you’re losing as a team and not getting enough of the ball, not being made a focal touch, not getting manufactured touches, why would you want to stay here? Wilson is a clear #1 receiver on a lot of teams in this league.

He also had some praise for his former OC who’s now over with the Rams. When asked about LaFleur, this is what he had to say:

"Love him, man. My rookie year, looking back on it, it was a special time and I might've took it for granted. I love him. Seeing how he's helping that offense ... I'm happy for him, man."

The Jets defense did a reasonable job on the whole. I still think it’s a shell of it’s former self. There were no sacks, players seem confused when asked to pass people off in zone and only a few guys have the man coverage skills to shut down the opposition.

But they held the Rams to under 20 points. The Jets have outgained their opponent (yards) in seven games this season including last night, they’re 1-6 in those game. The Jets pick up a lot of meaningless yards. It’s not about how many yards you get but how many points you put on the board. The Jets didn’t even hit double figures for the third time this season.

This game perfectly encapsulated the season.

One good drive followed by a lot of dross that was hard to watch.

The Jets saw no benefit to losing with their draft position remaining unchanged.

Then when things weren’t bad enough, a report (by Cimini I believe) surfaced following the game suggesting that Arthur Smith is a name to look out for as the new HC and that if the Jets move on from Rodgers then Cousins could be the bridge option chosen.

If we go into next season with Smith as HC and Cousins as the starting QB…I may have to dedicate time to a different sport, perhaps a little Kabaddi newsletter!