The offseason started out strong for the Jets. They added Jamison Crowder and C.J. Mosley early in free agency. Le'Veon Bell joined near the end. The Jets drafted Quinnen Williams with the third pick of the draft. All seemed to be going right for New York. In typical Jets' fashion, that did not last long.
Anthony Barr backed out of a verbal agreement to join the team in free agency. The Jets missed out on center Matt Paradis, a position they desperately needed to improve upon.
In May, they fired their general manager Mike Maccagnan after giving him full responsibility to oversee their draft selections. The firing came after free agency. Reports say that Maccagnan and head coach Adam Gase did not see eye-to-eye on the players they added and how much they spent. The Jets quickly dismissed those reports, however, that is taken with a grain of salt.
The Jets hired former Philadelphia Eagles' vice president of player personnel Joe Thomas to be their next general manager. While this was the right hire, they agreed to terms on a six-year contract. Seems like a big commitment to someone with no prior experience as a general manager.
The Jets are trying to sell the fans on their franchise quarterback and the new coaching staff, and there are still plenty of areas that need to be worked out.
3. Coaching Staff
Jets hired Gase to be their new head coach and Gregg Williams to be their defensive coordinator. While both have experience in the NFL, their track records are somewhat concerning.
Gase spent the last three seasons as head coach of the Miami Dolphins. He led them to a 10-6 record and playoff berth in his first season. It was all downhill from there. Gase ended up with a 23-25 record in three seasons in Miami.
Williams spent the last two years in Cleveland as their defensive coordinator and interim head coach. He is a hard nose coach who uses intensity to get the most out of his players. Williams was one of the faces of the “bounty scandal” in New Orleans.
The other famous face was Joe Vitt, who now also works for the Jets. There was bad blood between Williams and Vitt during the time of the hearings during the scandal.
Between Gase, Williams, and Vitt, there will be no shorter of ego during their meetings.
2. Wide Receiver Health
Sam Darnold will be heading into his sophomore season as starting quarterback for the Jets. They are hoping that he takes the next step as their franchise guy. For that to happen, he will need his receivers to stay healthy.
Darnold and Robby Anderson started to build chemistry last season. Anderson finished with 752 yards and six touchdowns last season. he showed that he is a true deep ball threat averaging 15 yards per reception.
The Jets added Crowder in free agency. Crowder turned into an excellent slot receiver in Washington, however, his health let him down. He has missed eight games over the last two seasons. Enunwa broke out in 2016 with 857 yards for the Jets. He missed all of 2017 with an injury, and was limited to 11 games last season.
For the Jets to even think about making the playoffs, they will need their entire receiving core to stay on the field.
1. Ball Security
The Jets turned the ball over 30 times in 2018 which was the third-most in the league. Darnold showed some typical rookie mistakes as he finished with the second-most interceptions in the league with 15.
In addition to the interceptions, Jets' running backs lost four fumbles while their wide receivers lost three. The Jets are not a strong enough team to be successful while turning the ball over that much.
Over the final four games of 2018, Darnold threw just one interception, including none over the final three games. He ended the season throwing 113 passes without an interception.
They added Bell, who has fumbled just eight times, losing four, in 1,541 regular season touches. Crowder has not fumbled in the last two seasons, and has only one lost in his entire career. It is uncertain if ball security was on their mind in free agency, but the Jets added players who take care of the ball.
This will be important as they push forward in the AFC playoff picture.
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