This article is part of our Team Previews series.
STATE OF THE FRANCHISE
In the reshuffle nature of the NFL, four rotten seasons in a row won't be tolerated by any franchise. The leash finally broke on coach Rex Ryan last January, on the heels of a fourth straight non-playoff campaign. After making it to the conference championship in both 2009 and 2010, the Jets crashed to a 26-38 landing over the past four years. Ryan's replacement, Todd Bowles, cut his teeth in Arizona, making his mark as one of the most aggressive defensive coaches in the league. The Jets defense hasn't been a problem during the four-year rut; it routinely scores well in yardage-allowed stats. Nonetheless, the unit gets held back on the scoreboard because the New York offense keeps undercutting the entire process.
If Bowles is the something-new headliner of the coaching staff, Chan Gailey fits the something-old column. The 63-year-old offensive mind was last seen coaching the Bills in 2012. His first NFL job dates back to the beginning of the John Elway era with the mid-1980s Denver Broncos. He's been with six different NFL teams in a variety of roles, in addition to stops in college and the World League of American Football. Gailey is asked to solve a muddled quarterback situation, though the Jets have reasonable talent at the other offensive spots.
Geno Smith is around for his third season, and he's the starter entering summer activities. Michael Vick didn't work out last year as the experienced, competitive backup. For 2015, Ryan Fitzpatrick will
STATE OF THE FRANCHISE
In the reshuffle nature of the NFL, four rotten seasons in a row won't be tolerated by any franchise. The leash finally broke on coach Rex Ryan last January, on the heels of a fourth straight non-playoff campaign. After making it to the conference championship in both 2009 and 2010, the Jets crashed to a 26-38 landing over the past four years. Ryan's replacement, Todd Bowles, cut his teeth in Arizona, making his mark as one of the most aggressive defensive coaches in the league. The Jets defense hasn't been a problem during the four-year rut; it routinely scores well in yardage-allowed stats. Nonetheless, the unit gets held back on the scoreboard because the New York offense keeps undercutting the entire process.
If Bowles is the something-new headliner of the coaching staff, Chan Gailey fits the something-old column. The 63-year-old offensive mind was last seen coaching the Bills in 2012. His first NFL job dates back to the beginning of the John Elway era with the mid-1980s Denver Broncos. He's been with six different NFL teams in a variety of roles, in addition to stops in college and the World League of American Football. Gailey is asked to solve a muddled quarterback situation, though the Jets have reasonable talent at the other offensive spots.
Geno Smith is around for his third season, and he's the starter entering summer activities. Michael Vick didn't work out last year as the experienced, competitive backup. For 2015, Ryan Fitzpatrick will take that role. The Jets passing game was unsafe at any speed last year, but maybe this fall things will be cleared for takeoff.
The Jets focused on big-name targets when the trading and signing windows opened in March. The first step was trading for Brandon Marshall, formerly of Chicago. The price was a giveaway. In exchange for a fifth-round pick, the Jets recouped Marshall and a seventh-rounder. The wideout received a salary bump two months later, and if he clicks with the team, there's three years on the contract to run.
The team also made a splash signing in the second week of March, welcoming back shutdown cornerback Darrelle Revis to the secondary. Revis experienced the agony (the 2013 Buccaneers) and the ecstasy (the 2014 Pats, NFL champs) during his two-year sabbatical from New Jersey. Now, Revis is mostly looking to get paid ($70 million over five years, $39 million guaranteed), though he recognizes the Jets should be competitive during that period. The Jets fully brought the band back together later in the month, reuniting Revis with former teammate Antonio Cromartie.
OFFSEASON MOVES
Key Acquisitions
Brandon Marshall - WR, BearsA high-volume, high-attrition player, he's now entering his 10th season.
Darrelle Revis - CB, Patriots
No longer the shutdown corner, but still on the short list of difference-makers.
Leonard Williams – DE, USC (ROUND 1, 6th overall)
Joins an already stout defensive line that also includes Muhammad Wilkerson, Sheldon Richardson and Damon Harrison.
Devin Smith - WR, Ohio State (ROUND 2, 37th overall)
Did a ton with just 33 senior-year catches (931 yards, 12 touchdowns).
Stevan Ridley - RB, Patriots
His fumbling problems went away in limited action last year before a knee injury ended his final campaign with New England.
Antonio Cromartie - CB, Cardinals
Only a fraction of his new deal with the Jets is guaranteed, so the team is getting a motivated player.
Key Losses
Percy Harvin - WR, BillsOne team's gadget hero is another team's square peg, round hole.
Chris Johnson - RB, FA
The 4.3 YPC was fine, but he had too many hesitant, ineffective runs.
TEAM NOTES
SMITH ON THE SPOTIf you focus on the big picture, Geno Smith showed growth in his second pro season. He moved forward with his completion percentage, touchdown rate and interception rate, and he also took fewer sacks. His rating jumped from 66.5 to 77.5. A season has ebb and flow to it, of course, and Smith's weekly chart had maniacal highs and lows. A three-interception quarter Week 8 against Buffalo pushed Smith to the bench for a month, and he fell into the organization's dog house when he missed a pregame meeting in San Diego. But Smith's season finale at Miami (20 for 25, 358 yards, three TDs) showed what is possible on a good day. He was the only QB in the league to post a perfect rating in a single game. Smith is getting the between-the-lines endorsement as we go to press, but he'll be working on a short leash now that veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick is in town.
HOW DOES THE BACKFIELD SHAKE OUT?
Chris Ivory is coming off a solid year, sneaking into the top 20 for standard-league backfield scoring. His respectable 4.1 YPC was actually the lowest of Ivory's career; he's a 4.7 man through five years. But perhaps the Jets became a little disenchanted with Ivory the more he played last year. The offense clearly belonged to him after a 107-yard outing at New England in mid-October, but he gained a mediocre 3.54 YPC in the nine games that followed. The Jets decided to throw depth at the problem, adding Stevan Ridley (an Ivory clone) and Zac Stacy (more like Bilal Powell, the holdover backup) in a couple of discount moves. As a result, we don't rank any of these guys in the top 30 at the position.
WHAT DO THE VETERAN RECEIVERS HAVE TO OFFER US?
Tall receivers are very much in vogue in the NFL these days, and the Jets have a couple of big ones in Brandon Marshall (6-foot-4) and Eric Decker (6-foot-3). Marshall's 2014 fantasy season was saved by eight scores in 13 games, as his YPC dropped down to an ordinary 11.8 on 61 catches. His two years in Miami look like reasonable places to park your expectations, something in the 80-1,060-7 range. Decker came along for the ride in Geno Smith's brilliant Week 17 outing, posting 221 yards in the finale at Miami. Injury issues and crummy quarterback play held Decker back for most of his first year as a Jet, but if you needed him in December, you were rewarded with 90 yards per game. Now that Decker's had a year to adjust to his new surroundings, he should be ready for a steady WR3 type of year.
VALUE METER
Rising: The Jets' Defense is loaded at defensive line and defensive back, the two areas you need playmakers the most.Declining:Stevan Ridley is coming off ACL and MCL injuries, and the Jets have too many running backs as it is.
Sleeper:Geno Smith improved in most areas last year, and working in his favor now is that the Jets have added a new WR1 (Brandon Marshall) and a new offensive voice (Chan Gailey).
Supersleeper:Jace Amaro is a catch-first tight end who won't play in all packages, but he did have four games over 50 yards as a rookie.
IDP WATCH
Sheldon Richardson – DTSacks spiked in Year 2, he could be a Defensive Player of the Year candidate at some point.
David Harris – LB
A far better IDP player than real-life one, but he's still gobbling up plenty of tackles.
Antonio Cromartie – CB
Teams are more likely to challenge him now that Darrelle Revis is back on the other flank, and volume is a good thing.
