The Lost Boys....

Here's my annual post about the New York Jets. For over half a decade this franchise has been a disaster. And after suffering through another putrid season we are no closer to becoming an elite team, or even a winning one.

In January of 2011 the Jets lost to the Steelers in the AFCCG. Since then we have had 4 of 7 seasons with a losing record, 4 defensive linemen drafted in the first round, 3 GM's and zero playoff appearances. We haven't had one single offensive player drafted in the first round since Mark Sanchez in 2009. If we go defense in the 2018 draft that will be a DECADE without drafting a 1st rounder to address an entire half of the squad. It has to be one of the dumbest steaks in pro sports. And it speaks to the short sightedness of this franchise as a whole.

Short sightedness is directly linked to intelligence IMHO.  Woody Johnson has proven over and over that he simply can not see the big picture. If he had any clue he would stop hiring rookie head coaches and GM's... again and again and again. A sports franchise, in the most popular sport in America, in the biggest media market in America, with one of the most independently wealthy owners... needs to begin to operate by a simple mission statement, one that worked for Mercedes Benz: "The Best Or Nothing".

Too many Jets fans have been complacent and settle for 2nd best. Thats why our coaching staffs and front office teams have been among the lowest paid in the league. Here's a news bulletin Mr Johnson, there is no salary cap on any part of your team besides the player roster. You weren't smart or savvy enough to build your own stadium that would have been the flagship of the league, you've handed out money to players via ill-advised contracts that have suffocated your salary cap more often than not.

BUT, one thing that you have complete control of is spending your money on the absolute best coaching candidate that is available. One who can create a wining culture, bring an elite group of assistant coaches with him and attract top flight free agents. They don't grow on trees, but this offseason there is one out there. His name is Jim Harbaugh. He is a proven winner and for the right price he could be had. There could be as many as 12-14 teams looking for new HC's. Why not focus on winning the offseason before it officially begins??

There's no question in my mind that Todd Bowles simply doesn't have what it takes to be an HC. He is not CEO material. He's a checkers mind in a chess league and he has no balls. He has also brainwashed many of our young players with his 'loser logic'.  So, if we start there, the next question is: what is there to gain by retaining him in 2018? The answer is nothing. So if we are going to get into the HC market, do we want to get stuck in a game of musical chairs where we end up with the 9th best candidate? We don't want some other teams sloppy seconds.

Chris Johnson has a very brief window to make his mark in the NFL. Who knows how long our remedial owner will hold his position as ambassador to England. If he does half as bad as he has done in the NFL Trump might have him ousted before the start of the 2019 season. If I'm CJ I am going all in. Land the best coach money can buy and then see if he and Macc want to work together. If Harbaugh doesn't want him I am 100% sure he will have a top replacement ready to move his desk right into Macc's office.

I am not as down on Macc as I am with Bowles. I can take him of leave him. I like some of his trades and a few of his draft picks. And I love his Michael Corleone style approach this past offseason. He clipped the overpaid, overhyped lazy veterans one by one. He even had the guts to put one in Revis's eye like he was Mo Green. I think it is promising that he was able to see that huge changes were needed. He set it up so that this team could make a huge jump this offseason with a top 10 pick in every round, and nearly 100 million to spend in free agency. Sadly if Bowles and Co. are retained we simply won't attract elite free agents and any we do sign we will have to overpay for.

Anyone that knows football knows that Bowles surviving 2018 is almost impossible. Top FA's don't want to move their families to a new city just to have a shake up less than a year later. They also don't want to go to a losing team if they are in demand.

So lets assume Harbaugh wants to work with Macc. I could see him retaining Morton as OC since he worked with him previously in San Fran. Pep Hamilton and Greg Roman could easily be part of the offensive staff as well. The defensive side of the ball would be the more intriguing one regarding coaches. I think it would be interesting to land both Pagano brothers. Chuck and John may both be on the market if there is a shake up on their respective coaching staffs. Steve Spagnolia will most likely be up for grabs and not having to move his family could be the deal maker if he is the target. I do hope that Kevin Greene stays on our staff. Our young LB's, especially Jenkins and Lee really showed growth this year under his tutelage.

With the key pieces that we already have in place on our roster I'd like to see us move to a 4-3/ Tampa Two system. We have a young, fast group of defenders. Obviously Lee would be freed up and much more impactful with 4 defensive linemen in front of him. Williams is a dynamic hybrid who could play anywhere on a 4-3 D line. We don't have a true 3-4 outside LB as a pass rusher, so we aren't tied to our current system in any way. And frankly Adams has struggled in man coverage his rookie season. I think letting him roam and play some more zone might make use of his playmaker potential a little better. He's special.

As for the offense, I am comfortable saying that Robbie Anderson is a #1 WR. What he has done with Fitzpatrick and McCown as his QB's is scary. Imagine a REAL QB like Alex Smith throwing him the ball. And yes, I'd do whatever necessary to make Smith a Jet in 2018, especially if Harbaugh were our coach. I'd be willing to put a 5th round pick on the table and absorb his current salary... or wait for his inevitable release and deal with the bidding war that will occur. Either way a 2 year deal for 45 million with 30 guaranteed would essentially be a 1 year deal, that gives us the option of dumping him in 2019 if we want to. He'd earn 25 mil for 2018 and we eat 5 million the next year if we cut ties. If he ends up having a career year we have him locked up for a second year.

That being said we also need to use our top 10 draft pick on a QB. Hopefully we are building a long term winner here, not a typical Woody Johnson 'go for broke' one year wonder. A QB depth chart consisting of Alex Smith, Josh Rosen and Christian Hackenberg would be ideal. I could also see Smith, McCown and a rookie 1st rounder.

For the record I am a Rosen/ Mayfield man. Darnold and Allen do not interest me. And I am very intrigued by Lamar Jackson from Louisville. Nonetheless, this is going to be a QB draft we talk about for a long time, and I feel like Macc's master plan has been to pass on guys like Lynch, Watson, Mahomes and Keizer to wait for this draft class. At least I hope he has a plan.

The players on our current offensive roster who I would keep in 2018 are Kearse, Anderson, Enunwa, Hansen, Stewart, Peake, ASJ, Tomlinson, Leggett, McGuire, Beachum, Shell, Winters, Harrison and Johnson. I think we need two top free agent O linemen so that guys like Johnson and Shell can move to their natural role of rock solid 2nd stringers. I think Carpenter is a waste of money. He's wildly inconsistent. I'd cut or trade him if there are any takers.

You may notice that Powell isn't on my list of keepers. It's certainly not because he isn't an outstanding player. My issue is that he is closing in on 30 and his best years (the time when he should have been our featured RB) were 15', 16' and 17'. We missed that train because of Todd Bowles. I think #29 could seriously help us more as trade bait this offseason. I could see our top 10 2nd round pick combined with Powell being enough ammo to move up into the mid 1st round if there is a player we covet. The Raiders and Packers could both use a guy like Powell and they would only be moving down less than 30 spots, less than a full round. And keep in mind, we have more than one 2nd round pick because of the Richardson trade to the Seahawks.

OR what if we package our 1st round pick (probably around #6) and Powell to swap with the Giants and go get Rosen? I'm just saying, Powell can be an important chess piece for us this offseason.

There are a few interesting free agents that could hit the market this offseason. The Ravens Ryan Jenson and the Panthers Andrew Norwell could elevate out O-line from a C- to an A very quickly. DE Demarcus Lawrence from Dallas would be a great player to replace the fat lazy loser who currently wears #96 on our roster. Dion Lewis and Malcolm Butler should both be available from the Patriots. What I don't want is our team going out and spending big on a WR. I like the group we have. Paul Richardson is a guy from Seattle that I might consider if we dumped or traded Kearse. Richardson would be a nice player to pair with Anderson and Enunwa. But Kearse has the big game experience. So I don't see any reason to make a change.

Finally, now that I have listed these very logical, strategic and HIGHLY unlikely moves that could change the losing ways of this star crossed franchise I'll briefly list what I think WILL actually happen.

The Jets are probably scared to have to compete with the Giants in the HC market. They will most likely stick with Bowles. That alone makes most everything else I wrote impossible. 99% of this league see's that Todd is Ray Rhodes 2.0 He's simply a coordinator... at best. We won't be able to upgrade our defensive coaching staff, or attract elite free agents to a situation where the HC is on the hot seat.

As for the roster, I think McCown will be resigned, if he starts in 2018 I will bet my house that he doesn't stay healthy for even 8 games. So that would simply be a waste. I think his back ups will be rookie Josh Allen and Hackenberg. Two guys who are HUGE projects. And essentially they are both rookies since Hack has only been activated for 3 games in 2 years, not to mention never touching foot on the field.

If Macc does decide it's just too risky to bank on a 39 year old journeyman QB and decides to bring in a new starter I could easily see Kirk Cousins in green & white next season. Thats a mistake on so many levels. You'll be paying Russell Wilson money for an Andy Dalton quality player. And it will absolutely hinder our salary cap for years to come. Theres just too much talent in this draft to make that kind of long term investment in a QB with Cousins mediocre talent.

What it boils down to is when your team hasn't sniffed the post season in 7 years and is coming off of back to back seasons that land you in the top 10 of the draft... it's time to realize that if nothing changes then nothing changes. I gave up on Woody Johnson not long after he became the owner. I knew he was a born loser over 10 years ago when he couldn't get the stadium deal done. But there is someone new in charge, maybe I can hope against hope that he will see the light.

-J.Wagner