So how optimistic is this prominent analyst about the Jets’ chances of having a big season?
“I’m cautiously optimistic,” NFL Network analyst Brian Baldinger said on VSIN. “There is a bad history in that building.”
The Jets have missed the playoffs 12 years in a row, the longest current streak in professional sports.
And they are coming off a season where they lost their last six games in a row, after starting 7-4, to fall out of playoff contention.
This is not just about improving the talent, but Baldinger feels the strategy needs to improve.
He feels the offensive struggles last year weren’t just about the quarterback position.
“Let’s see with a (new offensive coordinator), Nathaniel Hackett, what they do,” Baldinger said. “I thought they were awful a year ago, regardless of the QB situation.”
That’s an interesting point. Many people are so quick to blame the QB situation, but there is an old saying, “Football is chess on grass,” and offensively, perhaps, they sometimes didn’t do a great job playing “chess on grass” last season.
Sometimes, it seemed like they were calling plays, sometimes without a flow.
Hackett comes in with more experience than the previous play-caller, so perhaps the “chess on grass” will improve with him calling the plays.
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