What happened?

New Jersey – So what went wrong? To me it’s not just one thing. There are myriad reasons for what has taken place. Let’s take a closer look . . .

Coming off a 10-6 season, there were high hopes for the New York Jets entering the 2016 season.

However, they stand 3-7 after 10 games. What happened?

Where do we start?

First off, the league office did them no favors with perhaps the NFL’s most difficult schedule, with a lot of tough opponents out of the gate, and they got off to a 1-5 start.

And when you have a tough schedule early in the season, it’s far from ideal to have your starting quarterback miss the entire off-season program. Ryan Fitzpatrick and the team’s front office were mired in a contract dispute that wasn’t resolved until the beginning of training camp.

Fitzpatrick threw 11 picks in the first six games, and was benched in favor of Geno Smith, who got hurt in the second quarter of his first start, against Baltimore, and “Fitz” got his job back. Fitzpatrick helped lead the Jets to a win over the Ravens.

After the game, Fitzpatrick had some harsh words for the Jets’ decision-makers.

“The biggest thing in this game — to last — is to have belief in yourself,” Fitzpatrick said. “Because when the owner stops believing in you and the GM stops believing in you and the coaches stop believing in you, sometimes all you have is yourself. That’s kind of something I’ve dealt with before and something I’m dealing with now.”

Most people thought this quote was about the benching. However, Jets receiver Eric Decker, a good friend of Fitzpatrick, believes it was about the contract dispute that eliminated all the valuable work receivers and quarterbacks get in the off-season.

Speaking of Decker, that bring us to another problem for the Jets this season – injuries. The Jets lost Decker for the season due to a Week Three shoulder injury. He had a terrific 2015 season as the Jets #2 receiver, with 80 receptions and 12 touchdowns.

His departure a monkey wrench into the Jets’ passing attack, which fell off after his injury. Fitzpatrick and Decker have great chemistry.

The Jets played the first half of the season without their starting right tackle Breno Giacomini who was on the PUP list with a back injury. When Giacomini came back, they lost their left tackle, Ryan Clady, for the season with a back injury. Pro Bowl center Nick Mangold has missed a number of games with high ankle sprain.

Another injury that hurt the Jets was Fitzpatrick’s MCL sprain that forced him to miss the Jets-Rams game. The Jets lost this game 9-6. With Fitzpatrick, there is a good chance they would have won. Bryce Petty in his first NFL start struggled moving the team. He didn’t seem to trust his eyes.

But you could make a strong argument the Jets’ biggest problem this season has been their pass defense.

Cornerback Darrelle Revis, who makes $17 million guaranteed this year, is having a bad season. He’s lost a step and opposing quarterbacks are picking on him. “Revis Island” is closed.

“I’m old,” Revis told the Daily News after having issues covering Rams WR Kenny Britt.

Giving Revis a five-year deal for $70 million with $39 million guaranteed in 2015, has to qualify as one of the worst contracts in Jets history. He was pedestrian last season, and even worse this year.

And this contract has caused resentment in the locker room, and schematic issues on the field.

Jets coach Todd Bowles, who calls the team’s defense along with coordinator Kacy Rodgers, likes to blitz a lot. But he hasn’t been able to dial up as many blitzes because of all the safety help need Revis needs.

Also, the Revis’ contract forced the Jets to go with a lot of rookies on their roster due to cap issues. For instance, they went with three rookie receivers, so when Decker got hurt, some were forced into action, and there have been some costly mental errors.

So as you can see, there are myriad reasons for the Jets’ demise.

Many in New York blame Fitzpatrick for the record, but he has plenty of company.

November 14, 2016

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