So often when the schedule comes out, analysis is done about how favorable or unfavorable a schedule is, but a lot of that stuff goes by the wayside once the season starts, in a sport with a 100 percent injury rate.
Everyone gets hurt, obviously to different degrees, and some can play through things, others can’t if the injuries are too severe.
So when it comes to football schedules, it’s not who you play, but when you play them.
But taking a 30,000-foot view of the schedule, there is no excuse for the Jets not to be in wildcard playoff contention late in the season. In other words, still in the playoff conversation in early December.
I’m not talking about competing to win their division, but just hanging around at 7-6, 6-7, something like that, when the home stretch of the season starts.
First of all, on paper, after some heavy-lifting this off-season by GM Darren Mougey in the draft and free agency, their overall roster seems much better than last year.
Mougey did a really nice job of loading this roster with quality depth. Instead of spending most of the cap space on a couple of stars, he spread the money around, not just signing some solid starters, but also adding quality depth players, with the latest example being wide receiver Tim Patrick.
Teams like Tennessee, Cleveland, Miami (twice), Las Vegas, Arizona, and Minnesota are eminently beatable. So those are seven winnable games right there.
And you could argue Green Bay, Detroit, and Chicago aren’t juggernauts either.
As for New England, who on earth knows what to expect from them with all the distractions they are dealing with, and a much tougher schedule than last year?
So with a much more talented defense than last year, and Frank Reich calling offensive plays for a steady game-manager like Geno Smith, with a ton of offensive weapons and a solid offensive line, there is no reason for the Jets not to be hanging around in wildcard contention in early December.
That is not too much to ask.
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