Jets In 2012

With all the attention the Giants have received, it would be irresponsible of us at ProudNewJersey not to give our other football team some love

I’ve had a few  weeks to digest the Jets 2011 debacle. This season was a disaster on a variety of levels. From Rex to Holmes to Shotty to Sanchez, the 2011 Jets made  fans go back in to the caves we’ve been hiding in for the past 4 decades. We went from dreaming of a Super Bowl to burying our heads in the sand. So, where do the Jets go from here?  Brian Shottenheimer, our offensive coordinator, is gone(thankfully). Mark Sanchez will definitely be back…there’s no way they can absorb the cap hit. The Jets hired former Miami Dolphins head coach Tony Sporano to fill  the cooridinator’s role. Here’s hoping a new voice with new game plans will help Sanchez move forward and become the franchise QB the Jets were expecting.

  Rex’s baby, his vaunted defense, was inconsistent at best in 2011. There were games that the defense played well enough to win. Loses to Denver, Miami and the Giants rested on the shoulders of the inept offense. Overall however, the Jets defense did not come close to living up to the bloated promises Rex made before the season. Looking towards the 2012 season, can the Jets return to the playoffs and be a good team? The answer is yes! First off, the Jets have a very favorable non-division schedule playing the AFC South and NFC West. Other than New England the Jets play only 3 of this year’s playoff teams…Pittsburgh, Houston and San Fransisco(Houston and SF will be home games). Secondly, the Jets won’t have a target on them as they have the previous two seasons. When you make the playoffs and reach your conference title games as the Jets have, you become part of the hunted. Teams prepare for you more than they would a losing team. The Jets will be able to surprise some teams especially since they have a new offensive coordinator. Lastly, there is still loads of talent on this football team. GM Mike Tannenbaum must somehow someway bring in a pass rusher to help the defense and sure up the offensive line. If he’s able to do that and combine it with the talent that is currently on the roster, the Jets should present an improved product on the field. Don’t lose faith Jets fans, Rex will get us there. Sometimes a drug addict needs to overdose to finally change his/her ways. This year, Rex overdosed on himself and will assuredly change certain aspects of his bravado. He’ll still play games with the media and crack jokes on the sidelines but the Super Bowl guarantees are finished. Rex understands he is not untouchable. If he does not get the Jets to the promised land soon, he’ll suffer the same fate as Eric Mangini and Herm Edwards. I believe Rex knows this and will focus more on improving his football team and less about unrealistic prophecies. 2011 the year and the football season are over. It’s 2012 and with it comes a fresh start. Soon free agency will begin and the draft after that. Then it’s training camp and all of us Jets fans will be as pumped as ever. Was 2011 a bump in the road or was it the beginning of the end of the Rex Ryan era? Only time will tell but I believe it was a step back and 2012 will be five steps forward. We’ll be back, no question in my mind. Rex is the man that will get us there.