Early winter snow blankets the top of the Arapaho Basin ski area near Loveland Pass on the Continental Divide in Colorado on November, 6, 2023.
I got out in front of my skis. If I am honest, I was far, far out in front of my skis. The result was a world-class, head-first fall. Broken bones and a sharp puncture wound to my pride are just some of the very painful results. I looked at the schedule and thought the Jets could keep this up. I thought this team could go on to win 10 or 11 games. It doesn’t take deep Jets analysis to realize it was a heck of a fall. It is a league of overreactions. The weekly nature of the games puts us in the clouds when we win and at the bottom of a dumpster when we lose. I am broken under the dumpster today, and the garbage has ignited.
There are three phases to this game. The Jets are outstanding in just one of those. They are average in the second phase and pitiful in the last one. Fans will not need me to enumerate which of those phases are which. Suffice it to say that you don’t win 11 games if you are pitiful at any one of the three phases. The Jets go out on the road now for two games. They go on the road to play after scoring just six points at home in front of their own fans against the second-worst defense in the NFL. The Jets are traveling to play two games. The teams they play are statistically much better at defense than the Chargers.
When those games are done, the Jets return home to play the division-leading Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins are exceptional in one of the three phases of the game. Miami leads the league in yards per game and points per game. Miami is above average at defense. They rank 12th in total defense, which means they are above average. The Dolphins are 6-3 and lead the AFC East. Balance is the key. Miami has balance. They are great at offense and good at defense. The result is a winning record.
The Jets are off balance. Their defense allows only 19.5 points per game, the 8th best in the league. On offense they score just 16.5 points per game, which is the 3rd worst in the league. That disparity is painful, like a bad fall on the slopes, where do they go from here?
I am not the type to stay under the dumpster and burn with the garbage. I get up after I fall and try again. I think about what I did to end up on the ground, and I try to fix it. I make changes. Doing the same thing will have me falling over my skis again. It only makes sense. I need to change the way I am doing things. The Jets need to change the way they have been doing things. Not changing is going to yield the same results. Not changing will have the Jets at 4-7 in three weeks. It will mean they are all but eliminated from playoff contention. It will mean we will have to wait a year to see Aaron Rodgers play quarterback for the Jets. It will mean the Jets will try again to win by doing the same things, and they will fall and slide down the slope of another failed season. Changes are required.
Maybe this is just an overreaction to a loss. I might be overcorrecting for a fall. I don’t know; it’s hard to tell. I think eight tries might be enough, though. Eight is enough of a sample to conclude that change is needed. It’s time for a new way forward. If they don’t shift, they are not going to find balance. They will fall and slide down the face of a nine-game slope.