Cracks in the Aging Fleet of Jets ~ ~ ~

[kelly]

The Jets have the league’s oldest starting lineup, with an average age of 28 years and 226 days

Jets general manager Mike Maccagnan won plaudits this off-season by signing a slew of veterans, including cornerbacks Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie. The acquisitions seemed brilliant earlier this season when the Jets started off 4-1.But now that the 5-5 Jets have lost four of their past five games, what initially appeared to be one of the team’s strengths might be their biggest weakness.

The Jets might be too old.

Based on the last game each NFL team has played, the Jets have the league’s oldest starting lineup, with an average age of 28 years and 226 days as of Monday, according to Stats LLC. That’s more than two years older than the average of the youngest team, the Chicago Bears (26 years, 90 days), and about a year and a half older than the median teams, the Minnesota Vikings (27 years, 92 days) and Cincinnati Bengals (27 years, 110 days).

Factoring in injuries, the Jets have the third-oldest starting lineup according to each team’s depth chart, according to Stats LLC.

In their upset 24-17 loss in Houston on Sunday, several Jets veterans got outhustled by the Texans player they were trying to stop. Revis, 30 years old, couldn’t contain 23-year-old Houston receiver DeAndre Hopkins, who beat the Jets cornerback several times, most notably for a 61-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter. In the third quarter, Cromartie, 31 years old, misplayed a pass that Texans receiver Cecil Shorts III, 27, caught for a 35-yard gain.And on the offensive side, the Jets’ starting offensive line—which with an average age of 29 is the league’s oldest—couldn’t do anything about the Texans’ superstar 26-year-old defensive end, JJ Watt. Going up against right tackle Breno Giacomini (30 years old) and left tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson (who turns 32 in December), Watt tallied two sacks, five quarterback hits and five tackles for a loss.

Head coach Todd Bowles said Monday he was sticking with his current lineup, but the team might be forced to take a youthful turn this week because of injuries. Revis left Sunday’s game with a third-quarter concussion and wasn’t feeling better Monday, Bowles said, so 24-year-old Marcus Williams might start for him in Sunday’s home game against the Miami Dolphins.And Bowles said Pro Bowl center Nick Mangold (31 years old) could also miss the game after suffering a deep gash between the ring finger and pinky of his right hand. His replacement would be 24-year-old center Wes Johnson.Bowles said he would stick with Ryan Fitzpatrick, who turns 33 on Tuesday, as his starting quarterback over Geno Smith, even though Fitzpatrick has completed only 47% of his passes in his past two games.

“I don’t think a lot of throws are Ryan’s fault,” Bowles said. “You have to look at the overall scheme, not just the quarterback.”

In a surprising move Monday, the Jets waived Quinton Coples, a 25-year-old outside linebacker who was their first-round draft pick from 2012. In 10 games this season, he had only eight tackles and no sacks. He played just five snaps against Houston.Coples started out with the team as a defensive lineman but then converted to outside linebacker under former coach Rex Ryan. Bowles said he was “OK” as a linebacker and thought Coples would be a better defensive lineman, but the Jets already had a slew of good linemen, especially after drafting Leonard Williams in the first round this year. “It was a business move,” Bowles said. “It was nothing personal.”

The move saves the Jets $7.8 million from the 2016 salary cap, giving them an opportunity to recruit younger players if they so desire. Maccagnan said last week, before the Houston loss, that with the exception of Revis, he signed veterans to short-term contracts to make the team competitive this season but to also have the flexibility to overhaul the team for 2016.“Most of the other contracts are shorter-term type deals,” Maccagnan said, “with the thought process that it would give us an ability to make ourselves a better team this year, potentially next year and give us some time to build through the draft.”

Write to Stu Woo at Stu.Woo@wsj.com

>     http://www.wsj.com/articles/cracks-in-the-aging-fleet-of-jets-1448323592

[UnitedWhofans]

The Jets have the league’s oldest starting lineup, with an average age of 28 years and 226 days

Jets general manager Mike Maccagnan won plaudits this off-season by signing a slew of veterans, including cornerbacks Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie. The acquisitions seemed brilliant earlier this season when the Jets started off 4-1.But now that the 5-5 Jets have lost four of their past five games, what initially appeared to be one of the team’s strengths might be their biggest weakness.

The Jets might be too old.

Based on the last game each NFL team has played, the Jets have the league’s oldest starting lineup, with an average age of 28 years and 226 days as of Monday, according to Stats LLC. That’s more than two years older than the average of the youngest team, the Chicago Bears (26 years, 90 days), and about a year and a half older than the median teams, the Minnesota Vikings (27 years, 92 days) and Cincinnati Bengals (27 years, 110 days).

Factoring in injuries, the Jets have the third-oldest starting lineup according to each team’s depth chart, according to Stats LLC.

In their upset 24-17 loss in Houston on Sunday, several Jets veterans got outhustled by the Texans player they were trying to stop. Revis, 30 years old, couldn’t contain 23-year-old Houston receiver DeAndre Hopkins, who beat the Jets cornerback several times, most notably for a 61-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter. In the third quarter, Cromartie, 31 years old, misplayed a pass that Texans receiver Cecil Shorts III, 27, caught for a 35-yard gain.And on the offensive side, the Jets’ starting offensive line—which with an average age of 29 is the league’s oldest—couldn’t do anything about the Texans’ superstar 26-year-old defensive end, JJ Watt. Going up against right tackle Breno Giacomini (30 years old) and left tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson (who turns 32 in December), Watt tallied two sacks, five quarterback hits and five tackles for a loss.

Head coach Todd Bowles said Monday he was sticking with his current lineup, but the team might be forced to take a youthful turn this week because of injuries. Revis left Sunday’s game with a third-quarter concussion and wasn’t feeling better Monday, Bowles said, so 24-year-old Marcus Williams might start for him in Sunday’s home game against the Miami Dolphins.And Bowles said Pro Bowl center Nick Mangold (31 years old) could also miss the game after suffering a deep gash between the ring finger and pinky of his right hand. His replacement would be 24-year-old center Wes Johnson.Bowles said he would stick with Ryan Fitzpatrick, who turns 33 on Tuesday, as his starting quarterback over Geno Smith, even though Fitzpatrick has completed only 47% of his passes in his past two games.

“I don’t think a lot of throws are Ryan’s fault,” Bowles said. “You have to look at the overall scheme, not just the quarterback.”

In a surprising move Monday, the Jets waived Quinton Coples, a 25-year-old outside linebacker who was their first-round draft pick from 2012. In 10 games this season, he had only eight tackles and no sacks. He played just five snaps against Houston.Coples started out with the team as a defensive lineman but then converted to outside linebacker under former coach Rex Ryan. Bowles said he was “OK” as a linebacker and thought Coples would be a better defensive lineman, but the Jets already had a slew of good linemen, especially after drafting Leonard Williams in the first round this year. “It was a business move,” Bowles said. “It was nothing personal.”

The move saves the Jets $7.8 million from the 2016 salary cap, giving them an opportunity to recruit younger players if they so desire. Maccagnan said last week, before the Houston loss, that with the exception of Revis, he signed veterans to short-term contracts to make the team competitive this season but to also have the flexibility to overhaul the team for 2016.“Most of the other contracts are shorter-term type deals,” Maccagnan said, “with the thought process that it would give us an ability to make ourselves a better team this year, potentially next year and give us some time to build through the draft.”

Write to Stu Woo at Stu.Woo@wsj.com

>     http://www.wsj.com/articles/cracks-in-the-aging-fleet-of-jets-1448323592

That's why Mac is brilliant.