ESPN+ Article has Jets ranked as the worst roster in NFL

[GreekJet]

QB: 26/32 

RB: 19/32

WR: 30/32

TE: 20/32

OL: 19/32

DL: 15/32

Edge: 31/32

ILB: 22/32

CB: 32/32

Overall 32/32

Shakiest: New York Jets

The Jets seemed to be headed the right direction after their aforementioned offensive line overhaul, but the trade of Adams to Seattle coupled with C.J. Mosley's opt out all but sinks this team's chances of a Cinderella run to a playoff berth. In fact, aside of the Quinnen Williams-led interior defensive line, it's fair to say New York's four other defensive units are below average or poor. The offense isn't much better, which puts a lot of pressure on unproven Darnold to make a big leap in his third NFL season. A fifth consecutive losing season appears to be on the horizon for arguably the league's worst team on paper.

 

The Jets were top 10 in defensive DVOA last year without Mosley so not sure the defensive rankings are fair. 
 

Hard to believe there are 14 better interior DL groups. 

[Sammybighead]

How many creative ways can ESPN tell us we stink? I get it already. Yet we'll never have the worst record, go figure...

[mphtrilogy]

Clicks, ignore

[nico002]

cool so we have the best coach right? since we wen't 7-9 with a roster that was probably half as good as this years which is the worst in the NFL

[GreekJet]

3 minutes ago, Sammybighead said:

How many creative ways can ESPN tell us we stink? I get it already. Yet we'll never have the worst record, go figure...

This is from a very well respected insider in Mike Clay. 

[GreenReaper]

Oh it's from ESPN.  f***'em.

[Gastineau Lives]

These people should have to bet their jobs on this sh*t. 

[mrcoops]

Excellent...we don't have to do very much to exceed everyone's expectations.

[14 in Green]

We should ban all media.

All they ever do is troll Jet fans.

[Kolchak]

3 minutes ago, Trolly McTrollface said:

We should ban all media.

All they ever do is troll Jet fans.

So, you're a reporter?

[CTJetsFan]

Didn't all of the "experts" project us to go 1-15 a few years ago (under Bowles) and we ended up (I think) winning 6 or 7 games that year?

Opinions are like........everyone has one

[bitonti]

Look at the roster and schedule. They will be lucky to win 5 games

Didn't all of the "experts" project us to go 1-15 a few years ago (under Bowles) and we ended up (I think) winning 6 or 7 games that year?
Opinions are like........everyone has one

Sent from my Pixel 2 using JetNation.com mobile app

[RedBeardedSavage]

It’s not such an unreasonable assessment. We’re genuinely a rebuilding team, not a “reload” team. 

But it’s kind-of the perfect year to blow it up.

If I’m a win-now team, I’m far more nervous about the virus’s effect on the season. For us, it’s just about getting the young guys experience and seeing if Gase is worth keeping around. 

[Jetsfan80]

3 minutes ago, RedBeardedSavage said:

It’s not such an unreasonable assessment. We’re genuinely a rebuilding team, not a “reload” team. 

But it’s kind-of the perfect year to blow it up.

If I’m a win-now team, I’m far more nervous about the virus’s effect on the season. For us, it’s just about getting the young guys experience and seeing if Gase is worse keeping around. 

 

Eh.  No, not really.  Darnold is in Year 3 of his rookie deal.  Next year is the first one where we can start negotiating a new deal.  Only if Darnold is not "the guy" would it be good for the team to bottom out this year.  Those 2 things will go hand in hand in that sense.  A great season = Darnold is the guy and we need to pay him.  An awful year = time to consider looking elsewhere.  

But there was really no other way Douglas could have played this.  A big free agent spending spree is almost always ill-advised.  The only time it is justified is if you have an established core and can go out and spend big on a couple important pieces.  Spending in our situation would have been Macc-esque; trying to turn a 5-11 roster into an 8-8 record.  No thanks.  

[BigRy56]

This narrative all ends once the games start getting played

[CTJetsFan]

3 minutes ago, bitonti said:

Look at the roster and schedule. They will be lucky to win 5 games

 

Sent from my Pixel 2 using JetNation.com mobile app
 

I think the roster is equal to, if not slightly better than last year's. Also, 2nd year in the same system for Sam, Bell, Crowder and defense.

I agree the schedule is a lot tougher...but there have been many years when a team's (not just the Jets) schedule looked bad on paper before the season and some of those "tough" teams don't turn out to be as tough as the "experts' projected.

[Jetsfan80]

18 minutes ago, CTJetsFan said:

I think the roster is equal to, if not slightly better than last year's. Also, 2nd year in the same system for Sam, Bell, Crowder and defense.

I agree the schedule is a lot tougher...but there have been many years when a team's (not just the Jets) schedule looked bad on paper before the season and some of those "tough" teams don't turn out to be as tough as the "experts' projected.

Right.  But we know how the 2019 schedule finished now.  We know it was the easiest or 2nd easiest schedule in the league, yet some here scream "7-9!  7-9!  6-2 finish!" without acknowledging that context.  The Jets also went 10-6 in 2015 against one of the easiest schedules in the league.  That didn't carry over the next season.

Meanwhile, looking ahead to 2020, it doesn't matter if the Rams, Seahawks and Chargers don't end up being as good as they look on paper.  We still have to make west coast trips to face them.  We didn't make any west coast trips last season, and in fact, had the least amount of travel distance as any other team.  That stuff has an impact. 

And as long as these QB's are healthy (or nearly all healthy) when we face them, they make the 2020 schedule significantly tougher than 2019:  Wilson, Mahomes, Murray, Goff, Rivers, Lock, Garoppolo, Allen (2x), Newton (2x).  That's a more difficult slate than last year's QBs we faced:  Jackson, Prescott, Brady (2x), Wentz, Allen (1x), Minshew, Dalton, Daniel Jones, Dwayne Haskins, Mason Rudolph, Matt Barkley.  That's 11 difficult QBs vs 6 or 7 on the 2019 schedule.  Even if 2 or 3 of those QBs are hurt when we play them in 2020, they will still be a tougher collective group than the ones faced in 2019.

We face BOTH teams that reached the Super Bowl last season.  Neither might be as good this year.  But they were still the top teams in their respective conferences.  I don't expect them to bottom out.  They should both be playoff-caliber teams.

The one advantage this year?  No crowds/minimal crowds.  Going into historically difficult places like KC or Seattle won't have that same homefield advantage as they usually do.  

[Bleedin Green]

As far as the individual rankings, tough to argue most of them too much, other than perhaps a few spots in either direction, although I think even without Mosley the ILB ranking should still be quite a bit higher.  Williamson is back and really good, and last year without either of them, they got a solid performance out of nothing but backups.

Of course, the defense's greatest strength is Gregg Williams.

Really though, the only thing that will matter this year is whether or not the Jets can show if they deserve a much higher ranking for QB.

[Warfish]

54 minutes ago, mrcoops said:

Excellent...we don't have to do very much to exceed everyone's expectations.

That's the way to look at it! +1

 

[Dcat]

1 hour ago, Sammybighead said:

How many creative ways can ESPN tell us we stink? I get it already. Yet we'll never have the worst record, go figure...

 

1 hour ago, mphtrilogy said:

Clicks, ignore

When you're desperate for clicks, there is no better way in sports than riling up Jets fans.

No Clicky for you ESPN.

 

[JTJet]

1 hour ago, GreekJet said:

In fact, aside of the Quinnen Williams-led interior defensive line

This is the very moment this article lost credibility. 

[The Crusher]

Does this mean we are the favorites to land Trevor Lawrence? 

[Kolchak]

Winning cures rankings like these.  Besides, it's ESPN.  They're entitled to their opinion, we just shouldn't care about it.

[Claymation]

18 minutes ago, Jetsfan80 said:

Right.  But we know how the 2019 schedule finished now.  We know it was the easiest or 2nd easiest schedule in the league, yet some here scream "7-9!  7-9!  6-2 finish!" without acknowledging that context.  The Jets also went 10-6 in 2015 against one of the easiest schedules in the league.  That didn't carry over the next season.

Meanwhile, looking ahead to 2020, it doesn't matter if the Rams, Seahawks and Chargers don't end up being as good as they look on paper.  We still have to make west coast trips to face them.  We didn't make any west coast trips last season, and in fact, had the least amount of travel distance as any other team.  That stuff has an impact. 

And as long as these QB's are healthy (or nearly all healthy) when we face them, they make the 2020 schedule significantly tougher than 2019:  Wilson, Mahomes, Murray, Goff, Rivers, Lock, Garoppolo, Allen (2x), Newton (2x).  That's a more difficult slate than last year's QBs we faced:  Jackson, Prescott, Brady (2x), Wentz, Allen (1x), Minshew, Dalton, Daniel Jones, Dwayne Haskins, Mason Rudolph, Matt Barkley.  That's 11 difficult QBs vs 6 or 7 on the 2019 schedule.  Even if 2 or 3 of those QBs are hurt when we play them in 2020, they will still be a tougher collective group than the ones faced in 2019.

We face BOTH teams that reached the Super Bowl last season.  Neither might be as good this year.  But they were still the top teams in their respective conferences.  I don't expect them to bottom out.  They should both be playoff-caliber teams.

The one advantage this year?  No crowds/minimal crowds.  Going into historically difficult places like KC or Seattle won't have that same homefield advantage as they usually do.  

Great points, but this will be Darnold's 2nd year in Gase's system. His familiarity with the offense should allow this team to be a much better offense than a year ago. The WOs as a whole are better plus having Herndon for the start of the year should make this passing attack formidable. 

The offensive line will be vastly improved even if Van Roten, Lewis & Fant are below average OL. That alone will ease the pressure on the passing game with play action and that will only get better as the season moves along. The running game behind Becton will be devastating in my opinion.

[Jetsfan80]

Just now, Claymation said:

Great points, but this will be Darnold's 2nd year in Gase's system. His familiarity with the offense should allow this team to be a much better offense than a year ago. The WOs as a whole are better plus having Herndon for the start of the year should make this passing attack formidable. 

The offensive line will be vastly improved even if Van Roten, Lewis & Fant are below average OL. That alone will ease the pressure on the passing game with play action and that will only get better as the season moves along. The running game behind Becton will be devastating in my opinion.

 

Right.  But my point is not that the team won't be better.  Only that the schedule will be significantly tougher.  This could very well be a much better team this year, yet the final record could still be 7-9 or 6-10 even in that instance.

[heymangold]

57 minutes ago, RedBeardedSavage said:

It’s not such an unreasonable assessment. We’re genuinely a rebuilding team, not a “reload” team. 

But it’s kind-of the perfect year to blow it up.

If I’m a win-now team, I’m far more nervous about the virus’s effect on the season. For us, it’s just about getting the young guys experience and seeing if Gase is worse keeping around. 

everyone thinks this team is going to be 7-9, 8-8 with a chance at the playoffs.  lets face it, that isn't going to happen.  the team has HUGE questions at literally almost every postion.  not to mention other they GW, this coaching staff isn't great.

[CTJetsFan]

22 minutes ago, Jetsfan80 said:

Right.  But we know how the 2019 schedule finished now.  We know it was the easiest or 2nd easiest schedule in the league, yet some here scream "7-9!  7-9!  6-2 finish!" without acknowledging that context.  The Jets also went 10-6 in 2015 against one of the easiest schedules in the league.  That didn't carry over the next season.

Meanwhile, looking ahead to 2020, it doesn't matter if the Rams, Seahawks and Chargers don't end up being as good as they look on paper.  We still have to make west coast trips to face them.  We didn't make any west coast trips last season, and in fact, had the least amount of travel distance as any other team.  That stuff has an impact. 

And as long as these QB's are healthy (or nearly all healthy) when we face them, they make the 2020 schedule significantly tougher than 2019:  Wilson, Mahomes, Murray, Goff, Rivers, Lock, Garoppolo, Allen (2x), Newton (2x).  That's a more difficult slate than last year's QBs we faced:  Jackson, Prescott, Brady (2x), Wentz, Allen (1x), Minshew, Dalton, Daniel Jones, Dwayne Haskins, Mason Rudolph, Matt Barkley.  That's 11 difficult QBs vs 6 or 7 on the 2019 schedule.  Even if 2 or 3 of those QBs are hurt when we play them in 2020, they will still be a tougher collective group than the ones faced in 2019.

We face BOTH teams that reached the Super Bowl last season.  Neither might be as good this year.  But they were still the top teams in their respective conferences.  I don't expect them to bottom out.  They should both be playoff-caliber teams.

The one advantage this year?  No crowds/minimal crowds.  Going into historically difficult places like KC or Seattle won't have that same homefield advantage as they usually do.  

I agree that the multiple west coast trips could be a big problem. Not disagreeing that we have a tougher schedule (on paper) this year.

Where  I will disagree is on the QBs. Rivers has always been a paper tiger IMO. Lock - TBD Allen - call me when he can throw an accurate ball. Cam 2x - Hasn't been healthy or the same since the beating he took a few years ago and the rest of NEs offensive weapons outside of Edelman are suspect at best. Hopefully Jets will quarantine and stay out west between Seattle game and Rams game. Goff regressed last year and if they didn't fix their o-line, he'll be in trouble again.

Playing KC, SEA, SF, LAR and improving AZ in 1 year is no doubt tough.

 

 

[Jetsfan80]

7 minutes ago, CTJetsFan said:

I agree that the multiple west coast trips could be a big problem. Not disagreeing that we have a tougher schedule (on paper) this year.

Where  I will disagree is on the QBs. Rivers has always been a paper tiger IMO. Lock - TBD Allen - call me when he can throw an accurate ball. Cam 2x - Hasn't been healthy or the same since the beating he took a few years ago and the rest of NEs offensive weapons outside of Edelman are suspect at best. Hopefully Jets will quarantine and stay out west between Seattle game and Rams game. Goff regressed last year and if they didn't fix their o-line, he'll be in trouble again.

Playing KC, SEA, SF, LAR and improving AZ in 1 year is no doubt tough.

 

You can poke holes in a lot of those QBs.  But compare them to the 2019 list.  It's not even close, even if a couple of those QBs are hurt when we play those teams.

4 of our opposing QBs were Daniel Jones, Dwayne Haskins, Mason Rudolph, and Matt Barkley.  That's 25 % of the schedule.  Throw in 2 games against Fitzpatrick, a rookie (Minshew) and a current backup (Dalton) and it's kind of pathetic that we ONLY went 7-9.  Those were 8 games that should have been lock wins on their own, and we still found a way to lose 3 of them.

And while Brady is of course better than Cam Newton/Jarrett Stidham, keep in mind that Brady was the # 18 ranked QB in the league last season as age is finally catching up with him.  He wasn't exactly a world beater.  The Patriots' defense carried that team.  Cam, if healthy, + Belichick and the defense can certainly earn a split, at minimum, against this Jets team.

[Fantasy Island]

1 hour ago, BigRy56 said:

This narrative all ends once the games start getting played

That's a big IF.  They are showing Jaws and Smokey and the Bandit at the multiplex.  Worst year ever. 

[20andOut]

Knowing ESPN is always kissing the Patriots A-- and hating on the Jets I am curious how they ranked the Pats with no Brady, and now no Hightower,  Chung, Cannon etc

[CTJetsFan]

17 minutes ago, Jetsfan80 said:

 

You can poke holes in a lot of those QBs.  But compare them to the 2019 list.  It's not even close, even if a couple of those QBs are hurt when we play those teams.

4 of our opposing QBs were Daniel Jones, Dwayne Haskins, Mason Rudolph, and Matt Barkley.  That's 25 % of the schedule.  Throw in 2 games against Fitzpatrick, a rookie (Minshew) and a current backup (Dalton) and it's kind of pathetic that we ONLY went 7-9.  Those were 8 games that should have been lock wins on their own, and we still found a way to lose 3 of them.

And while Brady is of course better than Cam Newton/Jarrett Stidham, keep in mind that Brady was the # 18 ranked QB in the league last season as age is finally catching up with him.  He wasn't exactly a world beater.  The Patriots' defense carried that team.  Cam, if healthy, + Belichick and the defense can certainly earn a split, at minimum, against this Jets team.

Agree. Good points.

[Bungaman]

23 minutes ago, Claymation said:

Great points, but this will be Darnold's 2nd year in Gase's system. His familiarity with the offense should allow this team to be a much better offense than a year ago. The WOs as a whole are better plus having Herndon for the start of the year should make this passing attack formidable. 

The offensive line will be vastly improved even if Van Roten, Lewis & Fant are below average OL. That alone will ease the pressure on the passing game with play action and that will only get better as the season moves along. The running game behind Becton will be devastating in my opinion.

And - if the offense is not having three and outs four times in a row, and giving opponents short fields to work with, allows the D to catch their breath, make adjustments, and play with a lead now and then. It's the second year for those guys in GW's defense as well.

I think people underestimate the importance of continuity. Many of the teams that consistently do well (I won't mention a few of them them because I hate them,) have had the same base staff for 5+ years, and compete no matter who's on the roster, or where they pick in the draft. Continuity means you are teaching the finer points, year after year, and have a team teaching the few new guys the basics, rather than trying to get a whole squad to master the fundamentals of a new scheme.

Both units will be better.

[bitonti]

28 minutes ago, Jetsfan80 said:

 

Right.  But my point is not that the team won't be better.  Only that the schedule will be significantly tougher.  This could very well be a much better team this year, yet the final record could still be 7-9 or 6-10 even in that instance.

they were going 7-9 best case before they traded Adams and CJ opted out 

after losing their 2 best players by far there's no floor on this Jets season 

they really do have one of the least talented rosters in football, which isn't that surprising when the owner insists on rolling over 30 mil in unused cap

the teams that win spend money the teams that don't want to win don't

that's not to say spending money means you're going to win, far from it 

but underfunded rosters don't have a chance 

this roster is underfunded at every major position besides GM. HC spend is a joke. The Qb had major draft capital invested in him but in terms of actual dollars the Jets are perpetually top 5 in open cap space among teams like WAS and CLE 

[ChuckkieB]

It's amazing to me how widespread the Jets and the Mets bashing is in both the local and national media.  It's almost as if every "journalist," "analyst," or dope with a blog gets the chance to take a dump on both teams, they do.  It's been this way for years but it's gotten so much worse over the last few years.  I suppose it's easier to kick a dog when it's down, and both franchises haven't exactly been models of consistent winning and good ownership.

[nycdan]

It's harsh but not entirely unfair.  We do have incredible questions still at CB, OL, WR and Edge.  

However, the bright side is, if there was ever a season to be the worst team in the league, this would be it.  Whether we drafted TL and traded Sam, or more likely, traded the #1 pick for what would be a massive haul, it would help the team immensely going forward.