In 2013, the New York Jets selected Geno Smith out of West Virginia with the 39th overall pick. That team had aging veterans and unproven young players, including Smith, on the roster. In fact, his top receiver was Jeremy Kerley (who led the team in receptions (43) and yards (523)).
Fast forward to 2017 and the roster looks much different, just four years later. None of the tight ends or wide receivers have more than four years experience and the oldest is 27.
Media and fans thought that it was right to let Smith walk and sign elsewhere, and that the options are better right now. So that means positive thoughts, right? Quite the contrary. Most people think this team isn’t capable of more than four wins, even though the team in 2013 was 8-8.
New York Jets Youth Movement Doesn’t Mean a Bad Team
Jets History
Before you set the bar low for expectations, this team has had (in recent history) a tendency to turn things around. The Jets have an all-time record of 392-468-8. They have finished with six or fewer wins an astounding 26 times. In each of the last six occurrences the Jets followed up the season in which they finished with six wins or fewer with a record of at least .500. Three of the seasons they had 10+ wins.
Youth Movement
The recent release of veterans like David Harris and Eric Decker had many people scratching their head. Without a veteran presence, the young players can’t learn from their mistakes, right?
Wrong.
The coaches have plenty of NFL experience to make up for the loss. Todd Bowles played for eight seasons and won a Super Bowl playing for Joe Gibbs. The presence of some veterans helps, but the knowledge is there.
What to take away from OTAs
Oh, Organized Team Activities how awesome (and by awesome I mean dreadful) you are. It’s the first time fans and media get to overreact to things they see, and they take full advantage of it.
With a group this young, a new offensive coordinator, and a new system the bad play was over-hyped. In addition, it was the first time these players played together. So, that combination probably led to some things that looked worse than they could look in the season.
Also, the Josh McCown has experience in the system. So him playing well in OTAs, and overshadowing the young guys, is partially due to that.
Build and grow together
The key to the Jets plan is that they want to build through the draft. That means a lot of growing pains. However, that also means getting to know each others tendencies.
The Jets want to establish a new culture in New York. So, growing together and developing the culture with young players is better than taking veterans and trying to ingratiate them into a new one.
Most people look at this roster as a bad one. However, there isn’t even an example to prove it. Let’s wait and see in the regular season before we judge this team as bad.
