Lets talk about the Jets’ quarterback situation. It sucks. There is no simpler way to state it. Their roster has three quarterbacks on the roster, including 2nd round pick in this year’s draft Christian Hackenberg, former 2nd round pick Geno Smith and former 4th round pick Bryce Petty. Now where these players were drafted has no effect on their actual play. Ryan Leaf was bad and Tom Brady was amazing, we know that. Yet, 2nd round picks are supposed to be at least decent, and we also know that Geno Smith has not lived up to his lofty draft status. Bryce Petty hasn’t seen the field as a starter yet in his NFL career and Hackenberg is a rookie. Right now the position looks like Smith’s to lose, much like last year, where he lost his starting position to journeyman Ryan Fitzpatrick.
Fitz played all 16 games in the season, and lead the talented Jets team (don’t laugh that defense is legit) to a 10-6 record, but missed the playoffs. Fitzpatrick is currently a free agent and wants to be paid for what his worth, but the Jets and the Fitzpatrick cannot agree on what he is worth.
So how does this play out? Well, Fitzpatrick has made it clear that he is not going to play for less than he believes he worth, and would be willing to retire, instead of taking the Jets offer. He’s played for 6 teams over 11 years, and collected a decent amount of earnings over his career. If the Jets do not match what Fitzpatrick is worth, I fully believe that he will retire. The Harvard grad knows what he is willing to pay for and if the Jets do not believe he is worth that much, they will have to live with not paying Fitzpatrick. The team is talented, having weapons for whoever their quarterback will be, and a strong defense led by a dominant defensive line. But will that talent matter if you have a bum taking snaps? Probably not. You can have a Michael Irvin and Jerry Rice as your wide receivers, but if they cannot get the ball, they won’t make an impact. Hopefully Matt Forte can help with the ground attack, but he’s also 30 years old, and running backs typically drop in production once they’re in their 30’s. Similarly, Christian Hackenberg could live up to his hype from high school, after a disappointing college career, and be the next John Elway, but both of these things seem unlikely. They both could prove me wrong, but don’t hold your breath.
The Jets will continue to do Jets things, which usually results in a shot to the foot. Last year the controversy was Geno Smith being sucker punched, and breaking his jaw in training camp. Years before, it was a circus lead by ring leader Rex Ryan with his feet loving ways hoping that Mark “The Sanchize” Sanchez could buttfumble his way to a Superbowl. Expect more of the same from this group, despite their talent.
