The New York Jets are the biggest joke in the league right now. Experts around the NFL are calling this team one of the least talented teams in recent memory and many would consider five wins to be a successful season. The offense has no playmakers whatsoever and the defense let go of its best player in the offseason. It’s almost impossible to see how they could win the AFC East and 80-1 on them might be too low.
AFC East Odds at BookMaker.eu
New England Patriots -1350
Miami Dolphins +925
Buffalo Bills +1250
New York Jets +8000
Why the New York Jets Will Win the AFC East
Let’s get this out of the way quickly. They won’t. I’m sure there is some extremely unlikely series of events that could lead to this team winning the division at 7-9 or 8-8, but that would involve a longshot parlay of injuries, luck, and maybe even some help from a supernatural deity.
New York does have a decent one-two punch at running back in Bilal Powell and Matt Forte. Forte has long been one of the most underappreciated backs in the league and the Jets were able to pick him off the scrap heap for nothing last year. He is a reliable set of hands out of the backfield, but his counterpart was used almost twice as often in that role.
Powell is the best offensive weapon the Jets have. He averaged 5.5 yards per carry last season and caught just one less pass than the team’s leading receiver. Football Outsiders’ advanced metrics loved Powell and rated him one of the ten best running backs in the league in 2016. There’s a great chance that he leads the team in both rushing and receiving in 2017.
The defensive line is the strength of the defense as well it should be. The Jets have used three first-round selections on its line this decade and all three of those picks have at least been decent. Leonard Williams took a big step forward in his second season last year and might be even better this season.
Why the New York Jets Won't Win the AFC East
Alright, now that that’s out of the way, let’s go into the whole list of reasons why the Jets won’t win the division this season.
This is the worst quarterback situation in the league and that’s saying something. Somehow the Jets downgraded from Ryan Fitzpatrick and now have a threesome of Josh McCown, Bryce Petty, and Christian Hackenberg running the show.
McCown is the nominal starter, but at the age of 38, it’s only a matter of time before he gives way to one of the younger quarterbacks. Since coming into the league, he is 18-42 as a starter and has never thrown more than 13 touchdown passes in one season.
Somehow, the quarterback position is not the most barren one on the roster. This is the worst group of wide receivers and tight ends we’ve seen in recent memory. The loss of Quincy Enunwa was big as he was the one commodity that was at least somewhat proven. Without him, it’s anyone’s guess who will see playing time. Austin Seferian-Jenkins and Jalin Marshall will be suspended to start the season too, making this group even worse. Jordan Leggett and ArDarius Stewart are likely to see significant time as rookies.
The secondary is going to be very bad too. Fortunately, the AFC East only has one team with a passing game, but when the Jets play non-divisional opponents they will suffer. Morris Claiborne was a big free agent acquisition, but he only had marginal success in Dallas during his time there. Opposing teams will look to target Buster Skrine who should be a nickel or dime cornerback and not a starter. He commits too many penalties and doesn’t turn around for the ball quickly enough in coverage.
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