Jets In Rebuilding Mode?

It's one of those things that really make you kind of scratch your head. After finishing the year two seasons ago with a 10-6 record and just missing the playoffs, the New York Jets came up way short last year. They finished the 2016 season with a pathetic 5-11 record, well below the standard they had set the year before. Now, it seams as if the Jets are trying to re-invent the wheel. They have been cutting players left and right, freeing up a lot of cap space. The Jets have cut ties with Darrelle Revis, Nick Mangold, Breno Giacomini, Nick Folk and now wide receiver Brandon Marshall. In total, with those cuts, the Jets have cleared more than $45 million this offseason in cap space. Some of the moves make sense, while others don't.

Letting go Mangold, which really did hurt, and Giacomini made a little bit of sense because the Jets offensive line does need to be rebuilt. Getting rid of Revis, while he was a great player, makes the most sense. Revis has been a shell of his former self the last couple of seasons. Lest year was the worst one, as every time I turned around, it looked like Revis was getting lit up like a cheap cigar. So I'm glad they finally cut ties with Revis, he isn't really worth the headache anymore. He's not the player he once was and good riddance.

With Marshall, it leaves me a little bit surprised. I understand that he had a down year last year. In 2015, Marshall was named MVP on the team, as he set franchise records with 109 catches and 1,502 yards receiving. Then, last year, Marshall took a bit of a step back, as he had just 59 receptions for 788 yards and three TDs while dealing with a few injuries and inconsistent quarterback play. He was making $7.5 Million for next year, which is a lot of money for a step down in production. I still feel that Marshall can be a very dominant receiver in this league. He's too good. I know his age is getting a tad up there, but like I said with Nick Mangold, I still feel Marshall has enough left in the tank to be a good receiver in the NFL.

This whole team is just a mess. There was fighting amongst the players last year. Todd Bowles lost the locker room during the year, the players don't fully trust or even listen to him from what I've been hearing. Bowles has said that this team isn't in a rebuild. Really? Then what would you call it? The coaching staff has had changeover. Some of the players that have been dead weight, aka Revis, have been let go. Marshall is now gone. There's no quarterback on this team at all. I mean sure they have Bryce Petty and Christian Hackenberg, but neither of them really appear to be ready to fully lead an NFL franchise. Not only that, but whoever ends up under center for the Jets in 2017, whether its Petty, Hackenberg or somebody else, they don't have much to work with in the passing game. Eric Decker is back to being the number one target again. Decker is coming off a year in which he missed almost the entire season due to battling injuries, so there's no telling how effective he's going to be. Even when he's on his game, I still am not really sold on Decker being a legit number one wide receiver. As of now Quincy Enunwa and Robby Anderson are the other options in the passing game. Both are solid wide receivers, but they aren't top flight pass catchers yet.

I really hope Jets management really hopes it knows what its doing. Because if this turns into another taking year, and they don't show any hope at all like they are going to get better, then there will be a lot more unhappy Jets fans.