Tag Archives: Jets

Zach Wilson Can Help Jets Fans Forget Tortured History

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By Jason Klein 

Prove them right, Zach.

Please!  For the sake of all Jets fans.  For my personal well-being.

Just prove the Jets right.

I’ve seen the wristband and the wall in your parents’ living room.  I know you wake up every day looking to “Prove Them Wrong.”  I respect it.  I appreciate it.  Now go spend the next decade proving them right, instead.

Jets Fans Need Zach Wilson To Prove Them Right.

Start on Sunday.

Show the football world why the Jets selected you with the second overall pick in the draft.  They traded Sam Darnold to clear your path down Zachs Fifth Avenue.  They chose to build around you rather than doubling down on Sam.  Validate that decision.

I’m begging you.

Us Jets fans need things to work out this time.  Our team has rarely gotten it right.  Ken O’Brien had moments, Browning Nagle never did.  Boomer Esiason and Neil O’Donnell had big names but little success.  Vinny Testaverde got close.  Chad Pennington got hurt.  Mark Sanchez got Tebow’d.  Geno Smith got punched.  Darnold got Gase’d. 

Things never seem to work out for us.  It’s been 52 years since Super Bowl III.  We’re tired of rooting for the same old nonsense.  But you, Mr. Wilson, can change the narrative.  Please, take us Zach to the Future.  Help us forget our past.

We don’t want to think about fake spikes or butt fumbles.  We’re done with shovel passes, seeing ghosts and Snoopy Bowl suffering.  Pull the plug on Heidi Games, burner accounts and mononucleosis.  

We don’t want to hear about Mark Gastineau’s personal foul in Cleveland or Leon Johnson’s halfback option pass in Detroit.  We’re done talking about Peyton Manning staying in school and the HC of the NYJ haphazardly scribbling on a napkin.  We’re sick of the Idzik 12, foot fetishes, and “brilliant offensive minds.”

No more Vernon Gholston, Blair Thomas, Dee Milliner and Johnny “Lam” Jones.  We never want to hear about Lou Holtz, Rich Kotite or Adam Gase again.

We want to give Joe Namath’s interview with Suzy Kolber a big kiss goodbye.  

We’ve unfollowed Jamal Adams and Le’Veon Bell on social media.  We’re tired of hearing that our head coach thinks he’s “rich as f*ck,” or that our owner “hopes this team actually shows up.” No more rooting against our own team in hopes of securing the first pick in the draft.

We’ve tripped over our own logo in the end zone for the last time.  No more firing General Managers AFTER they run our drafts.  Put away the Pick 6’s, PSLs and advice from Peyton Manning.

We want to forget about Brett Favre’s torn biceps, Chad’s torn shoulder and Vinny’s torn Achilles.  Give the hook to I.K. Enemkpali’s right hook.  We’re done living in Tom Brady’s shadow.

Enough googly-eyed press conference memes.  No more Cover Zero Blitzes.  We can’t take any more planes flying over practice or 1-15 seasons. Oh, and Woody, you most certainly CAN have too much Tebow.

Please, Zach.  We’re pleading with you.  End this endless string of ineptitude for us.  No more Mud Bowls.  Only Super Bowls.  Take the chip on your shoulder and go get a chip for that trophy case in Florham Park.  We don’t expect it to happen overnight, but a Lombardi will prove them right, one day, for sure.

It won’t be easy.  You’re about to go all gas, no brake with an organization that’s mostly been stuck in reverse.  We believe in you, though.  We’ve heard the hype.  We’ve watched the tape.  We’ve listened to all the experts and analysts and coaches who have gushed over your arm talent, praised your work ethic and admired your leadership qualities.

We think you’re the one to lift us from the green and white abyss.  We trust you’re the pilot to finally help us take flight.

We need things to work out.  This time has to be different.

Please, Zach.  For the sake of all Jets fans.  For my personal well-being.

Prove us right.

Sam Darnold Gave Me Hope. The Jets Gave Him None.

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By Jason Klein

Sam Darnold deserved better.

We all did.

I was inside MetLife Stadium when he was drafted.  The Jets were about to secure their long-coveted franchise quarterback and I needed to be there the moment it happened.

I watched the screen in the corner of the end zone, with my dad, as Sam put that crisp draft day Jets hat on for the first time. We finally had “our guy!”  He was instantly the most promising quarterback prospect the team had selected since Joe Namath. I was giddy just thinking about all the possibilities…and…this was only the beginning!

That night, Sam gave me something I rarely have as a Jets fan.

That night, Sam gave me hope.  

Unfortunately, the Jets never gave Sam any in return.

Darnold Was Never Given Tools To Succeed in NY.

On Monday, the New York Jets traded Darnold to the Carolina Panthers, without ever giving him the proper tools to Take Flight.

They failed Darnold in every way imaginable. 

Long before any pandemic, Jets personnel should have been wearing masks while they robbed Sam of his opportunity in New York.

The organization had a responsibility to give their young quarterback everything he needed to win while still on his rookie contract. Instead, they gave him nothing.  They surrounded him with a shoddy supporting cast and never built an offensive line to protect their most valuable asset. They never even thought to hire an accomplished coordinator or QB coach to cultivate his unique talents and help him reach his potential. 

Their most damning decision was to hire an historically incompetent head coach to be Sam’s “Quarterback Whisperer.” Adam Gase was never the right coach to entrust the most critical years of Darnold’s development to.  He could never “coach football to where it was going.”  He was a football charlatan with a toxic personality and an archaic offensive scheme.

Everyone knew it from the day he was hired. Everyone saw it. Players, media, fans, opponents…everyone knew. That is, everyone except the one man on the planet who had the authority to make this decision: acting owner, Christopher Johnson.

Everyone Knew What Darnold Needed…Except The Jets

At times, it felt as if Johnson sat around and purposely hatched a plan to systematically stunt Sam’s growth. 

To be fair, Darnold didn’t do anything to help himself out.  His completion percentage was always too low and his interception totals were always too high.  On the field, he made plenty of bad decisions.  It’s just that his team’s decisions were always far worse.

The way the Jets failed to support their young QB was nothing short of football malpractice.  No QB in the league could have succeeded in the cesspool Darnold was stuck in.  

Other teams like the Bills, Browns and Ravens invested heavily in the pieces around their young stud QBs. As a result, Josh Allen, Baker Mayfield and Lamar Jackson are all thriving members of the same QB class of 2018.  The Jets were negligent with Darnold from day one, and watched his window of opportunity close without ever getting a proper chance to see what kind of player he could be.

Through it all, the classy Darnold never pointed fingers.  He blindly defended Gase and always supported the organization’s position.  He consistently took the high road, even when he should have put his car in reverse.  He never made excuses, but he had plenty of them.

There was his nagging sprained foot in 2018, his Mono diagnosis in 2019 and busted shoulder early in 2020.  There’s no telling how any of these setbacks impacted his play because, well, he would never be caught telling anyone about them.  A true leader, Darnold shouldered all the blame instead.

Monday’s trade ends months of speculation.  Still only 23 years-old, and now fully healthy, Sam escapes New York and gets to work with a roster more talented than anything he ever had with the Jets. He’ll finally get his shot to work with elite offensive weapons like Christian McCaffrey, DJ Moore and old buddy Robby Anderson.  He’ll have Head Coach Matt Rhule on his sideline and a true offensive guru, Joe Brady, in his ear.   

The Jets Will Likely Select BYU QB, Zach Wilson #2 Overall

Meanwhile, the Jets are certain to use the #2 overall selection in the 2021 NFL Draft to take Sam’s successor – likely Zach Wilson of BYU.

Wilson is young, gifted and exciting.  He is incredibly accurate and has all-world arm talent.  He is also a perfect fit for the new west coast offensive Matt Lafleur will run under Head Coach, Robert Saleh.

Should Wilson be the pick, his arrival would give me something I rarely have as a Jets fan.  

Zach would give me hope. 

For his sake, the Jets must handle the critical early years of his development much differently than they did Darnold’s.

After all, Wilson deserves better.

We all do.

Without Sports

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By Jason Klein

I can live without sports.

I just did it for nineteen weeks.

During a global pandemic, some things are hard to make sense of.  For me, one thing became very clear. IMG_3682

I can do it.  I can live without sports.

Long before this virus, my Grandma tried to put things in perspective for me.  It was 1997 and the Jets had just thrown another season away.  I was devastated.  I was inconsolable.  I needed time alone to collect my thoughts and regain control of my emotions.  Recognizing my agony, Grandma put her arm around me, leaned in, and whispered:

“Jason, dear…It’s just a game.”

Just a game?  Just a game?!

She was trying to trivialize one of the most important things in my life.  I couldn’t muster a coherent response.  I sat stewing in silence.  Sports were so much more than “just a game!”  Sports were my passion, my escape, my everything!  How could she not understand that?  How could my own Grandma be so insensitive?  How could someone with so much wisdom be so wrong?

It took me twenty-two years, but now I understand what she meant.

On March 12, 2020, the games stopped.  In that time, I learned how to live without them and better prioritize what really matters. nypostback 3-12-20

Without sports, I focus almost exclusively on my health, my safety and my ability to provide those two things for my family.  I’m more patient, more tolerant and more grateful for the things that I have.

Without sports, my calendar is empty, but my days are full.  While home schooling my daughters, I got to study the American Revolution and do art projects with my 4th grader.  I practiced sight words and built forts with my Kindergartener.  I became a Google Classroom savant and somehow figured out how to fill twelve hours, daily, with socially distant and educational activities.  I also gained immeasurable respect for the teachers who flourish in these demanding roles during normal times.

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Home School With My Daughters

Spending all day, every day, with my children is a blessing and a challenge at the same time.  Coffee helps me perk up and tequila helps me wind down.  I have a better appreciation for my personal time.  I treasure small windows where I can exercise, read, or simply go to the bathroom without little fingers reaching under the door.

Without sports, I know the true value of Clorox wipes, Lysol spray, and a good mask that doesn’t pinch the back of my ears.  I appreciate short lines at the supermarket and a store shelf stocked with toilet paper.

Without sports, I can easily identify real heroes.  They’re the ones who work at the supermarket, deliver my mail, haul away my garbage and battle this disease on the frontline every day.  Healthcare workers, like my wife, make sacrifices to keep themselves and their families out of harm’s way.  It’s something we deal with in our home.  It’s nerve-racking, and at times, scary, but I’m thankful for the protective measures we’ve taken to secure a safe and comfortable living environment.

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Staying Safe With My Family

Without sports, I’ve become a big fan of science, facts and rational thinking.  I’m grateful for those in our local community who follow suit.  They’re the ones who keep proper hygiene, maintain their distance and responsibly wear masks in public to protect others.  They’re also the ones who choose common sense and human decency over politics.  They set a good example and help me manage virus-related anxiety and paranoia.  I’m hopeful other parts of our country start to take things this seriously.

During our time without sports, this cruel and savage virus has separated us from our loved ones when we need them most.  I miss hugging my parents and having drinks with my friends.  I miss date nights with my wife and taking family vacations.

Pandemic life has been challenging.  It’s been exhausting.  It’s been stressful.

It’s been without sports.

Until tonight. Hal-Boone-Cashman-Masks

Major League Baseball returns this evening with a small dose of normalcy.  Typically the
soundtrack of my summer, baseball has been silent since mid-March.  An abbreviated 60 game season will start, but the virus determines if it will finish.  Empty stadiums, player testing, social distancing and masks in the dugout still might not be enough to prevent COVID-19 from upending MLB-20.

While it lasts, I’ll enjoy something familiar and reassuring.  I’ll take solace in the mental
escape sports provide.  It will be nice, for a change, to worry about Aaron Judge’s health instead of my own. IMG_3684

For many reasons, it can be argued that this is the most important season in baseball
history. Yet, if COVID cases rise, and more lives are at risk, baseball should stop in its tracks.  After all, my Grandma was right, baseball is just a game.  This virus, most certainly, is not.  Nineteen weeks later, I fully understand this.

I’ve learned I can live without sports.

With baseball back, I’m just glad I don’t have to anymore.

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Old Jets Logo Was Cool…Like Kevin Arnold.

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By Jason Klein

I always thought Kevin Arnold was the coolest.

He had Winnie Cooper, but more importantly, he had that vintage New York Jets jacket.

Played by Fred Savage, Kevin was the star of The Wonder Years, a family

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Kevin Arnold Had Winnie Cooper…and That Jets Jacket.  So Cool.

comedy/drama that was “appointment TV” for me from 1988-1993.  Well before Netflix or Prime, I made sure I was in front of a TV when it aired each week.  Back then, the only thing streaming were tears…each time an episode’s moral tugged at your heartstrings.

Change was a central theme of the story that took place during the turbulent late 60s and early 70s. There were political changes, social changes, and tons of personal changes that Kevin experienced over the show’s 6-year run.

Through it all, one thing remained constant for Kevin.

That Jets jacket.

I loved that jacket. There was something so endearing about it.  The Jets have never really had a place among pop culture.  Their players didn’t star in commercials.  Musicians or rappers never performed in Jets jerseys or caps.  The Jets were never even the most popular football team in their own city.  Yet, there was the star of a primetime network hit wearing a Jets jacket every week.

Taking place between 1968-1973, Kevin’s jacket featured the logo made famous during

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Joe Namath – Super Bowl III.

Super Bowl III.  It was the same emblem Joe Namath wore the day he wagged that finger and delivered a Lombardi Trophy.  Namath was always so cool.  With that Jets logo on his jacket, so was Kevin Arnold.

As it turns out, Broadway Joe will be the only quarterback to ever win a title with that logo on his helmet.

That’s a guarantee.

Later today, change is coming to the New York Jets.  At 7:30 PM, Gang Green will introduce a new uniform and logo.  It will be the team’s first wardrobe change since 1998.  That’s when Bill Parcells pulled a Marty McFly and went Back to the Future – bringing those famous Super Bowl III jerseys back.

They wore the throwbacks for 21 seasons, but could never repeat what Namath did.

Vinny Testaverde got close, once.  Mark Sanchez had two shots at immortality, but came up short.  Even Chad Pennington made 3 playoff appearances in those Namath-style threads, but his ring finger remained bare, like the Jets trophy case over the last 50 years.

Maybe change is good. Perhaps a new identity will turn the tide, improve karma and provide some positive feng shui over in East Rutherford.

With a new head coach and two young cornerstone players in Sam Darnold and Jamal Adams, this feels like the right time to move forward with a renewed identity.

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Sam Darnold Wearing Old Jets Logo.

Still, there’s something special about continuity and tradition.

I watched Derek Jeter win five World Series in the same uniform my dad once watched Mickey Mantle win in.  Now, my daughters see Aaron Judge try to do the same thing.  The generations change, but the pinstripes never do.

There are rumors, and unconfirmed leaks on Twitter, that suggest this Jets update will maintain some elements of the old logo.  I’d like that.  We’ll know for sure after tonight.

If I can’t have that classic logo, or Winnie Cooper for that matter, I’ll take a Super Bowl victory in whatever uniform they trot out tonight.

That would be cool.

Even cooler than Kevin Arnold.

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Like Parcells, Gase Has Chance To Change Jets Identity, 50 Years After Super Bowl III

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By Jason Klein

Fifty years.

That’s how long it’s been since the New York Jets won a Super Bowl.

Hell, that’s how long it’s been since they even appeared in the big game.

Today marks the 50th Anniversary of Super Bowl III.  January 12, 1969 is this team’s identity.  It’s the defining moment in their franchise’s history and it happened 50 years ago today.

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Parcells Took Over in 1997.  Gase Gets His Shot in 2019.

Yes.  Fifty!

Imagine being best known for something you accomplished a half century ago.

When will the narrative change?  Well, it’s been 22 years since their last, best chance.  In 1997, after winning just 4 of their previous 32 games, the Jets hired the coach they thought could rescue them from irrelevance and completely change everything.  This week, they did it again.

Tuna then. A Dolphin now.

There are a lot of similarities between what Bill Parcells faced in 1997 and what former Miami Head Coach, Adam Gase is about to take on.

Both inherited a floundering Jets franchise in desperate need of a new beginning.

Parcells’ rescue mission followed the team’s historically horrible two-year run from 1995-1996.  He began the makeover in his second season by introducing new uniforms.  He brought back a modern version of the team’s jerseys worn between 1964-1977, a tribute to that only Super Bowl team in franchise history.

Next, he added a ton of new players.  Game-changing players.  Names like Curtis Martin, Kevin Mawae, Keith Byars and Bryan Cox.  They brought a new attitude and gave the team instant credibility.

Finally, he found a top-level Quarterback.  Vinny Testaverde arrived, leading the Jets to a Division Title, a 12-4 record and a trip to the AFC Championship Game.  Though they fell one win short of a Super Bowl appearance, the team had clearly turned a corner.

When Gase is introduced as the new HC of the NYJ on Monday afternoon, he’ll also inherit a team coming off a historically horrible run.  Over the last three seasons, they’ve won just 14 of their previous 48 games.

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Sam Darnold Hopes To Be First Jets QB Since Joe Namath To Win a Super Bowl For Jets.

Like Parcells, Gase will attempt to change the team’s identity.

New uniforms are coming this spring.  With the third overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, and close to $100M in cap space, Gase and GM Mike Maccagnan must find new, game-changing players like Parcells once did.  Lucky for Gase, he’s already got the QB in Sam Darnold.

Both Parcells and Gase took over Jets teams at pivotal junctures in franchise history.  They were both hired by questionable ownerships with limited football knowledge.  Gase also takes on an angry, skeptical fanbase who is tired of losing, just as Parcells did.

Parcells was able to quickly flip the script and almost get that elusive second Lombardi Trophy for the Jets.  Now Adam Gase has his chance.

“I’m excited about him coming,” said Joe Namath, the man under center 50 years ago today.  “I believe he can do it.”

If he does, according to acting owner, Christopher Johnson, he’ll be a “Freaking Legend.”  It’s been a freaking long time since this team had any real legends to celebrate.

Fifty years, to be exact.

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Darnold Gives Jets Fans Like Me Hope.

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By Jason Klein

Thursday night, I left the Meadowlands with a win.

I’ve walked out of there many times through the years.  This time felt different, though.

Inside, there were no passes thrown, no yards gained and no touchdowns scored.  My team gained no ground in the standings either.

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Sam Darnold – Drafted 3rd Overall By The Jets.

I still left with a win, and it was unlike any victory I’ve experienced in that stadium, or the old one.

I won because I left with hope.

Like, long-term hope. Like, hey, I might have several years of meaningful football ahead of me kind of hope.  Maybe even a decade of hope.  Maybe even more.

Thursday night, I left the Meadowlands after the New York Jets selected Sam Darnold with the 3rd overall pick in the NFL Draft.  I was there, watching along with other Jets fans, at the team’s 2018 Draft Party.  When Darnold put on that crisp Jets cap and held up that green jersey, he immediately became the most promising prospect to play Quarterback for the Jets since Joe Namath left forty years ago.

He was not expected to be available for the Jets to select.  Like so many of the games I’ve watched in that Stadium, I felt Darnold was just a little out of reach. Too good to be true.  Not meant-to-be.

I was wrong.

Somehow, as I watched inside MetLife Stadium, Darnold, arguably the top Quarterback in the draft, miraculously fell into the Jets lap.  This sort of thing doesn’t happen to the Jets. Ever.  This is a team that finds a way to lose, even when they win.  Not this time, though.

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Attending the Jets Draft Party at MetLife Stadium

Mark it down as a “W.”

I’ve waited a long time for this.

I had a Ken O’Brien jersey as a kid.  I traded that for a Boomer Esiason uniform.  Browning Nagle and Glenn Foley were teases.  I never bought into Neil O’Donnell, but I fell hard for Vinny Testaverde and Chad Pennington.  Mark Sanchez brought me closer to a Lombardi Trophy than anyone since Vinny…twice. Ultimately, he had the rug pulled out from under him.  Brett Favre was a gimmick.  Tim Tebow was a distraction.  Geno Smith was never the answer and Ryan Fitzpatrick was a bearded bridge to nowhere.

So many different Quarterbacks through the years.  Some showed the promise to rise above the ineptitude that has so often hampered this organization.  All of them ended up sinking, one way or another, deep into the swamps of Jersey.

Unfulfilled potential. Unfortunate injuries.  Undermined by management.  Unbelievable misfortune.

This is different. Landing Darnold is a franchise-changing victory.

Sure, he could be a bust. He could turn out to be just another name to add to the list of failed Jets Quarterbacks.  We won’t know that for several years.

But, what if he succeeds? What if he’s a true Franchise Quarterback?  What if he leads the Jets to the playoffs?  What if he gets one of those Lombardi Trophies?  What if he gets more?

What if he has a long, historic career for the Jets?  Like, a 10-12 year career?  My daughters are in 2nd grade and pre-school now.  What if Sam Darnold is still the Quarterback of the Jets when they’re in college?  What if?

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Darnold Introduced to New York.

That’s what makes this pick a win. A conquest so different than all the others I’ve seen through the years in East Rutherford, NJ.

It’s the hope.  It’s the optimism.  It’s the faith and belief in my team that I’ve lacked for far too long now.

Sports fans need hope. Without it, what’s the point?  Why spend the time or the money?  Without hope, rooting for a team becomes a robotic ritual. Passionless and pointless.

I want my Sundays in the Fall to matter.  I want to trust in a process and be confident in a plan.

The last few years, I’ve watched this team with indifference.  There seemed to be no strategy for the future. Drafting Sam Darnold changes that.

Drafting Sam Darnold gives me hope.

For me, that’s a win.

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Jets Waste Opportunity. “Nick & Brick” Window Now Shut.

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By Jason Klein

Today, the Jets look towards the future without a very important piece from their past.

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Mangold’s Jets Career Could Be Over.

Bryce Petty gets his second start at quarterback just days after the team placed center Nick Mangold on season-ending injured reserve. The move could signal the end of Mangold’s 11-year run with the Jets. Even if he returns, this season’s injury woes proved that his best days are behind him.

One of the most dependable and talented centers in NFL history, Mangold has only one season left on his contract. He’ll turn 33 next month, and will carry a large salary cap charge of $9.1 million into 2017 – both reasons why the Jets could decide to move on.

If they do, it would be a wasted opportunity for a franchise that wastes a lot of them.

In 2006, the Jets drafted Mangold, and left tackle, D’Brickashaw Ferguson in the first round. Over the next decade, they would anchor a dominant offensive line and stabilize the team’s core. In all that time, the Jets failed to find a true franchise quarterback for them to protect.

Inexplicable.

It’s been almost 50 years since Joe Namath wagged his finger atop football’s highest peak. The Jets haven’t been able to replace him since. Perhaps most frustrating of all – the star-crossed franchise wasn’t able to do so within the 10-year “Nick & Brick” window.

Imagine a baseball team boasting an elite pitching staff, all healthy and in their prime, but unable to secure any top hitters to score any runs.

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Ferguson Retired in 2015.

A waste.

Aside from quarterback, a center and left tackle are arguably the most important positions on a football team. The Jets haven’t had to worry about filling those holes for a decade now.

Before this season’s ankle issues, Mangold had been a rock at center, going to 7 Pro Bowls and missing only 4 games over his first 10 years. Ferguson retired in 2015 after a 10-year career with the Jets. He went to 3 Pro Bowls and played in all 160 regular season games, only missing one play. One play!

The only thing more reliable than these two has been the team’s lackluster play at quarterback.

The Jets thought they found their man in 2009 when Mark Sanchez took them to the first of back-to-back AFC Title Games. That was as close as they would come, though. Sanchez fizzled and the search continued.

Today, Petty gets his shot.

It’s too early to tell if he’ll be the answer.

It’s too late for him to do it behind “Nick & Brick.”

Wasted opportunity.

 

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Same Old Jets? Not This Time…I think.

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By Jason Klein

Same Old Jets?

This time was different.

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Jets Head Coach, Todd Bowles

Blaming Sunday’s excruciating loss on a “well, that’s just the way it is” mantra is silly. I’ll be honest, I’ve been guilty of it in the past. I’ve been consuming the same old nonsense for over thirty years. It never gets any easier.

Growing up as a Jets fan, the terms “would have,” “could have,” and “should have” were a part of my daily vernacular. I would pepper grade school friends with them trying to defend my team’s yearly failures. Now I plead my case to my wife and children.

But “Same Old Jets?” Not this time.

Like the previous 46 Jets seasons, this one ended without a trophy. Not since Joe Willie waggled that finger back in January of 1969 has this team finished on top. Sunday’s season-ender was disappointing, frustrating, mind-boggling, and typical, but something did feel different about it.

The Jets now have a competent General Manager, a level-headed Coach, a dynamic Wide Receiver tandem, a top defensive unit, and a ton of confidence. By re-signing Ryan Fitzpatrick, they’ll also have an intelligent and physically capable Quarterback who commands the respect of his locker room.

I’m not naïve. None of that guarantees a shot at Super Bowl run. In the NFL, luck is sometimes more important than talent and preparation. One minute you’re primed for a title run, and the next minute your scraping Vinny Testaverde off the turf with a torn Achilles.

It’s very possible, the Jets as presently constituted will never get another opportunity like the one they just lost. They took advantage of a soft schedule, and could have had a very realistic path to Super Bowl 50 in an anemic AFC. Next year could be completely different. Things fall apart quickly in the NFL – just ask Rex Ryan and Mark Sanchez.

But I do know one thing. Heading into next season, I trust the people making decisions, and I believe in the process. Something I couldn’t always say about previous regimes.

So, no, I don’t think this is a case of the “Same Old Jets.” I may feel differently one day, looking back on it the same spiteful way I view Leon Johnson’s option pass in Detroit, Doug Brien’s missed field goals in Pittsburgh, or any other of the wacky and seemingly unfathomable ways I’ve seen Jets seasons mercilessly end.

But for now, I choose to view it differently. I choose to be hopeful instead of hopeless.

That kind of positive thinking will help get me through the next nine months.

That’s when I’ll pull out my green and white jersey again, take a deep breath, and put myself through the Same Old Thing all over again.

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Revis Makes Swift Return to New York

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By Jason Klein

Taylor Swift, you were wrong.

We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together? Think again.

Darrelle Revis returned, in Style, to the New York Jets on Tuesday night after short pit stops in Tampa and New England. He signed a 5-year, $70 million deal with $39 million fully guaranteed. Gang Green fans, punished for the last two miserable years, can Shake It Off now that they get their favorite toy back.

Revis Returns To New York.

Revis Returns To New York.

Welcome (back) to New York. It’s been waiting for you.

Jets fans are good at waiting – they’ve been waiting 47 years for a Super Bowl title. They waited two long years for owner Woody Johnson to awaken from his frugal slumber. They also waited for him to rectify the mistakes made by his former general manager, a man more concerned with counting pennies than title rings.

The waiting is over.

With his green and white hat in hand, Johnson acknowledged the missteps of the previous regime. Revis is not 22 anymore, but at age 30, he still deserves to be paid as the best corner in the NFL. Woody gave him what he was asking for.

He couldn’t save money, but at least he saved face.

Two years ago, while traveling down the road to ineptitude and indifference, Woody and the Jets decided it was best to rid themselves of the future Hall of Famer, rather than pay him. They knew Revis created problems for opposing quarterbacks, but overlooked the Blank Space he left behind upon his departure.

When former GM John Idzik traded him away in April of 2013, the Jets secondary went from being an organizational strength to liability. Former head coach, Rex Ryan was never the most accurate prognosticator, but he accurately predicted his corner-driven defense would suffer without a once-in-a-generation player like Revis. In Rex’s mind, he felt: “Darrelle, You Belong With Me.”

If Rex was upset when Revis was traded, he’s got to be hotter than a basket of wings now, watching this Revis Reunion from his new coaching perch in Buffalo.

Revis Signs New Jets Contract.

Revis Signs New Jets Contract.

Rex may feel Revis’s return to New York is a Mean twist of fate, but the fans he left behind are elated. They realize it was Woody’s wallet, not Darrelle’s heartstrings, that pulled him back to New York, rekindling this Love Story. They also recognize that it doesn’t matter why he came back. The only thing that matters is that he did.

The move restores credibility within the organizational hierarchy and returns Revis to the place where he was drafted in 2007. In all likelihood, his Super Bowl victory was The Last Time he’ll play in any other teams’ uniform besides the Jets.

Gone two years ago, Everything Has Changed, and he’s back Safe And Sound in New York.

Can his presence alone get the Jets Back To December with meaningful games to play?

Crazier things have happened.

Crazier things like Darrelle Revis returning to the Jets.

Welcome (back) to New York, Darrelle.

It’s been waiting for you.

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Thanks, Rex.

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By Jason Klein

Thanks, Rex.

Although you never delivered the Lombardi Trophy you promised, you made me believe it was always within reach. You once had everyone believing, back before your team’s talent slimmed down faster than your waistline.

Rex Ryan Has Been The Jets Head Coach Since 2009.

Rex Ryan Has Been The Jets Head Coach Since 2009.

If today is the last time you don that black Jets vest, let me just simply say:

Thanks, Rex.

Thanks for navigating the Jets to within one game of the Super Bowl.

Twice.

Thanks for giving my perennially stale team a refreshingly colorful, vibrant image.

Thanks for your lighthearted press conferences and your Hard Knocks defense.

Thanks for making the New York Jets a place where free agents wanted to sign.

Thanks for bringing stability to an organization that historically lacks any.

Thanks for humanizing the head coach position with your public displays of raw emotion.

You were the biggest star in a town filled with them, and for a period of time, you were able to mask the dysfunctional stink that permeates all things Jets Football.

Most importantly, thanks for making the Jets relevant and credible. Before your bombastic arrival, the Jets had no personality and no hope. They were a “little brother” franchise, stuck playing in someone else’s building.

You stepped in and put the entire league on notice: “Here come the Jets!”

You refused to kiss Belichick’s rings…you wanted to go get your own. You made guarantees, wanted to meet the President, take “swipes” at other team’s players, “lead the league in wins,” and “Play like a Jet.” You brought “Rexy Back” and then got a “God damn snack.”

You made the media laugh and opposing quarterbacks cry. From your players, you demanded maximum effort and commanded ultimate respect. You gave Jets fans hope, even when ownership and the front office gave you none.

Over this past miserable year, you lost your bravado, a ton of games, and most likely, your job. Management set you up to fail, and ultimately, that’s exactly what you did. However, you don’t escape all culpability. Along the way, you had your own faults too. Everybody does, though.

Should you lose your “dream job” for it? It’s debatable. It’s possible your act has just run its course in New York. It could simply just be time to move on. If so, the Jets willingly let go of a brilliant defensive mind. They’ll fire one of the most competitive and confident men in the game, and someone who is adored by his players. They’ll say goodbye to the man who brought the Jets as close to a Super Bowl as anyone since Weeb.

Twice.

For that alone, I offer my gratitude and simply say:

Thanks, Rex.

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