Jets Embarrass Again; Thank you All For Reading!

 

Courtesy: Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images

    With the Jets falling to 3-8 on the year and the end of my school semester ending soon, I want to thank everyone for reading this blog throughout the 2024 season. I do not plan on continuing to post on this blog anymore, I would have kept going if this team was competitive, but with eight losses there is no chance New York can make the playoffs or even be competitive enough to take any pride in. 

    The Jets will miss the playoffs for the 14th straight season when their mathematical elimination is officially announced. It will be back to the drawing board again for the front office to try to produce a winning team as the Jets have only had one season with a winning record since the start of their drought. 

    I want to once again thank everyone for reading! While the product on the field was not fun to watch, it was fun to write this blog and I hope everyone enjoyed it. Leave your comments below on how you feel about the 2024 Jets and where they go from here.   

Turning a Blind Eye to Sinner’s Sin; Tennis Associations Failed in Handling the Jannik Sinner Case

Courtesy: Getty Images

Hello readers, this article is different from the usual Jets content who are now 3-6 on the season can only afford two more losses if they want to make the playoffs. I am also a Tennis fan and believe change needs to be made in regard to how they discipline.

As any sports league must do, it must discipline its players when they break the rules. The Association of Tennis Players has a history of suspending players who use performance-enhancing drugs to keep the integrity of the game intact.

When it comes to some of the best males in the sport, these rules don’t matter to those atop the rankings. Recently, world number one Jannik Sinner failed two drug tests and was not suspended at all. The report that was released came five months after he failed two drug tests. During that time, he recently won the Australian Open and was amid Masters 1000 events in Miami and at Indian Wells in California. Sinner most recently won the US Open and has held his number-one ranking for four months straight.

There should be no hesitation in suspending Sinner. He was caught with clostebol in his system and according to the World Anti-Doping Code, “A provisional suspension is automatically applied.” It does not matter how much was found in his system, no one should be above the law. He failed not one but two tests and gained an unfair advantage during big tournaments that cost other players ranking points and prize money.

Eight-time major champion Andre Agassi failed a drug test in 1997 and it was kept a secret until 2009 when he admitted to having crystal meth in his system in his autobiography. It can be said that Agassi and Sinner tested positive for different drugs, but they both share the appeal to the crowds on tour and the Association of Tennis Players (ATP) believes they cannot afford to lose their names and likeness on tour and will stand with decisions in favor of their top players.

The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), the agency that now hands out bans for both men’s and women’s tennis, wastes no time suspending women players with similar success. Two-time major champion Simona Halep and five-time major champion Maria Sharapova both were suspended after failing one drug test.

The ITIA even said regarding the Halep case, “The ITIA has followed the proper processes as we would with any other individual.” Then gave Sinner a free pass not even a year later.

Everything can still be taken circumstantially according to some, but the process of suspending a player is expedited when they want to. They slowed the process for Sinner and heard the case with a fair amount of leniency to save one of the golden boys of men’s tennis. Sharapova and Halep were both provisionally suspended in the time it took for there to be a release about Sinner’s case.

Whichever way ITIA and WADA want to decide on how to discipline players should be set immediately regardless of ranking or gender. Tennis is a game of class and integrity and is not being treated as so by those who set the laws and rules of the sport. This affects players' ranking and prize money by letting a player like Sinner compete and knock out players who are at a disadvantage.

Game, set and match tennis, it’s time to clean up your act on how you discipline players. Until then you should stop watching this non-transparent product.

Comment below; How should Tennis executives address the inconsistencies swirling around performance enhancement drugs?

Jets Acquire Davantae Adams, Drop Three Games in a Row.

 

Courtesy: Facebook @NFL

    In three weeks of not posting, a lot changed for the Jets in the 2024 season, most of it for the worse. They dropped three one-score games all in Jet fashion, of course. All in this time they added a new wide receiver in Davantae Adams, fired their head coach Robert Saleh and have a new play-caller on offense in Todd Downing.

    Let's dig into these drama-filled three weeks that just happened with the 10-9 loss to the Denver Broncos. On a rainy day in East Rutherford, the Jets' defense held the opposing quarterback Bo Nix to 60 passing yards on the day and New York still found a way to lose. He threw his first NFL touchdown to give Denver a 7-6 lead late in the 3rd quarter. The common issue in the past three weeks has been red zone offense or mental mistakes while driving for the Jets. This reared its ugly head on the next drive as Aaron Rodgers found Allen Lazard on the near sideline for a first down. Lazard then did a celebration with finger guns, indicating he got a first down and was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct. That later on forced Greg Zuerlein to kick a field goal and make it 9-7. Denver responded with a field goal of their own to take a 10-9 lead. The Jets had one more chance at the end of the game with a field goal try, but Zuerlein hooked the kick wide and the Jets fell to 2-2. 

    The following Sunday was a 23-17 loss for New York to the Minnesota Vikings in London. Rodgers threw 3 interceptions with one being a pick-six and another ending a potential game-winning drive with under a minute left. Once again the red zone offense was bad and it doesn't help when you bury yourself early and fall behind 17-0.

    

    On Tuesday, October 8, Saleh was fired from his head coaching duties and defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich was assigned interim head coach. Ulbrich has helped the defense become one of the best in the league and is well-respected by his unit. Later on in the week, Ulbrich gave Downing play-calling duties over offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett

    

    The Jets still couldn't come up with a victory in his first game as interim, falling 23-20 to the Buffalo Bills on Monday Night Football. I refuse to mention the defense until I think it is the problem, Downing made the offense look modern by following the blueprints of other successful offenses in the league but still couldn't score in the red zone. New York went 1-4 when getting inside the 20 and have scored a touchdown 33 percent of the time during this three-game losing streak. The other difference in the game was Zuerlein once again missing crucial kicks. He missed from 32 and 43, in a time where kickers around the league make 50-yarders look easy, its unacceptable especially when you lose by 3. 

    The drama was capped off on Tuesday when the Jets acquired Davantae Adams from the Raiders. This has been long awaited due to Adams' friendship with Rodgers stemming back from the Green Bay days. Since I've been watching football this was the best QB-to-WR duo ever. To see what I'm talking about, just watch this poetry in motion.

The Positives

- Rodgers and Garrett Wilson have had a great connection in the last two games with Wilson getting 40 targets and over 200 yards with 2 scores.

- Jamien Sherwood has had back-to-back double-digit tackling games in place of C.J. Mosley. 

- D.J. Reed has looked like a shutdown corner all year long. He just needs to stay healthy.

- Breece Hall had 169 all-purpose yards against Buffalo. A stat line I've been waiting for out of him.

The Negatives

- Losing primetime/London games isn't fun.

- Hasson Reddick still isn't a Jet and aside from Will McDonald, there is no consistent pass-rush

- The well-documented offensive struggles.

- The well-documented kicking struggles.

- Run-blocking from the Tight End position has been a problem, but Downing is using less of them to counter that.

- Winning just one of these close games would put you at a modest 3-3, with how the AFC is shaping up, that might be costly by the end of the season.

My Final Take

    I believe in this team. I've seen a lot worse from this organization and with the addition of Adams, I think this offense is going to reach a new level and the turnaround starts now. The next test is Sunday Night Football against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The schedule gets lighter after this week so take this game and keep pushing forward.       

    What are your thoughts about the personnel and roster changeups for the Jets? Comment if you think this is still a playoff team. 

Aaron Rodgers is Back

 

Ryan Kang / Getty Images

    

    The Jets have done it again. They are getting my hopes up early. But this time REALLY think they are a legitimate team.

    With a 24-17 win over the Tennessee Titans and a 24-3 win over the New England Patriots, I can't help but let my imagination run wild with what the 2024 New York Jets could be when the season is over.

    This all is because of the performances put on by the oldest player currently in the NFL, Aaron Rodgers.

    The four-time MVP has dazzled since returning from his season-ending torn Achilles injury he suffered four plays into the 2023 season after New York acquired him from the Green Bay Packers in the offseason. His most recent performance versus New England was one that I haven't seen from a Jets QB in my lifetime. 

    First, in week 2, the Jets took care of business by scoring late in the fourth quarter by the youngest player in the NFL (how ironic) Braelon Allen. It was a slow start which alarmed me, but Rodgers would use his brilliance to spread the wealth evenly around all of his weapons to do enough for the Jets to earn their first win of the year. 

    The win versus New England made me want to watch on rewind all week. The Jets haven't beaten the Patriots at Metlife Stadium since 2015. To see it happen during a primetime game was perfect and the beatdown from start to finish was the cherry on top. Rodgers went 27-35, with 281 yards, 2 touchdowns and guided the offense to covert on 10-15 third downs. So far the Jets have improved their third down conversion rate from worst in the league last year to first this season, an improvement from 26 to nearly 57 percent.

    Other Positives:

- After a horrible season last year, Allen Lazard is now tied for the lead in receiving touchdowns in the NFL with three.

- The two-headed monster in the backfield between Breece Hall and Allen has performed exceptionally.

- The defense is back to its form from last year, with an improved Will McDonald IV leading the way with 5 sacks.

- The offensive line has given Rodgers plenty of time in the pocket to pick apart defenses. 

    The Negatives:

-  Greg Zuerlein missed from 45 yards versus New England, a kick well in his range.

- Morgan Moses and CJ Mosley, two veterans, will miss some games because of injury.

Final Take:

I'm happy the negatives are shorter than the positives. With Denver (1-2) and a trip to London against Minnesota (3-0) up next, I think the Jets should win in both games and hopefully move to 4-1.

What have been your thoughts through three games of Rodgers back at full health? Will the Jets' early success continue?

The Haason Reddick Situation

 

Courtesy: Instagram @Haason7Reddick

        Hello everyone! Welcome to my blog about the New York Jets. My name is Andrew Barbieri and I am a senior at Salisbury University, covering the news about the Jets for my sports communications class. I will be posting bi-weekly about Gang Green throughout the 2024 season.

    The New York Jets were utterly dominated by a Christian McCaffrey-less San Francisco 49ers offense on Monday night to open up the 2024 season, losing 32-19. 

    

    There were some key departures for the Jets in the offseason. Pass rusher Bryce Huff signed with the Philadelphia Eagles and interior lineman John Franklin-Myers was traded to the Denver Broncos to free up cap space. While at the surface managing to sack Brock Purdy three times looks good for the Jets' defense, they gave Purdy a clean pocket almost all night to pick apart New York's secondary. Backup running back Jordan Mason also gashed the defense for 147 yards and a touchdown in a spot start with McCaffrey dealing with Achilles tendonitis.

    So it must be asked, what did GM Joe Douglas do to address the departures on defense? Douglas acquired pass rusher Haason Reddick from Philly on April 1st for a 3rd round pick. Reddick has since held out and wants a contract extension as he is set to become a free agent after this season. For a lifelong Jets fan, the drama of Reddick not reporting to his new team since being traded doesn't even shock me. I would have used a game-action photo of Reddick as the image but he has not worn a Jet uniform yet five months after the trade. To try to get him on the field, Douglas has been playing hardball towards Reddick and wants to get a deal done by not entertaining Reddick's trade request during the negotiation process. It should noted that if Reddick does not play at all this season, the Jets will retain his rights and be able to franchise-tag him to keep him in New York.

    With the roster makeup the Jets have, they are in win-now mode. They need to have all of their firepower on the field though. By losing Huff and currently not having his replacement available you could tell that the defense was not the same defense that needed simply an average offense to make the playoffs.

    

    In my eyes, this clearly hurts all parties involved. The Jets are a worse team without him and Reddick is now forfeting his game checks every week. Could it be time to trade Reddick? Possibly but draft compensation won't help the Jets in the present with a 40-year-old Aaron Rodgers under center with his time in the NFL numbered. Douglas needs to bring Reddick and his agent in and get a deal done. I say that like it's easy but from a fan's perspective you can't waste any more time when talking about someone in Reddick who has had double-digit sacks in his past four seasons. 

    Discuss below: Would you try to trade Reddick and cut your losses or try to give him the extension he wants?