Palladino: Extensive List Of Talent Failures Led To Jets' Downfall
By Ernie Palladino
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Things looked so different when the season ran away from the Jets the first six games.
Ryan Fitzpatrick was still the quarterback. It had yet to become crystal clear that Muhammad Wilkerson had taken the year off after signing his five-year, $86 million contract.
Darrelle Revis, though toasted, wasn't completely cooked yet. There still remained hope that Eric Decker would play this year. And Sheldon Richardson at least kept his more profane thoughts off Snapchat.
There still existed hope that if the Jets' 1-5 start against five playoff teams doomed them to a losing season, at least it would be a competitive one.
MORE: Jets' Injury-Plagued O-Line On 9th Combination Of Players
Unfortunately, the clown show that sets up at the Patriots' Gillette Stadium on Saturday afternoon has proved otherwise, and not even a sled full of gifts from Santa will rescue this season from joke status.
Owner Woody Johnson's 4-10 disaster has virtually no hope of putting up a 60-minute fight against a 12-2 Patriots team poised to roll into the playoffs as the AFC's top seed.
MORE: Jets' Special Teams Enduring An Especially Bad Season
With only Buffalo standing in the way of a merciful end to 2016, the list of culprits for this latest downfall seems endless. Save for Leonard Russell, who played hard enough all season to warrant first-alternate Pro Bowl status, the now-injured and struggling Matt Forte and the ever-game Brandon Marshall, the list of those who failed Bowles is extensive. But some let him down more than others.
Here's the short list.
WILKERSON: You know the pass rusher had a horrible year because his name was almost never mentioned. He spent the offseason whining about his tagging as a franchise player, got his wish for a long-term contract and then disappeared even before the ink was dry. Now, with next year's $14.75 million base salary fully guaranteed, the Jets couldn't move him if they wanted to. They're stuck, and there's no telling whether the fire that made Wilkerson, who has just 2½ sacks this season, a feared pass rusher will ever burn brightly again.
REVIS: Jets fans viewed something previously unseen in the secondary -- the back of Revis' uniform. Starting with A.J. Green's breakaway touchdown in the opener which, by the way, was not Revis' fault, Revis Island was seemingly taken over by the Sandals Resort people, who welcomed all who signed up. He hasn't had an interception this year despite plenty of chances. Don't expect one Saturday against Brady, either. Revis' game-changing days at cornerback are probably over. Bowles might have done well to break him in at safety at midseason to prep him for his next chapter.
FITZPATRICK: The voices who beseeched Mike Maccagnan to "sign him, sign him, sign him" in the offseason, including this one, were wrong, wrong, wrong. Don't get on Maccagnan too much, though. Fitzpatrick merely reverted to the inconsistent form that earned him the journeyman tag. If he truly had staying power, he never would have played for five teams -- six if you count whoever picks up the free-agent-to-be next year.
DECKER: It's hard to blame this guy because injuries happen. And Decker got a double whammy, needing surgery on his hip as well as his shoulder. His absence, though, deprived Fitzpatrick of one of the most reliable third-down and Red Zone receivers in the league, leaving Marshall to operate with a cluster of younger, more inexperienced talent. Quincy Enunwa and Robby Anderson were the best of that, but they couldn't come close to replacing Decker in consistency or leadership. The sad sidelight to all this was how Marshall handled the increased pressure. He leads the league with eight drops and has scored just three touchdowns.
BOWLES: This fine person and defensive mind nevertheless let himself down. Maybe he's too nice to be a head coach. Or perhaps the higher expectations generated from last year's 10-6 debut overwhelmed him. Whatever the case, Bowles lost control of the defense and the locker room. If Johnson gives him another chance in 2017, he's got to get tougher and louder.
The result? Wins against Buffalo, Baltimore, Cleveland and San Francisco -- the last two of which have a 1-27 record.
The best anyone can ask for Saturday is a competitive effort.
It's too late for redemption.
Follow Ernie on Twitter at @ErniePalladino
