Beyond Halftime: The Jets Season So Far in 2019

With just a couple of weeks left in the NFL’s regular season, we can see which teams have had good 2019 seasons, and which have struggled to perform. For the New York Jets, their 50th season in the NFL has not been their best, as they finished third in the American Football Conference’s East division.

Ahead of week fifteen, the Jets sit with a 5-9 record overall. They have won just one away game, and have an almost 50/50 split between success and failure when hosting teams at home. They have been outgunned by the Patriots and the Bulls, with 10-3 and 9-4 records, respectively.

Stats

The Jets were never expected to be lighting the world on fire in 2019. Based on their previous track record, the Gang Greens had won just one Super Bowl, back when it was an AFL-NFL showdown game in the 1960s. They’ve not won in their division since 2002, and they’ve also not made it to the playoffs since 2010, meaning they’ll have gone an entire decade without progressing further than the regular season.

Caption: Despite making a lot of changes, the Jets sit near the bottom of the NFL standings

Commercial Success

Things have been going better for the Jets off the field. In late September, the team announced that it had agreed to extend a sponsorship agreement with 888 Casino NJ. Building on the success of their partnership in 2018, the deal sees 888 Casino branding displayed prominently throughout the MetLife Stadium for all of the New York Jets’ home games. It also allows 888 Casino to use New York Jet’s branding throughout its New Jersey app and website.

This deal contributes to the team’s finances looking strong, revenue steadily on the rise, and net book value growth consistent for the last 10 years. The Jets are now worth around $3.2 billion. Operating profit is also significantly higher than it was at the start of the decade, rising from $7.6 million in 2010 to $115 million in 2019.

NFL Draft Picks

The Jets had only six picks in the 2019 NFL Draft, leaving them with few choices when it was clear some big talent was needed. Former General Manager, Mike Maccagnan, tried his hardest to trade more picks, but ultimately came up short.

The Jets had the third overall pick and used it to sign Quinnen Williams, who was widely regarded as the best defensive player of the 2019 draft. Williams made a solid appearance on his debut against the Giants in an early August pre-season game.

However, the Jets had to wait until pick 68 before they could make another player selection, sitting out the entire second round. This resulted in the signing of Jachai Politte and Chuma Edgoa, but neither were exactly flying off the shelves before Maccagnan snapped them up.

Under New Management

In May, ahead of the new season, the Jets fired Maccagnan, resulting in Adam Gase stepping up as interim General Manager. This wasn’t a position he held for long, though, with Joe Douglas signed as the replacement in early June.

Christopher Johnson, the owner of the New York Jets, explained that Maccagnan was sacked because he wanted to change the structure of the team, and the fact that there hadn’t been the “synergy” that he had hoped for between Maccagnan and the newly signed Adam Gase.

Douglas’ appointment was announced quietly, late on a Friday night. It was as though Johnson didn’t want the press to notice. The power structure surrounding Douglas and Gase would be that they would both report directly to Johnson, showing that he wants to be in control of the whole team.

Rebranding and Restructuring

The restructuring that Christopher Johnson had referred to was dependent on the abilities of Adam Gase to revolutionize the team’s offensive play, something which has not been realized. As a way to signal that the team was refreshed and heading in a new direction, it launched a new, dark green uniform ahead of the new season

The new uniform was released at a venue on Broadway, in the event that appeared to be a nod to the way tech companies launch new devices. It featured a DJ, cheerleaders, fancy AV displays, and was compared by J.B. Smoove, a comedian and Jets fan.

However, this new uniform has apparently been in development since 2014, taking longer to design some new sportswear than it did to build the team’s new stadium.

Pointless Moves?

Despite the new signings, both on and off the field, the New York Jets seem to have not made any progress in 2019. By early November, Gang Green had lost 16 games from 18 played, and suffered an embarrassing defeat of 33-0 by the New England Patriots, while at home in the MetLife Stadium.

The Jets have finished last in the previous three seasons. They appear to have broken free of this in 2019, but it’s not a huge consolation to long-suffering fans.

Conclusion

The New York Jets had promised a lot ahead of this new season. They had a star draft, an offensive guru in charge of coaching, and a new General Manager to steer the ship in a new direction.

However, things have not gone much better this year than any other recent season. The fortunes of the New York Jets do not appear like they will be improving any time soon, and it is going to take a major overhaul of the roster and the management to achieve this.

The silver lining to this grey cloud, though, is that the team is financially stable and will likely be able to invest the funds required to achieve this.