Jets ready to ring in changes after 4-win season
It’s FOXBOROUGH, MASS. >> embarrassing.
Sure, those were the words of Sam Darnold when specifically asked about the Jets getting demolished by the New England Patriots, 38-3, at Gillette Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
But he just as easily could have been talking about the season as a whole, one in which Gang Green lost nine of their last ten games to finish with an abysmal 4-12 record and where their head coach, Todd Bowles, will likely pay the price for issues that run far deeper than they seemed on the surface.
“You gotta bring players in here,” Pro Bowl safety Jamal Adams said. “It’s as simple as that. It’s not rocket science, it’s not. We don’t (have enough talent). We have a lot of talent on the team, but we don’t have a lot of ‘dogs’ on the team, we just don’t.”
Adams backpedaled as well as he does in coverage when asked about his confidence in general manager Mike Maccagnan’s ability to get that job done, and was also asked about just how quickly things could turn around for the Jets.
“We got $100 million in cap (room),” he said. “That’s what they say, right?”
Oh, the places they could spend it.
Building around Darnold with some offensive weapons — and an offensive line to better protect him after enduring a four-sack day, of course — would be a wonderful start, as evidenced by an anemic output of just 239 total yards on Sunday. Jason Myers’ 40-yard field goal with 54 seconds remaining in the first quarter was the only thing separating the Jets from being shutout, but, truth be told, the only thing this team ever had a chance to win was the coin toss.
Gang Green was never even remotely in the game; Tom Brady breezed through the day by completing 24 of 33 passes for 250 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions against a depleted Jets secondary that was without underachieving corner Trumaine Johnson, who was made inactive due to being late to practice earlier in the week.
Brady picked apart the likes of Rashard Robinson, Rontez Miles, Parry Nickerson, Darryl Roberts and Derrick Jones with ease; clearly, a significant portion of that cap space Adams referred to can be used on a secondary that was thought to have already been bolstered with a $72 million signing of Johnson that went so poorly that he described his own play as “mediocre” in the locker room.
Meanwhile, a Jets offense that went the entire season without scoring a touchdown on their first drive turned the ball over three times on Sunday turned in one last clunker of a performance that had Darnold steaming on the podium as his rookie season came to a sad end.
“It’s embarrassing,” he said. “It’s embarrassing to go out here and lose 38-3. I’m really proud of the way we fought, the way we competed, but it wasn’t enough.”
It surely won’t be enough to save the job of Bowles, who started his four-year tenure with the Jets at 105, but finished by winning just 14 of his last 49 games at the helm of the franchise. Bowles was, as usual, tightlipped after the game even with his fate likely sealed.
“I don’t talk about my job, and that’s been consistent since I’ve been here.”
Others were not hesitant to speak for him, however.
“Todd Bowles is my favorite coach since I’ve played this game,” said Adams, who offered a lengthy, passionate availability session with the media after the game.
“I hate to see him go down like that, which is probably happening.”
“He’s a great coach and a great man outside of football,” added tight end Chris Herndon. “He’s somebody that you look up to. He’s very up front, he doesn’t sugarcoat...I definitely look up to him. “It’s very tough (that he may get fired), but we have to continue to fight as a team and let the pieces fall where they may.”
The pieces seemed to fall wherever the Patriots, who secured a first-round bye with the win, wanted them to on Sunday. Brady got New England on top early with a 17-yard touchdown pass to James White with 5:16 remaining in the first quarter, and didn’t take long to double his team’s output with an 18-yard scoring strike to Rex Burkhead one drive later.
Eli McGuire’s fumble on the first play of the next possession gave the ball right back to the Patriots, and after Henry Anderson was flagged for a roughing the passer call on third down to extend the drive, Brady struck again, finding Phillip Dorsett from nine yards out to make it a 21-3 game at the half.
Kyle Van Noy’s 46-yard return of a strip sack of Darnold, a Stephen Gostkowski field goal and yet another Brady touchdown pass to Julian Edelman accounted for the final margin of victory in a blowout loss that will sting all offseason long.
“It sucks,” Adams said. “We ended the season, what, 4-12? It’s not my standard, it shouldn’t be the Jets standard. It has to change.”