Team: New York Jets

Division: AFC East

Record: 8-8 (3-3 Division) (missed playoffs and took those damned Dolphins out with us)

Statistics

2014 Draft Picks (picks subject to change when compensatory picks are announced: Jets are projected to get 4 additional picks):

Free Agents:

2013 Season Analysis

General

• Going into the 2013 offseason, the Jets had completed a 6-10 season (the worst under head coach Rex Ryan), posted one of the worst offenses in team history, and cemented in the minds of many sports writers minds that a bottom-dwelling record, clean-house, and laughable offense were in store in 2013. A cloud the size of Brandon Moore’s butt loomed over Florham Park, New Jersey, but for fans, hope was in the air.
• The Jets former General Manager Mike Tannenbaum was fired following the 2012 season and the Jets hired John Idzik away from the Seahawks. The move was considered by many to be a positive one despite the media desperately attempting to report the job as “poisonous” and maintain the façade of a circus in the Jets’ camp. Idzik took over tied to Rex Ryan for at least his first year in New York, but it was clear Rex would have to earn the right to stay on as head coach after 2013.
• The press had yet another field day in April when the Jets used both of their first round draft selections on defensive players. I’ll talk about both of these guys more later, but the Jets selected Sheldon Richardson and Dee Milliner in the first round, ignoring glaring needs at wide receiver, tight end, quarterback, running back, and offensive line. Some of these issues were addressed although, as Idzik traded the Saints a fourth round selection for running back Chris Ivory and selected quarterback Geno Smith in the second round.
• Perhaps the most important moment of the Jets season came late in a preseason game against the Giants. Mark Sanchez entered the third quarter of the game and was injured during a play where he was sacked. The injury would require surgery and ultimately sideline Sanchez for the entirety of the 2013 season. The defensive lineman was only trying to make a name for himself, but he ended up ushering in the era of Geno Smith for the Jets. Then again, Mo Lewis was only trying to make a name for himself when he hit Drew Bledsoe…
• With Geno Smith named the de facto starting quarterback, the Jets were set to open their season at home against the Buccaneers. Smith looked capable in the passing game throughout, but made fans most excited with how the game ended. Smith scrambled out of bounds on a game winning drive and drew a late-hit from linebacker Lavonte David that ultimately set Nick Folk up for a game-winning field goal.
• The second game of the season was set up to be one of the most important. The stage was set for Gang Green to march (or fly if you’re into accurate metaphor) into Foxborough to face possibly the weakest Patriots team in the 21st century. Starters dropping like flies on both sides of the ball and a receiver corps that was young enough to root for the Seahawks left the Patriots primed for an upset, but that was not the case. Two trends that would last through the season were revealed in this rainy prime-time game: The Jets being unable to string wins together, and the offense struggling to produce for games at a time. The Jets defense held the normally threatening Patriots offense to just 13 points, but the offense couldn't deliver. A performance that ended with three interceptions sent the Geno Smith hype-train careening into a brick wall of reality as Jets fans were harshly reminded that their quarterback was only a rookie.
• The Jets traded wins and losses for two more weeks before heading into the Georgia Dome for a Monday night game against the 2012 NFC number 1 seeded Falcons. Before the rest of the league knew how bad the 2013 Falcons were, Geno Smith carved up the dirty birds like an all-pro. In his most convincing game of the season, Smith threw three touchdowns and 80 percent completion. What seemed like a turning point for Smith however, was just another in a league-record number of alternating wins and losses.
• Two weeks later, the Jets hosted a rematch with New England in Met Life that was once again plastered with storylines. Rob Gronkowski was slated to make his regular season return against the Jets, and the offense was sure to be more formidable in the second match. The Jets trailed early, but Antonio Allen took a rare Tom Brady interception to the house to start a second half where the Jets were completely dominant. Despite resurgence, the game was tied through regulation and came down to two key final plays. A penalty for pushing another player into the pile on a Patriots defender during a kick that Nick Folk would ultimately miss set up a game-winning kick and a week of scorned Patriots fans. Despite a record hovering around .500, the Jets were very much in the thick of the AFC Wildcard hunt.
• If you want to find out a players worth, lose them. The Jets learned this the hard way in 2011 when Nick Mangold missed two games and the offensive line fell apart. It’s a lesson that hit the Jets hard again in 2013 when wide receiver Jeremy Kerley went down with a shoulder injury in a win over the Saints. Kerley would miss three games a trigger a skid in the Jets offensive production that would culminate with an all-time low against the heat rival Dolphins in a game with serious playoff implications.
• The Jets boasting one of the most dominant defensive lines in the league were set to meet up with a Dolphins team with an offensive line that was in shambles, but the other side of the ball dictated the game. The Jets managed to get only a single first down in the first half and Geno Smith was benched in favor of backup quarterback Matt Simms. The Jets pass defense was torn apart by Ryan Tannehill for a third loss in a row, and fans that had allowed playoff hopes to go their heads were losing faith.
• TIME-OUT: I’m going to take a minute here to just indulge myself and talk about that dominant defensive line that I just mentioned. Now, in the interest of cataloging the Jets 2013 campaign, I want to say that this defensive line composed of Mohammad Wilkerson (The anchor, blue-chip stud second only to JJ Watt as a 3-4 end), Damon Harrison (Undrafted Free Agent that spent a year of college eligibility stocking at Wal-Mart now eats interior lineman for a living), and Sheldon Richardson (Defensive rookie of the year that would be a top-10 run defense standing on the field by himself) is more than just a line, they were a generationally transcendental pack of man-beasts capable of destroying an offense's hopes and dreams.

• Anyway, Kerley returned to the line-up against the Raiders and the Jets had their most complete game of the season. Geno opened up the game with his legs which made the passing game easier, Kerley stole a touchdown out of the sky by doing his best Calvin Johnson impression, and the Raiders coaching staff unloaded a full magazine into their feet by switching quarterbacks on a series by series basis. The victory over Oakland marked the beginning of a four game stretch where the Jets would go 3-1 and post the most promising performances of the season heading into 2014. *The final game of the season was against Miami again. The Jets had been eliminated from playoff contention by Justin Tucker’s stupid sexy leg and the Dolphins were staring down the barrel of a potential postseason appearance. Naturally, it was the perfect opportunity to shit in their cereal. The Dolphins fell flat as their rush defense performed as well as their rush offense, allowing the Jets to tear up huge chunks of yardage. The performance leap-frogged the Jets into second place in the division and effectively saved Rex Ryan’s job. The season couldn’t have ended on a higher note.

• Immediately following the final game of the season, owner Woody Johnson announced that Ryan would be the head coach in 2014

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