Jets Paying the Price for John Idzik's Thrifty Philosophy
Following last season's strong finish, the New York Jets would have never imagined they would find themselves in a do-or-die position this early in the season. Not only were the Jets outperforming expectations with a young roster, but they were primed to make huge leaps in the talent spectrum with an abundance of cap space in draft picks to work with.
Instead, Rex Ryan finds himself trotting out the same undermatched team that is not much, if at all, more talented than the one Ryan was touted as some type miracle worker for just reaching an 8-8 record. Only his boss, general manager John Idzik, is to blame.
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Free of the shackles of bloated contracts leftover from the previous regime, Idzik was careful in how he allocated his resources—too careful. He deserves some credit for keeping the future in mind when he turned down one free agent after another, but the Jets are now finding out why so many teams have a difficult time restraining themselves in free agency.
Idzik's idealistic approach to building a team that can sustain success in the long term with bargain contracts is turning out to be just that—idealistic. Maximizing value is important, but at some point, paying the sticker price for a player is needed to avoid the ugly losing streaks the Jets find themselves in.
Even with over $40 million in cap space to work with this offseason, the Jets have hardly improved in areas that were already among the worst in the league. In truth, Idzik added just one proven, high-level free agent to his struggling offense (Eric Decker), and the results on the field directly reflect Idzik's inaction.
The Jets are not just losing—they are losing for the exact same reasons they were losing last year. $40 million in cap space and 12 draft picks later, and the Jets are still trying to feed the ball to the likes of David Nelson and Greg Salas.
Outside of Decker (who has been in and out of the lineup himself), the receiving corps is hit-or-miss at best. Even the usually dependable Jeremy Kerley was limited to just one catch in Sunday's loss. The Jets have rid themselves of the Stephen Hill headache, but no one on the roster has yet to justify the Jets' decision to part ways with their talented receiver prospect so early in his career.
Meanwhile, Idzik never made a serious push to sign another free agent outside of Decker. As ESPN New York's Rich Cimini noted, he balked at the idea of bringing in DeSean Jackson, ignoring the recommendation given from offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg (who coached Jackson in Philadelphia).
On the other side of the ball, the secondary is held together with the strength of off-brand masking tape. The team's top cornerback, Antonio Allen, was playing safety just over a month ago.
Without Ryan's innovative idea to move Allen to cornerback (or the play of undrafted Darrin Walls), the Jets secondary would somehow be in even worse shape than last year's group that ranked 22nd in pass defense.
Idzik was applauded for parting ways with Dimitri Patterson after he mysteriously did not show up to the third preseason game against the New York Giants, but Patterson was penciled in as a starter at the start of training camp. Having to cut Patterson on the eve of the regular season only exacerbated the on-field problem.
Idzik may have had a philosophy of not overspending in free agency, but let's not pretend that this 1-3 team is what he envisioned back in March. Idzik whiffed on far too many free-agent negotiations to suggest that this offseason was a part of some type of master plan.
Idzik goofed multiple times. And those within the walls of One Jets Drive know it, ESPN's Adam Schefter reports.
Idzik planned on leaning on his draft class for good reason—with a dozen picks at his disposal, the Jets had more than enough ammunition to make an aggressive move up the draft boards. Idzik certainly tried to get into a more premium position on the draft board, but once again, his stubbornness and unwillingness to cater to the market left his team empty-handed.
Now, Ryan and his coaches are forced to work with a draft class that is, by most standards, entirely useless.
| 1 | Calvin Pryor | S | Starter |
| 2 | Jace Amaro | TE | Second String |
| 3 | Dexter McDougle | CB | IR |
| 4 | Jalen Saunders | WR | Waived |
| 4 | Shaq Evans | WR | IR |
| 4 | Dakota Dozier | OT | Third String |
| 5 | Jeremiah George | ILB | Claimed by Jaguars |
| 6 | Brandon Dixon | CB | Claimed by Buccaneers |
| 6 | Ik Enempkali | OLB | Third String |
| 6 | Tajh Boyd | QB | Free Agent |
| 7 | Trevor Reilly | OLB | Second String |
A 1-3 start is much easier on Idzik, who is virtually guaranteed employment into next season because of the long-term nature of his position, than the coaches, who are fighting for their livelihood each week. Ryan and his coaches need to win now—Idzik just needs to win eventually.
Coaches are always at the front lines of criticism, and Ryan will be the first man out the door if their record does not turn around in a hurry. However, blaming the men on the sidelines for the numbers on the scoreboard is about as responsible as blaming a dog for eating the chocolate you left on the kitchen floor.
Ryan and his staff have not been perfect, and neither have their players, but the Jets have not lost three games in a row because players are underperforming. The Jets simply do not have the firepower to beat teams not named the Oakland Raiders, nevermind making a deep playoff run.
These results would have been much easier to accept a year ago when Idzik had the excuse of the hangover from the previous regime to fight through. Now, expectations are too high to think that anything less than a winning product is acceptable, just as owner Woody Johnson declared back in March:
There is no how-to manual for how to be a general manager of an NFL franchise. Idzik is finding out the hard way that building a sustainable winner in the NFL is much easier said than done.
Idzik certainly deserves to have a chance to redeem himself and learn from his mistakes. Unfortunately, if the Jets do not turn things around in a hurry, a lot of coaches and players will lose their jobs in what will be a costly on-the-job lesson.
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