How the New York Jets Can Take Next Step to Playoff Contention

New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan stood on the sideline, his hands on his hips and his cheeks puffing as he blew out some extra air. Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers had just hit wide receiver Jordy Nelson for an 80-yard touchdown to put the Packers ahead by seven points, in a game where the Jets had squandered an 18-point first-half lead. 

At the time, Ryan had no way of knowing that this loss would eventually be the beginning of an eight-game losing skid, but he had to be bothered that the most prevalent weaknesses on the team—and ones which general manager John Idzik failed to address—had led to the Jets snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

Fast-forward four months, and Ryan had to be bothered that those same weaknesses, mostly the fault of the GM, had led to the head coach losing his job. Fast-forward another month, and he had to be seething that the one player who may have been able to make a dramatic difference in his team—cornerback Darrelle Revis—was instead making the difference in a Super Bowl win for his hated rival, Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots.

Now coaching the Buffalo Bills, Ryan has a chance for revenge. The Jets, on the other hand, are left to their wares and finding ways to follow in the footsteps of the Foxborough faithful. 

But before they can get that far, they have to at least take a step up from the garbage heap of the NFL to the upper echelon of the playoff discussion. Here's a look at some measures the Jets can take to help improve their chances at postseason contention in 2015.

Beef Up The Secondary

As mentioned earlier, the defensive backfield was the big weakness for the Jets defense headed into and during the 2014 season. In order to get the full scope of the Jets' situation in the secondary, let's flash back to 2013, first.

A 29-year-old Antonio Cromartie spent most of the season dealing with hip and knee injuries that slowed him down, and he was set to count for roughly $10 million against the 2014 salary cap. Rookie cornerback Dee Milliner was sent to the bench no less than three times for his struggles. Former first-round pick Kyle Wilson continued the struggles of his previous three seasons.

Yet, despite all that, the Jets failed to add even one starting-caliber cornerback to the fold. It's a decision that had this writer scratching his head so hard he created a small divot in his scalp.

It should come as a surprise to no one that the Jets allowed a 101.5 passer rating to their opponents, the third-highest defensive passer rating allowed in the 2014 season. 

Free agents like Packers cornerback Tramon Williams, New York Giants cornerback Walter Thurmond and New England Patriots cornerback Darrelle Revis could all be on the market, and the draft features top prospects like Michigan State's Trae Waynes. Heck, Todd Bowles could even call for a reunion with Cromartie, after a successful stint together with the Arizona Cardinals.

Whether it's a developed player or a player to develop, the Jets have options for revamping their secondary.

Quarterback

Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images

The most important position in sports is the weakest position on the Jets roster. 

It's not a coincidence that the team that wins the Super Bowl is usually the one with the quarterback who plays the best in January and February. 

Year	Player	Games	Comp %	Yds	YPA	TD	INT	Rate
2010	Aaron Rodgers	4	68.2	1094	8.3	9	2	109.8
2011	Eli Manning	4	65	1219	7.5	9	1	103.3
2012	Joe Flacco	4	57.9	1140	9.1	11	0	117.2
2013	Russell Wilson	3	63.2	524	7.7	3	0	101.6
2014	Tom Brady	3	68.9	921	6.8	10	4	100.3

Granted, Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson wasn't particularly electric in the playoffs this year or last year (only three touchdown passes during the Seahawks' Super Bowl-winning playoff run), but he has been good enough with the complementary pieces around him to help get his team to the Super Bowl two straight years.

But if you dared to say that the quarterback position isn't valuable in the postseason? Tom Brady, Joe Flacco, Eli Manning and Aaron Rodgers would all beg to differ.

Unfortunately for the Jets, fixing the quarterback position is not an easy proposition. Geno Smith is about as close to becoming one of those four quarterbacks as the moon is to Mars, but that doesn't mean all hope is lost. The Jets hold the No. 6 overall pick in the 2015 NFL draft, which could be used for the services of Oregon's Marcus Mariota or Florida State's Jameis Winston.

Year	2013	NFL rank	2014	NFL rank
Comp %	55.4	32	57.6	29
Yds	2932	31	2946	32
YPA	6.8	21	6.4	30
TD	13	32	16	30
INT	22	28	15	16
Rate	66.6	32	75.1	29

Regardless of what name is on the back of the jersey, the only thing that matters is an improvement on the field and in the box score. Over the past two years, the quarterback play for Gang Green has been gangrenous.

Get Creative

Until the Jets get a little more talented, they have to get creative.

Even teams like the Seahawks and Patriots are creative in their play-calling and schemes. Who would have thought a team with Tom Brady would have to resort to declaring receivers as ineligible? The Seahawks have a dynamic offense, but they still are not afraid to run fakes on special teams.

Luckily, head coach Todd Bowles is known for his exotic, original defensive scheme that morphs its game plan to its opponents. Offensive coordinator Chan Gailey, on the other hand, has been tailoring offenses to fit subpar quarterbacks for the entirety of his career (see Thigpen, Tyler and Fitzpatrick, Ryan). 

The Jets should have no problem finding the right players to help them execute those creative schemes, given the fact that they will have more than $40 million in cap space in 2015, according to Spotrac. Beyond acquiring talent, the most important thing this coaching staff can do is coach.