New York Jets Week 11 Stock Report

In the words of coaching legend Bill Parcells, "You are what your record says you are." 

In the words of the New York Jets' current record, 5-4, this is a mediocre football team.

But that's not exactly true. We've seen flashes of greatness in a 4-1 start, and we've seen droughts of darkness in a 1-3 dry spell. The Jets are still fighting for their playoff lives, so we'll have to see much more of the former than the latter if they are going to finish as one of the AFC's two wild-card teams.

But what needs to happen in order for the Jets to achieve their desired result?

Well, they need a little help from everyone. They need the players who are currently playing well to continue to do so, and they need the players who are struggling to step their game up. Here's a look at a handful of players on either end of the spectrum. 

Stock Down: Todd Bowles

Bill Kostroun/Associated Press

There's a trend developing with the Jets. Late, close-game situations are frequently being mismanaged by head coach Todd Bowles.

The Jets had three scoring opportunities in the fourth quarter against Buffalo in Week 10. They turned those three scoring opportunities into just seven points. With two empty chances to score, the Jets left no less than six points on the field in a game they lost by five points. The numbers speak for themselves. 

The Jets had three timeouts, but failed to use them when the Bills were on offense near the end of the game. The Jets were hoping to catch them in a less-than-favorable down-and-distance situation, but that never happened. So, instead, Bowles watched the clock tick closer and closer to triple zeroes.

Finally, the Jets got the ball back, but there was so little time left at that point that they were in a do-or-die touchdown situation.

Give the man a break; it's his first two months of regular-season work. No one expects him to be Bill Belichick in Day 1 on the job. That being said, unless Bowles starts making better use of timeouts and making better play calls in certain situations, the Jets could be plagued by end-of-game scenarios again this season.

Stock Up: Muhammad Wilkerson

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The Jets have one of the best defensive lines in football, and defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson is their workhorse. He proved it once again on Thursday night with a strong performance against the Bills. 

According to Pro Football Focus, Wilkerson finished the game with two hurries, one hit and two sacks, making him the Jets' most productive pass-rusher on the game. Wilkerson's dominance is not limited to this one game, however; he is the third-most productive pass-rushing 3-4 defensive end in football right now, behind only San Francisco 49ers defensive end Arik Armstead and Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt. 

This season, Wilkerson already has a team-high seven sacks and is on pace for a career-high 12 sacks.

The Jets have employed a lot of blitz packages in their defense, and that has helped Wilkerson in some ways, but his ability to command double-teams and win one-on-one battles has also opened things up for his teammates.

Stock Down: Marcus Williams

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For two games, Marcus Williams was lining up at safety for the Jets, with mixed results. On Thursday against the Bills, Williams moved back to cornerback, and once again, he left some room for improvement.

He allowed three completions on four throws into his coverage, according to Pro Football Focus, which marks the third straight week he's given up that many completions on that many throws his direction. Not only did he yield some damage into his coverage, he also missed four tackles on the game. 

The Jets need Williams to be a sure tackler, and just as much so, they need him to be effective in coverage. On Thursday, he was neither. 

Stock Up: Chris Ivory

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It's been a bad month for the Jets as a team, but Chris Ivory has had one of the worst months of any of the Jets' most prominent players. In three games, Ivory rushed 55 times for 84 yards (1.5 yards per carry) and just two touchdowns. 

He picked up more yards (99) on way fewer carries (18) in one game Thursday night than he had in three games prior. Of course, his performance is tainted a bit by the stain of a third-quarter fumble that gave the Bills three points on a field goal.

More than just his production, though, it was his style of running that inspired the most confidence. He hadn't been the same bull-dozing, bruising back over the past few games, but he picked up 58 yards after contact Thursday, more than half of his rushing total on the game. 

Thursday was a promising sign that the old Chris Ivory is still buried in there somewhere.

Stock Down: Ryan Fitzpatrick

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When you think about some of the Jets' missed opportunities on Thursday, one of the most glaring is a failed conversion on 4th-and-2 at the start of the fourth quarter. Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick called an audible and had wide receiver Brandon Marshall change his route to one that was behind the line of scrimmage. The throw and catch went well, the conversion did not. 

Then, with three minutes left on 4th-and-4 from the Bills' 7-yard line, Fitzpatrick threw to tight end Kellen Davis in the back of the end zone and the pass fell incomplete. Davis took the blame for the bad route, but it was ultimately Fitzpatrick's decision to pull the trigger even though his tight end was caught in traffic as the ball was released.

Fitzpatrick finished the game 15-of-34 passing (44.1 percent) for 193 yards, two touchdowns and two picks. He has not fared well against Rex Ryan's defenses, and is now 1-7 against the former Jets head coach.

The Jets have to be hopeful that Fitzpatrick comes back better than ever after having thumb surgery on Friday.