The team with the most tumultuous offseason and preseason is above .500.
Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons were host to the New York Jets on Monday Night Football. It was surely going to be a blowout. But it was the Jets who overcame a late surge from Ryan to win the game. The Jets now sit at 3-2. Mark Sanchez couldn’t be farther back in the review mirror. Santonio Holmes? Who needs him! New York was a field goal away from beating the New England Patriots in the early moments of the 2013 season. A win there would put them in first place today.
I’m not trying to get ahead of myself. Geno Smith has looked inept at times. His turnovers can be a problem, although he had zero against the Falcons. I certainly had no confidence in the running backs for Rex Ryan’s team. But Rex is right. Bilal Powell is underrated. He averages 4.2 yards per carry and can catch out of the backfield. Also, the defense is easily a top five squad right now.
But let’s not get carried away. Sure, we were all wrong about the Jets start this year. I chalked them up for a 1-4 type start. But when the dust clears from the Monday evening game, most people are talking about the Falcons. Atlanta is in trouble because they are the ones who are 1-4 in a division where Drew Brees is undefeated. He’s already won in Atlanta too. New York will next play a desperate Pittsburgh Steelers team coming off a bye week. Then, it’s a rematch with the Patriots who’ve added Rob Gronkowski and Danny Amendola. Following the New England game, the Jets will travel to Cincinnati. I’ll give that one to the Bengals. Right before what will be a much needed bye week for New York will be a matchup with the New Orleans Saints. Ouch. I believe the next four games will all be losses for Rex Ryan and the Jets.
So a once 3-2 team could easily become 3-6. Those kinds of teams don’t make it to the playoffs. Well, the Jets are not a playoff team. But fans should be pleased with the continued progress of Geno Smith. As long as they can keep putting tools around him, Smith might be able to succeed in this league. It’s certainly something I did not see coming.
