Masuk Free Press

Let me be clear, I have not been watching football for long. I started watching last year because the fast plays and long runs that had made me avoid football in the past, had begun to finally capture some form of interest within me. But this newfound interest came with a lot of questions, such as “What does fourth down mean?”, “What does a tight-end do?” and my dad’s personal favorite, “Why do we keep losing?” 

For my entire life, I have watched my dad repeatedly yell at the television screen or completely walk away from it every time the Jets were on. Last year was rough, and I can count on my fingers the number of times that my dad said something positive about his most beloved/hated team. There were many problems with last year in particular: Aaron Rodgers getting injured in the first game, the offense’s inability to score with or because of said quarterback, among other things. This year, however, everything seems to be different.

Thus far, they have two wins under their belt, with one loss to the 49ers. But even in that loss, they still came out with 19 points. Not bad for a team whose win rate was 33% last year. It’s still early on in the season, and like many other young Jets fans, I may be falling into the never-ending cycle of “win once and keep hoping we’re going to win (even though we keep losing).” But hey, what do I have to lose? More longtime fans like my dad may claim to see straight through this fantasy, but it does seem like this year some major and positive changes have occurred within the team.
First, Aaron Rodgers was not injured in the first game and has not been benched for the season, which has led to no backup quarterbacks being allowed on the field. This has led to the prevention of any more major mishaps, accidents, or losses like we suffered last year. Second, our offensive line is still as good as it ever was. The one thing the Jets have going for them is that they have the best offensive line in the league, and luckily for us, nothing has changed in that department. Third, instead of acting like a group of defensive golden retrievers, we have become fearless go-getters who actually want to score touchdowns instead of just focusing on preventing them. 

We also have managed to (by some miracle) retain our amazing offensive players: Sauce Gardner, Breece Hall, Garrett Wilson, etc. 

“I think it’s better than last year, it’s been good that Aaron Rodgers lasted longer than four plays this year, that was helpful,” said Brian Humpal, a social studies teacher here at Masuk and a football enthusiast. He added that it will take Rodgers a little more time to get back into the swing of things due to his long-lasting absence, but that the defense combined with Rodgers’ skills will make them very good by the end of the year.

These are all good explanations as to why the Jets have been raised to a new high, but can they keep it up? That is the question plaguing Jets fans everywhere, young and old, white and green. I believe that we can do it, but what do the numbers say? Right now, the Jets are at a 50% win rate, but The Bleacher Report claims that their “overall record projection is 11-6”, while SNY has them at 10-7. These are much better projections than what occurred in the previous season, with the 7-10 flip-flopping, and the Bleacher Report potentially being overly generous.
Humpal argued that “We have to cut everyone a little slack from last year.” And though he is “not 100% sold on Salah as a great head coach,” he thinks that he is very defense-focused and that we have definitely kept it up in that area.

After last year’s performance, many people believed that Robert Saleh, the head coach of the Jets, would be fired. But he came back ready to take on the world. Now, we just need him to keep doing what he has been doing. This whole experiment that began when they first brought Rogers on is finally working, and even though he is exceptionally old to be a quarterback (the oldest in the league), he has made a solid difference on the field. Maybe now Salah can use this incredible team that he has built and push them to do what we all know they can do: win.

As a new fan full of hopes and dreams, I think it has to be said that the Jets team we are seeing so far this season feels like a breath of fresh air. Now all we can do now is sit back and watch as the Jets fight their way to the Superbowl, and then win it.