Let’s get something out of the way. The NY Jets are the worst professional franchise in the 3 major American sports. This is not hating or hyperbole. Yea, there are some bad / sad teams, but not like the Jets.

The Buffalo Bills? They got to the Superbowl 4 times (in a row!) and lost. – Right, they GOT to the Superbowl FOUR times. While they might seem sad in recent years, that’s quite an accomplishment. Plus, it’s not like players are rushing to sign free agent deals to live in Buffalo under approximately 200 feet of snow per year.

The Cleveland Browns? – so tortured, so pathetic for so many years. It’s Cleveland, read above about free agents. How about the Knicks, you say? Well, they WON a title in, at least, in my father’s lifetime. The Mets? They won a title in MY lifetime.

This brings us to the Jets: one single appearance in a championship game in over 50 years. In the biggest city and market in the country (ideally, where players would like to play). Given the overall general parity in the NFL due to the salary cap and the pull NYC would have for free agents, this is inefficiency on a scale no other team has seen. The Jets can’t even point to a legitimate stretch of 3 years in a row where they were consistently good in the last 25 years. Brutal.

But enough with my disdain of the Jets as a franchise. Let’s get to this year. Year 3 of the Sam Darnold experience. This is the put up or shut up year for Darnold (and Adam Gase for that matter). Darnold gets some help in Mekhi Becton upfront and weapons in Denzel Mims and Breshad Perriman. The offense is definitely more interesting, save for whatever the hell is going on between Le’Veon Bell and Adam Gase. Jamison Crowder is super reliable and Chris Herndon could be a thing. But this group is still young or unproven over a long period of time (looking at you Perriman).

The Jets had the 2nd best run D as per Football Outsiders last year. Yea, 2nd in the whole league, so what’s the issue? Their secondary. The same secondary that just lost Safety Jamal Adams. They were ranked 18th last year but played like they were way worse. They can’t be trusted, but luckily, in their division, it might not matter. The Bills have the inaccurate Josh Allen. The Pats have Cam Newton, who isn’t exactly slicing people up deep. This is rounded out by a mix of Ryan Fitzpatrick and Tua. The news that CJ Mosley is going to opt out is a massive blow to this defense. He seemed like he was on track to a great season in that first game last year against the Bills, then he got hurt and it all went downhill from there.

I loved the Jets coming into this season. I even bet the over and told others I loved what they were doing with the O-line and they looked headed in the right direction. Then the schedule came out. They have one of the top 5 hardest schedules in the league – no bueno. I can’t stay on this team over for the season, too much could go wrong. Gase could totally lose the players, lead on by Bell. It’s possible he already has, given Mosely opting out and being openly defied by Jamal Adams. Or, Darnold could just be average or mediocre. Either of these scenarios could tank their season. However, I’m buying into continuity with the coaching staff and Darnold getting another year with Gase. The front end of the D is really good and I will make sure to bet them against run heavy teams, probably getting line value along the way. Early in the season, I will probably take the points with the Jets, depending on the matchup. I bought back on my early Season Win over bet and started hitting their under to negate my position.

No season total play.