Guest: New York Jets’ success may still be limited

Guest piece by Sal Ingolia

The quarterback

We might be in the dog days of summer, but it is certainly never too early to look ahead to what the New York Jets might look like this upcoming year. Specifically, they need to play well against the rest of the AFC in order to possibly sneak into the playoffs. While the odds of them being a playoff contender this year are against them, they could exceed expectations.

The biggest wild card going into the season will of course be the quarterback situation. Michael Vick was brought in to provide competition at the position after a subpar rookie year from Geno Smith. Neither player is a star in fantasy football at this point in their careers, but they both bring different strengths to the table. Vick lost his job in Philadelphia last year, but he could easily redeem himself with the Jets. As for Smith, he will have a chip on his shoulder as a guy who still wants to be considered in the future.

Eric Decker

Eric Decker’s arrival will help

Offense will be hard to come by for the New York Jets, but they will be a little bit better thanks to now having a legitimate number one receiver. Eric Decker is coming over from the Denver Broncos, and he should be able to make either quarterback’s life a little bit easier.

The New York Jets obviously have to score the season, but what can get them in playoff contention is their defense. They were outstanding against the rush last year, giving up just 88.3 yards per game. The passing defense needs to be a little bit better, but they did do some things in the offseason to address that. With Miami and New England being considered the two best teams in their division, defending against the pass is a must for them to have any success.

New York should be improved this year, but it is probably not enough to get into the playoffs. They need the quarterback situation to be figured out completely before they can start thinking about playoff contention once again. Whether or not improvement will be enough for Rex Ryan to stay around remains to be seen.