The Gang Green Saga

It might be June, but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t any anything to talk about in the National Football League with one of the most compelling story lines currently involving the New York Jets. The Jets went 10-6 in 2015, but it wasn’t enough for them them to make the playoffs as they lost a tie-breaker to the Pittsburgh Steelers for the final postseason spot in the AFC. The Jets saw a six-game improvement in the win column, while their offense was one of the best in franchise history. The Jets were 10th in the NFL last year in total offense as running back Chris Ivory gained 1,070 rushing yards, and for the first time since 1968, New York had a pair of wide receivers gain at least 1,000 yards receiving as Brandon Marshall along with Eric Decker combined to total 2,529 receiving yards. The man at the middle of the Jets offensive attack was quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick who in his first year with the team fell just 95 yards short of becoming just the second player in franchise history to pass for 4,000 yards. And whereas the Jets should be looking to build off of being so close to the postseason last year, they can’t get out of their way here in June.

This off-season has seen Fitzpatrick become an unrestricted free agent, and something that was expected to be cut and dry as far as he and the Jets coming to an agreement on a new contract has been almost as fun as watching paint dry.

Since the free agency period in the National Football League began in March, the Jets and Fitzpatrick have been well off on a new contract. Fitzpatrick is looking for a lucrative deal and the Jets aren’t willing to cough up the bread for someone who they deem as a career journeyman.

Fitzpatrick was a seventh-round pick of the St. Louis Rams in 2005 and he has spent the majority of his National Football League career as a backup quarterback. Fitzpatrick has played for six NFL teams and 2015 marked the first time in his career that he posted a winning record in a season. Last year saw Fitzpatrick do two things that have plagued him throughout his career which is staying healthy and protecting the football. For just the third time in the NFL, Fitzpatrick made all 16 starts, while throwing 15 interceptions and 5 fumbles. But if you’re the Jets front office, you have to be weary about giving a big contract to a quarterback in Fitzpatrick who is a career journeyman and that will also be 34-years of age this November.

2015 was a career year for Fitzpatrick, but you can make the argument that this was due to the talent that he was surrounded by. Marshall made the Pro Bowl for the sixth time in his career, while he also set a Jets single-season for receiving yards with 1,502. By themselves, Marshall and Decker are tough receivers for secondaries in the National Football League to deal with, but together, they were nearly invincible. And due to the ability of Marshall and Decker, it was simply Fitzpatrick’s job to get them the football.

For the past decade the Jets have had one of the best offensive lines in football that has been anchored by offensive tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson and center Nick Mangold. This offensive line only allowed Fitzpatrick to be sacked 19 times, while they also provided blocking for Ivory who gained 1,070 yards rushing. And if you look at Fitzpatrick’s previous record to joining the Jets, there isn’t a need for the folks at Florham Park to break the bank in keeping his services. It also isn’t helping Fitzpatrick’s case that when the Jets entered Week 17 only needing to win or tie to get into the postseason, that he went 16-of-37 passing for 181 yards and a pair of touchdown passes, while also throwing 3 costly interceptions.

Fitzpatrick continues to play the waiting game, but at this point he has lost all of his leverage in negotiations. Free agency is essentially done in the National Football League as teams around the league have addressed their quarterbacking needs either there, or through the draft which means that the Jets now hold all of the cards. And as the Jets are now in the midst of organized team activities, Geno Smith is getting all of the reps as the team’s starting quarterback that Fitzpatrick should be taking.

In his brief time as Jets general manager, Mike Maccagnan has taken a hard line stanch in his negotiations with the team’s free agents, and Fitzpatrick is finding out that he isn’t the exception. Training camp is set to begin next month, and the closer that we get to that date, the more of a distraction that this saga between Fitzpatrick and the Jets will be. And to make matters worse, whenever Fitzpatrick does sign a deal with the Jets, he has put more pressure on himself to perform as the New York media will eat him alive on any mistake that he makes as it will be deemed that his timing is off due to his not being around the team.

Things will be a little different for the Jets offense this year as Ferguson decided to retire after refusing to take a pay cut and he has done a solid job over the last ten years in protecting the blindside of the team’s quarterbacks. Ivory left as a free agent, and he is now a member of the Jacksonville Jaguars, while he has been replaced by former Chicago Bears running back Matt Forte. The Jets still have Marshall and Decker, but the bond between receivers and their quarterback is a special one and these gentleman need to be working on their timing together for the upcoming season.

And after being so close to getting to the postseason in 2015, things appear to starting off on the wrong foot her in 2016 for Gang Green before they even take the field.

Source: Pro-football-reference.com