If you’re a Jets fan and you look so forward to those precious game days, what are you getting out of them right now?
There’s no joy in Jetsville. Not even close.
Whatever joy Jets fans desperately seek has been replaced by anger and bewilderment as you wonder how a season with such promise could have devolved into 0-4 and such little hope across such a short time span.
Jets fans look around the league every weekend and see great football being played by teams because of great plays being made by their players. The Sunday night TV highlights recapping the day’s games must be as maddening as they are heartbreaking as you wonder: “What about us? Where are our great plays?’’
You look to New Orleans and see Teddy Bridgewater, who was an afterthought on the Jets roster just a year ago before being traded to the Saints for a third-round draft pick, playing like a Pro Bowl quarterback in place of injured starter Drew Brees.
You look to Indianapolis and see the Colts, who were rocked by the news of Andrew Luck’s sudden retirement just before the season, upsetting the Chiefs on Sunday night in Kansas City with former backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett leading the way.
You look to Jacksonville and see Gardner Minshew, a rookie sixth-round pick, taking over for injured starting quarterback Nick Foles, who didn’t even last a game before he was knocked out with a broken collarbone, keeping the Jaguars relevant.
You look to Carolina and see undrafted free agent quarterback Kyle Allen, playing in place of injured starter Cam Newton, leading the Panthers to three consecutive victories.
You look to your own backyard and see Giants rookie quarterback Daniel Jones winning two of his first three career starts after taking over for incumbent Eli Manning.
You look to Pittsburgh and see the Steelers, after their backup to Ben Roethlisberger, Mason Rudolph, was knocked out with a concussion Sunday, down to their third-string quarterback — Devlin Hodges, an undrafted free agent out of Samford University — keeping the Steelers competitive with the Ravens before losing 23-20 in overtime.
The point — as it relates to the Jets and their beleaguered, bad-luck head coach Adam Gase, who’s been playing his third-string quarterback, Luke Falk, for the past three games — is this: Everyone in the league has adversity.
Sure, some teams’ adversity is worse than others, but it’s how those coaches and teams handle whatever they’re dealt that they are measured by.
Gase and the Jets?
They haven’t handled it very well, particularly on offense, which has produced one touchdown in the last 43 offensive possessions and has been noncompetitive.
As bad as it has looked the past two games, all the Jets can do is try to hold themselves together until starting quarterback Sam Darnold returns from being out with mononucleosis (possibly this week after some Tuesday tests), and starting middle linebacker C.J. Mosley returns from his groin injury (possibly this week or next).
The Jets, too, have tight end Chris Herndon (substance abuse) and linebacker Brandon Copeland (PEDs) eligible to play this week after each served a four-game suspension.
“Once we get better on offense, I think we’ll just look like a totally different team,’’ running back Le’Veon Bell said. “We’ll get it turned around. I don’t know what day or what game or what’s going to do it, but I know we’re going to find some way to get the ship sailing in the right direction.’’
According to defensive lineman Leonard Williams, a number of veteran players spoke up in a team meeting Monday in an effort to stay strong together.
“We came together as a team and talked about this as a time that we have to stay together [and] fight the hardest,’’ Williams said. “This isn’t a time to point fingers. Some vets spoke up and said they’ve been on teams that we’re definitely a lot worse than this. We have a lot of talent.’’
After Sunday’s 31-6 loss to the Eagles, Bell recalled, “My rookie year in Pittsburgh, we were 0-4.’’
The Steelers finished that 2013 season 8-8, a record most Jets fans would sign for right now — in blood.
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