Everyone knows what the Jets cannot do. They cannot scare anyone on offense, they cannot conduct a quarterback competition, they cannot win a Super Bowl, only a Snoopy Bowl.
But guess what: They’re no longer a laughingstock.
Ask Tom Brady. Ask Bill Belichick.
You punch these Jets in the mouth, they’ll punch you back, even though a couple of them might have gotten carried away in Foxborough.
In this NFL, where most games are not decided until the fourth quarter, and in this AFC East, where the Patriots have come back to the pack and mediocrity reigns supreme, it is risky business to dismiss out of hand and overlook a Fight Club.
No one is suggesting this will be anything other than a rebuilding season with a rookie quarterback. The Jets won’t win eight games if Geno Smith’s ball security mimics that of Mark Sanchez over the past two seasons.
But it now looks as if the Jets will be a tough out for a lot of people.
The circus has not left town, because these are the Jets, where coach Rex Ryan can answer questions sideways at any given moment, where Sanchez can be the lone wolf in the organization to declare himself the winner of a quarterback competition that apparently will be ongoing until he is gone, where you can never be certain the new general manager who inherited the lame-duck coach is truly standing shoulder to shoulder with him on final say.
But on game day, between the white lines, there are more teams than ESPN knows that will not want to play these Jets.
The reasons why:
GANG GREEN: It starts with defense. Just ask Rex.
“Is anyone surprised that we play great defense?” Ryan said. “It certainly doesn’t surprise Jet fans. It doesn’t surprise our football team.”
When Quinton Coples returns, when Dee Milliner leaves Rex’s doghouse and starts playing like a first-round pick opposite Antonio Cromartie, if Demario Davis and Sheldon Richardson keep developing, if Antwan Barnes can supply some pass rush, this will be a top-five defense as long as Mo Wilkerson avoids the dreaded high ankle sprain.
If Brady, disarmed by the loss of so many familiar weapons, doesn’t scare these guys, E.J. Manuel and Ryan Tannehill sure won’t.
OFFENSIVE LINE: An ornery and physically imposing group that enjoys imposing its will at the point of attack. The four sacks allowed Thursday night are somewhat misleading, considering the rookie quarterback doesn’t get the ball out quick enough on occasion and the wide receivers struggle to get open. Chris Ivory ran hard and gave the Jets enough balance (35-32 pass-to-run) to second-guess Marty Mornhinweg for not turning more to the foot soldiers.
“I thought we had good balance,” Ryan said.
The Jets are waiting for highly-touted rookie Brian Winters to supplant left guard Vlad Ducasse.
GENO SMITH: This will be trial by error, so expect plenty more errors.
Mornhinweg has brought Smith long nicely, but he put the game in the kid’s hands too often in crunch time in Foxborough.
Until his fourth-quarter implosion, it was clear the stage was not too big for Smith. He displayed poise beyond his years and courage standing tall in the pocket in the face of incoming mayhem.
But what you liked about Smith was his accountability afterward. He made no excuses, placed the blame on his shoulders, and his shoulders alone. That’s what leaders are supposed to do. That’s what you want in your quarterback.
BUTTFUMBLE, MY ASS: These Jets have an Us-Against-the-World chip on their shoulder the size of the Empire State Building. That’s a good thing in football.
NICK FOLK: Hey, it’s something. He can make the pressure kick in the fourth quarter.
They are ugly ducklings who are a long way from being beautiful swans.
The elite teams may want to play them. Everybody else will not.