New York Jets: Loss to Miami exposes weaknesses of the roster that most expected

The New York Jets were exposed in the loss to the Miami Dolphins.

The New York Jets loss to Miami was just one game. By itself, it doesn’t look very significant. After all, the team is 3-4, which is probably better than most of us believed they would be. There are still nine games left to go. They are in last place, but the Jets are right in the race. The team is competitive and frankly, that’s what we all wanted to see.

So why are we making a big deal out of this one game? It’s not that surprising that a young team couldn’t sweep a divisional opponent, is it? The reason why we talk about this one is because the Jets were exposed a bit in this one. There were problems exposed during this game that we probably all expected, and are all signs potential failures to come.

The first is Josh McCown. McCown is a guy that is limited with what he can do. Has he been efficient? Absolutely. Being second in the league in completion percentage heading into the game is serious business. For the bulk of six games he has put the Jets in the best position possible. He had not been the key problem.

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However, he is a turnover problem. 89 touchdowns versus 76 interceptions for his career is not a great ratio. Remembering the fact that he has been basically a backup, 76 interceptions is a high number.

Over the last four games, McCown has been picked off at least once in each of those games. The most telling one game this week against the Dolphins.

Late in the game, tied, in their own end, McCown has to know better than that. He’s a veteran. He can’t take that type of chance there. It’s short passes or it’s run the football and play for overtime. Don’t take a chance of, well, what exactly happened. You give the ball away there, it’s game over.

And we see the reason why McCown has flipped from team to team for what feels like centuries. He just isn’t consistent. He won’t take a team over the top.

Next we have the secondary. Jamal Adams and Marcus Maye were highly touted coming in as the first two selections by the Jets in the draft. They have started from day one and they have been good. They are mixing up with running backs in the ground game and being used around the field in the passing game. Adams is becoming a leader after only half of one season. These two will be around for many years to come, we hope.

But that doesn’t mean they don’t have their problems. It doesn’t matter what school you went to, you will see things in the pros that you just don’t see in college. Rob Gronkowski made Jamal Adams look like a rookie when they met up at MetLife. Against the Dolphins, there was confusion in the secondary based on the two leaders. That’s going to happen. Unless you are Ronnie Lott, you don’t come into the league playing at a Hall of Fame level. I know there have been other great ones but that’s my favorite example. These kids will be great, once they grow.

Next: Jets at Miami: Immediate observations and thoughts

The loss, per se, is just a loss. It is only one out of 16 games. But, what we learned from the loss is far bigger. Maybe it is information we already knew, it’s hard to say. But it is information that we will probably see more of as the season progresses.

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