New York Jets October of discontent finally ends
By Ed Stein
October was tough for the New York Jets. Personnel issues and poor play doomed Gang Green to one of the worst months both on and off the field, in team history.
If William Shakesphere was writing about the New York Jets last month, he might pen something like “now is the October of our discontent.” Thankfully, October has come to an end as the calendar turned to November. The high spot for the month was Gang Green’s upset over the Dallas Cowboys on October 13. What should have been a rebound moment, turned out to be a branch on the side of a cliff which gave way quickly.
A combination of front office issues with personnel and horrible play made the month a nightmare. Here is a look some the things that went into a disasterous October that has alienated both players and fans.
1-3 on field
The win over Dallas was the meat in between two moldy pieces of bread. A week prior to the upset, Gang Green was steamrolled in Philadelphia 31-6. Luke Falk in his swan song replacing the mono-stricken Sam Darnold, threw two interceptions, one for a pick-six, and was sacked nine times. Additionally his fourth quarter fumble led to another Philadelphia defensive touchdown.
After beating Dallas, reality came in like an unblocked defensive end the following week. On Monday Night football in front of a national audience, mic’d up Darnold was so perplexed by New England’s defense, the QB said he was “seeing ghosts” out on the field. Why the NFL chose to make that public is a mystery, but it was once again another black eye for the team.
To finish October. Darnold was outplayed last Sunday in Jacksonville by rookie quarterback Gardner Minshew, who threw for three touchdown passes. The second of which was a 70-yard connection to Chris Conley who got behind Grang Green’s secondary and took off. For their part, the Jets had only 213 yards of offense and three Darnold picks.