GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Jets lost their fourth straight game, a 28-3 dismantling by the Cardinals here in the desert. At 1-5, the season feels like it is over. Here are some thoughts and observations from the game:
1. There is no debating that the quarterback position is the biggest long-term problem on the Jets. It has been for 40 years. It may be for another 40.
But the offensive line has to be scary to look at if you are general manager Mike Maccagnan. They are playing terribly, and he is going to have to rebuild this line, perhaps replacing four out of the five spots this offseason. Only left guard James Carpenter is safe, in my opinion.
Center Nick Mangold is 32 and a candidate to be a cap casualty because?he would save them $9 million against the cap if cut. Left tackle Ryan Clady is 30 and has been awful. His 2017 salary is $10 million. There is no way the Jets are paying him that.
Cutting 31-year-old right tackle Breno Giacomini, who has not played this season because of a back injury, would save them $4.5 million in cap space. Brian Winters is only 25, but is a free agent this offseason and could be gone.
Remember when the Jets had the best offensive line in football in 2008-09?
The problem has been drafting. The Jets have done a terrible job drafting overall, but especially when it comes to the offensive line. They have drafted eight offensive linemen since 2010, most of them — five — coming in the fifth round or later. Of those eight, four never made one start for the Jets. A fifth, Brandon Shell, has not made a start, but is only a rookie and still on the roster.
Here are the eight, where they were drafted and how many starts they made for the Jets:
Vlad Ducasse — 2010, second round, 5 starts
Robert Griffin — 2012, sixth round, 0 starts
Brian Winters — 2013, third round, 33 starts
Oday Aboushi — 2013, fifth round, 10 starts
Will Campbell — 2013, sixth round, 0 starts
Dakota Dozier — 2014, fourth round, 0 starts
Jarvis Harrison — 2015, fifth round, 0 starts
Brandon Shell — 2016, fifth round, 0 starts
It has not been pretty. Maccagnan’s No. 1 job is to solve the quarterback problem. But No. 2 is fixing this offensive line or it won’t matter who is at quarterback.
2. Jets coach Todd Bowles was asked at the league meetings in March whom he expected a big jump from this season. He named second-year linebacker Lorenzo Mauldin. The Jets expected Mauldin to go from situational pass-rusher to every-down linebacker.
It hasn’t happened, and the effect has been drastic on the defense. It has led to Sheldon Richardson playing outside linebacker and contributed to the decision to play a 4-3, which has pushed Muhammad Wilkerson and Steve McLendon out of their natural positions. Mauldin played just 13 snaps Monday night in Arizona. He only comes in on passing downs and rushes the passer. The Jets were counting on Mauldin this season, and his lack of progress has really hurt this team.
3. You don’t have to look that far back in Jets history to find the last four-game losing streak before this one. The Jets lost eight in a row in 2014, Rex Ryan’s final season with the team. That team finished 4-12.
This year feels different than that one, though. There was no hope of a turnaround that year because of a lack of talent on the roster. This roster is way more talented. I don’t think this is a 4-12 team. I think the Jets will put together some wins against lesser teams in the coming weeks and finish close to .500.
The 2014 had a death march feel to it because you knew Ryan would be fired at the end of the season, and midway through it became apparent GM John Idzik was also in trouble. I can’t see Bowles being fired after this season unless they finish 1-15.
4. Maccagnan went on a spending spree in March 2015 after he got the job, largely on cornerbacks. He signed Darrelle Revis, Buster Skrine and Antonio Cromartie to deals totaling $127 million. The deals were widely praised (including here), but right now, they don’t look so good. Cromartie was terrible in 2015, and the Jets released him in the offseason. Revis has had major struggles in coverage, and Monday night looked like he had no desire to tackle David Johnson on his 58-yard touchdown.
Then there is Skrine, who had an awful night. He allowed seven receptions on 10 targets for 69 yards, according to Pro Football Focus. On top of that, he had four penalties.
The Jets signed Skrine hoping he could be an answer for the Patriots slot receivers Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola. But now, he is being asked to play on the outside more and is getting exposed. The Jets also knew he was a heavily penalized player with the Browns. They felt like they could coach that out of him. It did not work on Monday night.
The Jets spent a lot of money on cornerbacks in 2015. In 2016, they don’t have much to show for it.
Revealing number: You can pick about 20 things to point to when asked why the Jets are losing. Here is the simplest reason: They have scored three touchdowns in four weeks. One of those touchdowns was a fumble recovery returned for a score by Charone Peake. Another was a ball that should have been intercepted in Pittsburgh, but Brandon Marshall made a nice catch. You can’t win if you don’t score. It’s pretty simple.
Surprising snap count: We all know the tight end is non-existent in the Jets’ offense, but Monday took it to new levels. Austin Seferian-Jenkins did not play because of an ankle injury. Kellen Davis and Brandon Bostick played nine snaps each.
Game ball:?Richardson played his butt off. The Jets are moving him all over the field. He lined up at inside linebacker several times. He is a freakish athlete, which was on display when he ran down David Johnson from behind on one play. He led the team with seven sacks. There were not many bright spots for the Jets, but Richardson was one.