The New York Jets-Jacksonville Jaguars tank race is down to three weeks, Adam Gase’s error and Jamal Adams‘s personal quest on Sabo Radio 73.
And then there were three. Just three weeks separate the New York Jets from Trevor Lawrence.
Granted, nobody on the outside has any idea what Joe Douglas is thinking. It’s possible he could be the one guy on this planet who doesn’t like Lawrence as a quarterback. But aside from that improbable avenue, just three more losses are needed for the Jets to get their hands on the best quarterback prospect since Peyton Manning.
It won’t be easy. In classic Jet fashion, not even 0-13 provides comfort. The 1-12 Jacksonville Jaguars are, in essence, just a half-game behind the Jets for the No. 1 spot. The idea that the strength of schedule tiebreaker is all but over makes that a near-fact.
The Jets’ remaining schedule doesn’t allow for any easy victories:
- Week 15: @ Los Angeles Rams
- Week 16: vs. Cleveland Browns
- Week 17: @ New England Patriots
The Week 17 date against Bill Belichick is what currently worries fans. Funny business and Belichick go together more seamlessly than peanut butter and jelly, so the concerns are valid.
Meanwhile, the Jags’ schedule isn’t soft either:
- Week 15: @ Baltimore Ravens
- Week 16: vs. Chicago Bears
- Week 17: @ Indianapolis Colts
Interestingly, both teams have just one home game remaining, and both happen in Week 16. Whether or not the Indianapolis Colts have something to play for in Week 17 is significant. A win against the desperate Baltimore Ravens next week looks unlikely, as does a home date against the Chicago Bears (although it’s probably the best chance of a Jags victory).
Gardner Minshew will return to the starting lineup this Sunday to a round of applause from Jets fandom.
Adam Gase’s error
One particular sequence in the Jets’ 40-3 bone-crushing loss to the Seattle Seahawks this past Sunday perfectly sums up this Jets era.
With just 10 seconds to go in the first half, the Jets were set up at the Seattle 29-yard line with a timeout in the back pocket. Sam Darnold found Braxton Berrios wide open on the previous play (deep crosser underneath a Seahawks’ deep-third zone behind a five-man rush), setting up a momentum shot heading into the locker room.
Whether it’s an 11-2 team looking for a No. 1 seed or an 0-13 all-time squad on the wrong side of history, what happened next is inexcusable.
At the SEA 29-yard line with 10 seconds to go in the first half and one timeout remaining, what the New York Jets offense did from there is one of the most inexcusable sequences football can offer. This stuff just cannot happen. #TakeFlight pic.twitter.com/Z09A0KfFgZ
— Robby Sabo (@RobbySabo) December 15, 2020
The Jets run out of time. Darnold and the offense cannot get the play off prior to the play clock winding down. Gase ultimately used his final timeout with a dead clock. Instead of having the entire field to play with against the league’s worst passing defense, they were forced to complete a short sideline route out of bounds.
The recently-cut Sergio Castillo missed the field goal.
Not getting up to the line and getting a play off in time is completely inexcusable. The Jets must look at their recent history and realize that a true sideline general, a real alpha-dog, is needed to run the team, starting this January.
Jamal Adams’ quest
Jamal Adams can breathe a bit easier now that he beat his former team. Then again, if he continues to take the same tact he has since the trade that sent him to the Great Northwest in late July, his no-win personal quest will continue.
Adams wants that respect, yet he also wants to make sure everybody knows he’s a good teammate. He wanted to get out of New Jersey as quickly as possible, and by any means necessary, but he also wants to convince everybody that the kid who publicly nuked the Jets organization isn’t the real kid.
It’s an unsolvable riddle. No real answer exists, and only time can help Adams come to an acceptable resolution.
Adams’s pre-game and post-game words (as well as his encounter with Gase after the game) continue him along a confusing path without a great answer in sight.
All of that and more happens on Sabo Radio 73:
