The distinction of not making the playoffs in 2022-23 belongs to the New York Jets alone of all NY sports teams
The New York Jets already own one terrible big-four sports streak. They officially have the longest active playoff drought at 12 years.
As they hope to end that funk, though, there’s another negative distinction they cannot escape.
In the New York-New Jersey area, there are nine traditional metropolitan sports teams—the Jets, Giants, Mets, Yankees, Knicks, Nets, Rangers, Islanders, and Devils. Argue all you want for NYC FC, but they just don’t make the cut.
Of those teams, the Jets are the only one not to make the playoffs in the 2022-23 season.
There have been ebbs and flows in New York sports, particularly with the malaise of the Jets and Giants over the last decade. The Rangers are back on track after a mini down phase. The Yankees are the Yankees, but last year was the Mets’ first playoff appearance since 2016. The Devils and Islanders fluctuate. The Nets went from a superteam of sorts back down to earth. The Knicks are the Knicks.
However, even the lowly Knicks accomplished something that the Jets did not. They are competing in the postseason at the culmination of the 2022 season. The Jets, on the other hand, stumbled their way to a 7-10 record with six consecutive season-ending losses.
Woody Johnson is fed up and placed a playoffs ultimatum on this season, whether or not he’ll admit it. His cold feet at the possibility of Aaron Rodgers retiring after 2023 did not diminish his laser focus on acquiring his guy. Johnson’s only pause is the amount of premium draft capital in the deal.
The 2022 season was a lost one. Can 2023 break the playoff-less streak? Getting Rodgers in the building would be a good start for Gang Green.
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Woody Johnson is fed up and placed a playoffs ultimatum on this season, whether or not he’ll admit it.
I keep hearing this from writers but have yet to see any explicit evidence of this. The fact that he’s said he’s willing to spend big on a QB does not equate to an ultimatum. Even with the putrid product that’s been presented for years, the Jets trailed only the Cowboys in average attendance last year. Woody is still making bank.
I think it would be an egregious mistake to fire either Joe D or Saleh, or to force them into making short-term, knee-jerk reactions to “save their jobs”.
I am not blind to the shortcomings of both men. Joe D is on the hook for overpaying some FA’s and not having proper contingencies for the OL last year. Saleh needs to be a better game and player conduct manager. Both are in their first stint at their respective jobs. I’ve said before, I am a relative old-timer of a Jets fan (since Shea), but I see the need for patience to establish the Jets as a perennial contender with a solid culture.
If Woody Johnson is fed up, he has only himself to blame.