The Jets Have Bigger Problems Than Ryan Fitzpatrick

This is not what the Jets envisioned when they finally ended their very long and very weak standoff with Ryan Fitzpatrick. All they needed was a competent quarterback who could score a few points and let the defense win games, and Fitzpatrick seemed to fit the bill. The best-case scenario for the 2016 Jets was for them to become a diet version of last year’s Super Bowl champion Broncos. So far everything has gone to absolute shit.

The trouble obviously starts with Fitzpatrick, who has been a real toilet man of a quarterback. He followed up Week 3's dreadful six-interception performance by throwing another three picks against the Seahawks yesterday. That gives him 10 on the year, and puts him in some pretty rough company:

Now, at 1-3, might seem like a good time for the Jets to start considering another option at quarterback, but the team is (publicly, at least) maintaining its commitment to Fitzpatrick. Head coach Todd Bowles gave Fitzpatrick a vote of confidence for the second straight week:

Wide receiver Brandon Marshall was a little more forceful with his endorsement:

Makes you wonder just how poorly Geno Smith must be playing in practice, doesn’t it?

It’s not fair to pin all of the Jets’ problems on Fitzpatrick, though. He hasn’t filled out his portion of the “Competent Offense + Dominant Defense = Winning” equation, but neither has the Jets’ defense. So far the Jets have been getting worked through the air to the tune of 285 passing yards per game. They have already been burned by seven passes that went for over 40 yards, and are allowing 9.7 yards per pass attempt, which is good for the worst mark in the league.

Andy Dalton, Tyrod Taylor, and Alex Smith have all had their ways with the Jets, and yesterday a hobbled Russell Wilson cooked them with 309 yards and three touchdowns. What’s even more worrying is that Bowles doesn’t sound like a man who has any good solutions to the problems his defense is facing:

So the New York Jets are a team with a bad quarterback who can’t stop giving the ball away and a bad defense that can’t perform its most basic functions. Seems like the Jets are just, you know, a bad team.