BUF @ NYJ, 1/1/17 aka I'm Not Sure I Like Football Anymore

[rhickok1109]

Anyone else so sick of their favorite team that you are thinking of jumping on some bandwagon or giving up following the sport altogether?

I grew up with the 1970s and 1980s Packers. First year I really got into watching the games was 1977, which was a dismal year for the Pack. Not sure I could take 20+ years of badness now, too old. Better when you're young, I guess.

I grew up with the Packers from the mid-40s to just before Lombardi arrived, so don't feel too sorry for yourself

[Jeremy Crowhurst]

The reason for this is I don't think Buffalo would be doing this had they won last week.

They are doing this because they lost last week. If they were still in contention, Taylor would be starting. Based on how all the other games played out last week, had they won, I think all they would need would be a win vs. the Jets, Dolphins lose to Pats and Broncos lose to Raiders and they would be in.

If they were benching Taylor because Hey, we're eliminated. Let's give the rookie a look here, then it would be understandable. The problem is Manuel is not a rookie. He already failed in Buffalo.

Yeah. Like I said, head scratcher. Unless they're giving him a professional courtesy to pad his resume for his next contract with another team.

It's basically the same logic at each decision.
1. Can we start Taylor? No, that could result in financial catastrophe if he's injured.
2. Can we start Jones? No, that could result in (a much smaller) financial catastrophe if he's injured, and nothing good can come of playing him one game when none of the coaches and many of the teammates won't be here next season.
3. Can we start Manuel? Yes. He could suffer a catastrophic injury if he plays. We're okay with that.

[sheajets]

I'm a Jets fanatic and I will be watching. I've been through this before and I will follow this team into my grave if need be...but I just love football too. They're my Jets and I only get 16 (and in a very special season...more) Sundays (and Mondays...and Thursdays ) to enjoy my green dumpster fire.

In the Jets defense Hackenberg is incredibly young, an NFL baby at 21. He was drafted as a project and of all the Jets have gotten wrong, I think they're getting it right with his development. In ye olden days a Hackenberg type probably wouldn't see a field for 3-4 years. Of course in todays NFL he'll likely be on the field by next year but I see no reason to throw him out there behind a line that got Bryce Petty hurt in multiple weeks. Plus Geno Smith got hurt earlier in the year, not on a brutal hit but evading pressure due to a porous line. The Jets have stated Hackenberg will be redshirted in year one and they've stuck to it, and they've seen progress (supposedly) in practice

Fitzpatrick is an up and down journeyman backup, but well liked among the team. He should be starting this game and he is.

If Hackenberg ever gets it he will be a very good pro QB. He has an absolute rocket arm and has shown an ability to read defenses. His mechanics are poor, he's slow of foot. If you look at his Penn State highlights some throws legitimately look like Dan Marino gunning laser beam completions into tight windows that he saw open up. Other throws make it look like he's shot putting a bowling ball. He's truly one of the more perplexing case studies I've ever seen in terms of QB's.

[sheajets]

If I was a Bills fan, then I would have thoughts of moving on to try to prevent an ulcer and whatnot.
I am a Jets fan and have thoughts of moving on to try to prevent an ulcer and whatnot.

I think, and maybe I am wrong, that E.J. Manuel's contract ends after this season.
I know that Ryan Fitzpatrick's contract ends after this season.
There is no reason either one of those guys should start the 1/1/17 game unless his team is seriously contemplating resigning him for 2017.

I don't watch every Buffalo game but I think Tyrod Taylor is better than Manuel. Sure, Taylor is not great but maybe he needs some better coaching. He seems capable enough to start in the NFL to me. Maybe I am a moron, though.

The Jets drafted Christian Hackenberg. Apparently, he cannot hack it. There is no other reason such a guy should not get to start the season finale. I understand he is mechanically deficient but I think he is athletic enough to hand off the ball 50 or so times on Sunday. The Jets ran the ball most of the night when they played the Dolphins in 2014. They could go all the way on Sunday and have every offensive snap be a run. That would be better than letting soon-to-be-gone Fitzpatrick play.

Should I be stunned that these two clown teams would start Manuel and Fitzpatrick? I guess I really should not be.

Anyone else so sick of their favorite team that you are thinking of jumping on some bandwagon or giving up following the sport altogether?

As a New Yorker you still have the Giants to root for this year.

I may have to convert.

You won't

You can't. They've got you.

[JWL]

In the Jets defense Hackenberg is incredibly young, an NFL baby at 21. He was drafted as a project and of all the Jets have gotten wrong, I think they're getting it right with his development. In ye olden days a Hackenberg type probably wouldn't see a field for 3-4 years. Of course in todays NFL he'll likely be on the field by next year but I see no reason to throw him out there behind a line that got Bryce Petty hurt in multiple weeks. Plus Geno Smith got hurt earlier in the year, not on a brutal hit but evading pressure due to a porous line. The Jets have stated Hackenberg will be redshirted in year one and they've stuck to it, and they've seen progress (supposedly) in practice

In this current NFL environment with free agency and a salary cap, Hackenberg cannot wear street clothes and hold tablets for long. One year- fine. Two years? I don't know. Daunte Culpepper and Carson Palmer each had a redshirt year. Philip Rivers sat for a couple seasons because Drew Brees started to figure things out and could not be benched. Chad Pennington sat for two years because Herman Edwards was silly. I have always contended that the Jets could have won the 2001 AFC East if Pennington wasn't wasting away on the bench. Edwards was a very conservative coach. He was too scared to even make the move in Pennington's 3rd year and only went to him after the Jets stopped winning in spite of Testaverde.

I am not totally sure, but I think I saw that Cardale Jones did not drop dead after playing yesterday. The Jets began the 4th quarter with a 20-3 lead. Hackenberg couldn't come in to hand off the ball a bunch in the final quarter and maybe throw two passes? Or maybe three? Instead, he'll have nothing on his stat line for 2016. Maybe pro-football-reference will put "mechanical deficiencies" or "coach's decision" on it. In the grand scheme of things, it would have made no difference had Hackenberg played in the 4th quarter but I sure would have loved to have seen it. Maybe it only means something to me but I dislike it when a guy is healthy and did not even get to play one play the entire season.

Sometime between when I made this thread and before yesterday's game, I came to realize the Jets best course of action would be to keep Todd Bowles for 2017 with orders that Bryce Petty, Christian Hackenberg or a quarterback from the 2017 draft must be the starter in Week 1. It would be a major blunder to get Tony Romo, Mike Glennon, Jay Cutler or any other veteran. Even a proven fixer-upper coach like Bill Parcells or Jim Harbaugh could not possibly make the Jets be good in 2017. There is no hope. 2017 should be about developing the young quarterbacks and seeing if Bowles can coach and handle a locker room. If it all sucks, then goodbye to Bowles and hello to a quarterback drafted at the top of the 2018 draft. I am now embracing the awfulness.

[JohnH19]

Mike Glennon is a young guy. Whether he's worth going after isn't for me to say.

[MIKEBENNIDICT]

If I was a Bills fan, then I would have thoughts of moving on to try to prevent an ulcer and whatnot.
I am a Jets fan and have thoughts of moving on to try to prevent an ulcer and whatnot.

I think, and maybe I am wrong, that E.J. Manuel's contract ends after this season.
I know that Ryan Fitzpatrick's contract ends after this season.
There is no reason either one of those guys should start the 1/1/17 game unless his team is seriously contemplating resigning him for 2017.

I don't watch every Buffalo game but I think Tyrod Taylor is better than Manuel. Sure, Taylor is not great but maybe he needs some better coaching. He seems capable enough to start in the NFL to me. Maybe I am a moron, though.

The Jets drafted Christian Hackenberg. Apparently, he cannot hack it. There is no other reason such a guy should not get to start the season finale. I understand he is mechanically deficient but I think he is athletic enough to hand off the ball 50 or so times on Sunday. The Jets ran the ball most of the night when they played the Dolphins in 2014. They could go all the way on Sunday and have every offensive snap be a run. That would be better than letting soon-to-be-gone Fitzpatrick play.

Should I be stunned that these two clown teams would start Manuel and Fitzpatrick? I guess I really should not be.

Anyone else so sick of their favorite team that you are thinking of jumping on some bandwagon or giving up following the sport altogether?

Nope.