Ryan Fitzpatrick has a target on his back at the moment.
Media and fans want to point the finger at Fitzpatrick for the Jets losing four of their last five games because … the easiest thing to do is blame the quarterback, and the quickest fix is to switch quarterbacks.
But Fitzpatrick is not the problem with the 2015 Jets. He has not played well, but he was never supposed to be the answer for this team. Going back to the summer, this team was built to win with defense and a strong running game. The quarterback? He just had to stay out of the way and not lose games for the Jets, whether it was Fitzpatrick or the pre-punch Geno Smith.
The formula worked through the first five games. The Jets were gaining 146 yards per game on the ground with Chris Ivory near the top of the league leaders in rushing. On defense, the Jets allowed 269.2 yards per game and forced 15 turnovers as they opened the season 4-1.
Then, everything changed.
Over the past five games, the Jets have the fifth-worst rushing offense in the NFL, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, gaining just 78 yards per game. On defense, they are tied for 12th, allowing 376.8 yards per game. They have forced five turnovers in that stretch, four coming in the win over the Jaguars.
If the rushing game and defense are not working, Fitzpatrick has no chance. This team is set up to win without Fitzpatrick having to carry it. He showed early in the season he is a nice complementary piece, but he is what he is — a journeyman quarterback. This is not Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers, who can carry a team. But the Jets should not need him to carry them.
The mystery is what has happened to the two key areas the Jets are built around.
Let’s start with the run game.
Ivory put together two huge back-to-back games against the Dolphins (166 yards) and Redskins (146 yards), but those are the only two times this season he has cracked 100 yards (he had 99 against the Bills). On Sunday, he only carried the ball eight times for 36 yards.
The first question is: Is Ivory healthy? He had hamstring problems against the Patriots at the beginning of this bad run, but returned to practice that week, and the Jets say he is fine. Against the Texans, he banged his knee on the first play of the game but returned shortly after. Ivory has not looked like the same relentless runner he was early in the season, and that may be because he is hurting. On third-and-1 in the second quarter Sunday, he bounced the run outside and was tackled for no gain. No way that would’ve happened early in the season.
The other major issue has been the offensive line. That group has suffered with Willie Colon being lost for the season and Nick Mangold being in and out of the lineup with neck and hand injuries. Mangold may have proven he is the MVP of this team with how poorly the offense functions when he is out.
Offensive coordinator Chan Gailey also seems to get away from the run too quickly. The Jets have fallen behind early in all four of their recent losses, but only the Raiders game was out of control by halftime. There was no reason to abandon the run against the Texans (unless Ivory was injured worse than the Jets said).
A bigger concern may be the defense, which was expected to be one of the best in the league. Instead, it looks totally mediocre. The pass rush is nonexistent despite having a defensive line filled with first-round picks. The linebackers can’t cover me.
Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie look like a band from the 1960s on a reunion tour — the songs sort of sound the same, but not quite.
The Jets are not particularly good at tackling, coverage or preventing the big play. They have allowed 39 passes of 20 yards or more, tied for fourth-most in the league.
Jets coach Todd Bowles’ blitzing schemes that worked well early in the season are no longer effective. It is on Bowles to adjust and figure out a way to create a pass rush.
So, you can blame Fitzpatrick if you’d like. There’s plenty of ammo there. But let’s remember who was supposed to carry this team and how those units have stumbled in the past five weeks.