Fixing the Jets

With one week left in the season, the Jets playoff chances look very slim. Whether or not they make the playoffs, it is obvious that there are major changes that they need to make. Here are the following things that the Jets need to change:

1) Hire a new Offensive Coordinator

It is apparent by now that Brian Schottenheimer is a horrible coach. We have seen him fail to coach QBs time after time. It happened with Chad Pennington, it happened with Brett Favre, it happened with Mark Sanchez, and yes, it even happened with Drew Brees (in San Diego). The year that Drew Brees left the Chargers for the Saints, was the year when he started on his way into being an elite QB. Who do we hire? I'm not sure yet, but there is speculation that Norv Turner may get fired from the Chargers, and I wouldn't mind having him here.

2) Rex needs to call Defensive Plays again

This is something that has been less heard on this site, but it needs to happen. Schottenheimer calls the Offensive plays, and now Pettine calls the Defensive plays. So what exactly does Rex Ryan do? If we want to see a dominant Rex Ryan defense again, much like we had in 2009, and some in 2010, then Rex needs to take control of the Defensive Playcalling again. While this defense has been good this year, it hasn't even touched what the past 2 defenses had done. Yes, some of this may be due to a lack of personel, but Rex Ryan not calling the plays is definitely a big reason in the drop of production from this unit.

3) Woody Johnson needs to bribe a team to hire Eric Mangini, and Schotty next year.

This would be very helpful in both making that team inept offensively, and in allowing us to get rid of our horrible players and get something good in return. Eric Mangini would probably give us two 1st round picks for Wayne Hunter and Eric Smith, which would be great, because they should either not be here at all next year, or should be backups. Wayne Hunter has been absolutely horrible, and has given up the second most sacks by an offensive lineman this year. Eric Smith has also been horrible, single handedly costing us the Broncos game, taking a horrible angle on the Cruz touchdown, and really just not doing his job all year long. Something needs to be done, because neither of them are starting caliber.

4) Keep Mark Sanchez

Here is my nightmare: Much like the Chargers did with Drew Brees, the Jets trade Mark Sanchez to another team, while keeping Brian Schottenheimer, only to see that Mark Sanchez turns out to be a great QB. It's very possible. He's shown flashes of brilliance, and I think with the right coaching, he will develop into a great QB. We need to fire Schotty, and allow Sanchez to spend an offseason and year with a good Offensive Coordinator to see how he progresses. At the end of next year, that is when the Jets should assess his future with the team; not now.

5) Pick up a pass rusher; right tackle; safeties; and a wide receiver

These are our biggest glaring weaknesses this year, and they need to be fixed. This draft has a lot of good pass rushers so it should be easy to find one. This way, next year, Maybin can bulk up and have a good pass rusher opposite of him. We can also draft a right tackle. We could pick up a safety in free agency such as Michael Griffin or LaRon Landry. We should bring Braylon Back, as he and Mark Sanchez had good chemistry, and he served as a good deep threat, plus he can probably be had for cheap.

6) Make a blockbuster trade

One thing different about this past offseason that was different then the others, is that it seems like the Jets didn't do anything to improve. In year's past, the Jets had made big moves, improving their team. However, this past year, they did not do that, and this season is the result of that.

7) Keep Aaron Maybin and work with him this offseason

Aaron Maybin has shown great flashes this year, and Rex Ryan has the ability to develop him into an even better player. He can hopefully bulk up in the offseason, making him even harder to block.

If we make these changes, we should be back on track as a franchise.