New York Jets Flight Connections 5/15/21

Good morning, Gang Green Nation! The big news in the last week was the release of the NFL schedule. The fact that this qualifies as big news reveals how we are smack in the middle of the dead season for the NFL. The release of the schedule is a non-event. We already knew all the Jets opponents and which games were home games and which were road games. The only thing revealed were the order, game times and the London trip, which mean close to nothing in the grand scheme of things.

Because it is the dead season, naturally we were flooded with game by game predictions once the schedule was released. A fool’s errand if ever there was one. Between now and the time games are played trades will be made. Players will be cut. Young players will emerge, and older players will decline. Players will be injured. Others will be suspended. New coaches, new coordinators and new schemes will emerge. Some will surprise to the upside, some to the downside. So much is unknown and unknowable at this point in the season that trying to predict who the Jets will beat and who they will lose to is just silly. Just about the only sure thing is that a handful of teams with top quarterbacks will be good. Even then, some may get hurt, others may just have an off year. We have no idea what the matchups will look like in September, October, November and December. And even if we know what the matchups will look like, there are always surprises. Geno Smith in his rookie year with a patchwork Jets roster beat Bill Belichick, Tom Brady and the mighty Patriots in 2013, and Geno outplayed Brady that day. Raise your hand if you saw that coming. Anyone?

Think about it. One year ago who here was predicting John Franklin-Myers would develop into a force on the interior defensive line? Who foresaw Chris Herndon completely forgetting how to catch a football? Who thought C.J. Mosley would miss the entire year, or Sam Darnold would regress so badly? Who thought the completely revamped offensive line would be more or less the equivalent of the awful offensive line that preceded it? Who thought Le’Veon Bell would be as bad as any running back on the roster and cut by midseason? Now ask yourself, if we can’t even anticipate so many crucial developments about our own team, how on earth can we predict what other teams, with whom we are likely far less familiar, will look like? Answer: we can’t. Which is why giving game by game predictions in May is such a fool’s errand.

Here are your links to the Jets this glorious Saturday in May:

Eric Allen, Ethan Greenberg and Randy Lange - What Is Your Favorite Game on The Jets’ 2021 Schedule?

Eric Allen - New York Jets 2021 Schedule Takeaways

Randy Lange - Inside the Numbers: Jets' 2021 Schedule Strength Is Favorable

Randy Lange - 2021 New York Jets Schedule: News, Storylines and Ticket Information for the 17-Game Schedule

DJ Bien-Aime II - NY Jets News, Scores, Rumors & Schedule

Max Goodman - Robert Saleh reacts to New York Jets facing Sam Darnold in Week 1

JetsFix - Saucy Nuggets from the Jets 2021 schedule

Tyler Greenawalt - 2021 NFL schedule: Jets tied for fewest nationally-televised games

Sam Neumann - Robert Saleh reacts to Jets’ Week 1 matchup with Sam Darnold, Panthers

Geoff Magliocchetti - New York Jets schedule: Why Week 2 looms particularly large

Geoff Magliocchetti - Facts and figures of the 2021 New York Jets schedule

Mason Smoller - NY Jets Schedule 2021: Game-by-game predictions

DJ Bien-Aime II - Jets 2021 Schedule: Game-by-game predictions

Justin Fried - NY Jets named 'best fit' for free-agent CB Steven Nelson

Justin Fried - NY Jets: Zach Wilson 'deserved to be the No. 1 pick'

Justin Fried - NY Jets: Talking with an Auburn expert about Jamien Sherwood

Justin Fried - NY Jets: Florida State expert talks about Hamsah Nasirildeen

Glenn Naughton - Jets add Running Back Austin Walter, Part Ways with Pete Guerriero

Tyler Greenawalt - Jets claim RB Austin Walter, waive RB Pete Guerriero

Sam Neumann - Jets unveil numbers for Zach Wilson, Alijah Vera-Tucker, Elijah Moore

Spencer Aber - Things to know about Jets’ undrafted free agent Grant Hermanns

Glenn Naughton - Jets Draft Strategy Suggests Marcus may not be in Future Plans

Here are your missed connections from yesterday.

Here’s the thread about nothing, why not stop by and say hello?

Enjoy the day everybody.