If the New York Jets are due for a complete franchise turnaround, this is the year it begins. The Jets traded up to the third pick in the NFL Draft and watched USC quarterback Sam Darnold fall right to them. While Darnold wasn’t my top quarterback (and maybe he wasn’t the Jets’ either), he was atop plenty of boards.
Still, this is a team in transition that over-achieved last season with a 5-11 record. This was a squad that looked like it had tanked the year before it even began. Head coach Todd Bowles had other ideas and earned himself a contract extension in the process.
Will it result in a better record this year? Here’s the odds BetDSI Sportsbook is offering.
New York Jets 2018-19 Regular Season Win Total
Over 5.5 (-110)
Under 5.5 (-120)
While New York made a pick for the future in Darnold, it probably won’t help a lot in the present. The fact is, the longer that the rookie QB out of USC stays on the bench, the more likely the Jets are to win games. The only problem is, wins this year will be pretty much worthless. They need Darnold to play and learn.
Unless Darnold can beat out Josh McCown in the preseason, and he might, Josh McCown will be the starter. Under McCown, the Jets won five games last year, at least four games more than they should have.
Whether it’s McCown or Darnold (or Teddy Bridgewater, for that matter), none of these guys have any elite weapons to work with. Jermaine Kearse is a decent wideout, but has no significant help in getting open from Quincy Enunwa and Robby Anderson. Both those guys would be fine slot or Nos. 3, but neither are a one or two.
The Jets have loaded up at running back with cast-offs from other teams. Bilal Powell is still probably the most talented guy in the backfield, but he’ll have to fend of Isaiah Crowell and Thomas Rawls. Points are going to be at a premium in New York.
Defense is the strength of this team and they’ve added key pieces. Trumaine Johnson joins a defensive backfield that already had Morris Claiborne, Jamal Adams, Marcus Maye and Buster Skrine. The Jets will be weaker up from with the loss of Muhammad Wilkerson, but are solid at linebacker.
The problem, of course, is the Jets’ schedule and it is a monster. In their first eight games, they face off against the Detroit Lions, Miami Dolphins, Cleveland Browns, Jacksonville Jaguars, Denver Broncos, Indianapolis Colts, Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears.
There are only two games there I would give New York a chance in hell of winning; the Browns and the Bears. Neither is a sure thing. That means if you bet the over, you must see them winning those games, at least, and picking up four more either from that first group of games or the second half of the season. The teams they’ll face there? The Dolphins again, the Buffalo Bills twice, the New England Patriots twice, the Houston Texans and the Green Bay Packers.
I just don’t see six wins there. Frankly, I don’t see five. I think the under is the way to go here.
