{"id":38021,"date":"2017-11-20T10:43:30","date_gmt":"2017-11-20T14:43:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jetnation.com\/?p=38021"},"modified":"2017-11-21T00:58:36","modified_gmt":"2017-11-21T04:58:36","slug":"new-york-jets-unknown-makes-for-murky-bowlesmaccagnan-analysis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/2017\/11\/20\/new-york-jets-unknown-makes-for-murky-bowlesmaccagnan-analysis\/","title":{"rendered":"Plenty of Unknowns Make Bowles\/Maccagnan Analysis Murky"},"content":{"rendered":"

National writers do it.\u00a0 Beat writers to it. Wannabe beat writers (aka bloggers) do it.\u00a0 Fans, from the die-hard to the casual part-timer does it.\u00a0 We criticize and second-guess players, coaches, and executives based on hindsight, personal bias and a lack of willingness to simply say “I got it wrong” or to say a guy you dislike “got it right”.<\/p>\n

Jets head coach Todd Bowles and GM Mike Maccagnan are no different, and here’s a list of some of Gang Green’s most pressing issues with what we do know, what we don’t know, what we sort of know and why it matters.<\/p>\n

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Jets fans appear to be torn on whether or not the team should turn to Bryce Petty.<\/p><\/div>\n

Starting Quarterback:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

What we know:\u00a0<\/strong>Despite a strong pre-season, Bowles passed on Bryce Petty in favor of veteran journeyman Josh McCown to start.\u00a0 He has played well, but is clearly only around for a season or two.\u00a0 Christian Hackenberg was given more work than any quarterback on the roster in the pre-season but was an unmitigated disaster.\u00a0 Sitting at 4-6, many fans view the Jets’ season as a waste as there won’t be any extensive look at the young quarterbacks and Bowles says he can’t envision a scenario in which he makes a change<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

What we don’t know:\u00a0<\/strong>This is the single-most important factor in analyzing Bowles’ decison, and it comes down to ownership.\u00a0 Woody Johnson, the team’s true owner, is spending his days at Winfield House<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0nowadays, while his brother Christopher takes the reigns for the next few seasons.\u00a0 Has either owner assured Bowles that he will return as long as the team stays competitive?\u00a0 If not, you can’t blame Bowles for this decision.\u00a0 In his mind, if he is legitimately fighting for his job, he’s not going to put it in the hands of a project quarterback.<\/p>\n

What we “kind of” know:\u00a0<\/strong>Before the start of the season, Woody Johnson said that he didn’t want fans to base the success of 2017 on wins and losses<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>A logical conclusion to such a statement would be that as long as the team isn’t a total embarrassment, Bowles’ job is safe.\u00a0 If that’s the case, and the only expectation from ownership is overall effort and improvement, there’s little excuse for Bowles to refuse to give Petty or Hackenberg a look.<\/p>\n

Pending Free Agents:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

What we know:\u00a0<\/strong>Two of the team’s most pleasant surprises this season have been tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins and defensive lineman Kony Ealy.\u00a0 Both are due to hit free agency at season’s end.\u00a0 Fans have been calling for the duo to be re-signed for several weeks.<\/p>\n

What we don’t know:\u00a0<\/strong>Any number of scenarios could be in the works here but only the Jets top brass knows.\u00a0 It’s possible that numbers are being exchanged as we speak.\u00a0 It’s possible that deals have been agreed on in principle, pending a strong\/healthy finish to the 2017 season.\u00a0 It’s possible that the representatives for each player has refused to work on an in-season deal with an eye on driving up the price in free agency.\u00a0 Wanting both players to be signed long-term makes sense and there’s still plenty of time to get it done.\u00a0 Pretending to know how all sides are conducting business is just silly.<\/p>\n

Draft Day Targets:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

What we know:\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>Nothing.\u00a0 This front office is as tight-lipped as any in the NFL and despite some of the most credible sources in the league being consistently wrong about their intentions, some fans will continue to take the bait.\u00a0 Jets twitter looked like its own version of “The Trail of Tears” a few days ago when Matt Miller of Bleacher Report said that a league source told him that the Jets “love” Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen.<\/p>\n

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Just heard from a league source that the New York #Jets<\/a> love Josh Allen. Wyoming source told me they've done the most work on him.<\/p>\n

— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) November 16, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n