7 months ago today, the Jets were 7-7 and down 9-0 against a Colts team that was playing a glorified scrimmage. Even then, it took a kickoff return TD and Painter strip sack TD to get the Jets the win.
If there was a power ranking after the 1st quarter of that game, the Jets would have likely been in the 20's. In the 7 months since then, the Jets have played 4 games (plus 3 quarters), beating the Painter-led Colts, the Bengals twice and the Chargers. In those 7 months, the Jets have lost players (Jones, Faneca, Washington, Sheppard, Rhodes) and gained players (LdT, Cromartie, Pool, Holmes, Jenkins plus draft). You can argue if they are better or worse but they haven't materially changed the makeup of the team.
Can anyone explain how the Jets have jumped 20+ teams in the last 7 months, going 2-1 in games where the opposition was trying to win? Seems to me that the whole argument is built on Sanchez (offseason surgery with recovery time nearly equivalent to Welker) making a huge leap forward. If Sanchez becomes a top 10 QB, the Jets make the playoffs and contend for the division. If not, the Jets are a 0.500 team looking for charity in December.
