Haason Reddick's strike was the main topic of conversation when Jets general manager Joe Douglas spoke to the media on Thursday, but Douglas also mentioned something important during his 19-minute press conference.
“We're past the development stage,” Douglas said of the Jets in 2024. “I feel like this team is ready to win.”
That may not seem like a big deal, but the Jets have long been afraid to actually talk about winning. Coming into recent seasons, there was a lot of talk about improvement and growth, but not much about actually winning.
But the Jets are heading into the 2024 season with confidence and expectation, two things that have been lacking for the past decade. Talk to any player and they will tell you this is the best team they have ever been a part of. There is a lot of confidence expressed in this team, both privately and publicly. You have to go back more than a decade to find a Jets roster that can compare to this.
So how should the Jets define success in 2024? Making the playoffs seems like the bottom line of expectation. Is that enough to end a 13-year streak without a playoff appearance? Do the Jets have to win a playoff game? Go to the Super Bowl? Win the Super Bowl?
Everyone around the Jets knows how this season will play out: If it doesn't work out, Douglas and head coach Robert Saleh will likely be fired, and if Aaron Rodgers' experiment fails, he'll either retire in 2025 or look to win a title elsewhere.
That part is easy to define, but what constitutes a successful season is not so easy to define.
To me, making the playoffs would be a successful year for the Jets. I don't care how it ends. If they go 10-7 and win the final week to get in, that's fine. Even if they lose in the first round, I still think it's a positive step for a team that has had more coaching searches in January than playoff games in recent years.
I also think it might be the first hurdle they have to overcome on their way to bigger goals in 2025. Going from runner-up to the Super Bowl in one year is no easy feat. Looking at the last 10 Super Bowls and the 20 teams that have participated, only five teams that missed the playoffs went on to play in the Super Bowl the following season, and only two of those teams actually hoisted the Lombardi Trophy.
Perhaps the Jets' most promising comparison is the 2020 Buccaneers, who won a championship the year after Tom Brady turned the team around after going 7-9 in 2019. Rodgers has technically been with the Jets for 16 months, but he missed all but four games last year and feels like a new recruit.
Rodgers has had a great training camp, and while there's no guarantee he'll have a great season, it gives the Jets reason to be hopeful.
Even if the Jets make the playoffs and lose, they could still call this season a failure. Rodgers turns 41 in December. Time will catch up with him at some point. Key players Tyron Smith, Morgan Moses, Mike Williams, DJ Reed, Tyler Conklin and Michael Carter II are all in the final years of their contracts.
I understand that sentiment, but if the Jets have a successful season, I think owner Woody Johnson will give Douglas permission to bring back a number of players in 2025 and spend money to strengthen the team.
When evaluating what success looks like this year, there are variables to how the season will unfold. Often times, the way a season is viewed isn’t defined until how it ends. Late-season collapses tend to feel like failures, even if they make the playoffs. Just ask the 2023 Eagles. When a team makes the playoffs on a winning streak in December, even if they lose in the postseason, it often feels like something to build on. If the Jets start 5-5 and then win six of their final seven games, there will be a lot of discussion about building something for 2025, even if they lose in the divisional round.
We'll have to wait and see how the season unfolds to see what success looks like for the Jets in 2024. Expectations are finally high for One Jets Drive. Now, let's see if they can live up to expectations.
