I wish I could just post a vitriolic, expletive-laced rant that the Jets really deserve. But I'll eschew that for a more in-depth analysis of what went wrong this season and what changes must be made for the Jets to be better heading into next season.
Mangini has been fired. Fine. I can't really question Woody Johnson for firing him after the Jets' collapse, Mangini was blamed disproportionately for the Jets' meltdown. I think Mangini was hamstrung greatly by the play of his quarterback. The best thing about the firing is that Sutton and Schottenheimer are gone.
The real problem (besides the Qb, which I'll get to) is that the Jets so obviously suffer from improper personnel. This is probably the fault of Mangini and GM Mike Tannenbaum (who should not escape from this unscathed and uncriticized). Mangini wanted to come to the Jets and implement the 3-4 defensive scheme that was run by Belichick in New England. He and Tannenbaum have had three years to implement this defense and find the right parts for it. Sadly, the Jets' 3-4 is a far cry from the Steelers' and the Ravens'. The problem here is not coaching, but personnel. The crux of the 3-4 defense, which is exemplified by the Steelers, Ravens and the Patriots (before the LBs got really old) is a front three that can occupy 4-5 offensive linemen on every play. The 3-4 linemen must be big, strong, and athletic enough to occupy two gaps of the O-line. If they can successfully do this, it frees up the LBs (the true playmakers in a 3-4) to get through the gaps and either stop the run or sack the quarterback (this is why James Harrison, Lamar Woodley, Ray Lewis and Mike Vrabel (before he got old) get the stats and the pub--because guys like Haloti Ngata and Vince Wilfork open up lanes for them to wreak havoc. It helps if the front three can create pressure by themselves and if the LBs can take on a lineman and win that battle every so often (which a star like Shawne Merriman can do at times). The Jets really have only one guy who should be a 3-4 linemen, and it's Kris Jenkins. He was unbelievable at blowing up run plays and collapsing the pocket while being double- and triple-teamed. And Jenkins, with no help, fizzled and was really ineffective down the stretch. But the DEs for the Jets, Shaun Ellis and Kenyon Coleman, are terrible. They are too small, weak and slow to play DE in the 3-4. They were pretty much invisible for the whole season. Sure, Ellis could pick up a sack every once in a while, but they were usually the result not of his dynamic play, but of solid coverage downfield and broken-down plays. Ellis and Coleman, and their back-ups, cannot even play the run well. In fact, the basic problem with the DEs is that they can be handled, and handled with minimal difficulty, by just one lineman. When this happens, Pace, Harris and Thomas will be picked up by TEs and OLs and they will not be able to shoot through to the QB. So the Jets, if they want to stay 3-4, must get DEs that are much stronger than the ones they have now.
The LBs are not terrible, but the Jets really need a big-play LB. Thomas, Harris and Pace are all adequate, but one of them has to develop into a destructive force. And all should work on pass-coverage. The NFL is a pass-happy league, and crossing patterns must be better defensed by the Jets LBs. Barton should be out. He's useless, and he's a complete idiot.
The secondary was shredded all year. I wish Rhodes could become like Reed and Polamalu, but never will be if he's stuck playing help defense 15-20 yards off the line of scrimmage. The fear of the deep ball is not irrational, but you cannot let it pervade your every defensive scheme. The Jets need better cover corners (though Revis and Lowery will both be better next season) but Rhodes should be given more chances to come to the line and play the run or blitz.
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