The New York Jets are quickly falling apart as the focus could begin to shift towards the future. The team is quickly falling out of playoff contention with the loss to the Houston Texans. The quarterback play is now coming into question as head coach Todd Bowles continues to criticize the wide receiver play for the Jets. So where does the team go from here?
Bowles has not been happy with his receivers all season. That has only been magnified by the struggles of Brandon Marshall who had two critical drops on Sunday. In an effort to not have the receiving game be a two-man show, the Jets are trying to give more playing time to Jeremy Kerley and Devin Smith which has not worked out. Smith dropped a ball in the endzone and promptly got an earful from Bowles who told the media that the rookie needs to grow up.
"Our rookies have to stop being rookies," said Bowles, referring to Smith via ESPN.com. "They need to grow up. They get paid like everybody else and they've got to start acting like they're not in college anymore."
The Jets drafted Smith in the second round with the idea that the receiver would be another go-to threat. Instead, his rookie season has been plagued by injuries and self-inflicted wounds. With the fall of Kerley along with Marshall in the second half of the season, the Jets might have to make an upgrade in the offseason with big names set to become available.
That could also happen with the quarterback position. The Jets clearly have no faith in Geno Smith and Bryce Petty to take over the starting role or Fitzpatrick would have been benched in Week 11. Bowles noted that the Jets will certainly put everything into evaluation this week in reference to naming a starting quarterback, but the belief is Fitzpatrick will retain the role for the season.
"Not at this time. We'll meet on all that stuff on Monday," Bowles said via ESPN.com. "I'm still committed to Ryan. I just don't think he played very well, just like a lot of other people on both sides of the ball."
According to the New York Post, Fitzpatrick is expected to start in Week 12 despite the coyness from Bowles. Fitzpatrick is playing on an expiring contract. Smith and Petty have yet to show they can handle the job in the future. With Colin Kaepernick and potentially Matthew Stafford available for trades according to NFL.com while Sam Bradford and Kirk Cousins become free agents, the Jets might once again look for outside help at the quarterback position.
