New York Jets Season 2013 Review

Read how the New York Jets did in the NFL season 2013. If you are looking for more recent games, click here to find reviews of New York Jets games in 2014.

The New York Jets began the 2013 NFL season with a lot of critics who predicted that the Jets would, in the long run, have bad results. John Idzik, the new GM, took over an organization which was in flux following the circus made by Mike Tannenbaum. Even before the season began, it was quite clear to Rex Ryan that a bad 2013 season would mark the end of his tenure serving as the Jets’ head coach. In 2012, they were 6-10, last in turnovers and 30th in total offense.

The offseason barely showed any signs of major improvement on the Jets’ side during which they traded away Darrele Revis, their best cornerback and player, to the Tampa Buccaneers. Upon onset of the 2013 NFL Draft, the New York Jets made some changes. Two defensive players were drafted with two first round picks and had quarterback Geno Smith selected in the second round. They also managed to acquire Chris Ivory from New Orleans Saints. The Jets continued to receive more criticism even after the draft. There were high expectations that they would make use of the draft to improve their offense which did not have playmaking ability.

Rex made entry to the training camp having a quarterback battle at hand. He knew very well that the quarterback he would choose would have affected the fate of his tenure. He decided to let Mark Sanchez play in the 4th quarter in their third preseason match. Sanchez was however, knocked out and had to undergo surgery. This automatically made Geno Smith be named as their starter. This fueled up more criticism and negative predictions from experts who viewed Sanchez as a rookie. Speculations and signs that Rex Ryan would not complete the season as the head coach became the usual talk. The experts claimed that the Jets would be the worst team in NFL.

People ignored the fact that the Jets had a strong team of leaders on the roster who stood behind Ryan. Despite the many injuries to the offensive side, the Jets began their season by a 5-4 start defeating Atlanta, the Saints and the Patriots. They enjoyed an outstanding defense in the first half of the year. Though Geno was inconsistent, he made plays late in games leading to several wins for the Jets. This stunning performance subsided after the bye week by losing three consecutive games and having a pathetic offense. It seemed like Ryan was slowly making his exit from the head coach position.

They Jets showed much intense and improvement in their last four games. They ultimately rescued Ryan from being on the verge of getting fired by winning 3 of their last 4 matches. All players stepped up their efforts with Smith showing maturity and development signs. The Jets completed the 2013 season 8-8 and proved all the critics wrong. Muhammad Wilkerson, Sheldon Richardson, Quinton Coples and Dee Milliner displayed significant development and summed up a great defense. Smith turned out not to be the so called rookie and Ryan managed to secure another spell with the New York Jets.