Return of the Green: A New York Jets Dynasty

[Funkycorm]

I will be taking over the head coaching job of the New York Jets. This is a team that is in desperate need of some love and care. There any many questions that need to be answered about where the Jets are going from here. Over this past offseason, many veteran players have been released and some have found new homes elsewhere. With question marks on both offense and defense, this team is in full on rebuild mode.

That’s where I come in. After spending 5 years at Northwestern turning them into a powerhouse in the Big Ten, this is a chance to rebuild an NFL team. There is no timeline to turn the Jets into a championship team. The Jets franchise holds one championship trophy from way back in Super Bowl III. I will rebuild this team from the ground up focusing on draft picks, smart trades, and quality free agent signings.

With multiple questions left to answer, the looming question is quarterback. Is the franchise quarterback of the future currently on this roster? No, I do not believe so and most analysts would agree. This along with a change in defensive scheme amongst other things and lack of depth all signify a long turn around process.

Housekeeping:
I made a late season attempt at a 49ers Dynasty for Madden 17 but time constraints and PS4 issues curtailed it and made it unreasonable to do. I am going to run this dynasty a lot like my Brooklyn Nets dynasty by trading for more draft picks and securing the future of the Jets.
I would like to maintain as much realism in this series as possible. I will be playing all games.

Settings:
System: PS4, Madden 18
Difficulty: All-Pro
Quarter length: 15 minutes, 16 second clock run down
Sliders: Default. I am keeping this at default because Madden 17 played the best on default in my sampling, Madden 18 is best on default as well.
Gamestyle: Simulation
Rosters: Current with pre-existing injuries off.

Relocation will be turned off. Coach firings will be turned off.

How I will update?

I will do one recap of the preseason, then I will cover each game of the season per post. I will be playing all games and simulating none. I will then cover the post season over multiple updates, including dedicated posts for the NFL Draft. I will also do an occasional article or press conference covering big team topics. I will be solely focusing on the Jets but will provide the occasional league update so everyone knows where the Jets stand. I will also be doing a quarterly review for the entire league.

Coach Profile:

Pierre Donaldson:

Coach Donaldson spent the last 5 seasons as Head Coach of the Northwestern Wildcats with this job with the Jets being his first gig in the NFL. Here is his full coaching history:

2012-2016: Head Coach, Northwestern Wildcats.
2010-2011: Offensive Coordinator, Florida Gators.
2009: QB Coach, Iowa Hawkeyes.
2006-2008: High School Head Coach.

Playbooks:

I call all my own plays with suggestions off. I play realistically and do not attempt to cheese the CPU on every 4th down or 2-point conversion. I typically user control a linebacker or safety on defense.

Offense: Arizona Cardinals.

Defense: 4-3. (Seattle Seahawks). I have run a 3-4 scheme in all my football games since 2013, including Maddens and NCAA 14. I am however deciding I want to change up that scheme this year and run a 4-3. This does mean I will have to convert the Jets front 7 to be more aligned with a 4-3 scheme.

Welcome to the thread!

Thanks for reading!

[Funkycorm]

2017 Preseason

Position Battles:

QB: With neither Bryce Petty or Christian Hackenberg being the solution to quarterback, we decided to roll with Josh McCown as the week 1 starting quarterback.

There were position battles for MLB, WR2, and KR/PR. These battles were decided by week 3 of the preseason. Outside of the MLB battle that has ramifications I mention later in this post, none of these battles were significantly close and could not be construed very easily as battles.

Preseason Games:

Week 1: vs. Titans L 27-19
Week 2: at Lions L 40-7
Week 3: at Giants L 33-16
Week 4: vs. Eagles L 17-16

Takeaways from Preseason:

The offense struggled to move the ball effectively through the air and were not able to put up at least 20 points even once. The running game met with some success, but struggled against better defensive lines. Our front 7 struggled to get pressure on opposing quarterbacks. The defense played well at times but also felt like an open door to opposing offenses.

Cuts:

HB Jordan Todman (66), HB Brandon Wilds (68), WR Myles White (62), WR Frankie Hammond (63), WR KD Cannon (64), WR Devin Street (65), TE Tanner Purdum (46), TE Erik Tomlinson (59), LG Ben Braden (68), RG Alex Balducci (67), RG Craig Watts (67), LE Anthony Johnson (66), LOLB Freddie Bishop (66), ROLB Dylan Donahue (69), MLB Julian Stanford (66), CB Derrick Jones (64), CB Jeremy Clark (65), CB Dexter McDougle (67), FS Ronald Martin Jr. (63), SS Doug Middleton (62)

Trades:

With the change to a 4-3 scheme, we were not in need of 4 decent MLBs on the team. We made 2 moves to help our future and get something in return, instead of having to cut players.

First, we traded MLB Demario Davis (77) and a 2018 7th round pick to New Orleans for a 2019 2nd round pick. Our other trade was MLB Spencer Paysinger (74) to Oakland for a 2018 4th round pick.

These trades allowed us to move on from players we did not need but also gained us a net total of a draft pick.

Signing:

We signed DT Andre Fluellen (74) to a 1-year deal to bolster our DT numbers now that we are a 4-3 defense.

Practice Squad Assignments:

QB Cardale Jones (68), HB Marlon Mack (72), WR Chad Williams (72), RG Danny Isidora (70), LE Tyrone Holmes (72), DT Larry Ogunjobi (75), RE Daeshon Hall (72), CB Cameron Sutton (70), K Robert Aguayo (71), ROLB Alex Anzalone

Thanks for reading!

[Funkycorm]

2017 Roster and Depth Chart

2017 Roster:

2017 New York Jets
#	OFFENSE	POS	AGE	HT	WT	COLLEGE
15	Josh McCown (74)	QB	38	6'4"	218	Sam Houston
9	Bryce Petty (70)	QB	26	6'3"	230	Baylor
5	Christian Hackenberg (68)	QB	22	6'4"	228	Penn State
22	Matt Forte (86)	HB	31	6'2"	218	Tulane
29	Bilal Powell (82)	HB	28	5'10"	204	Louisville
35	Elijah McGuire (R) (71)	HB	23	5'10"	214	UL Lafayette
43	Julian Howsare (66)	FB	24	6'3"	255	Clarion
81	Quincy Enunwa (81)	WR	25	6'2"	225	Nebraska
11	Robby Anderson (76)	WR	24	6'3"	190	Temple
18	ArDurius Stewart (R) (75)	WR	23	5'11"	204	Alabama
19	Devin Smith (71)	WR	25	6'1"	199	Ohio State
89	Jalin Marshall (71)	WR	23	5'10"	200	Ohio State
6	Chad Hansen (R) (70)	WR	23	6'2"	202	California
17	Charone Peake (67)	WR	24	6'2"	209	Clemson
88	Austin Sefarian-Jenkins (77)	TE	24	6'5"	262	Washington
49	Jordan Leggett (R) (73)	TE	22	6'5"	258	Clemson
82	Brian Parker (65)	TE	25	6'4"	265	Albany
68	Kelvin Beachum (78)	LT	28	6'3"	308	SMU
71	Ben Ijalana (70)	LT	28	6'4"	322	Villanova
77	James Carpenter (83)	LG	28	6'5"	321	Alabama
63	Jeff Adams (74)	LG	27	6'7"	305	Columbia
76	Wesley Johnson (74)	C	26	6'5"	297	Vanderbilt
78	Jonotthan Harrison (74)	C	26	6'4"	300	Florida
67	Brian Winters (79)	RG	26	6'4"	320	Kent State
70	Dakota Dozier (75)	RG	26	6'4"	313	Furman
72	Brandon Shell (72)	RT	25	6'5"	324	South Carolina
79	Brent Qvale (70)	RT	26	6'7"	315	Nebraska
#	DEFENSE	POS	AGE	HT	WT	COLLEGE
92	Leonard Williams (88)	LE	23	6'5"	302	USC
97	Lawrence Thomas (66)	LE	24	6'3"	286	Michigan State
96	Muhammad Wilkerson (83)	RE	27	6'4"	315	Temple
98	Mike Pennel (72)	RE	26	6'4"	332	CSU-Pueblo
91	Sheldon Richardson (88)	DT	26	6'3"	294	Missouri
99	Steve McLendon (78)	DT	31	6'3"	310	Troy
90	Andre Fluellen (74)	DT	32	6'2"	302	Florida State
93	Deon Simon (72)	DT	27	6'4"	332	Northwestern State
48	Jordan Jenkins (73)	LOLB	23	6'3"	254	Georgia
44	Corey Lemonier (70)	LOLB	25	6'3"	255	Auburn
54	Bruce Carter (75)	MLB	29	6'2"	240	North Carolina
50	Darron Lee (74)	MLB	22	6'1"	232	Ohio State
55	Lorenzo Mauldin IV (74)	ROLB	24	6'4"	259	Louisville
95	Josh Martin (72)	ROLB	25	6'3"	245	Columbia
21	Morris Claiborne (78)	CB	27	5'11"	192	LSU
41	Buster Skrine (75)	CB	28	5'9"	185	Tennessee-Chat.
20	Marcus Williams (74)	CB	26	5'11"	196	North Dakota State
39	Corey White (72)	CB	27	6'1"	210	Samford
32	Justin Burris (70)	CB	24	6'0"	212	NC State
27	Darryl Roberts (69)	CB	26	6'0"	182	Marshall
26	Marcus Maye (R) (74)	FS	24	6'0"	207	Florida
45	Ronzel Miles (72)	FS	28	6'0"	202	California (PA)
33	Jamal Adams (R) (83)	SS	22	6'1"	213	LSU
25	Shamarko Thomas (69)	SS	26	5'9"	205	Syracuse
#	SPECIAL TEAMS	POS	AGE	HT	WT	COLLEGE
7	Chandler Catanzaro (73)	K	26	6'3"	200	Clemson
4	Lachlar Edwards (69)	P	25	6'4"	209	Sam Houston

2017 Depth Chart:

New York Jets Depth Chart - 2017
Regular Offense
	STARTER	2ND	3RD	4TH
WR	Quincy Enunwa	ArDurius Stewart	Jalin Marshall	Charone Peake
TE	Austin Sefarian-Jenkins	Jordan Leggett	Brian Parker
LT	Kelvin Beachum	Ben Ijalana
LG	James Carpenter	Jeff Adams
C	Wesley Johnson	Jonotthan Harrison
RG	Brian Winters	Dakota Dozier
RT	Brandon Shell	Brent Qvale
WR	Robby Anderson	Devin Smith	Chad Hansen
QB	Josh McCown	Bryce Petty	Christian Hackenberg
FB	Julian Howsare
HB	Matt Forte	Bilal Powell	Elijah McGuire
Base 4-3 Defense
	STARTER	2ND	3RD	4TH
LDE	Leonard Williams	Lawrence Thomas
LDT	Sheldon Richardson	Andre Fluellen
RDT	Steve McLendon	Dean Simon
RDE	Muhammad Wilkerson	Mike Pennel
WLB	Jordan Jenkins	Corey Lemonier
MLB	Darron Lee	Bruce Carter
SLB	Lorenzo Mauldin IV	Josh Martin
CB	Morris Claiborne	Marcus Williams	Justin Burris
SS	Jamal Adams	Shamarko Thomas
FS	Marcus Maye	Rontez Miles
CB	Buster Skrine	Corey White	Darryl Roberts
Special Teams
	STARTER	2ND	3RD	4TH
K	Chandler Catanzaro
P	Lachlar Edwards
PR	Jalin Marshall	ArDurius Stewart
KR	Jalin Marshall	ArDurius Stewart
LS	Jonotthan Harrison

Draft Picks:

2018: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 4th, 5th, 5th, 6th, 7th
2019: 1st, 2nd, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th 7th

[Funkycorm]

2017 Roster Assessment

QB: C+
HB: B+
FB: D
WR: B/C+
TE: C+
LT: B-
LG: B
C: C+
RG: B-
RT: C
LE: B-
DT: A-
RE: B+
LOLB: C
MLB: C+
ROLB: C
CB: B-/C+
FS: C+
SS: B
K: C
P: D


Offense:

Our offense is going to struggle. There is no doubt about this. We need a quarterback, a number 1 receiver, and improvement on the offensive line. We have a solid running back in Matt Forte now, but he will not be here long term, so that will still be a need in the future. Quincy Enunwa is a decent receiver, but time will tell if he could become a true number 1 receiver. Our offense struggled to move the ball effectively and put up points. Finding our quarterback and solidifying the offensive line are going to be priorities next offseason.

Defense:

Our defense is the strength of our team. Our defensive line will be going through some adjustments this year as we switch to a 4-3 defense. DT Sheldon Richardson is switching back to DT from ROLB. Our defense is young, and with Jamal Adams roaming the secondary, our defense will be much improved for years to come. What we need are edge rushers in our 4-3 scheme. The lack of edge rushers will make it hard for us to put pressure on opposing quarterbacks. Something we already saw during the preseason.

Thanks for reading!

[Funkycorm]

2017 Schedule

New York Jets 2017 Schedule
DATE	OPPONENT	RESULT
Sep 10	at Bills
Sep 17	at Raiders
Sep 24	vs Dolphins
Oct 1	vs Jaguars
Oct 8	at Browns
Oct 15	vs Patriots
Oct 22	at Dolphins
Oct 29	vs Falcons
Nov 2	vs Bills
Nov 12	at Buccaneers
Nov 26	vs Panthers
Dec 3	vs Chiefs
Dec 10	at Broncos
Dec 17	at Saints
Dec 24	vs Chargers
Dec 31	at Patriots

Record Prediction:
4-12, 4th in AFC East with a record of 1-5 in division. I think we can squeeze out 1 win against the Bills or Dolphins.

[Funkycorm]

Thank you! You may now post freely!

[GeneralMike]

I'm gonna be following this. I hadn't bought Madden in 6 years, but the Jets were definitely a team I was considering using for franchise mode.

[Funkycorm]

Quote: Originally Posted by GeneralMike

I'm gonna be following this. I hadn't bought Madden in 6 years, but the Jets were definitely a team I was considering using for franchise mode.

Thanks! Glad to hear it!

The season will be starting in a day or two. I have the first few games already played, just need to finish writing them up.