Chris Simms on the New York Jets: 'It is the worst roster in football and it isn’t even close'
Former NFL quarterback Chris Simms thinks that the New York Jets struggles this year goes well-beyond head coach Adam Gase and recent decisions. He cites the decision to hire Mike Maccagnan as general manager in 2015 as a tipping point in the franchise’s direction.
Certainly don’t count Simms among those ready to defend Maccagnan, who was fired by the Jets last summer following the NFL Draft. The Jets brought in Joe Douglas from the Philadelphia Eagles as his replacement.
Appearing on the ‘Moose & Maggie’ show on Tuesday with hosts Marc Malusis and Maggie Gray, Simms told the WFAN duo that the direction of the franchise has been trending downwards since the hire of Maccagnan and doesn’t fall all on embattled head coach Adam Gase.
“It is to a degree, I will say and I said this before the year, it is an indictment one everything. It’s an indictment on the owner for hiring Maccagnan as the GM before this. That’s the No. 1 issue,” Simms said on WFAN.
“Maccagnan was going to get fired in Houston and the Jets made him a GM. He wasn’t going to keep his job in Houston. And why? Because we trusted Charley Casserly to find the GM who is friends with Maccagnan. So there’s issues all across the board with the Jets.”
Simms is an analyst for NBC Sports Network.
In the current Jets, however, Simms found plenty to talk about. The personnel is substandard, he said, on both sides of the ball.
In July, the Jets traded safety Jamal Adams, the team’s only All-Pro selection a year ago.
Adams was much more than a safety in coordinator Gregg Williams defense. He was turned into a defensive weapon with 6.5 sacks. The loss of Adams coupled with their still being rebuilt defense is a major issue.
“Who the hell is really worth a damn on the Jets defense? So we can go to that side. Man, we can’t rush the passer, we can only get after the passer when we blitz, oh but oh damn we don’t have anybody that can play man-to-man on the backend so it is hard to blitz and we can’t cover anybody,” Simms said.
“They’re really screwed from that standpoint, they really are. I’m worth you, I want more too. I think you’re right [Marc]. The Jets are the worst team in football and I don’t even think that’s close. It is the worst roster in football and it isn’t even close.”
