The Erratic New York Jets

After a hard fought victory at home against the New England Patriots, one of the National Football Leagues' premier teams, followed by an embarrassing defeat at the hands of the Cincinnati Bengals, I began to hear, read and see unusual comments about the Jets. The Jets responded by defeating another premier NFL team, the New Orleans Saints followed by consecutive losses to the Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens respectively. Here are just a few of those comments;

1. Where will the New York Jets' Roller Coaster End? by Erik Frenz, Bleacher Report
2. New York’s erratic offensive production in the last meeting between the Jets and Patriots highlighted the team’s lack of a go-to offensive weapon who could be counted on to move the ball down the field. By Matthew Jones, 'New England Patriots at New York Jets: Ten Keys to Week 7', New England Patriots Draft
3. Just when you thought that the New York Jets were ready to make a legitimate run at a playoff berth the team gets embarrassed by an organization with a losing record. 'Reality Bites Geno Smith, by Tyson Rauch, New York Jets' CBS New York.

The comments that resonated with me used the word erratic and the phrase roller coaster ride. So I began, yes – you guessed it, Contemplating! I thought about the phrase 'roller coaster ride' and it brought back memories of the Ohio Players Band; Oops. But my first thoughts were focused on the word erratic. For some uncanny reason I believe that this is not only the crux of the problem, but the solution and resolution to the Jets' dilemma.

So I reached for my trusted American Heritage Dictionary and began my odyssey. The dictionary noted the following three points;

• Erratic is an adjective(the part of speech that modifies a noun(person, place or thing) or substantive(a word or group of words functioning as a noun). Ergo i. Substantial, ii. Considerable, iii. Basic and iv. Essential.
• The etymology of the word erratic is from the Latin erraticus; which means 'wandering' .
• The definition of the word erratic was the following;

1. Lacking consistency or uniformity,
2. Irregular
3. Unconventional and
4. Eccentric.

What a revelation! A win, a loss, 500 has been the pattern of New York Jets' Football the last few seasons.

Here is the foundation of our building, so here is where I will begin. If the New York Jets team is an organization that is the sum of it's parts; and if the individual parts function as one whole, with the same objective, then why are the Jets manifesting mixed results? I began to ponder this question and the definition of erratic. The ancient mathematicians taught that fifty percent of the answer is in every question. This question brought me back, time and again, to the word erratic. Somehow the individualized players were not operating from the same diagram or template. So I asked myself, 'Does the New York Jets Football Team actually have a 'Mission Statement'. You know, sort of like a Declaration of Independence. What defines the Jets organization? What makes this team different from the other thirty-one teams in the National Football League? What do the New York Jets stand for?

The Body Cannot Live Without The Mind

If there is no philosophy, then that would explain the erratic quarters, halves, games and seasons of this organization. The players are manifesting chaos because there is no philosophy. Without a philosophy you cannot grow as a team; for what is there to grow too? What are you attempting to perfect or optimize? I continued contemplating and realized that we would need a perfect template or plan to operate from in order to help us define a mission statement or philosophy for the New York Jets.

Where could I find the perfect template or diagram to work from? Eureka! The Ancient Manual for Creation and Man, the Holy Bible. Here is one of the most perfect of templates. I reached for my King James Version and opened it to the Book of Genesis. What better place to start than with the Great Architect of the Universe! It is a collection of Truths and Wisdom from time before time. This is without equal the Greatest Mission Statement or Philosophy ever written. Therefore, it must be the Cornerstone of our foundation and or our most perfect template to work from.

Here's what I found;

1. 'Let there be Light' What do we see when we shine a light on the Jets organization? What illumination is derived from such a source? Gen 1:3
2. ' Let there be a firmament in the midst...' from the Latin firmamentum. In other words a support. Gen 1:6
3. ' Let the Earth bring forth...yielding' Yield:¹ to give forth by or as if by a natural process. ²To furnish or give in return (an investment that yields high returns). ³To give over possession of ; surrender. ⁴To give way to pressure, force or persuasion. ⁵To give place, as to one that is superior. We have here our Offensive and Defensive Philosophy respectively! Gen 1:11
4. ' Let them be for Signs, and for Seasons and for Days and Years' Consistency, Regular Production. Optimization of a Philosophical Idea. Perfecting Perfection. Gen 1:14
5. 'Create the Creature that hath Life' ¹Liveliness or Animation. ²The quality that distinguishes living organisms from dead organisms. ³Relationships, Activities or Everyday Life Gen 1:20
6. ' And God Blessed them, saying be fruitful and multiply' How can we hope to manifest success and positive results consistently without God's blessings? It's called a 'captain dunce mission' Gen 1:22
7. 'On the seventh day God ended his work which he had made and ... blessed the seventh day and sanctified it.' Looking at my calendar, if Sunday is the first day of the week, then Saturday would be the Seventh day. A time of reflection, meditation and thanksgiving! Gen 2:2-3

Now, if we compare our definition of erratic with the plan of the Great Architect we may find the resolution to, not only the New York Jets situation, but many of our own dilemmas as well.

Let's see;

• Lacking Consistency: we should have a plan for days, years and seasons. Once we have a plan, we can improve upon that plan - days, years and seasons. Perfecting Perfection!
• Uniformity: a uniform is a distinctive outfit intended to identify those who wear it as members of a specific group. Here, uniformity must not only be demonstrated in clothing of the same likeness, but significantly more in consistent Spirit, Mind, Body, Action and Results.
• Irregular: Irregularity must be transformed into regular performance based upon divine defined philosophical principles; which are optimized every down, quarter, half, game and season.
• Unconventional: we must move away from thoughts and actions which are unconventional and enthusiastically embrace Conventional Wisdom; following accepted practices which are Customary.
• Eccentric: we must not be eccentric(departing from a conventional pattern), because we would be deviating from our geometric center; as well as our philosophy. The word eccentric is from the Greek ekkentros(not having the same center). The members of the Jets team must be centered on the same points and principles of their football philosophy in order to manifest it for days, years and seasons consistently.

Now you ask, how does this translate into Jets Football Philosophy?

It translates in the following way; Organizational Knowledge of Defined Philosophy. Each and every coach, trainer and player is on the same page on every play. Understanding the do's and don't of every possible possession. We know longer think, because it's like running or walking on every down. This is what martial artists call muscle memory philosophy.

When we watch teams like the New England Patriots and Denver Broncos we see their Philosophical Ideas on display every game of the season. It is obvious that Tom Brady and Peyton Manning believe in a Trail Blazing Philosophy. They attempt to start every first possession of each game with a scoring drive. The Patriots consume the clock and are very methodical, while the Broncos prefer to strike quickly and often. But the results are the same, each team wants to blaze the scoreboard first, while their opponents must follow. Keeping in mind the number of calculated possessions per game, they both assume they will have the last opportunity to win each game. Their Philosophy is repeated in each of the individualized players and manifested as a whole by both teams.

Vince Lombardi has a philosophy, which is still relevant today. Here's another excellent template to build a New York Jets Declaration from; with a little tweaking. Lombardi began each season holding, up high for all to see, the prized pigskin exclaiming "Gentlemen This Is A Football". He emphasized the Fundamentals of Football and the importance of Team Play. Lombardi won six NFL Championships; including three consecutive wins from 1965 thru 1967.  He also won the first two Super Bowls; cementing a career record of 96-34-6. 

Please note: you may obtain a detailed New York Jets Organizational Philosophy for Offense and Defense by contacting Contemplating the National Football League^TM New York Jets.

Remember, the body cannot live without the mind and the whole is the sum of it's parts!

Contemplating the National Football League™ ©Copyright 2013 All Rights Reserved (17 USC Sec. 102(a)). Article by Anthony Carter for Contemplating the National Football League™