Sid Rosenberg: Giants, Jets already running out of time to meet 2016 expectations

We are now more than a quarter of the way through the 2016 NFL season and neither the Jets or the Giants are living up to expectations.[tab]It has been ugly to say the least through five games as the teams have accounted for three wins and seven losses and neither team has gotten a win since Week 2. With both teams in the cellars of their respective divisions it is time to hit the panic button and start making some changes.

Let us start with the Jets and their offense. Ryan Fitzpatrick has been awful so far, throwing five touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He owns a 60.91 quarterback rating to boot. There is no one else to blame but Fitzpatrick for his struggles.[tab]

Brandon Marshall has been his old self through five games and Quincy Enunwa has a had a breakout season playing in the slot. Matt Forte has given the Fitzpatrick a safety net in the backfield and brings great balance to the offense. All the pieces are there for Fitzpatrick to succeed, yet he has not been able to capitalize.

As for Gang Green’s defense, they have been fantastic against the run – ranking second in the league in rushing yards allowed per game – but have been the polar opposite against the pass.[tab]With Darrelle Revis returning from offseason surgery, we knew that he wasn’t going to be 100 percent, but we did not expect him to be this bad. Revis has been torched multiple times this season by wideouts who he should have no problem locking down – even coming off of injury.

The Jets’ defensive line has been their bright spot so far this season. Second year man Leonard Williams has five sacks through five games and shows no signs of slowing down. Muhammad Wilkerson has anchored the defensive line, and although the numbers have not shown up in the box score he has played a vital role in stopping the run. Another bright spot for the Jets defense has been rookie linebacker Darron Lee, who leads the team with 28 tackles. He has been able to step in right away and make an impact.

The G-Men

Big Blue’s offense has not been much better than the Jets’ thus far and we can also look to the quarterback position for their struggles.[tab]Eli Manning has thrown more touchdowns than interceptions but his quarterback rating is an abysmal 58.74. And it is almost the same situation that Ryan Fitzpatrick is in as Manning is surrounded by a promising corp of wide receivers in Odell Beckham Jr, Victor Cruz, and rookie Sterling Shepard.

But where the Giants offense has really struggled is at the running back spot.[tab]Rashad Jennings and Shane Vereen could not get it done to start the season and with Vereen now on injured reserve and Jennings proving that he can’t handle the load, the Giants have deferred to Orleans Darkwa and Bobby Rainey. Rainey and Darkwa are two guys you do not want to see on the field if you’re a Giants fan.

On the defensive side of the ball for the Giants it has been hard to watch. Big Blue has just four sacks and two interceptions in the season.[tab]We expected a lot more from a Giants team that brought in Olivier Vernon and Janoris Jenkins in the offseason and used their No. 1 draft pick on cornerback Eli Apple. There is really not much more to say about the Giants defense other than they have a lot of room to improve.

It has been a rough first five games for New York football fans. Let’s hope both the Giants and Jets both can turn it around before it’s too late.