EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsFLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- A look at what's happening around the New York Jets:1. At the turn: The unofficial second half of the season begins Sunday against the AFC-leading Buffalo Bills (7-1). Here are five questions facing the Jets.Will Aaron Glenn survive the season? Another in-season coaching change is unlikely despite the 2-7 record. Owner Woody Johnson tried it two years ago, firing Robert Saleh after five games, and it backfired. Johnson has a strong affinity for Glenn and wants to give him every chance to succeed.That said, Glenn's record is damning -- 5-21, including 0-8 in the AFC East. He needs a strong finish to be back in 2027. Based on their opponents' current records, the remaining schedule ranks 20th in difficulty, according to ESPN's Football Power Index. It includes the Los Angeles Chargers (0-8), Miami Dolphins (1-7) and Arizona Cardinals (3-6). Glenn probably needs wins, and more than anything, he needs to convince ownership he can lift the franchise out of this losing vortex.Will Cade Klubnik get a shot? It happens a lot in the NFL. A team falls out of contention, pushes its bridge starter aside and gives the rookie quarterback an audition. The Jets appear to be on that track, but there's an X factor -- Glenn's job security.This sets up a fascinating question for the five games after their Week 13 bye: Stay with Geno Smith, who's having a solid year, or give the Clemson rookie a chance?Best bet? Glenn rides with Smith a lot longer than the fanbase wants.Can Glenn fix the defense? A promising start has turned into a mess. The Jets have allowed the second-most points (127) over the past four games. Much of this falls on Glenn, whose self-proclaimed "superpower" is calling defensive plays. He didn't rule out the possibility of relinquishing playcalling, although that seems unlikely.Improvement is possible, as the Jets have only three games against top-18 scoring offenses, including the league-leading Bills (32 points per game) twice. It certainly won't help Glenn's job security if he fails in his area of expertise.Will David Bailey win Defensive Rookie of the Year? Bailey and New York Giants linebacker Arvell Reese are the two favorites. Raise this question in a New York City bar, and you're likely to hear a spirited debate.Bailey has 7.5 sacks, tied for the fifth most by a player in their first eight career games since the stat became official in 1982. He joins a top five that features Pro Football Hall of Famers Reggie White and Julius Peppers."He's already a star right now," Bills coach Joe Brady said of Bailey. "He's going to be a problem for a lot of years."Can the Jets land the No. 1 overall pick? They have a 6% chance, according to projections by ESPN analytics. It would go up to 10% with a loss to Buffalo and an Indianapolis Colts loss to Miami. The Jets own the Colts' first-round pick. The next two weeks will be crucial, as the Jets face the Chargers and Dolphins.Buckle up for the second half.2. This is weird: Smith is having a career year -- half the time, that is.When the Jets are in their own territory, Smith's QBR is 60.8 -- his best mark since becoming a full-time starter in 2022. In opponents' territory, it drops to 34.8 -- his lowest mark.The 26-point discrepancy is the largest in the league among qualified passers.What happens when Smith crosses midfield?Statistically, the amount of man coverage jumps from 28% to 45%, per ESPN Research. That means tighter windows. He also faces more pressure (34% to 38%), although the blitz rate is the same.Otherwise, it's hard to explain the difference."Believe me, I've examined this hard," said offensive coordinator Frank Reich, who believes defensive coordinators don't start playing different coverages until around the 15-yard line.In the end, he said, they must coach better and play better.3. Old rivals: Brady has known Smith so long that he can recall his pre-Geno days. They crossed paths in a South Florida high school game in 2007. Smith was a highly touted junior quarterback for Miramar, Brady an unheralded senior wide receiver for Everglades. Smith's team won the battle of the rival schools"When I first knew him, he was Eugene Smith," Brady told Buffalo reporters, referring to Smith's given name.P.S.: Brady went by Joey in those days.4. From the past: Brady interviewed for the Jets' head coaching vacancy in 2021, the year they hired Saleh. This marks the fourth time this season they've faced a head coach who was a past interviewee. The others: Todd Monken (2019), Mike Vrabel (2025) and Jeff Hafley (2025). The Jets wound up with Adam Gase and Glenn, respectively, in those hiring cycles.The trend continues next week with Jim Harbaugh, who lost out to Rex Ryan in 2009.5. Pick six: This isn't a huge deal in the grand scheme, but the compensation in the trade that sent safety Andre Cisco to the Detroit Lions was changed. The Jets are receiving the Lions' 2029 sixth-round pick; it was originally a 2028 sixth-rounder. The reason is because Detroit raised some concern with Cisco's physical, so the two teams pivoted to a contingency instead of calling off the trade.It worked out well for the Jets, who still got a hard pick (not a conditional pick) for a player who had been demoted to fourth on the safety depth chart. Mougey has a history of using late-round picks as currency, so there's a reasonable chance that it will be traded at some point.6. New trend on the horizon? The Jets did some outside-the-box thinking last week to help their kickoff coverage unit, which got burned for a touchdown the previous week.Special teams coordinator Chris Banjo replaced punter Austin McNamara, his kickoff guy, with fullback/tight end Andrew Beck, one of their coverage players. It allowed them to have an extra tackler on the field. The Kansas City Chiefs had four returns, none longer than 29 yards."It ended up being a weapon for us," said Banjo, declining to say if Beck will continue to handle kickoffs.Retired special teams coach Mike Westhoff, who talks to Banjo every week, expects the strategy to catch on around the league. He said the new kickoff rules minimize the importance of hang time. If a team has a position player who can boot the ball to the landing area, he said, it creates a numbers advantage because of the extra player in coverage."It's coming," Westhoff said. "I think you're going to see more and more of this."Beck said he was "fired up" with the new assignment. He never was a kicker, per se, though he did some emergency kicking in practice while playing for the Denver Broncos a few years ago. There was only one glitch last week -- his last kickoff went out of bounds for a penalty -- but the experiment was deemed a success."Give the coaches the credit," Beck said.7. The right kicker: Mougey was criticized for allowing popular kicker Nick Folk to bolt as a free agent in the offseason. Initially, the decision didn't look good, as the Jets cycled through a handful of kickers. Turns out that Mougey knew exactly what he was doing.A struggling Folk was cut this week by the Atlanta Falcons despite a $4 million guarantee. Jets kicker Jason Sanders had some preseason hiccups, but he settled down and he's performing well (21-for-24 on field goal attempts) at a lower cost ($1.3 million).8. Will power: It will be interesting to see if disgruntled edge rusher Will McDonald IV gets a bump in playing time, as Glenn indicated. He needs to be better against the run. When he's on the field, the defense allows 4.8 yards per rush, per Next Gen Stats. It's 3.6 yards when he's not on it.9. Did you know? The Jets have lost eight straight division games, the longest active streak in the NFL.10. The Last Word: "There's a number of things that we have to fix and get better at, but we feel like, man, we're right on the cusp of trying to break through." -- Glenn.
