OPINION: Missing playoffs would be good for Gang Green

The New York Jets travel to Tennessee for a prime time showcase on Monday night versus the Titans with their playoff hopes still alive. But should any Jets fan even want their team to make the playoffs?

For this writer, the Jets would be better off losing their final three games and preparing for next season.

All season long, experts and fans alike have lamented how the Jets just do not have enough talent on their roster to be a big-time NFL team, particularly on offense. The lack of talent is evident when watching the game and looking at the stats.

Offensively, the Jets rank 30th overall in the league. They have the 30th-ranked passing offense and are 11th in running the football.

In defense of quarterback Mark Sanchez, who has been maligned this season more than any at any other point in his career, the Jets have been without top receiver Santonio Holmes since he was injured in Week 4 and tight end Dustin Keller has missed five games.

Sanchez has completed passes this season to a mish-mash of receivers, including Chaz Schilens, Clyde Gates, Konrad Reuland, Nick Bellore and Mardy Gilyard.

A couple of wins and a playoff berth would give credo to head coach Rex Ryan’s claims – that he has made all season – that the talent is on the roster to make the Jets a successful team.

But if the Jets continue to struggle and lose even one of the final three games – at Tennessee, home versus San Diego and at Buffalo – they will finish no better than 8-8, and for a New York team with a head coach who has a mouth as big as his ego, that is not good enough.

Nope, the Jets would be better off missing the playoffs, seeing where their roster stands heading into the offseason, what positions need to be addressed in free agency and the draft and what will happen with Sanchez and Tebow.

For Jets fans, making the playoffs would keep the team believing they are a contender. And that is not the case.

For more on the Jets, visit Gang Green Nation and SB Nation New York.

Follow Jason Pafundi on Twitter @jasonpafundi