Today at MetLife stadium will be like looking at an alternate universe of what could have been for the New York Jets.

The similarities between the how the Houston Texans chose to build their team and how the New York Jets chose to build their teams are almost identical.

Hire the defensive coordinator from the San Francisco 49ers to bring stability to a reeling team. Check. Draft a quarterback number two overall and hand him the reigns to the organization. Check. Get a star defensive player from the university of Alabama to lead your defense for the next decade. Check. Draft a star cornerback top 10 in the 2022 NFL draft to shut down a team’s top passing threat. Check. 

There will even be some familiar names to New York Jets fans on the field for the Texans. George Fant will be playing right tackle for Houston and Sheldon Rankins will be doing what so many others have done this year and hit Zach Wilson (Note: Both guys are listed as questionable for the game).

But these two teams are having very different experiences while following the same blueprint. The Texans have seen immediate success to the plans behind head coach Demeco Ryans and rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud.

The Jets on the other hand, turn back to Zach Wilson after a little controversy this week and Robert Saleh’s seat seems to be getting warmer by the week.

Saleh will face his former protégé in Demeco Ryans who were both coaches in San Francisco together. Even before that, Saleh was the assistant linebackers coach when the Texans drafted Ryans in the second round back in 2006.

“I learned how to coach from being under Saleh,” Ryans told reporters this week of his former coaching staff mate. “He taught me a lot when it comes to scheme, when it came to just handling players, game-planning. I learned a lot from Saleh and owe a lot to him. And that’s probably the reason why I’m standing here before you, because of him just taking me under his wing.”

“He knows how to evolve day-to-day,’’ Saleh said of Ryans, the favorite to be named NFL Coach of the Year. “You just knew [with] his demeanor, the way he talked to people [and] treated people, he was always going to be something special.”

The Texans played well over the past month, and they’ve won four of their last five games. They are currently second in the AFC South, one game behind the Jacksonville Jaguars. They will try to keep their playoff hopes alive with a win over the Jets, which will give them their fifth win in their last six games.

The Jets are currently boasting a five-game losing streak following another embarrassing loss to the Falcons. New York has played well defensively, giving up 20.9 points per game. They gave up 13 points in their last game and will have to keep it up if they want to beat Houston.

Jets offensive line gets more bad news before game against Texans

Man, if you thought the quarterback rotation was bad for the Jets you haven’t been paying enough attention to the offensive line. The New York Jets ruled out guard Wes Schweitzer for the game on Sunday against the 7-5 Houston Texans. Schweitzer return from IR in time to start at right guard last week for […]

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