This all looks really familiar doesn’t it? Go back to the first week of October 2021 with me, will you? The Detroit Lions had just lost to the Chicago Bears in Week 4 and completed an 0-4 start. Things looked really bad, according to the national media. There were a ton of jokes, and people couldn’t believe they didn’t hire Robert Saleh or Brandon Staley. People in Detroit knew that this was to be expected. This team wasn’t ready.

The message Dan Campbell kept trying to get across is how close this team is. I mean, he said that so much that it got annoying.

The Lions have to stop taking about how close they are.

— Mike Payton (@AtoZ_Payton) October 30, 2022

He was right, though, the Lions were close. They eventually won some games that year, and then the following year, they won a lot more games, and they haven’t looked back ever since. After keeping an eye on the Jets this year, I can say this.

The Lions were close in 2021; the Jets are closer right now

I get it, Jets fans. The team is 0-4, and they have a possibility of being 0-5 for the first time ever if they lose to the Cowboys in Week 5. You can understand why it might be a little tempting to say the sky is falling, but of those four losses, three of them came at a touchdown or less. They’re right there; they just have to do what the Lions learned to do, and that’s learn how to win.

That came with a little bit of time. For the Jets, it can come with some simple stuff, like forcing turnovers, dialing back on the big penalties that have the Jets sitting at fourth in penalty yardage right now, correct the giveaways issue, and keep heading in the right direction with Justin Fields. They’re right there.

This team is in good hands with Aaron Glenn. It’s hard to see what things look like in New York from Detroit, but it seems like maybe the wrap on Glenn right now is that he’s maybe too hard on the team, and that disciplinearian attitude is usually not good in the NFL, but that’s just not the Glenn I saw in Detroit for four years.

Can he yell? Yes. Does he expect the team to be disciplined and listen? Yes. Is he a lot like Dan Campbell in the sense that on the other side of that, he’s a caring individual who players universally love? Also yes. This guy was voted to be the most liked and respected coordinator in the NFL by players. Four losses and some yelling aren’t going to change that, no matter how much the New York media wants you to believe that.

The obvious concern here for the Jets is that Woody Johnson starts listening a little too much to that stuff and does the thing that a lot of teams do way too often and fire a coach way too early into his tenure. That would be just the dumbest thing the Jets could do because I’m telling you, and you can Freezing Cold Takes me on this if you want, Aaron Glenn is the coach this Jets team has been waiting for. They just have to be willing to wait a little longer, and things are going to turn around.

At the end of the day, they’re not far from turning around. Looking at the Jets’ schedule with the Cowboys, who just allowed 40 points at home, the Bengals, who are struggling without Burrow, the Panthers, who are struggling, and the Broncos, who can be beat, it’s not crazy to think the Jets have a possibility of being 4-4 at the bye in Week 9. This team is just nowhere near as bad as it’s being made out to be, and frankly, you should have expected bumps in the road right now. You’re insane if you were expecting a 4-0 start.