As I watched my 7 year old brother’s attempt at an organized basketball game this afternoon, I couldn’t help but notice a surprising comparison between small children rumbling and stumbling around on the hardwood for an hour and a supposedly professional sports organization.

The Jets.

For a few years now, the Jets have barely been considered an NFL team, right up there with the Raiders and Jaguars in terms of management, coaching, and talent. From the infamous Buttfumble, to actually letting Geno Smith play quarterback, to not firing Rex Ryan two years ago when owner Woody Johnson hired John Idzik to replace Mike Tannenbaum as GM, the Jets have seemingly made every wrong move in every facet of running a football team. This has had me thinking over the past few weeks, since the firing of Idzik and Ryan and the eventual hiring of new GM Mike Maccagnan and HC Todd Bowles: What does it take to make a loser a winner?

Obviously, a new head coach can make an impressive impact on the state of any football team. All it takes is the right guy to implement the right system, with the right personnel, to turn a terrible team into a playoff contender. Seems easy, right? Take the Philadelphia Eagles as an example. Coming off of a disappointing 8-8 finish in 2011, the 2012 version of the team expected to reach the playoffs on the backs of QB Michael Vick, WR DeSean Jackson, LB DeMeco Ryans and CB Nnamdi Asomugha. The team took a huge step backwards, finishing 4-12, and fired coach Andy Reid the day after the season ended, terminating his 14-year tenure with the team. Chip Kelly was hired away from the University of Oregon, where he led the high-powered Ducks offense to a National Championship Berth in 2010- 2011. His up-tempo, balanced offensive style complemented the likes of RB LeSean McCoy, Vick again (and eventually Nick Foles, who took over after Vick was injured), Jackson, and talented WRs Riley Cooper and Jeremy Maclin. The Eagles had immediate success, finishing 10-6 in Kelly’s first season and winning the NFC East. Right guy. Right system. Right personnel.

The Jets find themselves in a similar situation after firing Rex Ryan. They hired Todd Bowles, former DC of the Arizona Cardinals, who presided over two top-15 defenses. Clearly a defensive- minded coach, he comes to New York with a defense showcasing stud players such as D-Linemen Mo Wilkerson, Sheldon Richardson, and Damon Harrison, along with fierce pass rusher Quinton Coples and rising mainstay in the middle Demario Davis. These pre-existing pieces go right along with the fierce, aggressive style that Bowles has hung his hat on for the last couple of years in Arizona. What Bowles will have to work on is the secondary, which is filled with unproven and under-performing players. As a former NFL safety, he should have resources to help mend that situation. Bowles is inheriting a defense with more talent than the one Ryan took over when he came to New York. Right guy. Right system. Right personnel.

Maybe a new General Manager is the key to success. The man that oversees player transactions can have a powerful effect on how a season goes. In 2012, the San Diego Chargers failed to make progress on their 8-8 record the previous year. Their GM, A.J Smith (along with HC Norv Turner), was fired, and owner Alex Spanos hired Tom Telesco to oversee the team the next year. Key rookies Keenan Allen, D.J Fluker, and Manti Te’o made immediate impacts, and the team went 9-7 and won a playoff game. Allen, a WR, had over 1000 yards receiving, LB Te’o was the team’s 5th leading tackler, and Fluker helped the offensive line allow the 5th-fewest sacks in the league during the regular season.

Who knows what Maccagnan will do at the helm, but one thing is for sure: he knows players. He was most recently the Director of College Scouting for the Texans from 2011 up until this season. Under his expertise, the team drafted MVP candidate DE J.J Watt, rising WR DeAndre Hopkins, and most recently Jadeveon Clowney, who could be a star if he stays healthy. Maccagnan certainly will help the Jets through the draft, and with Woody Johnson’s recent proclamation that he won’t hold back money from the GM, things look promising in free agency as well.

With all of these possibilities, one glaring realization remains for Jets fans. The team lacks a star player, one that can take the game into his own hands and sway the outcome of the game in his teams favor. The Jets have not had a player like this since Hall of Fame RB Curtis Martin retired in 2005. However, it is not impossible to win without a star playmaker, as long as the teams gels. The 1980 Oakland Raiders, who captured a Super Bowl victory that year, hardly had any huge impact players on their roster. Their biggest offensive asset, Hall of Fame TE Dave Casper, was traded to the Houston Oilers halfway through the season. Jim Plunkett was their quarterback, a man who ended up with more career interceptions than touchdowns, and their biggest star besides Casper was punter Ray Guy. The team came together well, and got contributions from everyone, including RB Kenny King, who scored on an 80 yard touchdown catch from Plunkett in the Big Game. This play stood as the longest Super Bowl catch ever, until Antonio Freeman caught an 81 yarder from Brett Favre in Super Bowl XXXI. The Raiders received contributions from everywhere on offense, including both King and RB Mark van Eeghen, and WRs Cliff Branch and Bob Chandler. On the defensive side, Defensive POY Lester Hayes anchored the defensive backfield, while future HOF linebacker Ted Hendricks stood out in the middle of the field.

An offense without a playmaker and a punishing defense. Sounds familiar. The biggest star for the green and white on offense is Eric Decker, who is barely a number 1 WR. QB Geno Smith took a huge step back in his second year, albeit he played well in Week 17. The defense remained stout all season, but they were simply on the field too much due to the offense’s inability to sustain drives. But not all is lost if Smith can have a decent campaign and the defense holds steady.

Walking away from the court after the mockery that is pee- wee basketball, and a disappointing loss, I turned to my brother and asked him, “Your team struggled a little bit today, didn’t you?”

He replied, “Yeah I guess, but we’ll get better. I have hope.”