Excuses.
No one ever wants to hear them, of course.
But sometimes excuses are legitimate and not simply a lazy alibi. Sometimes an excuse is a warranted reason for something not going right.
On the Jets’ way to 1-7, there were honest-to-goodness reasons for their struggles: new coaching staff, new offensive and defensive systems and a lot of new players.
And that was all before the starting quarterback was lost for three games because of mononucleosis, before one of their best defensive players was lost essentially for the year in the season opener and before the rebuilt offensive line began to crumble with a rash of injuries.