The Jets haven't reached the playoffs since 2010. But inside linebacker Darron Lee thinks 2018 could "easily" be the year they break that drought, if certain things happen.

"If we trim down the penalties and get takeaways, we are a playoff-contending team, easily," he told NJ Advance Media on Tuesday, when the Jets began spring practices, with their first organized team activities workout.

The Jets last season tied for eighth in the NFL in penalties. They were ninth in penalty yards. They had 20 takeaways. Just 10 teams in the league had fewer takeaways last year.

But Lee doesn't want to settle for the Jets winning nine games and landing a wildcard spot, even though plenty of Jets fans would be overjoyed by that.

"I hate when people say 9-7," he said. "Nine-and-seven looks so ugly to me. I don't know why. It just looks weird. Like every time I play 'Madden' and I see 9-7, I'm like, 'eh.' I look for 10-6, 11-5, 12-4."

The Jets went 5-11 last year for the second straight season. Lee noted that they lost seven games by nine points or fewer -- margins of nine, eight, seven, seven, five, five, and three.

"Oh my God," Lee said. "That's the difference between 5-11 and 12-4. We're super, super close. If people don't see that, they're not watching. We're really, really, really close. We can really turn it around and be 10-6, 11-5, 12-4.

"But we aren't winning games right now in May. We're just trying to be able to set ourselves up, to be able to do that. Definitely, you've got to have aspirations for that. Why else are we here?"

Of course, the Jets' defense -- which finished 18th last season in Football Outsiders' DVOA ratings -- needs to do its part.

"We really want to increase takeaways," Lee said. "If we increase takeaways, we're going to win a lot more ball games. I know that for a fact. I feel like that's what we're really missing. And trimming down on the penalties for sure. Oh, man. That's been a huge emphasis this offseason."

During spring practices, the Jets are doing push-ups every time a player commits a penalty. When an offensive player is flagged, the entire offense does push-ups, except that player. The same thing happens when a defensive player is flagged. So there's a shame aspect to it.

Lee hopes the Jets' 2018 defense can model itself after the Jaguars' 2017 defense. Jacksonville finished last season first in DVOA and second in takeaways, with 33.

"We're looking to have something resembling that, having a lot of takeaways and putting our offense in a great position," Lee said.

Darryl Slater may be reached at dslater@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @DarrylSlater. Find NJ.com Jets on Facebook.