Good point about Lowery. He does seem to have the instincts and quickness to play CB though. Maybe they're trying him out at CB and he gets burned deep they'll move him to safety.
On paper this is the best Jets team we have had since Vinny went down in game one of 99. Is the coaching staff good enough to put it together to win? Will this team gel into something special? Will the key guys stay healthy and do we have enough depth? The roster isn't the problem anymore.
I said to a friend this weekend that I thought this was the most talented Jets roster since '98. I was thinking of starting a poll to see how many agreed, but didn't want to get flamed to death. I'm glad I'm not the only one that thinks so.
Count me in as someone who completely agrees that this is the best collection of talent the Jets have had since 98/99. The key will be how well the team chemistry is developed by the coaching staff. (And obviously avoiding injuries) I personally have a lot of confidence in the coaching staff but we shall see.
All of the variables you accounted for in the players are accurate, but what you failed to mention is the difference in competition as a variable. 2008 AFC competition >>>> 2006 AFC Competition. I have high expectations for this year and will go on the record that I feel we will make the playoffs and have one hell of a year, and if Favre is back in 2009...watch out we are SB bound. BUT, this year we are looking at the following scenario: Based on facts these teams are better: NE, Ind, Jax, SD Can we really say we are better than any of these teams? Cle, Pitt, Buff, Den, Cinn? Most objective or non Jet fans would say most if not all are better than the 2008 Jets even with Favre Thats 9 teams in the AFC!!! You could even make arguments that Tenn and Balt are better than us..11 teams. This is the biggest difference between the 08 team and that of 06, the competition for six playoff spots is brutally fierce. We have upgraded almost every spot, but so has everyone else....
I wouldn't say the Jets are better than any teams until I see how they play together. All I'm saying is the talent level is very high. If they gel, play well together, and don't have significant injuries they could be a very dangerous team.
I agree with prior posts that this is the most talented team sense 98. I think anything less than 10 wins is an indictment on the ability of this coaching staff. We lack depth at De and OT which may eventually haunt us but if we stay healthy we should be in the playoffs. Mangini has to have this d playing aggressive game one. If your going to spend all this money outside linebackers/passrush you have to utilize them properly. If this d struggles I will be calling for suttons head, he has no more excuses!
Trading for Favre was an upgrade at the current Jets QB position. To say his future is over as a Jet is a tad pre-mature. I like Clemens potential & we can probally all agree that he needs to improve, but because Jets are looking for instant improvement...neither Chad nor Clemens is this years answer. Now if Favre goes down, Clemens will get his chance & I believe he will do very well.
Ive said this whole offseason... We are an extremely young team w/ playoff expectations. We are within 2 years of being a long time superbowl contender. Barring any setbacks..the core has been built and set. On D we have Rhodes, Harris, Revis, Pace, Jenkins and possibly Gholston... On O Cotchery, Brick, Mangold, Washington and possibly Keller. What we will do and have already started doing is surrounding the core w/ capable veterans and serviceable role players. Once the core players have reached their peak, and we have developed better depth behind them..we will be in very good shape.
your analysis is complete and thanks for the work. I share your concern about Thomas Jones--does the guy ever make anyone miss? I hope Leon gets the lion's share of the load if Jones is just his usual 2-3 yards. I know, I know...everyone is saying the line is better this year. It is and we'll see. I just hope we don't wait the whole year if he starts slowly.
He doesn't have to. If the line can get ANY push this year (which they didn't last year), he can do EXACTLY what he did last year and instead of a 3.6 YPC, we're looking at a 4.1 YPC. Last year's 310 rushes went for 1119 yds and 1 TD. A half-yard bump in YPC makes that 310 for 1271 and 5(?)TD's. 1271 would have been good for 6th in the NFL last year. I think our O-line was so bad last year that his numbers can only go up.
did anyone else catch the "DE - Kimo VonSuckoften" If you still don't get it, notice the Suck. Makes for a quick laugh.
