NFL Football – Team Profile: New York Jets
Team Profile:
New York
Jets
2005 Season Synopsis: The Jets did not have a very auspicious year in 2005. When Chad Pennington and Curtis Martin went down, their season was pretty much over. Quarterback Brooks Bollinger was just egregious and the lack of single weapon a defense did not help. The defense was probably the one bright note on the Jets. Even though they spent way too much time on the field due to an inept offense, they played well above average. Only giving up 3.9-yards/carry and 172-passying-yards/game, for a complete average of only 4.7-yards/play, demonstrates that the New York Jets’ defense was not only effective, but adequately above average. Their 4.7yards/play was 3rd best in the league, and their run defense was quite stellar due to the great play of young MLB Jonathan Vilma. Their pass defense is naturally a little higher than it should be because teams were often ahead of them and did not need to pass the ball or take long shots, but they did have some great play from CB Ty Law, and a couple of play making safeties.
Off-Season: The Jets’ off-season was very mild at best. They tried to take a stab at a couple of veteran players like Jon Runyan, but they could not close the deal due to their bleak future. Other than the acquisition of QB Patrick Ramsey, the Jets have no other newcomer-veteran that is worth mentioning. The fact of the matter is that the Jets’ new Head Coach, Eric Mangini, is going to have to turn this team around with the players that he already as, through the draft, and through the acquisition of unwanted players via trade.
2006 Draft: The Jets decided to go with OT D’Brickashaw Ferguson with their first round selection. I personally thought they should have gone with a viable name or a player who could make plays for the offense without much help from other players. So a pick like AJ Hawk, Vernon Davis or even trading away half your team to get Reggie Bush would have made more sense to me. The Jets do not have much of a future for this season, so giving up a lot to get Reggie Bush would not have been risking a whole lot anyway. The Jets’ selection of QB Kellen Clemons was a great selection. He is the 4th best QB in the draft, and probably has the 2nd best arm of the top 4. He has great tools. I am not sure that he is the prodigal quarterback that everyone thinks he will be because he did not really do it for me in college, but he does have great upside.
Season Prediction:
Holes:
QB: Pennington may be okay for a while, but he is not the long-term answer.
RB: The Jets have Kevan Barlow now, but if he lost a position battle in
San Francisco
, how good can he be?
WR: Coles is nice, but he obviously can’t do what he is capable of doing without help from a QB. The Jets need a WR that thrives no matter who his QB is.
CB: To replace Ty Law they are going to have to just pray.
The Jets are just not going to be capable of moving the chains this year. However, if Mangini is a student of the Belicik school of coaching, then he should manage the clock really well, and he should also try to isolate a lot of wide receivers on the outsides, hoping for big plays despite their lack of WR talent. They still, however, do not have a running game or an efficient offense. Their offensive woes will cause the defense to play a lot more plays than they should, considering their relative talent, and this will cause their defense to be more fatigued throughout the game and throughout the season.
Strengths:
There are not many strengths to come by for the Jets. If Pennington is named the starter, he will at least serve a cool and calm-headed quarterback that is capable of making good decision. If Kevan Barlow is worth the trade, then he at least will be better than what the Jets had going into this season. That’s not really saying much in terms of his talent, but it could have a drastic effect on the entire season, because just getting that half yard more per carry could lighten the pressure off of the passing game’s back. The defense for the Jets is well above average, and with Coach Mangini’s 3-4 scheme, I’m sure there will be plenty of tricks and strategies that help the defense perform even above last year’s standards. The loss of CB Ty Law will be covered up in Mangini’s old Patriot schemes, and so the Jets ought to be better defending the passing game than they were last year.
Projected Giants 2006 Record:
Overall: 5-11; Division 2-4
