READY FOR TAKEOFF?
by Anthony Lopez


Mangenius and the rest of Gang Green have Jet
fans thinking playoffs once again

Coming off a rebound season that saw them earn a playoff berth and usher in the Eric Mangini regime in New York, the Jets have high expectations coming into this 2007 season. Taking a fairly young team and molding his workmanlike attitude into a Wild Card playoff berth in his first year, Mangini instilled in the Jets a competitive fire that gained his players the reputation for being scrappy and playing until the final gun shot.

Now in Year 2, the Jets are more confident and also more talented on both sides of the ball. The offseason addition of former Bears’ running back Thomas Jones was a tremendous coup by the front office and certainly the stable workhorse the team was looking for after its running back trio of Leon Washington, Kevan Barlow and Cedric Houston was sufficient, but only good enough to place the them 20th overall in rushing offense in the league. With the Jets cutting their ties with Barlow, and Houston unexpectedly leaving the team for personal reasons, Jones, who signed a four-year $20 million deal, will come in ready to shoulder the load. However, it is not out of the realm of possibility to expect the speedy Washington to also provide some game-breaking agility out of the backfield. The 5-foot-8 rookie led the team in rushing last season after he ran for 650 yards and four touchdowns.   

This upgrade in the backfield no doubt will embolden the play of quarterback Chad Pennington, who after being selected the 2006 Comeback Player of the Year, is healthy again and the undisputed starter. After shoulder surgery left people questioning if he could ever play the game again, Pennington rebounded with the efficiency that Jets fans have come to expect from the Marshall alum – a 64.5 completion percentage, and more importantly, a winning season in New York. With the maturation of wideout Jerricho Cotchery and the re-emergence of Laveranues Coles as one of the premier receivers in the league, the Jets may finally have found a steady one-two punch to lean on.

As for the line protecting Pennington, veteran lineman Pete Kendall is back in camp, despite his recent contract disputes with the front office. However, his availability or inability will not be the key this season. That onus falls on the maturity of tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson and center Nick Mangold, who after solid rookie reasons, must be ready to elevate their games to the next level and live up to the first round hype that surrounded them. If the line can create lanes for Jones to run through, watch the play action happy Jets run wild.  

Defensively Gang Green should continue to thrive in Mangini’s 3-4 schemes. With the emergence last season of playmakers such as safety Kerry Rhodes and linebacker Victor Hobson to go along with the ever sturdy Jonathan Vilma in the middle, the Jets defense is primed to be more coherent with a year of transition behind them. In the secondary, Rhodes will be accompanied by corners David Barrett, Andre Dyson, and the Pro-Bowl return man Justin Miller, who despite his off-season arrest for assault is still in the mix and has been praised by Mangini for his play thus far in camp. First-round pick Darrelle Revis, who continues to hold out and miss training camp, seems to be the biggest concern. Revis, whom the Jets traded up for with the 14th pick, was regarded as the best shutdown corner in the draft. The Jets took a gamble and traded for the Pitt star, and now he sits home idle, arguing over the length of his contract while falling further behind the learning curve and maybe falling further out of favor in the mind of his teammates and coaches.

On top of the Revis distraction, the team still hasn’t found a way to address the glaring weakness that is their pass rush, which still hasn’t improved despite a plethora of signings on the defensive line. The team was so desperate that they signed former Cardinal and first-round bust Andre Wadsworth to a contract. He hasn’t played football since 2002.

BEST CASE SCENARIO:
The Jets will be a serious contender in the AFC. However, considering the strength of the conference and the blockbuster upgrades made by the Patriots within their own division, it may be difficult to improve upon their 10-6 record from last season. Well-coached, and finally with a running game to boot,  this figures to be a more talented group than last season, and they should see the playoffs via a wild card spot. If the Randy Moss experiment fails, they may even win the division, but I’m still not ready to say that Tom Brady isn’t the favorite going into a season. Their first four games will be huge tests. They open at home to Brady and New England, go to Baltimore to face the Ravens, back home for the Dolphins, and then back on the road to play another division rival in the Bills.

WORST CASE SCENARIO:
Chad gets injured and Jones can’t cut it in New York - Jets fans would be oh so used to the heartache. If those variables don’t occur, at worst they should finish no less than 8-8, which would be a huge disappointment considering their tremendous strides last season. Mangini is a great coach and should have the team competitive week in and week out, so a total collapse is something that shouldn’t be expected. However, it will be interesting to see how the holdouts and petty squabbles affect a team locker room that rarely has to deal with contractual battles.