With football coming back this week, I am officially back from my hibernation. I will try to update the blog every week during the season.
Jets Preview
Jet Up!!! The 2014 Jets are ready to takeoff and should be able to compete for a Wild Card spot in a top heavy AFC this year. For the first time since Rex Ryan took over the team in 2009, there are more questions about the defense than the offense, and I think that's a good thing.
Offense
Geno Smith looks to have matured a lot in the preseason, and should have a good sophomore campaign, with an offense that should benefit from the additions of Eric Decker and Chris Johnson. Smith finished last season with 3046 yards, 12 touchdowns and 21 interceptions, along with 6 rushing touchdowns. It is pretty obvious, but the key to his season is to get those TD and INT numbers a little closer to each other. If not, I could see Rex Ryan bringing in Michael Vick by mid-season.
Eric Decker is a nice addition to the passing game, but I am still a little skeptical that his success came with Peyton Manning. Decker had 619 yards in 2011 with Tim Tebow, and almost doubled that with 1,046 yards in 2012 with Manning. He's going to share the outside with David Nelson who doesn't really keep defensive coordinators awake at night. Jeremy Kerley is an underrated player coming out of the slot. Kerley is a very good posession receiver and should get a lot of opportunity in Marty Mornhinweg's west coast offense.
After rushing for over 2,000 yards 2009, Chris Johnson hasn't lived up to his high expectations. Sharing a backfield with Chris Ivory and Bilal Powell he won't be expected to be the star of the team and should have a good bounce back year. He will also add another dimension to the Jets offense as a good pass catcher, with 42 reception with the Titans last season. Chris Ivory is a bruiser and will help wear down defenses for the speedy Johnson to take advantage of.
Defense
You can argue that the Jets front seven could be one of the best in the league. Muhammad Wilkerson was the MVP of the defense last year with 10.5 sacks and two forced fumbles. Damon "Snacks" Harrison is a run stuffer in the middle, and is one of the main reason the Jets defense finished third last season in run defense. The third guy on our line, is only the defensive rookie of the year Sheldon Richardson. With only six seasons combined of NFL experience there is no reason to think that the defensive line will only get better.
David Harris leads the linebacking corps in the middle alongside second year starter Demario Davis. Calvin Pace returns for his 12th season in the league after racking up 10 sacks last season. Rounding out the linebackers is Quinton Coples who has transitioned well from defensive end to linebacker last season.
Now we get to the biggest problem this team has. After losing Darelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie in consecutive offseasons the secondary is a huge question mark for this team. Dee Milliner, who had a less than impressive rookie campaign and is already hampered by a high ankle sprain could be off to a rough start. Kyle Wilson might be our best corner coming into the season, get your tissues Jets fans. It's gotten so bad that Dimitri Patterson disappeared when he realized who he was playing with. The Jets used their first round draft pick to bring in hard hitting safety Calvin Pryor from Louisville. He should be a perfect fit on a Rex Ryan defense. Dawan Landry did a commendable filling in for his brother LaRon last season at the other safety position.
Intangibles
Rex Ryan knows how to get more with less than almost any other coach in the NFL. He gets his players to believe in a us vs them mentality and has them whipped into a frenzy every Sunday. That mentality does get us into trouble sometimes with stupid penalties. After starting off against the Raiders, the next 6 games are rough, including trips to Green Bay and New England and a home game against Peyton and the Broncos. If we could survive that stretch then we could finish nicely in the second half of the season.
Prediction
All things considered I see us going 9-7 this year, and that should be enough to be in competition for a Wild Card spot.
