This means a lot coming from a Giants fan who absolutley can't stand the NY Jets or thier fan base. For years I had to deal with watching two games during the day of an NFL Sunday because of the blackout restrictions. I have had to deal with watching my Giants and then the Jets who really have been a team I never enjoyed watching until they got Rex Ryan. This year I am actually excited for the Jets and excited that I get to watch all 16 games of this teams product. Hopefully, they can make me some coin along the way. It's shocking to me that this team hasn't been talked about a great deal or shoved down or throats every night on Sportscenter yet. The Jets have a lot going on. I am going to say they had the best off-season of any NFL team that didn't change the face of their franchise and the best back-to-back off-season of any NFL team out there. Not to mention them being featured on HBO's "Hard Knocks" this coming season and opening a new stadium in September.
Let's start on offense. The Jets still have Mark Sanchez who is really a wild card for this season. If he can step up and pass the ball as well as say an average NFL QB then the sky is the limit for the Jets. The thing is, no matter how bad he is they still have a reliable running game and a fantastic defense to pick up his slack. Really, it is a win-win for the Sanchise. I was shocked by the two moves to get rid of Thomas Jones and more recently Alan Faneca. This is a team that pounded the ball down opponents throats last year and I guess I am of the old mantra "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." However, they did bring in two guys that they think can fill in nicely. At running back aside from extending Shonn Greene's workload, they brought in LaDanian Tomlinson who I am not fully convinced is done. Call him soft, call him a baby but the bottom line is he hasn't wanted to play in San Diego since about three years ago and it showed on the field. They turned into a passing team and were giving Darren Sproles and Michael Turner a few too many touches for Tomlinson's liking. I think LDT knows that this is his last chance to actually maintain his position as a starting NFL runningback and I beleive a change of scenary and a better offensive line could do wonder for a guy with the field vision of Tomlinson. Greene, Tomlinson, and draft pick Joe McKnight should be enough to continue the solid ground work of last year. If Tomlinson can't carry the work load all hope is not lost, this is still a guy who seems to always find his way into the endzone from inside the five yard-line. It's tough to speculate just how well draft pick Vladimir Ducasse can fill in for Faneca but I think with a good offensive line around him he should learn a lot and be able to slide into that group nicely. The Jets also made an effort to bring in some weapons for Sanchez. Tight end Dustin Keller is still the most underrated tight end in the league but they also added Santanio Holmes to go along with last years trade deadline pick up Braylon Edwards and the always solid Jerricho Cotchery. Throw in the explosiveness of Brad Smith and you have a receiving corps that can really make Sanchez look a lot better then he is and can make some big plays all year.
The defense is just a murderers row at this point of solid players. With guys like Shaun Ellis, Kris Jenkins, David Harris, Calvin Pace, Bart Scott, and Jason Taylor making up the front seven the Jets will again wreak havoc on quarterbacks with Rex Ryans blitz schemes and be able to stop the run as well as anyone. The corners are really as good as any in the league Darrelle Revis, Antonio Cromartie, and Kyle Wilson are going to be the top three. That is two of the best corners in the league and a rookie who really can play physical and become a great corner in this league. He was a steal where they got him and I truly beleive this kids skillset should have had him go in the top 15. Jim Leonhard, Brodney Poole, and Eric Smith are three very solid safetys who really don't get out of position often which is the most important thing at the safety position. This defense is stacked from top to bottom and I see about 8 Pro Bowl caliber players on this defense.
The Jets schedule isn't really that bad. They drew the Vikings, Ravens, Texans, Bengals, and Packers all at home which is really a good break. Those are some tough games that would only be made tougher playing on the road. The fact that they get them at home and three of them at night in front of a rowdy New York crowd is really a big advantage. They have proven they can beat the Patriots last season and who knows what to expect from that wacky bunch. They are better then the Dolphins and the Bills but will probably go 2-2 in those four games just because they seem to always do that. Then the out of division road games really aren't bad. @ Detroit, @ Denver, @ Cleveland, @ Pittsburgh, @ Chicago. All winnable games. This team is capable of going 12-4 and I think are going to be in alot of games that they play bad in because of the defense. The Jets are to be wreckoned with and I think all of these futures provide value:
New York Jets -3 in week 1 vs Ravens
This line will be bet up until that game kicks off, probably all the way to -6. That is a great bet and it doesn't really matter who gets hurt on the Jets because they don't really have one guy you can look at and say "The Jets will win because of him". Now obviously if a wave of injuries strikes the Jets and they go in with 7 starters missing then you can just buyout. But -3 is great value.
NY Jets +1300 to win SB
It would kill me to see them win but this is very good value and this line will continue to drop. They were 25 to 1 before they started picking some playmakers up but the value is still there. They gained experience and aren't scared of any team in the league. They remind me a lot of the 2007 NY Giants except a lot better on the defensive side of the ball. The Giants only strength on that defense was a pass rush. The Jets don't have the same pass rush but it is a great one and they have a secondary that makes that Giants secondary look like the Lions.
Let's start on offense. The Jets still have Mark Sanchez who is really a wild card for this season. If he can step up and pass the ball as well as say an average NFL QB then the sky is the limit for the Jets. The thing is, no matter how bad he is they still have a reliable running game and a fantastic defense to pick up his slack. Really, it is a win-win for the Sanchise. I was shocked by the two moves to get rid of Thomas Jones and more recently Alan Faneca. This is a team that pounded the ball down opponents throats last year and I guess I am of the old mantra "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." However, they did bring in two guys that they think can fill in nicely. At running back aside from extending Shonn Greene's workload, they brought in LaDanian Tomlinson who I am not fully convinced is done. Call him soft, call him a baby but the bottom line is he hasn't wanted to play in San Diego since about three years ago and it showed on the field. They turned into a passing team and were giving Darren Sproles and Michael Turner a few too many touches for Tomlinson's liking. I think LDT knows that this is his last chance to actually maintain his position as a starting NFL runningback and I beleive a change of scenary and a better offensive line could do wonder for a guy with the field vision of Tomlinson. Greene, Tomlinson, and draft pick Joe McKnight should be enough to continue the solid ground work of last year. If Tomlinson can't carry the work load all hope is not lost, this is still a guy who seems to always find his way into the endzone from inside the five yard-line. It's tough to speculate just how well draft pick Vladimir Ducasse can fill in for Faneca but I think with a good offensive line around him he should learn a lot and be able to slide into that group nicely. The Jets also made an effort to bring in some weapons for Sanchez. Tight end Dustin Keller is still the most underrated tight end in the league but they also added Santanio Holmes to go along with last years trade deadline pick up Braylon Edwards and the always solid Jerricho Cotchery. Throw in the explosiveness of Brad Smith and you have a receiving corps that can really make Sanchez look a lot better then he is and can make some big plays all year.
The defense is just a murderers row at this point of solid players. With guys like Shaun Ellis, Kris Jenkins, David Harris, Calvin Pace, Bart Scott, and Jason Taylor making up the front seven the Jets will again wreak havoc on quarterbacks with Rex Ryans blitz schemes and be able to stop the run as well as anyone. The corners are really as good as any in the league Darrelle Revis, Antonio Cromartie, and Kyle Wilson are going to be the top three. That is two of the best corners in the league and a rookie who really can play physical and become a great corner in this league. He was a steal where they got him and I truly beleive this kids skillset should have had him go in the top 15. Jim Leonhard, Brodney Poole, and Eric Smith are three very solid safetys who really don't get out of position often which is the most important thing at the safety position. This defense is stacked from top to bottom and I see about 8 Pro Bowl caliber players on this defense.
The Jets schedule isn't really that bad. They drew the Vikings, Ravens, Texans, Bengals, and Packers all at home which is really a good break. Those are some tough games that would only be made tougher playing on the road. The fact that they get them at home and three of them at night in front of a rowdy New York crowd is really a big advantage. They have proven they can beat the Patriots last season and who knows what to expect from that wacky bunch. They are better then the Dolphins and the Bills but will probably go 2-2 in those four games just because they seem to always do that. Then the out of division road games really aren't bad. @ Detroit, @ Denver, @ Cleveland, @ Pittsburgh, @ Chicago. All winnable games. This team is capable of going 12-4 and I think are going to be in alot of games that they play bad in because of the defense. The Jets are to be wreckoned with and I think all of these futures provide value:
New York Jets -3 in week 1 vs Ravens
This line will be bet up until that game kicks off, probably all the way to -6. That is a great bet and it doesn't really matter who gets hurt on the Jets because they don't really have one guy you can look at and say "The Jets will win because of him". Now obviously if a wave of injuries strikes the Jets and they go in with 7 starters missing then you can just buyout. But -3 is great value.
NY Jets +1300 to win SB
It would kill me to see them win but this is very good value and this line will continue to drop. They were 25 to 1 before they started picking some playmakers up but the value is still there. They gained experience and aren't scared of any team in the league. They remind me a lot of the 2007 NY Giants except a lot better on the defensive side of the ball. The Giants only strength on that defense was a pass rush. The Jets don't have the same pass rush but it is a great one and they have a secondary that makes that Giants secondary look like the Lions.