2009-2010 NY Jets Prediction and Preview

Last Season -

The New York Jets got off to a terrific start last season with help from quarterback Brett Farve who came out of retirement to sign one year deal with the team. The Jets were a poor 4-12 before last season with one of the worse offenses in the league. However, Farve along with help from running back Thomas Jones got the offense back in the right direction. The Jets got off to a rocky start dropping two games in the opening 3 weeks of the season. However, the offense caught fire with a 56 point routing over Arizona. The Jets went on to win 6 of their next 7 games. However, just when things looked like New York would win the AFC East, the wheels fell of the bandwagon. New York fell apart offensively and the defense didn’t help matters as the team lost 4 of their last 5 games to miss the playoffs. The meltdown was inexcusable and head coach Eric Mangini was fired just a few days after the season had ended. New York still managed a 9-7 overall record which equaled twice as many wins from the previous season. New coach Rex Ryan along with a lot of new faces will try to improve the Jets again this season and take the team to the playoffs.

Off Season -

The Jets first move of the off-season was running Eric Mangini out of town replacing him with new head coach Rex Ryan. Ryan is a former assistant head coach for the Baltimore Ravens and will be the guy in charge of getting the Jets back to the post-season. Ryan and the Jets staff did a great job during the NFL Draft. The Jets traded with Cleveland to get the number 5 overall pick while giving up a few 2nd round selections. New York quickly jumped on Mark Sanchez at the quarterback position. Sanchez the former USC Trojans quarterback is a promising young talent that can make all the throws. However, Sanchez is fairly young and may take some time to adjust at the next level. Still the quarterback should be able become a prominent starter in the years to come. The Jets also chose running back Shonn Greene out of Iowa. Many experts did not like the pick, but we have to disagree. Greene flat ran through defenses all season leading the Hawkeyes to a turn-around season while racking up 1850 total yards. Greene is a hard nosed powerful back that fits well in New York’s system. The Jets addressed nearly every need filling in depth on the rest of the team, but did not address the need at the receiver position. Laveranues Coles is gone and the Jets desperately need a big time wide out to add a down the field threat which also help whom ever is behind center heading into the new season. New York also acquired CB Lito Sheppard from Philadelphia in exchange for 5th round pick in 2010.

2009 Preview -

The latest updates indicate that rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez could actually get the start if he continues progressing in the off-season workouts. Sanchez was expected to work his way into the starting role possibly later in the season if not next year, but now may get the job sooner than expected. New York’s offense was only mediocre compared to the rest of the NFL despite their success for most of the season a year ago. The offense will likely put Sanchez in the captain seat and allow the offense to build with the new quarterback. However, New York still needs few wide outs to compliment Thomas Jones and the running attack. Defensively, the Jets will need improvement as well. Coach Ryan spent much of his coaching career at defensive coordinator so we would expect him to have an impact in making the Jets more effective on defense. The question is will the defense be able to slow down the high power air attacks from division foes Miami and New England?

2009 Prediction -

We expect Mark Sanchez to start at quarterback, but we do not expect him to have a Matt Ryan type of breakout season. Sanchez and the offense will need some time to develop and they may try and be more of a running game during the rebuilding period. Still it is hard to know what to expect from the Jets this year. It is easy to say they may be similar to last season, but we don’t expect the offense to be as competitive this season. Hopefully the defense can help them out and allow them the opportunity to win some games. Still this team is a work in progress.

Pick - 3rd in AFC East (8-8 overall) Read the rest of our NFL previews here.