New York Jets: 2008 Season Preview

Well, well, well... We have finally concluded the AFC East with our final preview—the New York Jets.

The Jets are coming off of a 4-12 season with a lot of questions—not just for the players, but for the coaching staff as well.

As with any New York team, if you aren't winning, you're gone. So is this Eric Mangini's last ride in New York? I think so. But the biggest problem for the Jets is not always the coaching staff—instead, I think it's the lack of players wanting to come here.

I know you're saying, "Well, what about Thomas Jones? Or Alan Faneca?" In my opinion, the only reason both of those players came to New York was for the money, PERIOD. Both players took their value and let the team fork out as much as they could get. And who can blame them?

As for the franchise itself, I think that they don't keep who needs to stay, and they sometimes keep the players who they should do away with (*cough* Pennington and Coles).

The Jets didn't do too badly in the free agent market in terms of addressing the defense, despite losing John Vilma and Victor Hobson. Kris Jenkins needed a new start outside of Carolina, and he might be a decent fit. 

As for the offense, they didn't address squat—minus Bubba Franks, who is still coming off of an injury. They also lost D'wayne Roberson—which is why they got Kris Jenkins. Another question mark is Calvin Pace. Is he really worth the price they paid for him? Only a few months will tell on that one. 

Enough negative talk for a minute. let's talk about what's right with the Jets. I think with Faneca, Ferguson, and Mangold, we should see a great amount of improvement on the offensive line. It could finally break Kellen Clemens out of his shell.

Darrelle Revis is going to payoff this year after having 2007 under his belt at corner. I have high hopes for him. What about David Harris? He was impressive when Vilma got hurt. He will be a force, if not a leader, on the defense this year.

And how can we leave out Kerry Rhodes? His show must go on. Absolutely a fantastic safety. He is going to want to win soon, though—so if the Jets don't improve soon, they may have problems keeping him.

Now on to the Draft Notes. I didn't think they came out too bad—except that they needed a lot more help at wide receiver. Dustin Keller will be a solid role player, but I'll get to that in a minute.

I can not believe that they continue to say Laveranues Coles is the Man. He is about done, if you ask me, and what have they done to prepare for that? Brad Smith?

Okay, Jerricho Cotchery is a promising reciever. I still don't think he is a number-two wideout.

Here are the Draft picks, and my thoughts.

1. Vernon Gholston  DE Ohio St.- Loved the pick. He's fast, he's mean, and he's your every-down aggressor. If he doesn't have a big year his first year, I wouldn't get upset. Keep the thoughts of Mario Williams in your head. I think he will be great.

1. Dustin Keller TE Purdue- Two Big Ten players in the first round. Jets moved up to get him which had me scratching my head. On the good side, he was the best pound-for-pound tight end in the Draft. What I've read about him so far in the OTA's is that he is going to be a role player. He might be New York's Kellen Winslow—a blocking tight end who lines up in the slot.

4. Dwight Lowery  CB San Jose St.- a good zone corner. I've read he gets burned on the deep ball in college a lot, but is a good Cover 2 guy. He may be in nickel packages for awhile to see if he can become an every down guy.

5. Eric Ainge QB Tennesee- I was very glad for the Jets to make a move to get another QB in the mix. He will get plenty of reps in preseason.

6. Marcus Henry WR Kansas- One of the best offenses in the country last year, and he was involved. New York needed to address the wideout spot badly. Only time will tell if he will be an answer.

7. Nate Garner T Arkansas - A decent late pick to add depth to the line. I don't see him being a starter, but may be a good fit later on if injuries occur.

Now I'm going to take a look at their schedule and make my predictions.

Week 1. At Miami (this one is such a toss up) L

Week 2. Patriots at Home L

Week 3. At San Diego L

Week 4. Arizona at Home L

Week 5.  Bye

Week 6. Cincinnati At Home W

Week 7. At Oakland L

Week 8. Chiefs At Home W

Week 9. At Buffalo L

Week 10. Rams At Home W

Week 11. At New England L

Week 12. At Tennesee L

Week 13. Broncos At Home W

Week 14. At 49ers L

Week 15. Buffalo At Home L

Week 16. At Seattle L

Week 17. Dolphins At Home W

New York Jets 5-11 1-5 Conference

I think Jets will struggle to find themselves again this year, and wait until 2009 to figure out what needs to be done.

Here are my final predictions for the AFC East:

New England 11-5 (6-0)

Buffalo         10-6 (4-2)

Miami           5-11 (1-5)

New York     5-11 (1-5)

I'm on my way to working on the AFC North now, so keep reading. Everyone is more than welcome to add me to their fan page, because I'm doing all 32 teams and my whole season predicitons before the beginning of the season. Thanks for reading.