New York Jets 2009 Outlook

As training camp quickly approaches, the 2009 Jets will have a vastly different look and feel under new head coach Rex Ryan.

When the Jets march onto the field in Houston on opening day, they will have a new head coach, a new quarterback, and several new members of a secondary that was the team’s Achilles heel for most of the 2008 season.  

The good news for the Jets is that the missing pieces were easily identifiable after the 2008 season.

So, as would be expected of any general manager, Mike Tennenbaum went out and filled in those gaps during the offseason.

The Jets’ overall defense was decent last year, however, the pass defense was poor to say the least and ranked 29th in the league in 2008.

Something certainly had to be done about the Jets’ secondary if the team had any aspirations of success in 2009.

Tennenbaum signed two-time Pro Bowl cornerback Lito Sheppard as well as Ravens' safety Jim Leonhard. Combine these new acquisitions with players such as Darelle Revis and Dwight Lowery and the Jets might have the solid secondary they were in dire need of last year.

The Jets are hoping that Sheppard and Leonhard will lend a large helping hand in stopping the bleeding that could so blatantly be attributed to the Jets’ secondary last year.

During the 2008 offseason, the Jets spent a lot of time and money building a solid offensive line, which last year was charged with protecting Brett Favre.

As we all know, Favre didn’t pan out for the Jets, and this year the Jets’ high priced offensive line will be given the task of protecting either Kellen Clemens or first round draft pick Mark Sanchez.

This brings us to the biggest question of all for the 2009 Jets.

As is so often the case with any team, the Jets’ chances for success this season will more than likely rest in the hands of the most high-profile player on the field—the quarterback.

Although it would be hard to believe that Mark Sanchez will not be lining up behind the center on September 13 in Houston, it’s not a certainty.

Sanchez started just 16 games while at USC, so it’s not too far fetched to believe that Clemens could be the starter on opening day in an attempt to ease Sanchez into life in the NFL.

No matter who is taking the snaps from Nick Mangold come September, the Jets will have an inexperienced quarterback at the helm, which always raises a lot of questions and concerns about the offense.

The Jets do indeed have some question marks lurking as they head into training camp, but so to do some of their AFC rivals.

How will Tom Brady’s return to the Patriots play out?  Brady is coming off a torn ACL and also has the added distraction of appearing in tabloids on what seems like a daily basis.

How well will New England’s aging defense be able to hold up?

Will Chad Pennington build upon his stellar 2008 campaign for the Dolphins?

Then, of course you have the one unknown factor that can cause any team’s season to go up in flames in a matter of seconds—injuries.

All the pieces are in place for the Jets in 2009. 

How well either Clemens is able to step into the starting role or how quickly Sanchez is able to develop, combined with whether or not recent offseason additions to the secondary can finally put a plug in opponent’s ability to throw the ball around the field with ease will determine how successful the Jets will be in 2009.

The Jets may not be the favorite to win the brutally tough AFC East division. But, this is the NFL, folks, and anything can happen.