New York Jets: 5 Big Obstacles for the 2011 NFL Season

Losers of two consecutive AFC title games, the New York Jets are back and ready to tackle the competition in 2011.

The Jets are no doubt hungry this year, and who can blame them after the past two years? They have been the top, or close to the top, in rushing and defense under Rex Ryan. They have improved on offense with third-year quarterback Mark Sanchez and last year's signings of LaDainian Tomlinson and Santonio Holmes.

This year there will be no Braylon Edwards, who is now a San Francisco 49er. However, the Jets added another wide receiver very familiar with New York. Yup, that's right, former New York Giant Plaxico Burress fresh out of a 20-month jail sentence for criminal possession of a firearm. 

Gang Green is once again a favorite to make a deep playoff run, but not without some big obstacles in their way.  

1. Rex Ryan

Yes, Rex Ryan himself is an obstacle for the New York Jets.

It is no secret Ryan is extremely confident, if not over-confident in his team at times. Having a head coach with passion and a no-holds barred attitude about winning, sometimes it can go a bit too far for several reasons.

No. 1, Ryan makes a lot of guarantees like this one about winning the Super Bowl at the 2011 Scouting Combine. Then there's this guarantee at a Knicks game.

You can put together some of the best video montages of Ryan making all sorts of guarantees and talking smack about the Patriots, but at the end of the day, the Jets need to produce a Super Bowl win. 

Ryan is putting a lot of pressure on his team, as he always does. They've come very close to backing it up, but if they don't go all the way this year, all that talk is going to get really old really quick. 

2. Jets' Immaturity

If Rex Ryan isn't making headlines with his mouth, the Jets are with their shenanigans.

Last season the Jets filmed their training camp and offseason for the HBO Hard Knocks series. We were treated to Ryan's foul mouth and the Jets' return to their old training camp at Hofstra, where they thought bringing McDonald's to practice was a good idea. And the show included the entire Darrelle Revis holdout when he was demanding top-player money in only his third year.

Post-show, there was Braylon Edwards getting arrested for drunk driving. And there was that time the Jets acted like children around reporter Ines Sainz in her attempt to interview Mark Sanchez. And although he wasn't a Jet at the time of the violation, Santonio Holmes sat out the first four games for substance abuse.

This preseason has already started with drama, with allegations of Mark Sanchez wanting to fight Rex Ryan last season, and it's only a matter of time before another Jet makes non-football related headlines.

The Jets need to prove they have grown up and realize they are a professional football team.  

Mark Sanchez

Through his first two years, Mark Sanchez has more interceptions than he has touchdowns. While that can be expected from a quarterback very early in his career, Sanchez cannot afford growing pains—not while being a Jet.

Sanchez had a passer rating of 75.3 during the regular season last year. They made it to the AFC championship two years in a row with him, but the Jets are in the same division as the Patriots and Tom Brady.

That passer rating must improve if the Jets want to comfortably reach the playoffs and give their stars a little rest before what is promising to be a tightly contested playoff season this year.

4. Success in the Red Zone

Last season the Jets converted only 20 touchdowns from 50 attempts in the red zone. The Jets' rushing game, along with options such as Santonio Holmes and Dustin Keller and Braylon Edwards in the air, should have made for a much higher success rate. 

Those struggles continued during the first game of the preseason against the Texans. The Jets no longer have Edwards and newcomer Plaxico Burress was sidelined with an ankle injury.

Burress might be the answer to those struggles, but until he plays, we won't know for sure.

5. The New England Patriots

The New York Jets will not be considered to have a successful season unless they win the Super Bowl.

Rex Ryan has once again guaranteed a championship and the Jets have made sure their offseason was productive enough to ensure they would continue to compete.

The biggest obstacle in the way of the Jets, and their quest to finally reach the big game, are the New England Patriots.

The Patriots have also made headlines this offseason with the acquisitions of Chad Ochocinco and Albert Haynesworth, giving them considerable upgrades on offense and defense.

Oh, and there's that Tom Brady guy we keep hearing about.