NEW YORK JETS 2009 PREVIEW
NEW YORK JETS 2009 PREVIEW
By Andy Benoit, www.NFLTouchdown.com
Two things in pro football excite the media (especially the rabid New York media): a brash, garrulous head coach, and a sexy, high-profile quarterback. The 2009 New York Jets offer both. The coach is longtime NFL assistant Rex Ryan, one of the most respected and creative defensive innovators in today’s game. The quarterback is No. 5 overall pick Mark Sanchez, a polished though inexperienced Southern Cal star.
The effusive Ryan has already shown the type of personality that makes one think he could be introduced at press conferences by Ed McMahon. (Heeeeeere’s Rex!) So far, Ryan has called out the New England Patriots. He’s engaged in an amusing war of words with Dolphins linebacker Channing Crowder. He said to Sports Illustrated that what happened when Brian Billick passed him over for a defensive coordinator position in 2002 was, “Basically, I got f*****.” Words are to Ryan what sprinkles are to children: colorful and something to be used prodigiously. You can’t help but love the guy.
Sanchez has been equally as publicized. Weeks after getting straddled by bikini-donning supermodel Hilary Rhoda in GQ Magazine, the 22-year-old signed the richest contract in franchise history. (Kudos to Sanchez’s agent, David Dunn, and Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum for the expediency.)
First-year coaches and rookie quarterbacks enjoyed astounding success in the NFL last season. Mike Smith and Matt Ryan led the moribund Falcons to the playoffs. John Harbaugh and Joe Flacco carried the Ravens to the AFC Title game. The Jets are much better off than either of those two clubs were, having just produced a 9-7 season. However, it was a season remembered for a dreadful 1-4 finish. And it was not without a scapegoat. (You didn’t think Eric Mangini got fired simply for being an “anti-Rex” with the media, did you?) The team’s coaching and chemistry were iffy, though many blamed New York’s December meltdown on an aging Brett Favre. (The 39-year-old quarterback was not the only Jet who ran out of fuel, though.)
As tends to happen when impatience takes over, the Jets are going from one extreme to another: out with the ancient passer, in with the callow one. Sanchez started only 16 games at USC. Though the web has become littered with football dilettantes reminding everyone that Sanchez ran a “pro style” offense, the fact of the matter is, he is utterly untested. While running USC’s “pro style offense”, Sanchez rarely had to throw from a dirty pocket. He rarely had to work through four or five progressions. He rarely had to rifle balls through tight windows. Thus, offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer could face the same obstacles in ’09 that he faced after Favre joined New York in August ’08: what plays can be called? Schottenheimer’s offense was limited to almost comical simplicity last season.
A deeper backfield featuring contract-year running backs Thomas Jones and Leon Washington, as well as power-running third-round rookie Shonn Greene, should make the Jets a more grounded team. They’ll almost have to be, considering they got rid of their best receiver, Laveranues Coles, and replaced him with absolutely no one. Of course, Ryan, having been with Baltimore last year, knows it is possible to win in the NFL with just a monotonous rushing attack and remedial aerial assault. But doing so requires a stringy Ravensesque defense.
The Jets D is only a cheap ersatz of the Ravens’. Newly-acquired inside linebacker Bart Scott is an intelligent, blistering tackle machine who can play the part of Ray Lewis. But he’s a poor man’s Ray Lewis. Overpaid rush-linebacker Calvin Pace looks almost like a carbon copy of Terrell Suggs. Indeed, Pace––who is an inch taller and 10 pounds heavier than Suggs––shows the same relentless motor that makes the Ravens’ stud great. But Pace is not great. He’s simply pretty good. Safety Kerry Rhodes might be great, but being a true facsimile of Ed Reed means being legendary. The acclaimed fifth-year pro is not legendary.
But maybe none of these guys have to be superstars. Maybe New York’s defense can thrive with just regular stars. Ryan––who, in addition to Scott, signed former Ravens Marques Douglas (defensive end) and Jim Leonhard (safety) to help instill familiarity with his complex hybrid 3-4––might actually have a better collection of role players to work with here than he had in Baltimore. If he can uncover a pass-rushing diamond or two––we’re all looking at you, Vernon Gholston––he’ll easily improve New York’s 29th ranked pass coverage. And he’s already stated on the record that nobody can run on his D.
Instant success has become the expectation in the NFL these days. That’s especially true when you have big personalities proclaiming big ambitions in a big market like the Big Apple.
Click here to continue reading, or visit: http://www.nfltouchdown.com/new-york-jets-2009-preview/
By Andy Benoit, www.NFLTouchdown.com
Two things in pro football excite the media (especially the rabid New York media): a brash, garrulous head coach, and a sexy, high-profile quarterback. The 2009 New York Jets offer both. The coach is longtime NFL assistant Rex Ryan, one of the most respected and creative defensive innovators in today’s game. The quarterback is No. 5 overall pick Mark Sanchez, a polished though inexperienced Southern Cal star.
The effusive Ryan has already shown the type of personality that makes one think he could be introduced at press conferences by Ed McMahon. (Heeeeeere’s Rex!) So far, Ryan has called out the New England Patriots. He’s engaged in an amusing war of words with Dolphins linebacker Channing Crowder. He said to Sports Illustrated that what happened when Brian Billick passed him over for a defensive coordinator position in 2002 was, “Basically, I got f*****.” Words are to Ryan what sprinkles are to children: colorful and something to be used prodigiously. You can’t help but love the guy.
Sanchez has been equally as publicized. Weeks after getting straddled by bikini-donning supermodel Hilary Rhoda in GQ Magazine, the 22-year-old signed the richest contract in franchise history. (Kudos to Sanchez’s agent, David Dunn, and Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum for the expediency.)
First-year coaches and rookie quarterbacks enjoyed astounding success in the NFL last season. Mike Smith and Matt Ryan led the moribund Falcons to the playoffs. John Harbaugh and Joe Flacco carried the Ravens to the AFC Title game. The Jets are much better off than either of those two clubs were, having just produced a 9-7 season. However, it was a season remembered for a dreadful 1-4 finish. And it was not without a scapegoat. (You didn’t think Eric Mangini got fired simply for being an “anti-Rex” with the media, did you?) The team’s coaching and chemistry were iffy, though many blamed New York’s December meltdown on an aging Brett Favre. (The 39-year-old quarterback was not the only Jet who ran out of fuel, though.)
As tends to happen when impatience takes over, the Jets are going from one extreme to another: out with the ancient passer, in with the callow one. Sanchez started only 16 games at USC. Though the web has become littered with football dilettantes reminding everyone that Sanchez ran a “pro style” offense, the fact of the matter is, he is utterly untested. While running USC’s “pro style offense”, Sanchez rarely had to throw from a dirty pocket. He rarely had to work through four or five progressions. He rarely had to rifle balls through tight windows. Thus, offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer could face the same obstacles in ’09 that he faced after Favre joined New York in August ’08: what plays can be called? Schottenheimer’s offense was limited to almost comical simplicity last season.
A deeper backfield featuring contract-year running backs Thomas Jones and Leon Washington, as well as power-running third-round rookie Shonn Greene, should make the Jets a more grounded team. They’ll almost have to be, considering they got rid of their best receiver, Laveranues Coles, and replaced him with absolutely no one. Of course, Ryan, having been with Baltimore last year, knows it is possible to win in the NFL with just a monotonous rushing attack and remedial aerial assault. But doing so requires a stringy Ravensesque defense.
The Jets D is only a cheap ersatz of the Ravens’. Newly-acquired inside linebacker Bart Scott is an intelligent, blistering tackle machine who can play the part of Ray Lewis. But he’s a poor man’s Ray Lewis. Overpaid rush-linebacker Calvin Pace looks almost like a carbon copy of Terrell Suggs. Indeed, Pace––who is an inch taller and 10 pounds heavier than Suggs––shows the same relentless motor that makes the Ravens’ stud great. But Pace is not great. He’s simply pretty good. Safety Kerry Rhodes might be great, but being a true facsimile of Ed Reed means being legendary. The acclaimed fifth-year pro is not legendary.
But maybe none of these guys have to be superstars. Maybe New York’s defense can thrive with just regular stars. Ryan––who, in addition to Scott, signed former Ravens Marques Douglas (defensive end) and Jim Leonhard (safety) to help instill familiarity with his complex hybrid 3-4––might actually have a better collection of role players to work with here than he had in Baltimore. If he can uncover a pass-rushing diamond or two––we’re all looking at you, Vernon Gholston––he’ll easily improve New York’s 29th ranked pass coverage. And he’s already stated on the record that nobody can run on his D.
Instant success has become the expectation in the NFL these days. That’s especially true when you have big personalities proclaiming big ambitions in a big market like the Big Apple.
Click here to continue reading, or visit: http://www.nfltouchdown.com/new-york-jets-2009-preview/
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