JETS WEEK: OFFENSE

I'm thrilled the Jets have Brett Favre as their quarterback this year. But the significant improvement the 2008 Jets will show over the 2007 version might be due a lot more to the person on the right side of this picture than the guy on the left.

That's Alan Faneca, and his name, along with a couple of other new ones on the offensive side of the ball, would have helped the team improve even if the quarterback wasn't named Brett Favre.

But that is the quarterback's name, so let's break down the Jets offense, as they head into their season opener on Sunday in Miami.

QB: Brett Favre is not as good as his numbers last year indicated. But he's still a great quarterback, and a different type of quarterback than what the Jets have had the past six years. He can throw the ball downfield and at a high velocity - two things that haven't been part of the Jets' gameplan recently. Of course, there's a higher risk factor than there has been as well, since Chad Pennington didn't turn the ball over very much....but in the end this is an upgrade, and it makes certain players better.

RB: One such person is running back Thomas Jones. Jones is coming off an OK season - he did have more than 1,000 yards, but only 2 rushing touchdowns. I think he'll break free more often this year in part because of the downfield threat that Favre brings to the table, but also because of fullback Tony Richardson, who has blocked in front of a number of very good running backs in his career (who probably wouldn't have done as well had he not been there). Jones and backups like Leon Washington will also benefit from a revamped:

Offensive Line: Youngsters Nick Mangold and D'Brickashaw Ferguson have had an up year and a down year. I didn't realize it at the time, but their up year was definitely aided by the veteran presence of Pete Kendall, who then left the Jets in an ugly contract dispute. This year, there's another veteran presence, with the additions of Faneca and Damien Woody alongside those two and Brandon Moore. Chad Pennington and Kellen Clemens had no shot last year because there was no stopping the opposition's pass rush. Thomas Jones, as a result of the passing game, had no shot of getting significant yardage. You can realistically expect all of that to change this year because the Jets will have a legitimate offensive line, unless Mangold and Ferguson take a big step backward.

Receivers: Laveranues Coles and Jerricho Cotchery, as I've written before, seem very similar to the targets Brett Favre is used to from Green Bay. They can pick up a lot of yards after the catch. What they haven't had much opportunity to do over the years is outrun defenders for bombs, but in the pre-season it seems like Cotchery and Brad Smith have had those opportunities, and done well with them. (Although I can't help but think about how good Santana Moss would look running down Favre rainbows.) The biggest stumbling block for the Jets' receivers might be for Coles to get over the fact that his friend Pennington was released to make room for Favre. Once he realizes the Jets have a chance to win a lot more games this year, I think he'll be fine. Tight end Chris Baker might see his playing time reduced by the emergence of rookie Dustin Keller, but I think the tight end position will be a strength this year as well...or, at the very least, a popular target for Favre.

I apologize for the lack of a posting yesterday. School meetings have begun, and things have been busy. We'll forgo the NFL preview, because, come on, we all know I'm picking the Jets to win it all anyway. So without further ado, it's time for the Jets' offensive preview.

JETS OFFENSE

Thank goodness I bring you the following news: The Jets have signed QB Chad Pennington to a seven year contract extension, worth 23 million dollars, with incentives built in to make it a 64-million-dollar deal. All that means is that Pennington's contract will not be a distraction this season. All I have to say about Pennington is this: last year was by far the worst year we will ever see from Chad Pennington. For those of us who didn't see Joe Namath, this is the best quarterback we've ever seen wear a Jets uniform, and if he plays like he did two years ago, could be one of the best ever. But let's not jump the gun....Pennington is going to lead the Jets to some very good things this year.

And he's got a capable backup. That's something that couldn't have been said two weeks ago. Quincy Carter is the backup. He's happy just to have a job, the Jets are happy to have a playoff-caliber quarterback to back up Pennington. Carter will be gone next year, so the Jets aren't investing much in a guy who has a bit of a questionable character, but if things should go terribly wrong this year, we won't have to worry about Brooks Bollinger taking over. I think Bollinger will be a good backup in another year - or at least, I'll have more confidence in him, but this year, I'm glad to have Carter on the team.

My only comment about the offensive line is that the Jets really lucked out when the Arizona Cardinals cut Pete Kendall. The rumor was that Dennis Green cut Kendall because he tattled to the league that Green's practices over the summer were violating some union rules. So the Jets were able to scoop up Kendall, and he's going to be the starting left guard. That means instead of having two inexperienced offensive linemen, the Jets have just one on the line, and another capable backup. One addition really made a huge difference for the Jets this year.

They'll be blocking for Curtis Martin again. Martin says he feels great, and he's had a ton of reps in the pre-season, more than he's had the past couple of years. He says he needs that to get going for the regular season. Martin's getting up there in years (relatively speaking), and might not have many more to go. I keep doubting that Martin can top the 1,000 yard mark, but he did it last year, and that was a horrible year for him. So I feel that at least this year, Martin is going to be a big factor. Martin starts ahead of LaMont Jordan, who is not happy about his lack of playing time. Jordan feels he could be starting somewhere, and feels Herman Edwards is lying to him about trying to get him the ball more. Jordan has been great backing up Curtis Martin, and can rip off a great run once in a while. But he'd better not be a distraction worrying about whether or not he's going to play a lot.

As for the receivers, Santana Moss is Pennington's favorite target, and is explosive. Justin McCareins was a big addition. He's young, and they could form a great combo for years to come. Wayne Chrebet might be done. He insists he'll play in the season opener (although that's looking more and more unlikely), but I don't think we'll be seeing him on the field much this season. We'll see. Jerricho Cotchery was a good draft pick. He won't have much of an impact this year (unless Chrebet doesn't play at all), but can step into that slot receiver role in the near future. Jonathan Carter has shown flashes of being a big-time receiver, but he has a little case of the dropsies. He sure is fast, though. TE Anthony Becht needs to be used more. I am probably the only person in America pleading his case (as I've been doing for three years), but maybe this will be his breakout year. He's playing for a contract, and is feeling a lot of heat from backup Chris Baker. But let's just remember how many clutch plays he made down the stretch the last two years the Jets made the playoffs.

Sorry my thoughts were so disjointed. I need to go to bed. I'm going to put off the mail bag until tomorrow. We have a couple of e-mails....if you want to send another couple, I'll print them all tomorrow, along with the big Jets overall preview.